Lol nobody where I live uses them either. It's especially dangerous when they're going 90 in a 65 swerving in between lanes and not using a signal at all.
@@fuckinantipope5511 they show it in driving school properly, thing is, no cop has ever ticketed someone for not using signals, odd considering how traffic units seem to be old school tax gatherers for the city or gov
Fun fact: Despite the separate amber turn signal, the 2002 Odyssey still does not meet European lighting requirements due to the lack of rear fog lights.
I know what rear fog lights are now so shut up Since when and where do cars have rear fog lights? I’m guessing it’s a Europe thing since it’s not something I’ve ever seen or heard of in the US About 20 or so people have now told me what rear fog lights are. No one else needs to
@@lazarustheatv8389 don't know exactly since when, but read fog light are mandatory to pass the yearly car inspection in my country. Front fog lights are optional. (Being seen is more important than you seeing. That's safer)
@@lazarustheatv8389 it's a stronger red light that is very helpful to make you more visible to the other drivers that are driving behind you when there is a lot of fog. Idk NA but in EU it's really really helpful :) but some ppl use it when there is only a bit of fog and that's "dangerous" because as said before it's really strong light, must be used when there is a lot of fog
@@lazarustheatv8389 It is a European mandate for all cars sold in Europe, and all cars sold in Europe have a small turn signals on the side, either on the mirror, fender, or quarter panel and a rear fog light, no matter of it’s an American car, European car, or Asian car, all cars sold in Europe have to come with that. And in Canada, all cars sold there must have daytime running lights, in the US however, it didn’t matter if cars had standard daytime running lights, but all new cars have that, same it’s crash avoidance systems and back up cameras.
I literally had a car dealership salesman while he was selling me my car, reassure me that "hey you can turn off the lane assist so that it doesn't beep cause, you know some people don't like to use turn signals with switching lanes" and I was dumbfounded....
@@RatsPicklesandMusicYeah, there’s a lot of them on the market. I’m not from the US, but in my country we have a lot of idiots with these devices. And what’s more idiotic, YOU CAN BUY ONE ON A GAS STATION OF ALL PLACES.
The turn signal is best used randomly. This creates a fog of misinformation which will confuse the enemies surrounding you. This in turn makes it more difficult for them to foil your efforts.
If you feel like it's scary being an experienced and cautious driver in today's road environment then imagine what it's like for us motorcyclist... It is a coin flip if I'll die every bike ride. It's most likely not going to be a fault of my own since the #1 rule on bikes is DRIVE AS THOUGH EVERYONE IS OUT TO KILL YOU or drive as though you are invisible to everyone on the road.
Oh. I've always had the impression that the #1 rule for motorcyclists is: Ride as if the lane dividers and other vehicles are a massive slalom course, and you're going for the gold medal.
@@viddork while doing 1.5-2x the speed limit! That way nobody sees you coming in time to foil your attempts at setting the record! Also, drop a gear right as you go past someone, just to stun them into momentary inaction whilst you speed away from their angry response!
Remember, ford found it cheaper to pay out to those affected than fix the problem when Pintos were literally bursting into flames from rear end collisions.
@@michaellorah9051 If they though about safety in first place, they didnt have to replace all these cars and saved even more money. But why think of it, no one pays for good design, everyone pays for work hours.
And not to mention Chevy didn't even bother to light up the main section of the tail light on their bolts and just used those tiny ones on the lower section of the vehicle.
In the case of some of these - it's not even dollars, it's cents. The wiring is already there. My Jeep has a distinct wire for each light - one for right turn, one for left turn, one for left brake, one for right brake. Already 4 feeds (plus grounds) coming from the BCM so it's a matter of the light itself. It's already wired.
As someone who immigrated to Canada after all my life spent in Europe, I cannot tell you how I hate red turning signals. How many tricky situations I had with those car, especially in the traffic jam where you see only half of the car and they push brakes every second. I will never buy such a car for myself.
Utterly the worst and most nonsensical response on the internet. It takes the brain nearly a full second to register a cue, especially as you are doing something mundane like driving. It takes even longer when a problem is presented that requires an "understanding" such as registering that the signaling tail light is out with the other lit up. Also consider that pick up trucks and SUV block the entire view of what is happening in front. I can come up with dozens of scenarios in which the 'no yellow' dynamic creates problems. If you had any imagination at all you wouldnt act like this on RUclips. Or ws that your modest attempt at being funny? If it was, the joke is very dated and unfunny. If it was a serious, the you're clearly completely ignorant.
And whether there is any research or studies on this topic, the simple thought experiment detects the obvious flaw in this design. An actual engineer is enjoyed and coming up with stupid shit for a job and our "loves to intervene where it doesn't belong nor understand" government just goes "OH YEAH OKAY I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE AUTOMOBILES IS". It's obviously a terrible design. I'm laughing my ass off about people on the internet for whom [lights are way too complicated- me no understandy!!]
"Are you so concerned with saving a few dollars per car" You're talking about the industry that has a formula they use to determine if recalling a flawed car is more expensive than the lawsuits they'd face
@@calculator1841 That was a hoax and then more people jumped on board for their piece of short lived fame (plus maybe some insurance fraud). Even on powerful sports cars the brakes will easily overpower the engine and stop the car.
No mechanical device will ever be 100% dependable. The engineers need to make the car very, very reliable - but in the end it comes down to how much money are you willing to spend to get a .0001% improvement; they can never make it perfect.
The US has really weird lighting regulations. The car's most important blinkers can be any color, while the front has to have these 90's looking orange reflector thingies on the headlights, making US-spec cars look 10 years older than they are.
when i've heard "This is a 2002 Honda Odyssey" I couldn't think of anyone but Doug Demuro Edit: now zztthisss is my most liked comment ever, thanks guys!
While this has always bugged me, I think the biggest issue of design over safety is with headlights. Driving around at night I've seen several newer cars with stylized LED strips for headlights. They look really cool but on some models they wrap around the front turn signals. I once almost hit someone head on at a 4-way stop because I couldn't see the right turn signal that was overpowered by the head light. Great example of "Just because you can doesn't mean you should".
Those LED strips are daylights, not a headlight replacement. And they definitely add to a pedestrian safety because they are enabled all the time. This is one of the best additions to a car tbh.
Lol NHTSA just released their research findings and might be soon requiring manufacturers to implement amber turn signals since it has apparently resulted in reduced crashes.
Also: "Signal your intentions, not your actions." Would appreciate it, people who don't signal until they're already half way into the next lane, or until _after_ they've already moved completely into a turn-only lane where the signal may or may not become redundant.
@@WatchmakerErik You mean those people who seem to be perfectly fine cruising at their speed, leaving plenty of room in front of them, only to suddenly decide to speed up when another driver signals to get in front of them? Yeah, those people get on my nerves, too. "NO! This is MY lane!!!" God, the number of times I've had slow drivers jump in front of me at a red light just because they _had_ to have the empty lane, and then get pissy when I have to pass them on the right because I'd like to get up to the speed limit at some point...
OH, and let's not forget people who think that you're supposed to turn on your turn signal if the person in front turns on theirs, regardless of your intention to turn or not. 15 cars waiting for only the first car to turn, all of them flashing their turn signals in vain. Stupid.
If you were in a war you NEVER telegraph your intentions to the enemy. Most drivers adopt the same mentality. You should never turn on a turning indicator until AFTER the turn is already commenced. This guarantees that other drivers are driving with more caution around you because they cannot know what you are going to do next.
Having lived in the US my whole life, I never even noticed this! To clarify, I’ve noticed that some cars used specific amber lights to indicate turning, but I never thought that this was anything other than a stylistic choice, let alone something that ought to be standardized! After having watched this, it totally makes sense why it should be. But as so many others have pointed out, we’re just happy if people use turning signals at all, let alone consistently...
It sucks because in some places like New Orleans so many drivers are so braindead that nobody uses turn signals because some fool is bound to use that as a sign to fuck you over on the road somehow
It's called corporations cutting corners to cut costs and increase profits. But you know, ya gotta have your Apple Car Play! Also funny how they cut corners on the turn signals (safety!), but they put in all kinds of other nanny safety junk tech that somehow when people had brains didn't need in order to drive safely.
I know with BMW there is a Euro spec and a US spec version. In Australia all the bmw's come from germany (or at least somewhere making the eurospec version...probably mexico or south africa) and have amber turn signals. In the states and Canada they all have the red turn signals...the US spec versions also have some other slight differences
If you ever feel your job is useless......................Remember, it's someone's job at the BMW, AUDI and MERC factories to install the turn signals.
As a former police officer, we were taught to always use our amber rear light bar lights because they can be seen from further away and in bad weather. This alone should be why all rear turn signals are amber.
This is the same reason why I like warmer 4300 kelvin bulbs > 5000k or the stupid leds that birn out your retinas on long drives. Warmer light is just better for bad weather and color rendering so you can watch for deer much easier…. I wish LED manufacturers would get the message and give us some warm white options > this blue white garbage…
That's actually a massive difference, even 3 pennies would be devastating. Most of the big car companies sell so many cars that even 3 pennies would make them lose millions. Edit: I wrote this at 2 AM, so I didn't think of the stuff other people have said. I will now ignore any more replies concerning what I was saying before.
I think it's more of an aesthetics thing than a cost saving thing. It makes engineers life's easier that they don't have to find "room" to put the light. This is especially true on cars with smaller rear profiles. Many sports cars don't have an amber light for this reason.
@@jimmym3352 Ferrari can fit all three lights in a single circle and they still look aesthetically pleasing. 🤷🏼♀️. Also the missing amber bulbs in Chevrolet Cruze is definitely an example of that 3 pennies cost cutting.
There's so much light pollution and such congestion of other vehicles with extremely bright headlights it's too easy for someone to do in any kind of crowded area, and then as the crowd thins out they are a massive danger and still don't quite realize - yet. A car that does not have a sensor still has a clock. I don't understand why there isn't some kind of forced headlight - or at least a warning, for the love - in any modern even somewhat computer controlled vehicle. 9 or 10pm local time? HEADLIGHTS OFF pops up. Depending on aggressiveness/redundancy, it might miss dawn and dusk (which can be worse for that very reason), but always on daytime running lights have helped a lot w/that.
Around here, for some reason, they do it on purpose!! 😡 One got pulled a few days ago because of it.. (a vehicle that has automatic headlights/tail lights) Surprise surprise they a bunch of drugs in vehicle. Way too much to be personal use. He got arrested for a bigger offense, and his children were in the vehicle. Had to get taken into care until family could be reached. (Middle of the night)
I'm living in Europe and saw that type of signals in some US cars and didn't understand why it's designed like that. So thank you for explaining, even if I'm not sure why they did this, I know how they did this 😅👍
It began in the early 20th century when amber reflectors and marker lights denoted the front of a vehicle and red denoted the rear before two way traffic was standardized. As a result of this, amber was actually illegal to use for the rear of cars in the US and this continued for many years even long after this standard was enacted. Amber rear turn signals were actually illegal in the US when they first came out all the way up to the late 60s. As always, US is always slow with their regulatory changes for cars. Europe and others already mandated amber turn signals front and rear by the 1950s but despite America mandating them in 1963 for the front of cars, they still didn't allow them on the rear of cars until around 1968 or so after years and years of European manufacturers selling vehicles in the US at the time begging for it. However this law only gave manufacturers the option to use them and didn't require them by any means. This unfortunately has never changed in the 50+ years since and now it's so backwards as all these companies that would be (and indeed were) begging to use amber turn signals for their US models back then are now willingly switching up their taillight functionality to inferior red turn signals for cars sold here.
It's annoys me when drivers only turn on their turn signals during their turn and not ahead of the turn. They should be called indicators in the US like they're named in the rest of the world and people then might not only turn them on as they're turning.
Ehh... it's fine but there are better and worse designs. It seems like Honda made the most recent Civic, then Ctrl-C Ctrl-V'd it onto every dang car they make, and the rest of the industry is following along. The unoriginality is the real shame. But there are thorns in my side. The new Lexus NX 200t has the *stupidest* brake lights I've ever seen--the main emitter is three tiny LEDs shoved into an itty bitty corner. Yes the red chevron also lights up, but it's not a concentrated beam--more like running light intensity. In direct sunlight all you can see is a spot about the size of a quarter. I don't know how they got away with that!
Car in front of me: >breaks >slow down >makes a right turn >turn on blinker >finishes turn Me: *Facepalm* What's the point of the turn signal if you are already turning?
That's merely the driver in front of you courteously indicating (and/or arrogantly bragging about his driving prowess) that he has successfully initiated his turn! Then there's the case of (on a 2-or-more-lane road): 1. Vehicle is driving in right-hand lane. 2. Left signal begins blinking.. 3. Vehicle changes to left-hand lane.4. Vehicle continues down the road with signal still blinking unless and until the operator decides to make a right-hand turn. In Florida (and perhaps other states as well), this is known as an "eventual left". Some eventual lefts may not be completed until several miles have been traveled or, if it's a vehicle like mine, the dashboard starts dinging/beeping after the vehicle has traveled roughly a half mile or so with the blinker on.
*I* know where I'm going, and it's nobody else's business anyways. The turn signal is just a legal obligation I follow to avoid fines... (I must say I am guilty of waiting at traffic lights and only switching my turn signals on when the lights go green. I figure that could annoy other drivers, especially when I'm not standing at a marked turning lane...)
My favorite are the turn signals that move from left to right or right to left like a neon sign. They're called sequential turn signals. They're distracting, completely unnecessary, and, yes, usually Red when I see them.
@@nigward.1018intuitively, and as a car designer, it appears to look cool and effective. But in reality, the extra visual movement does nothing for clarity, and as the OP said, is far too distracting to serve a real benefit beyond the traditional blinking amber light. Unfortunately though, these “left to right” signals are not common enough to gather reliable data to prove whether they’re effective or not.
I have those on my mustang but I believe some Audi models have them too but they have to have a more obvious one alongside it due to US regulations mandating a certain size light be immediately visible with the turn signal.
@@jsar5409"Gee golly! I don't see those very often! I wonder why more cars don't do that. Must be a style thing. But there are more bulbs to burn out. I wonder if this driver will even bother to replace a bulb that burns out because he has the other lights instead-- and the person behind me is honking because this train of thought has distracted me from the fact the light is now green."
The silverados made I believe after 2006 made it have 2 brake lights on each side where the earlier ones had either amber blinkers or separate red lights for blinkers.
@@Arlae_Nova If you actually track the number of people who don't, it's not all that common. However, it is common enough to be noticeable and encountered on at least a weekly basis, so common enough to be infuriating.
@@justanoman6497 Weekly? In my case, I see at least a couple dozen folk not using their turn signals during my work day. This isn't counting the jerks who slingshot around my car. :(
Australia mandates amber turn signals on the rear. For US imports, this is usually achieved by recolouring part of the rear light cluster, but on '59 Chevys they actually underhung little bullet lights from the horizontal fins. Australia's problem was that for many years, the rear amber turn signals doubled as reversing lights. It was Japanese cars in the mid to late seventies that introduced us to separate white reversing lights. Oh, and my parents' 1971 XY Falcon had a "Stop Lamp Outage Telltale" as one of the warning lights on the panel. Nothing new.
"Are you so concerned with saving a few dollars per car?" GM's ignition switch problem (where people died) could have been solved for 57 cents. So yeah.
To be fair that’s 57 cents per car. If you make a lot of cars that’s suddenly a lot of money. Also you have to pay people to do the thing (I assume it’s a part so install or make it). Just because it sounds small does not mean it’s a barrel scrapping tactic.
@@joeh4955 So it's ok to "do the math" and figure out it'll cost less to pay out court claims of people maimed or killed when your part (that you knew to be defective) fails. In my book, that's culplable negligence at best.
@Daemon Can If they knew it was defective then yes that is negligence. But if they didn’t know or have a way of knowing and they chose to use cheaper parts, well that’s capitalism at work. I’m not familiar with the specifics of this case, I’m just commenting on the corporate structure of America.
@@joeh4955 Indeed, they chose to use a cheaper part, and it was not up to spec. Where they failed was the fact that they knew there was a problem in 2005, yet did not issue a general recall until 2014 due to "cost issues". Their actuaries ran the numbers and decided it was cheaper to litigate/pay out claims than fix the problem at the time. In fact, if someone hadn't sued them and gotten depositions from some of the rogues involved, GM would have probably continued to deny the issue. The Wikipedia page on this is quite good. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_ignition_switch_recalls#Cause_of_ignition_failure
Andrew Michael Or those who spent their whole lives on efforts to designing/programming/building a machine that makes more machines reserved just to build one machine...
Arguably they're just fulfilling the minimum legal requirement when they design turn signals for BMW. So it's a vital task. It's just not much practical use for the users.
A man is driving down the highway when a BMW changes lanes in front of him using its turn signals. The man immediately pulls over to call the police and report a stolen BMW.
Ah, another cultural crossover with the beautiful Netherlands. Some drivers here saw how you solved this problem and decided to mimic that. Now they have one hand free to enjoy their Stroopwafel at all times. 2 birds with 1 stone.
Same problem in Texas. Everytime I go into the nearest city, it seems more and more people forget what a turn signal is. Along with what speed limits are.
That's because when we use the turn signal people take that as their signal to hit the accelerator to stop you from "cutting them off" and they accelerate to stop you from getting in their lane no matter how far back they are.
@@6681096 Bingo! Houston was the _worst_ for that, leading to the Malicious Compliance version of turn signals; engaged when you're _just_ far enough ahead that you know they won't _quite_ be able to pull forward and block you off in time, but not a millisecond earlier. Always a fun game.
I never fully understood how important indicators are until I started driving myself. I’ve also began to understand why my dad gets so annoyed when other drivers don’t indicate.
@@DrNickBailey good, at least someone else is fighting the good fight. It just kills me, it’s probably the thing that takes the least amount of effort inside a vehicle since most of them are within reach with your hand already on the wheel
On modern cars in Europe the hazard lights will come on when you press hard on the brake pedal. This means that you can distinguish between a gentle braking (three lights) and a hard braking/panic braking (FIVE lights). A fantastic invention when things comes to a sudden halt on the highway due to traffic jam.
I believe the hazard lights come on only after you stop after the emergency braking. But some cars flash their brake lights during emergency braking. Anyone used to this fact(brake lights flashing with emergency braking) will stomp on their brake if they see the car in front start flashing both their brake lights(some American hazard lights), making it extremely dangerous for that person and everyone behind them
@@mike_junmin Some cars will flash there hazard lights while (!) breaking, but the trend is going to flashing breaklights and turning hazard lights on (only) after a complete stop
@@mike_junmin I don't THINK - I KNOW. I live in europe - i see it EVERY day driving to and from work. The hazard light that are flashing after you've stopped ar manually operated.
It's a very good idea, but in older cars you can lit the emergency lights every time you believe you are slowing below the usual speed expected for that road. You mantain the emergency light till you see that the cars behind you are slowing behind you.
In my country( EU country) all cars have separate amber indicators and brake lights and once when I was driving behind a car that was brought by a non-EU country, I was so confused and didn't realise that they were indicating to turn( and turned and cut infront of me) and just thought that they were playing with the brakes.. It is literally so stupid to have the rear lights serve both functions! It's overcomplicated and requires you time to think to realise what other cars are doing!
Nah, I use a hockey stick or a moose antler. Both are legally-recognized alternatives. One may have used all their maple syrup on their breakfast (signalling with an empty syrup jar is a $250 fine).
@@Neilimea Then you must've gone to Huntsville. Drivers there are MUCH better than they are around my local area (Huntsville is like an hour away for me). I suppose any larger city is also better than the local ones. I know I had rather drive in Huntsville, or especially Birmingham, than to have to deal with the local idiots that don't know how to use a turn signal. And don't even get me started on the ones towing a boat, or trailer. They don't seem to know the existence of the wiring harness, much less how to plug it in, nor properly wire it! I honestly believe a lot of it is restricted to the local area. Of course, you'll get the occasional idiot anywhere, but I have noticed that other towns within an hour or two drive, are much better than they are here local. I suppose that it doesn't help that the town was originally mainly for older people either, but there are a lot of young people now, and you would think they would take pride in learning how to use a turn signal properly...
@@The.Plague Damn you nailed it, it was Huntsville! I have to wonder if maybe that's true because rural drivers don't really have to learn how to drive properly because they're usually one of 10 cars on the road so there's more room to be an idiot. Hahaha Then again, Orlando at one point (maybe still) was the worst city in the country for pedestrian deaths by car...
I remember watching this video a year or two ago and thinking that this video essay had no pragmatic implications. However, over the course of the past year I have run into various instances where this sort of thing has become relevant. This guy actually makes some legit points.
@@Shakiahjprod that makes no sense. Living in North America has resulted in most people here having little to no issues whatsoever recognizing a turn signal over a brake light. Brake/signal combinations have been around since before I was old enough to drive, and I've never once experienced any of the issues stated here. It seems like a no issue problem, unless you're just very used to amber being the only color used for signaling turns. Basically, it's YOUR lack of world experience causing you to have issues recognizing the difference between a brake light and a turn signal, yet you're saying a person who never experienced said issue was just being childish about it.
@@atheos.1383 while that is true for car with fully working taillights running lights and blinkers. The same doesn't hold any water what so ever if any of the mention lights are out. You dont have this issue with yellow turn lights. . . . So to miss that the first time around is quite odd. Only takes a seconds or two to think about it. So really the whole Americans comment is mostly moot
Any time your designer relies on a "good defensive driver", you are inviting a crash. Also surprised the brake light circuit monitor isn't standard yet.
We all have break light monitors. They're called police. At least that's how you end up finding out that your break light is out most of the time. They aren't very easy to check on your own.
This practice began as a cost saving when turn signals were introduced and became common practice. German cars being retrofit with combo lights has to do with the size a turn signal must be as a percentage of brake light size. A lot of cars use a small amber LED strip for the turn signal which while functional, doesn’t satisfy US highway laws due to insufficient size.
driving tips: - ALWAYS use your turn signal even if no one is around and you're in the middle of nowhere. This will condition an automatic response and make you less likely to forget in the future. - turn on your turn signal BEFORE you brake - if you and the driver across from you in a 4-way stop are both going straight YOU CAN BOTH GO AT THE SAME TIME
another one is if you are making a left turn at a light without an arrow, if you pull into the intersection under green and you don't get the opportunity to go until the light changes you are still allowed to make your turn even if the light has already turned red. Basically the color of the light only applies if you haven't entered the intersection yet.
- if you and the driver across from you in a 4-way stop are both going straight YOU CAN BOTH GO AT THE SAME TIME Not a good idea to trust this because of the far-too-many people who fail to signal turns.
The last tip is wrong in California, and something my DMV test taker dinged me on. Honestly that line of thinking is probably the worst thing for congested 4 way stop signs. If everyone just waited until the person on the left went there would be no confusion when some people turn and some go straight.
Check the vehicle code for your state: signals aren't always required. Many states only require them when the turn or lane change is likely to interfere with other drivers' paths of travel.
Amber feels so natural in turn signals that to me the american all red design looks a little strange. And a combined stop/turn signal is an outright atrocity that is a real safety hazard. I hope manufacturers and insurance agencies will pay attention to your videos. Thank you for drawing attention to this problem!
@@ahalfsesameseedbun7472 lol true, that isn't so good though, like here in Italy when someone doesn't use the turn segnal I fucking scream at them to turn it on, too many times I almost crashed because people turned in front of me without using turn signals
I remember seeing this "feature" in a Doug DeMuro video and thinking, "Wow, that's really cool, wonder why I've never seen this here in Europe?". That's why. It kills people.
You see the Cruze ass at 07:21? That is a working blinker in the asian pacific model Cruze made by GM Shanghai. Yep, they turned it into a placeholder for the American model.
According to a 2009 report from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “amber signals show a +5.3% effectiveness in reducing involvement in two-vehicle crashes where a lead vehicle is rear-struck in the act of turning left, turning right, merging into traffic, changing lanes, or entering/leaving a parking space. The advantage of amber rear turn signals is shown to be statistically significant.”
@@justjamesAMX What does "common sense" have to do with not noticing something? Even extremely intelligent people sometimes don't notice something. Making that something more distinct from other somethings makes is more likely to be noticed.
How about Chevy's (Chevies?) that turn on the reverse lights when you unlock or lock the car. This is a great feature to help everyone around you waste their time thinking you're backing up.
Someone at Chevrolet should have been fired for this idea. And Chevrolet should recall every vehicle with this feature and disable it. I can’t tell you how many times I have stopped in a parking lot to wait for a vehicle to back out, or just to make sure they aren’t moving and they see me, only to see someone approaching, getting into, or getting out of the vehicle. Absolutely hate this feature on GM vehicles.
Also I’ve encountered cars with all red tail lights and they press the brake periodically and it has perfectly lined up with the normal repetition of a blinker, so then I think they are trying to change lanes into me, but they are just braking weirdly
What you don't seem to realize is that it's not really that big of a deal here in the US, since most of us haven't figured out how to use turn signals anyway.
Eamon Murtaugh Thanks, Eamon. That solves a 50 year old mystery for me. When I was 14, I panicked when I saw a *flashing red light* on the rear left side of a car. The driver’s hand must have slipped off the wheel and struck the stalky thing. SHIVERS!
Additional thing - when we (Europeans) see just a single stronger lit red taillight (for example 5th car ahead of me) I have a clear signal that I should be prepared for braking in few seconds. It's very common when driving on highways during heavy traffic, but no jam.
It is illegal in many parts of the United States. Many jurisdictions have laws that state that no one can operate a vehicle with flashing lights other than turn signals except for emergency vehicles (police, fire, tow trucks etc.)
Here in Germany it's encouraged to use your hazard lights at the end of a traffic jam on the Autobahn. It is known to save lifes. Also don't your indicator lights on the dash don't blink faster when a indicator is out.
3 года назад+17
As well some newer cars turn on hazard lights automatically when breaking hard
In America some models do have blinkers that behave differently when one is out and others dont. For example in my Ford work van the turn signal does speed up when a blinker is out. In my personal Dodge truck however nothing changes. In America it is really scatter shot among manufacturers and their models in how or even whether the driver is alerted to a lamp issue. Long ago I had a 93 Camaro that requires the third tail light to work for cruise control to operate. Funny enough that was the only thing Chevy apparently cared about. My in law had a 2006 Windstar that would turn on the check engine light when it detected a light out. Nothing like needing a scan tool to figure out that issue. In my Dodge truck no F's are given when a light goes out.
Not to mention in some cars, when the headlights are on, the rear lights turn on red. Breaking or turning simply increases the brightness. It's terrible.
In Iran all heavy vehicles have a brake light in the front, and once I got used to it, it helped to figure out whether it would be safe to do a left turn in sight of an oncoming truck, more generally helped to anticipate the truck's trajectory
That's a good idea. If a car repeatedly brakes behind you, and you're a member of the 20% of mankind who are kind, you will just let him pass. The other 80% will play Gandalf.
@@jggouvea Why would they *brake* behind you when they want to assholishly insist on you letting them pass, when they have a perfectly good horn at their disposal? Passive-aggressive road rage? Plus, if you're in a one-lane road, usually they can pass after waiting like two minutes for the striped lines to show up. If you're on a road with more than that and there's someone occupying the other lanes, they're SOL, and if they can't wait, they can suck a fart, it sucks to suck.
I recently learned a bit more about this, and was reminded of this video. 1) A big reason why some cars that have amber rear turn signals in Europe don't in the US is that the US requires the lights to be a minimum size (I have seen 50 square cm and 2200 square mm quoted). That is, if the car has separate brake and tail lights, they must both be that size, but if there is only one light it still only needs to be that size: having separate turn signals and brake lights doubles the amount of space you need for lights. Also, about 4 years ago Mazda spokespeople explained to members of the automotive press that the US versions of their cars didn't get the cool sequential arrow turn signals used in the rest of the world because US law said each of the sequential lamps had to meet that minimum size. 2) you will be pleased (or annoyed) to know that there IS data to support your hunches: a 2009 NHTSA study shows cars with amber rear turn signals are 5.3% less likely to be hit, compared with the 1986 study that showed cars with third brake lights were 4.3% less likely to be hit. And a study by the University of Michigan showed people react faster to the brake lights on cars with amber rear turn signals. And not only is there no scientific evidence to support the idea that bigger lights are better (the US standard was developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers in the 50's, mostly arbitrarily), but a 1993 study by the NHTSA found bigger lights made no difference. www.acarplace.com/2018/01/index/ That article is sprinkled with pictures of the export versions of classic US cars showing off their amber rear turn signals.
As for the sequential arrow turn signals, there's a workaround - apparently US code specifies minimum area, but only at the start of a flash cycle, so it can be done by flashing entire light then leaving just one LED lit, that way it's still considered the same cycle, and transitioning into arrow turn signal. Doug DeMuro reviewed at least one car that had this solution, but I can't remember which one was it.
First of all: Per 3:44, tail lights sharing the function of turning signals and brake lights is ambiguous even when both brake lights are working. If it the minimum size for tail lights in North America were the same as the rest of the world, then separate tail lights for braking and turning would surely be more common and in that case, I'm sure Alec would have had a lot less to say in this video. And if red rear blinkers were allowed but still had to be separate from the brake lights, I don't think this video would have much to say at all.
Stupid design for definite. Another thing I've thought of is the fact that someone might be expecting the amber signals on some cars and never see them thanks to the fact that it isn't unified.
Finally. European here, lived 7 years + countless summers in the US. I totally agree with you. Driving with hazards on means I am at the end of a traffic jam it signals imminent bigger slowdown on. highway to anyone arriving from behind. This is a universal signal in Europe it helps avoiding pile-ups. It is insane that this would be forbidden by law ...
It’s common among truck drivers, but as you said, only when we are last in line. Provincial or state (and likely federal) law mandates four way activation if travelling under so and so speed. It would be more illegal if you didn’t.
In America, hazards are used to indicate your car is a hazard, and using them while driving can confuse people into thinking you’re stopped/stalled. They also won’t be able to tell if you’re signaling or tapping on the brakes or not, and sometimes it makes it hard to see if the driver in front of you has his brake lights on. If you need to indicate you’re slowing down because of an accident, that’s what brake lights and following distance are for.
Not only a 16 yr old minivan, my *1987* Toyota Supra had a warning light for burned out taillights. And each taillight had 2 bulbs so you still had a half working taillight while you were being warned.
Oh God yes!!! I always argued with my friends - fans of the American automobile industry - on this topic!! In my entire life I have not found anyone who would agree with me on this issue! And here is your video!! Thank you very much, Author!! Now I know that I am not alone in this opinion!!
When I first started driving in the US after learning in the UK, I was totally thrown by the sudden appearance of red indicators. I could never quite pin down why they bugged me so much, but this makes my dislike rational again. Thank you!
Whenever I've visited my family that's stateside, I am paranoid on the road. There are small differences between Europe and the US that just make me uncomfortable. Though I do like the idea that you can turn right at a red light... That just makes sense. It'd be left here in the UK
The same thing happened to me years ago when we went to Florida on holiday. Driving from the airport, and I was sat in traffic being totally bewildered by the flashing red lights. It makes no sense whatsoever!
God, I hate red turn signals. Especially those lane-changers that like to indicate their intended action by flipping the signal for a split second before turning them off. "Why did that guy step on his brake? Is the other brake light out? Why is he changing lanes? Oh...red..."
THIS! As a commuter, these sh*t tier brake/turn signal combos are awful in the hands of the person who flips them on 1/2 second before coming over. Why even bother signalling? These are a pet peeve of mine, and I've actually refused to buy cars because of the tail lights or insisted that I get an aftermarket tail light that has the amber signals. I hate accidents and I'm a stickler for auto safety features. Too many preventable deaths.
@@larryclemens1850 To put it even more simply, a single flash of red on a single side will always be ambiguous, but a single flash of amber on one side will never be ambiguous
Despise people who do that. It's like, if you're going to change lanes...USE your blinker. That means turn it on BEFORE you move, look, move over, THEN you can turn it off.
I've thought this for years. Amber turn signals are much better. There have also been some SUVs and crossovers recently with oddly low blinkers which I don't like.
Having amber turn signals is also consistent in the sense that red means stop, amber means 'pay attention, caution', just like on traffic lights. In Europe at least, it's also the rule for emergency vehicles, where motorway breakdown and maintenance use flashing amber lights up top (blue is reserved for police, ambulance, fire).
It is also important when changing lanes. Ironically he left it out in the video, but when you're in dense traffic and you can only see one of the taillights of the cars in adjacent lanes, you won't know that a red light is a turn signal as it will appear as a solid red light until it goes out for the first time and then come back on in the same time interval. The red may just mean the driver in the lane left or right of you is braking, but a turn signal of a separate color will alert you that a driver intends to merge into the lane you're in much more quickly and effectively than a blinking light of the same color (or same light in the case the brake light is also stupidly enough the turn signal as well).
@@gg-eo6ez Unless it's a tow truck - in some states (maybe all?) they're permitted to use the ol' red and blue just like the police. I live in Kansas and it's always a crapshoot on whether you're about to come across someone getting a ticket or getting a tow.
Well, Amber (Amarillo-auto) in spain is reserved for evergency vehicles (except police, police usew blue) , Slow vehicles and tow trucks. The law was changed recently and every emergency vehicles needs to have blue lights
Here in Germany (well, it's probably the case everywhere else too) I've noticed that there are newer cars with LED daylight driving lights that double as indicator lights. To me, this is not looking better and it is also irritating. I can't imagine that the manufacturer saves that much money with this.
Seems like a very specific reason to be angry. The overwhelming majority of drivers never even notice these things. This limp wrist apparently needs a hug from his boyfriend to make it through the day.
Aye I have a 2011 Cadillac STS with the best brake light / blinkers out of any car... AND I know how to turn them off. I'm not some old senile man. Lmao
Just as dangerous - back-up lights that double as courtesy lights. If they don't necessarily mean the vehicle is in reverse then there are too many false warnings to be effective.
YES. All too often in parking lots there are very new cars that seem to be in reverse. But the car never moves. Then, the driver leaves the vehicle and I finally understand that... those lights just stay on until the driver walks away from the car? What the heck?
I constantly see people waiting for a car to pull out in parking garages when the guy is sitting in the car having a smoke/on the phone. They see the red light, they assume they're backing up and it's not just a car idling.
@@planescaped I see that all the time, it's fairly obvious that the driver doesn't have their foot on the brake, so they're not in reverse or drive. And manual transmissions aren't common enough to even be considered, especially on GM vehicles that do this.
What really pisses me off is when people slow down before turning on their signal. The signal is an indication that you are about to slow down. Slowing down is not an indication that you're about to signal. 😤
I find myself irritated by poor signaling as well, and I remind myself of what my defensive driving instructor said when I was a teen. She said that you can rely on other drivers to use their vehicles incorrectly. Your job is to use what information you can pull from the situation, such as slowing down without warning and not indicating why, and react in anticipation of what may occur…and not just by shaking your head in disgust (ok, I do that as well!). Luckily, braking alone even without a turn signal share enough information to avoid almost all accidents. She said that it’s not about being right. It’s about not getting hurt or hurting others.
As someone who lives and drives (professionally) in North America I can say sadly this argument is only valid if drivers USED their turn signals…
Lol nobody where I live uses them either. It's especially dangerous when they're going 90 in a 65 swerving in between lanes and not using a signal at all.
Maybe you guys need stricter driving schools to hammer it into peoples head to use turn signals
@@fuckinantipope5511 they show it in driving school properly, thing is, no cop has ever ticketed someone for not using signals, odd considering how traffic units seem to be old school tax gatherers for the city or gov
I'm Happy if the Canadian driver uses their turn signal. Looking at you BMW and Audi.
@@fuckinantipope5511 In most places, you only need to pass the exam--taking a driving lesson means nothing for a license.
This is too advanced for the internet. There are plenty of people around the world that still doesn’t know they HAVE to use the turning lights.
Make me
@@AwesomeO-px2kj [BMW Driver Detected]
Most of these are BMW drivers. It seems they come as extras and few Beemer drivers appear to specify them..🙄🙄🙄
keith tanner Beemers are motorcycles, Bimmers are cars 👍
trodat07 *Still dont* not doesn’t
Fun fact: Despite the separate amber turn signal, the 2002 Odyssey still does not meet European lighting requirements due to the lack of rear fog lights.
I know what rear fog lights are now so shut up
Since when and where do cars have rear fog lights? I’m guessing it’s a Europe thing since it’s not something I’ve ever seen or heard of in the US
About 20 or so people have now told me what rear fog lights are. No one else needs to
@@lazarustheatv8389 don't know exactly since when, but read fog light are mandatory to pass the yearly car inspection in my country. Front fog lights are optional. (Being seen is more important than you seeing. That's safer)
@@lazarustheatv8389 it's a stronger red light that is very helpful to make you more visible to the other drivers that are driving behind you when there is a lot of fog. Idk NA but in EU it's really really helpful :) but some ppl use it when there is only a bit of fog and that's "dangerous" because as said before it's really strong light, must be used when there is a lot of fog
Lol northern Europe are notorious for fog. This is why Europeans love CATIII auto landing.
@@lazarustheatv8389 It is a European mandate for all cars sold in Europe, and all cars sold in Europe have a small turn signals on the side, either on the mirror, fender, or quarter panel and a rear fog light, no matter of it’s an American car, European car, or Asian car, all cars sold in Europe have to come with that. And in Canada, all cars sold there must have daytime running lights, in the US however, it didn’t matter if cars had standard daytime running lights, but all new cars have that, same it’s crash avoidance systems and back up cameras.
I literally had a car dealership salesman while he was selling me my car, reassure me that "hey you can turn off the lane assist so that it doesn't beep cause, you know some people don't like to use turn signals with switching lanes" and I was dumbfounded....
These are probably the same people that buy those devices off Amazon that trick the car into thinking you have your seatbelt on, so it doesn’t beep.
@@jpalharini Wow... Didn't know those existed. 😬
Seriously?
@@RatsPicklesandMusic How many accidents have you been in? Seriously what a pointless comment.
@@RatsPicklesandMusicYeah, there’s a lot of them on the market. I’m not from the US, but in my country we have a lot of idiots with these devices. And what’s more idiotic, YOU CAN BUY ONE ON A GAS STATION OF ALL PLACES.
This guy is a master at turning 3 sentences into a 20 page essay
I could use him while writing my masters thesis as I'm constantly falling short :D
Some people need the explanation
In an extremely humorous, entertaining and most importantly, informative way.
Ha Ha, had never given much thought to the difference until now. Probably because I've always bought toyotas. =)
And we love him for it.
The turn signal is best used randomly. This creates a fog of misinformation which will confuse the enemies surrounding you. This in turn makes it more difficult for them to foil your efforts.
If you feel like it's scary being an experienced and cautious driver in today's road environment then imagine what it's like for us motorcyclist... It is a coin flip if I'll die every bike ride. It's most likely not going to be a fault of my own since the #1 rule on bikes is DRIVE AS THOUGH EVERYONE IS OUT TO KILL YOU or drive as though you are invisible to everyone on the road.
Oh. I've always had the impression that the #1 rule for motorcyclists is:
Ride as if the lane dividers and other vehicles are a massive slalom course, and you're going for the gold medal.
@@viddork while doing 1.5-2x the speed limit! That way nobody sees you coming in time to foil your attempts at setting the record! Also, drop a gear right as you go past someone, just to stun them into momentary inaction whilst you speed away from their angry response!
Bilb Ono, it sounds like your a standard motorcyclist
@this isn't... Fog of misinformation is especially useful in the USA. So, yeah...
"Turn signals. They're a good invention. Use them."
thank you for coming to my TED talk
just a reminder for BMW drivers
@@tin6676 hahahaha
@@tin6676 That goes double for M-series drivers.
BMW drivers don't agree
Sadly a TED talk that a lot of people should attend
Also the amber light is useful for pedestrians crossing the road, knowing which direction a car is turning is something I look out for all the time.
The car does not pose any danger to you as a pedestrian if you see its rear lights, as, most probably, it is moving forward, not reversing ;)
1:03 now it's time to look at the qUiRks aNd fEaTuReS
THIIIS!!
Doug rate🤣🤣
Instantly subscribed for this subtle but clearly intentional joke. Fucking A+ work.
Bloody hilarious. He sort of half did a Doug for the Volt too.
*THIS* ! 😂
You killed me, I was about to comment the same thing lmao 😂
"Are you so concerned with saving a few dollars per car?" Yes. Yes, they are.
Remember, ford found it cheaper to pay out to those affected than fix the problem when Pintos were literally bursting into flames from rear end collisions.
@@michaellorah9051 If they though about safety in first place, they didnt have to replace all these cars and saved even more money. But why think of it, no one pays for good design, everyone pays for work hours.
And not to mention Chevy didn't even bother to light up the main section of the tail light on their bolts and just used those tiny ones on the lower section of the vehicle.
I'm sure it's a combination of "yes, it's cheaper" and also, "this is the way we've always done it" 😶🌫️
In the case of some of these - it's not even dollars, it's cents. The wiring is already there. My Jeep has a distinct wire for each light - one for right turn, one for left turn, one for left brake, one for right brake. Already 4 feeds (plus grounds) coming from the BCM so it's a matter of the light itself. It's already wired.
"THISSSSSS Is a 2002 Honda Odyssey" love the reference my man
Doug must be proud 😂
How funny that we IMMEDIATELY thought of Doug! The man is a legend
Was searching for this comment
I wonder if the audio quality is also intentionally lowered. Doug's mics are terrible.
channeling his inner Doug DeMuro :D
As someone who immigrated to Canada after all my life spent in Europe, I cannot tell you how I hate red turning signals. How many tricky situations I had with those car, especially in the traffic jam where you see only half of the car and they push brakes every second. I will never buy such a car for myself.
damn i better never tick this guy off, he might make an extremely well researched, specific, and nuanced video about me
His hair, though.
@Dane Just trying to say, that hair gel budget.
Utterly the worst and most nonsensical response on the internet. It takes the brain nearly a full second to register a cue, especially as you are doing something mundane like driving. It takes even longer when a problem is presented that requires an "understanding" such as registering that the signaling tail light is out with the other lit up. Also consider that pick up trucks and SUV block the entire view of what is happening in front. I can come up with dozens of scenarios in which the 'no yellow' dynamic creates problems.
If you had any imagination at all you wouldnt act like this on RUclips. Or ws that your modest attempt at being funny? If it was, the joke is very dated and unfunny. If it was a serious, the you're clearly completely ignorant.
And whether there is any research or studies on this topic, the simple thought experiment detects the obvious flaw in this design. An actual engineer is enjoyed and coming up with stupid shit for a job and our "loves to intervene where it doesn't belong nor understand" government just goes "OH YEAH OKAY I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE AUTOMOBILES IS".
It's obviously a terrible design. I'm laughing my ass off about people on the internet for whom [lights are way too complicated- me no understandy!!]
Nice Dubs bro did you reply to the right comment orrrrr?
"Are you so concerned with saving a few dollars per car"
You're talking about the industry that has a formula they use to determine if recalling a flawed car is more expensive than the lawsuits they'd face
NTSB even tried covering up for Toyota's Prius brake & computer coding failures that injured and killed people.
@@calculator1841 That was a hoax and then more people jumped on board for their piece of short lived fame (plus maybe some insurance fraud). Even on powerful sports cars the brakes will easily overpower the engine and stop the car.
No mechanical device will ever be 100% dependable. The engineers need to make the car very, very reliable - but in the end it comes down to how much money are you willing to spend to get a .0001% improvement; they can never make it perfect.
You're talking about the industry that let bad key switches kill some people when a 2 cent per car would have prevent it.
Literally every industry does that it’s called cost benefit analysis. I see you haven’t been to college or taken many business classes if you have.
they turn red when they running low but they turn amber once you fill them up with blinker fluid
That is stupid. Just have them be amber and have an indicator light for low fluid instead.
Oh shit thanks for the tip man.
nice
RadeonAesthetics you are officially the most intellectual person here cause of this comment
Better pick it up at the store along with some elbow grease.
The US has really weird lighting regulations. The car's most important blinkers can be any color, while the front has to have these 90's looking orange reflector thingies on the headlights, making US-spec cars look 10 years older than they are.
when i've heard "This is a 2002 Honda Odyssey" I couldn't think of anyone but Doug Demuro
Edit: now zztthisss is my most liked comment ever, thanks guys!
Glad im not the only one lmfao
THIS!!...is a 2020 Nissan blah blah blah, and it is the COOLEST sentence ever.
I can't tell the difference
WHEN I BREAK OF WATCHING DOUG DEMURO AND I WATCH TECH VIDEOS
Thisssssss
Alec: to manufacturers who are continuing to use this lighting setup, I have two words...
Me: fu...
Alec: STOP IT!
Me: STOP IT!
Exactly what I thought
What I thought myself XD
yo im right there with you hahahaha
Me: f*ck you
I literally said it out loud😭
While this has always bugged me, I think the biggest issue of design over safety is with headlights. Driving around at night I've seen several newer cars with stylized LED strips for headlights. They look really cool but on some models they wrap around the front turn signals. I once almost hit someone head on at a 4-way stop because I couldn't see the right turn signal that was overpowered by the head light. Great example of "Just because you can doesn't mean you should".
They're also bright AF especially Audi and BMW. Half the time I'm blinded.
if you hit them, you could have probably tried to make a case against the manufacturer and raked in god knows how much if won
I absolutely hate those led strips. They’re too bright and creates glare making it hard to see the other lights.
Those LED strips are daylights, not a headlight replacement. And they definitely add to a pedestrian safety because they are enabled all the time. This is one of the best additions to a car tbh.
Most day time running LED lights turn off when your turn signal is on.
Lol NHTSA just released their research findings and might be soon requiring manufacturers to implement amber turn signals since it has apparently resulted in reduced crashes.
Wait, when exactly was this? I don't see any recent articles, just the findings from 2009
Also: "Signal your intentions, not your actions." Would appreciate it, people who don't signal until they're already half way into the next lane, or until _after_ they've already moved completely into a turn-only lane where the signal may or may not become redundant.
"bUt iF I sIgNaL FiRst tHey WiLl cuT me OfF!!" I've heard this lame ass excuse before. I always signal before any turn or lane change.
@@WatchmakerErik You mean those people who seem to be perfectly fine cruising at their speed, leaving plenty of room in front of them, only to suddenly decide to speed up when another driver signals to get in front of them? Yeah, those people get on my nerves, too. "NO! This is MY lane!!!" God, the number of times I've had slow drivers jump in front of me at a red light just because they _had_ to have the empty lane, and then get pissy when I have to pass them on the right because I'd like to get up to the speed limit at some point...
@@accord_aero_r yep, those people. My friend never used turn signals to change lanes because of them I hate them too but it's no excuse :(
OH, and let's not forget people who think that you're supposed to turn on your turn signal if the person in front turns on theirs, regardless of your intention to turn or not. 15 cars waiting for only the first car to turn, all of them flashing their turn signals in vain. Stupid.
@@WatchmakerErik In Massachusetts this is the norm.
"Turn Signals. They're a good invention. Use them"
I'm stealing that bit and using it
new bumper sticker
Never do. Not planing too.
BMW drivers: * confused screaming *
BMW drivers: No
If you were in a war you NEVER telegraph your intentions to the enemy. Most drivers adopt the same mentality. You should never turn on a turning indicator until AFTER the turn is already commenced. This guarantees that other drivers are driving with more caution around you because they cannot know what you are going to do next.
That Doug DeMuro "This" was PERFECT!!!
I came to the comments hoping for a Daddy Doug reference. Wasn't disappointed.
@@veedubgeezer I expected to see more comments man but Istg he did it perfectly
you from DougPosting too? haha
Hahah so glad to have seen this in the comments
I actually thought for a second i was gonna hear, "and next I am going to show you some of its quirks and features." lol
Having lived in the US my whole life, I never even noticed this! To clarify, I’ve noticed that some cars used specific amber lights to indicate turning, but I never thought that this was anything other than a stylistic choice, let alone something that ought to be standardized! After having watched this, it totally makes sense why it should be. But as so many others have pointed out, we’re just happy if people use turning signals at all, let alone consistently...
It sucks because in some places like New Orleans so many drivers are so braindead that nobody uses turn signals because some fool is bound to use that as a sign to fuck you over on the road somehow
Well, when they DO use them, all the better if amber. I don't know where you live, but turn signal scofflaws aren't the majority.
I love how they combined two lights into one… only to still have it _look_ like two separate lights.
And then make two extra, separate "lights" that are on only for show.
It's called corporations cutting corners to cut costs and increase profits. But you know, ya gotta have your Apple Car Play! Also funny how they cut corners on the turn signals (safety!), but they put in all kinds of other nanny safety junk tech that somehow when people had brains didn't need in order to drive safely.
@@Skorpeonismyrealname running lights arent just "for show" lmao.. Yikes
Huh? Look up a first gen GMC Acadia. The inner taillights and upper outer white elements don’t even light up as running lights
That's what gets me the most...
“hey Phil? Is my right indicator working?”
“yeah, no, yeah, no, yeah, no”
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA 😂😂😂😂😂😂
A REALLY Underrated comment
LMFAO 🤣🤣 awesome
that guy has to love the stooges
BMW drivers: "I have absolutely no idea what this video is all about"
It’s obviously about these lights that _automatically_ start to blink before a car makes a turn.
Tbf it's usually not the drivers fault but the bimmer itself
I bought a used BMW and the first thing that failed was the indicator. It's by design.
I know with BMW there is a Euro spec and a US spec version. In Australia all the bmw's come from germany (or at least somewhere making the eurospec version...probably mexico or south africa) and have amber turn signals. In the states and Canada they all have the red turn signals...the US spec versions also have some other slight differences
If you ever feel your job is useless......................Remember, it's someone's job at the BMW, AUDI and MERC factories to install the turn signals.
As a former police officer, we were taught to always use our amber rear light bar lights because they can be seen from further away and in bad weather. This alone should be why all rear turn signals are amber.
This is the same reason why I like warmer 4300 kelvin bulbs > 5000k or the stupid leds that birn out your retinas on long drives. Warmer light is just better for bad weather and color rendering so you can watch for deer much easier….
I wish LED manufacturers would get the message and give us some warm white options > this blue white garbage…
"are you so concerned with making a few dollars per car" : car manufacters: "yes"
That's actually a massive difference, even 3 pennies would be devastating. Most of the big car companies sell so many cars that even 3 pennies would make them lose millions.
Edit: I wrote this at 2 AM, so I didn't think of the stuff other people have said. I will now ignore any more replies concerning what I was saying before.
@@nikkiofthevalley like they don't pass on the cost to the buyers ?
I think it's more of an aesthetics thing than a cost saving thing. It makes engineers life's easier that they don't have to find "room" to put the light. This is especially true on cars with smaller rear profiles. Many sports cars don't have an amber light for this reason.
@@jimmym3352 Ferrari can fit all three lights in a single circle and they still look aesthetically pleasing. 🤷🏼♀️. Also the missing amber bulbs in Chevrolet Cruze is definitely an example of that 3 pennies cost cutting.
@@nikkiofthevalley obviously in comparision to other companies they dont since they only can sell them in canada and the usa
“Turn signals, their a good invention. Use them”
BMW drivers: imma pretend I didn’t hear that
Also Audi and Mercedes-Benz drivers from my experience.
Come to NY no one uses them.
I would say nowadays it's more true about Tesla drivers - they seem forgotten how to operate a car.
imma pretend you don't know the difference between "they're" and "their"
@@MrSlinsley who's Imma?
"People don't care about their own safety."
Boy this aged like a fine wine.
"....or anyone else's"
@@ragingbullet3447 covid Happened a *year* ago.......
yeah lets all stay inside to be safe, cant even say that nd have the sarcasm cme through now...
@Infamous Grizzly huh
@Infamous Grizzly imagine being on a channel meant for people with higher intellect, and you have that genuinely shitty take
The headlight thing is so true. I can’t believe the countless amounts of people driving modern vehicles without headlights
There's so much light pollution and such congestion of other vehicles with extremely bright headlights it's too easy for someone to do in any kind of crowded area, and then as the crowd thins out they are a massive danger and still don't quite realize - yet. A car that does not have a sensor still has a clock. I don't understand why there isn't some kind of forced headlight - or at least a warning, for the love - in any modern even somewhat computer controlled vehicle. 9 or 10pm local time? HEADLIGHTS OFF pops up. Depending on aggressiveness/redundancy, it might miss dawn and dusk (which can be worse for that very reason), but always on daytime running lights have helped a lot w/that.
Around here, for some reason, they do it on purpose!! 😡
One got pulled a few days ago because of it.. (a vehicle that has automatic headlights/tail lights)
Surprise surprise they a bunch of drugs in vehicle. Way too much to be personal use. He got arrested for a bigger offense, and his children were in the vehicle. Had to get taken into care until family could be reached. (Middle of the night)
I'm living in Europe and saw that type of signals in some US cars and didn't understand why it's designed like that.
So thank you for explaining, even if I'm not sure why they did this, I know how they did this 😅👍
It began in the early 20th century when amber reflectors and marker lights denoted the front of a vehicle and red denoted the rear before two way traffic was standardized. As a result of this, amber was actually illegal to use for the rear of cars in the US and this continued for many years even long after this standard was enacted. Amber rear turn signals were actually illegal in the US when they first came out all the way up to the late 60s. As always, US is always slow with their regulatory changes for cars. Europe and others already mandated amber turn signals front and rear by the 1950s but despite America mandating them in 1963 for the front of cars, they still didn't allow them on the rear of cars until around 1968 or so after years and years of European manufacturers selling vehicles in the US at the time begging for it. However this law only gave manufacturers the option to use them and didn't require them by any means. This unfortunately has never changed in the 50+ years since and now it's so backwards as all these companies that would be (and indeed were) begging to use amber turn signals for their US models back then are now willingly switching up their taillight functionality to inferior red turn signals for cars sold here.
@@exoticcar5482 Thank you for this precisions 👍
It's annoys me when drivers only turn on their turn signals during their turn and not ahead of the turn. They should be called indicators in the US like they're named in the rest of the world and people then might not only turn them on as they're turning.
Also, as an European, I have no clue how these US cars are allowed to drive here.
@@dobrowolsk Wait so some cars imported to Europe are doing red turn signals? There must be some type of corrupt trade agreement(s) going on
Now that I've seen how much thought you put into turn signals, I must know your opinion on the "lobster claws" design trend.
im allergic to lobster
I just read that in your voice, Clint...
Oh hi Clint!
Ehh... it's fine but there are better and worse designs. It seems like Honda made the most recent Civic, then Ctrl-C Ctrl-V'd it onto every dang car they make, and the rest of the industry is following along. The unoriginality is the real shame.
But there are thorns in my side. The new Lexus NX 200t has the *stupidest* brake lights I've ever seen--the main emitter is three tiny LEDs shoved into an itty bitty corner. Yes the red chevron also lights up, but it's not a concentrated beam--more like running light intensity. In direct sunlight all you can see is a spot about the size of a quarter. I don't know how they got away with that!
Ha !
Car in front of me:
>breaks
>slow down
>makes a right turn
>turn on blinker
>finishes turn
Me: *Facepalm*
What's the point of the turn signal if you are already turning?
That's merely the driver in front of you courteously indicating (and/or arrogantly bragging about his driving prowess) that he has successfully initiated his turn!
Then there's the case of (on a 2-or-more-lane road):
1. Vehicle is driving in right-hand lane.
2. Left signal begins blinking..
3. Vehicle changes to left-hand lane.4. Vehicle continues down the road with signal still blinking unless and until the operator decides to make a right-hand turn.
In Florida (and perhaps other states as well), this is known as an "eventual left". Some eventual lefts may not be completed until several miles have been traveled or, if it's a vehicle like mine, the dashboard starts dinging/beeping after the vehicle has traveled roughly a half mile or so with the blinker on.
You must have been behind my step dad. The majority of the time, I have to tell him to signal.
*I* know where I'm going, and it's nobody else's business anyways. The turn signal is just a legal obligation I follow to avoid fines...
(I must say I am guilty of waiting at traffic lights and only switching my turn signals on when the lights go green. I figure that could annoy other drivers, especially when I'm not standing at a marked turning lane...)
Im guilty of that. Ill forget to use it until im in the turn. Then i figure its better late then never lol
You should be indicating for a minimum of 3 seconds before making any turn... EVER. sadly 90% of the fucking planet don't know this.
My favorite are the turn signals that move from left to right or right to left like a neon sign. They're called sequential turn signals. They're distracting, completely unnecessary, and, yes, usually Red when I see them.
I mean tbh you can call it a distraction. But it is kinda like a more obvious signal
@@nigward.1018intuitively, and as a car designer, it appears to look cool and effective. But in reality, the extra visual movement does nothing for clarity, and as the OP said, is far too distracting to serve a real benefit beyond the traditional blinking amber light. Unfortunately though, these “left to right” signals are not common enough to gather reliable data to prove whether they’re effective or not.
I have those on my mustang but I believe some Audi models have them too but they have to have a more obvious one alongside it due to US regulations mandating a certain size light be immediately visible with the turn signal.
How do you get distracted by a torn signal lmao
@@jsar5409"Gee golly! I don't see those very often! I wonder why more cars don't do that. Must be a style thing. But there are more bulbs to burn out. I wonder if this driver will even bother to replace a bulb that burns out because he has the other lights instead-- and the person behind me is honking because this train of thought has distracted me from the fact the light is now green."
GM : spend around 2000$ in ads for each sold vehicles
Also GM : we won’t add 2 light bulbs because to expensive smh
seems like something GM would definitely do
To be fair they have incentive on breaking cars from crashes (more purchase)
The silverados made I believe after 2006 made it have 2 brake lights on each side where the earlier ones had either amber blinkers or separate red lights for blinkers.
Most new GM cars uses LEDs instead of light bulbs. Some lower trim cars might have light bulbs and most of them are different from the brakes.
My theory is that most car manufacturers do it for aesthetic reasons as well as cost.
Haha, he just straight Doug DeMuored that odyssey intro.
Doug Dimmadome DeMuro?
@@erowidoz Owner of the Doug Dimmadome.
Yep :D classic
beautiful homage
Amazing
I'm satisfied if the driver in front of me uses the turn signal at ALL.
even the old that suppose to know better will not give a signal
Is it that common for Americans to not use turn signals?
memyselfandY21 Yep. It’s super frustrating.
@@Arlae_Nova If you actually track the number of people who don't, it's not all that common. However, it is common enough to be noticeable and encountered on at least a weekly basis, so common enough to be infuriating.
@@justanoman6497 Weekly? In my case, I see at least a couple dozen folk not using their turn signals during my work day. This isn't counting the jerks who slingshot around my car. :(
Australia mandates amber turn signals on the rear. For US imports, this is usually achieved by recolouring part of the rear light cluster, but on '59 Chevys they actually underhung little bullet lights from the horizontal fins. Australia's problem was that for many years, the rear amber turn signals doubled as reversing lights. It was Japanese cars in the mid to late seventies that introduced us to separate white reversing lights.
Oh, and my parents' 1971 XY Falcon had a "Stop Lamp Outage Telltale" as one of the warning lights on the panel. Nothing new.
"Are you so concerned with saving a few dollars per car?"
GM's ignition switch problem (where people died) could have been solved for 57 cents. So yeah.
thats misleading
To be fair that’s 57 cents per car. If you make a lot of cars that’s suddenly a lot of money. Also you have to pay people to do the thing (I assume it’s a part so install or make it). Just because it sounds small does not mean it’s a barrel scrapping tactic.
@@joeh4955 So it's ok to "do the math" and figure out it'll cost less to pay out court claims of people maimed or killed when your part (that you knew to be defective) fails. In my book, that's culplable negligence at best.
@Daemon Can If they knew it was defective then yes that is negligence. But if they didn’t know or have a way of knowing and they chose to use cheaper parts, well that’s capitalism at work.
I’m not familiar with the specifics of this case, I’m just commenting on the corporate structure of America.
@@joeh4955 Indeed, they chose to use a cheaper part, and it was not up to spec. Where they failed was the fact that they knew there was a problem in 2005, yet did not issue a general recall until 2014 due to "cost issues". Their actuaries ran the numbers and decided it was cheaper to litigate/pay out claims than fix the problem at the time. In fact, if someone hadn't sued them and gotten depositions from some of the rogues involved, GM would have probably continued to deny the issue.
The Wikipedia page on this is quite good.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_ignition_switch_recalls#Cause_of_ignition_failure
Whenever you're feeling completely useless, just remember that it's somebody's job to install turn signals on a BMW
A machine's job, most likely. But people spent even more effort designing/programming/building the machine to do that...
@@leandrog2785 Unless they spent even more effort designing/programming/building the machine that built that machine...
Andrew Michael Or those who spent their whole lives on efforts to designing/programming/building a machine that makes more machines reserved just to build one machine...
Betting that I use the signals on my BMW more than you do on whatever you drive.
Arguably they're just fulfilling the minimum legal requirement when they design turn signals for BMW. So it's a vital task. It's just not much practical use for the users.
Nobody would know if a BMW had amber turn signals or not, since their drivers never seem to use them.
this is a underrated comment.
A man is driving down the highway when a BMW changes lanes in front of him using its turn signals.
The man immediately pulls over to call the police and report a stolen BMW.
Where did this joke emerge from? I heard it on another car channel, I think Engineering Explained...
Omg this is an ongoing joke amongst professional drivers
BMW owners use their turn signals, it's just that poor people can't see them.
I keep having to come back to this video every time crappy turn signals almost get me killed.
The solution for this here in California is just incredibly simple; no one uses turn signals, ever. No ambiguity at all. Problem solved.
Same here in the northeast.
Ah, another cultural crossover with the beautiful Netherlands. Some drivers here saw how you solved this problem and decided to mimic that. Now they have one hand free to enjoy their Stroopwafel at all times.
2 birds with 1 stone.
Same problem in Texas. Everytime I go into the nearest city, it seems more and more people forget what a turn signal is. Along with what speed limits are.
That's because when we use the turn signal people take that as their signal to hit the accelerator to stop you from "cutting them off" and they accelerate to stop you from getting in their lane no matter how far back they are.
@@6681096 Bingo! Houston was the _worst_ for that, leading to the Malicious Compliance version of turn signals; engaged when you're _just_ far enough ahead that you know they won't _quite_ be able to pull forward and block you off in time, but not a millisecond earlier. Always a fun game.
I never fully understood how important indicators are until I started driving myself. I’ve also began to understand why my dad gets so annoyed when other drivers don’t indicate.
My Mom was a Briggs so we are cousins. Perhaps quite removed but cousins.
Yep, as a dad I concur. I don't care what you do on the road, just let me know your intentions beforehand so I can make plans.
Indicators are only important in highway congestion and intersections with pedestrians, other than that you don’t need them.
@@spiderofthehood6127 Stay off the road.
@ Make me left lane hogger
The Doug Demuro parody had me laughing so hard. Loved it!
I was looking for this comment. I thought it was Doug for a sec
THHHIIIIS....hahahahaha
Thisssssss!
@@ReynaldoVelasquez This! I kept on scrolling through the comments forever and thought „why doesn’t anyone get this reference?“
@@steffen_a Same
Amber lights prevent amberguity
"It truly baffles me how little people care about this" - Me, about almost everything
You are always welcome in Europe Amber
I agree with the quote, except the last two words should be removed.
I read this while he was saying it
Well people care about you🤗
That's what a simp would say lmao
I’d love to start at just getting people to use their turn signals in general. One of my top 3 pet peeves on the road
Yep. I've stopped police cars (while on my bike) and told them off for not indicating.
@@DrNickBailey good, at least someone else is fighting the good fight. It just kills me, it’s probably the thing that takes the least amount of effort inside a vehicle since most of them are within reach with your hand already on the wheel
1. People who don't use turn signals
2. People who go under the speed limit in normal driving conditions
3. Slow drivers in the left lane.
@@DrNickBailey that's some Karen tier stuff.
Just yell at them and keep going like people do in their cars.
@@ZirkyPlays yes, yes and yes. A very viable top 3
On modern cars in Europe the hazard lights will come on when you press hard on the brake pedal. This means that you can distinguish between a gentle braking (three lights) and a hard braking/panic braking (FIVE lights). A fantastic invention when things comes to a sudden halt on the highway due to traffic jam.
I believe the hazard lights come on only after you stop after the emergency braking. But some cars flash their brake lights during emergency braking.
Anyone used to this fact(brake lights flashing with emergency braking) will stomp on their brake if they see the car in front start flashing both their brake lights(some American hazard lights), making it extremely dangerous for that person and everyone behind them
@@mike_junmin Some cars will flash there hazard lights while (!) breaking, but the trend is going to flashing breaklights and turning hazard lights on (only) after a complete stop
flashes are also very rapid and can't be confused with the blinking sequence of the turn light
@@mike_junmin I don't THINK - I KNOW. I live in europe - i see it EVERY day driving to and from work. The hazard light that are flashing after you've stopped ar manually operated.
It's a very good idea, but in older cars you can lit the emergency lights every time you believe you are slowing below the usual speed expected for that road. You mantain the emergency light till you see that the cars behind you are slowing behind you.
In my country( EU country) all cars have separate amber indicators and brake lights and once when I was driving behind a car that was brought by a non-EU country, I was so confused and didn't realise that they were indicating to turn( and turned and cut infront of me) and just thought that they were playing with the brakes.. It is literally so stupid to have the rear lights serve both functions! It's overcomplicated and requires you time to think to realise what other cars are doing!
I like it when mirrors have an amber turn signal on them.
it honestly looks kinda nice, i also like the brake light turn signal because it looks nice too lol
I've seen that on a lot of larger vehicles, and it's a good idea, especially when they're trying to merge.
@@bridgetthewench my 2007 dakota has amber brake lights and i'm considering getting replacement rear lights without amber lights jus for style
Drivers who don't signal their intentions apparently have none.
Turn signals on mirrors are mandated in Europe now too
I don't know about my fellow Canadians, but I hold a jar of maple syrup out of the window to signal a turn.
@Reality ProgrammerI think that means left, whereas the maple syrup is right
Checking in from Alberta and can confirm.
@Reality Programmer An empty Tim Hortons cup means "Something has gone horribly wrong. I may need medical attention."
@Reality Programmer True but I think as long as you apologize after its ok
Nah, I use a hockey stick or a moose antler. Both are legally-recognized alternatives. One may have used all their maple syrup on their breakfast (signalling with an empty syrup jar is a $250 fine).
"Turn signals. They're a good invention. Use them."
_Floridians have left the chat_
As a driver who learned to drive in Florida, can confirm NOBODY USES A FKN SIGNAL, it's not hard to flick your ring finger people jesus.
It's the same way in Alabama, unfortunately. I've even saw Officers fail to signal their intentions!
@@The.Plague haha I just recently visited Northern AL and all I could think was how much better the drivers were! Must not be universal 😂
@@Neilimea Then you must've gone to Huntsville. Drivers there are MUCH better than they are around my local area (Huntsville is like an hour away for me). I suppose any larger city is also better than the local ones. I know I had rather drive in Huntsville, or especially Birmingham, than to have to deal with the local idiots that don't know how to use a turn signal. And don't even get me started on the ones towing a boat, or trailer. They don't seem to know the existence of the wiring harness, much less how to plug it in, nor properly wire it! I honestly believe a lot of it is restricted to the local area. Of course, you'll get the occasional idiot anywhere, but I have noticed that other towns within an hour or two drive, are much better than they are here local. I suppose that it doesn't help that the town was originally mainly for older people either, but there are a lot of young people now, and you would think they would take pride in learning how to use a turn signal properly...
@@The.Plague Damn you nailed it, it was Huntsville! I have to wonder if maybe that's true because rural drivers don't really have to learn how to drive properly because they're usually one of 10 cars on the road so there's more room to be an idiot. Hahaha Then again, Orlando at one point (maybe still) was the worst city in the country for pedestrian deaths by car...
>15k dislikes
in what UNIVERSE is ANY of this disagreeable
????
How dare you criticize america - the dislikers, probably
it’s a silly over exaggerated video, if you can’t tell a car is slowing down then you should not be on the road.
Americans are VERY insecure and they get upset very easily when even the slightest criticism is aimed at them.
I remember watching this video a year or two ago and thinking that this video essay had no pragmatic implications. However, over the course of the past year I have run into various instances where this sort of thing has become relevant. This guy actually makes some legit points.
No
In other words, you grew up?
@@Shakiahjprod what's that supposed to mean? What are you on about?
@@Shakiahjprod that makes no sense. Living in North America has resulted in most people here having little to no issues whatsoever recognizing a turn signal over a brake light. Brake/signal combinations have been around since before I was old enough to drive, and I've never once experienced any of the issues stated here. It seems like a no issue problem, unless you're just very used to amber being the only color used for signaling turns. Basically, it's YOUR lack of world experience causing you to have issues recognizing the difference between a brake light and a turn signal, yet you're saying a person who never experienced said issue was just being childish about it.
@@atheos.1383 while that is true for car with fully working taillights running lights and blinkers. The same doesn't hold any water what so ever if any of the mention lights are out. You dont have this issue with yellow turn lights. . . . So to miss that the first time around is quite odd. Only takes a seconds or two to think about it. So really the whole Americans comment is mostly moot
"THIS is a Honda Odyssey [...]" Reminded me of Doug DeMuro there
The whole section was Doug lol
He should have made a cameo, and say "Hey... that's what I say!" 🤣
I came here to say this too! That HAD to be intentional!
That was the point
This whole video is eerily similar to Doug De Muro 😗
Any time your designer relies on a "good defensive driver", you are inviting a crash. Also surprised the brake light circuit monitor isn't standard yet.
Recall seeing ads of stateside cars having blown light indicators in the 70s, and drivers tend to favor being offensive.
It actually used to be standard and now it's not
like many features, you could make one and install it if you want it.
I had one on a Nissan 300zx, the irony was the module got screwed up and it would throw the warning when the lights were working fine.
We all have break light monitors. They're called police. At least that's how you end up finding out that your break light is out most of the time. They aren't very easy to check on your own.
This practice began as a cost saving when turn signals were introduced and became common practice. German cars being retrofit with combo lights has to do with the size a turn signal must be as a percentage of brake light size. A lot of cars use a small amber LED strip for the turn signal which while functional, doesn’t satisfy US highway laws due to insufficient size.
driving tips:
- ALWAYS use your turn signal even if no one is around and you're in the middle of nowhere. This will condition an automatic response and make you less likely to forget in the future.
- turn on your turn signal BEFORE you brake
- if you and the driver across from you in a 4-way stop are both going straight YOU CAN BOTH GO AT THE SAME TIME
another one is if you are making a left turn at a light without an arrow, if you pull into the intersection under green and you don't get the opportunity to go until the light changes you are still allowed to make your turn even if the light has already turned red. Basically the color of the light only applies if you haven't entered the intersection yet.
- if you and the driver across from you in a 4-way stop are both going straight YOU CAN BOTH GO AT THE SAME TIME
Not a good idea to trust this because of the far-too-many people who fail to signal turns.
The last tip is wrong in California, and something my DMV test taker dinged me on. Honestly that line of thinking is probably the worst thing for congested 4 way stop signs. If everyone just waited until the person on the left went there would be no confusion when some people turn and some go straight.
Check the vehicle code for your state: signals aren't always required. Many states only require them when the turn or lane change is likely to interfere with other drivers' paths of travel.
Number 4 may very well save your life...
Amber feels so natural in turn signals that to me the american all red design looks a little strange. And a combined stop/turn signal is an outright atrocity that is a real safety hazard. I hope manufacturers and insurance agencies will pay attention to your videos. Thank you for drawing attention to this problem!
It's not really that bad because most people don't use their turn signals a yway
@@ahalfsesameseedbun7472 lol true, that isn't so good though, like here in Italy when someone doesn't use the turn segnal I fucking scream at them to turn it on, too many times I almost crashed because people turned in front of me without using turn signals
German cars as well I’m sure there are others. Not just American cars
Plus the new mustang turn signals are much better.
@@Spider-tank755 you Italians drive like ur in a rally cant even cross the street normally
I love the Doug DeMuro car review intro “THIS is a Honda Odyssey”
I remember seeing this "feature" in a Doug DeMuro video and thinking, "Wow, that's really cool, wonder why I've never seen this here in Europe?".
That's why. It kills people.
You see the Cruze ass at 07:21? That is a working blinker in the asian pacific model Cruze made by GM Shanghai. Yep, they turned it into a placeholder for the American model.
According to a 2009 report from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “amber signals show a +5.3% effectiveness in reducing involvement in two-vehicle crashes where a lead vehicle is rear-struck in the act of turning left, turning right, merging into traffic, changing lanes, or entering/leaving a parking space. The advantage of amber rear turn signals is shown to be statistically significant.”
@@punknowledge2200 that means 5% less new car sales for car industry you dolt /s
I just always figured you needed some sort of common sense to drive, but I guess not and everything has to be laid out on a silver platter now.
@@justjamesAMX What does "common sense" have to do with not noticing something? Even extremely intelligent people sometimes don't notice something. Making that something more distinct from other somethings makes is more likely to be noticed.
Most of the People at 02:30
He: I have two words!
Me: Fu...
He: Stop it!
Me: ...Stop it!
This is literally what i did 🤣
We:
Yeppppp...
Yup
2 words:
• Shut up
• F__k off
• Get out
• Your mom (nullified)
• No bi__es?
*> Stop it*
How about Chevy's (Chevies?) that turn on the reverse lights when you unlock or lock the car. This is a great feature to help everyone around you waste their time thinking you're backing up.
YES YES YES…this is one of my personal pet-peeve design flaws.
Also, the plural of Chevy would be Chevys (no apostrophe).
Sounds like another game-changing idea by our good friends at General Motors
@@chrisluth4427 It would be Chevies like in brackets since the y becomes ies.
Someone at Chevrolet should have been fired for this idea. And Chevrolet should recall every vehicle with this feature and disable it. I can’t tell you how many times I have stopped in a parking lot to wait for a vehicle to back out, or just to make sure they aren’t moving and they see me, only to see someone approaching, getting into, or getting out of the vehicle. Absolutely hate this feature on GM vehicles.
They do this so that it is easy to find your car in a parking lot. You just unlock the car and look for the flashing lights.
It seems that all problems in North America arise from one thing: American carelessness.
This isn’t a problem.
"Are you that concerned by saving a couple dollars?"
Car Execs all together : YES
Yeah. They sell 800k+ Ford f series trucks a year so if they saved $2 per truck that would be an extra $1.6 million dollars profit.
@@dillonh321 exactly! Plus their only goal is shareholder profit.
You didn't watch the video
@@juliusperseus8612 how didn't I?
Yet they spend so much on research for faking the sound of a solid clunk of your door closing so your car sounds solid
"Turn signals. They're a good invention. Use them."
That alone got my upvote. The rest is filler.
u have 2 go back
Up... Vote....
I mean, what else would you call it, "thumbs up"?
...Weirdo.
@@nokkonokko Updoot
updog
The Daddy Doug “THIS” is iconic!
More people should be talking about this. I had an instant flashback when I heard it
Someone noticed
@stylis sofo Right, I was even expecting him to say quirks and features
I was hoping that was a nod to Doug
YES
Also I’ve encountered cars with all red tail lights and they press the brake periodically and it has perfectly lined up with the normal repetition of a blinker, so then I think they are trying to change lanes into me, but they are just braking weirdly
What you don't seem to realize is that it's not really that big of a deal here in the US, since most of us haven't figured out how to use turn signals anyway.
"Turn signals". Please elaborate?
Indicators
Eamon Murtaugh Thanks, Eamon. That solves a 50 year old mystery for me. When I was 14, I panicked when I saw a *flashing red light* on the rear left side of a car. The driver’s hand must have slipped off the wheel and struck the stalky thing. SHIVERS!
Isn't the steering wheel supposed to be the thing you use for turning?
Setekh No, you have to use your Brain!
Plus, a common feature on European cars: flashing braking lights on hard braking, is impossible with this setup.
yes. it is mandatory on all new cars for european market
Additional thing - when we (Europeans) see just a single stronger lit red taillight (for example 5th car ahead of me) I have a clear signal that I should be prepared for braking in few seconds. It's very common when driving on highways during heavy traffic, but no jam.
It is illegal in many parts of the United States. Many jurisdictions have laws that state that no one can operate a vehicle with flashing lights other than turn signals except for emergency vehicles (police, fire, tow trucks etc.)
I meant not "behind" but "ahead" :)
@@GIBbeerDST , Comments can be edited if you wanna correct booboos. ;3
Here in Germany it's encouraged to use your hazard lights at the end of a traffic jam on the Autobahn. It is known to save lifes. Also don't your indicator lights on the dash don't blink faster when a indicator is out.
As well some newer cars turn on hazard lights automatically when breaking hard
Yep but as it don't happen often and sometimes it takes a few tries to realize it's blinking faster
They do blink faster,even on older cars in the US
In America some models do have blinkers that behave differently when one is out and others dont. For example in my Ford work van the turn signal does speed up when a blinker is out. In my personal Dodge truck however nothing changes.
In America it is really scatter shot among manufacturers and their models in how or even whether the driver is alerted to a lamp issue. Long ago I had a 93 Camaro that requires the third tail light to work for cruise control to operate. Funny enough that was the only thing Chevy apparently cared about. My in law had a 2006 Windstar that would turn on the check engine light when it detected a light out. Nothing like needing a scan tool to figure out that issue. In my Dodge truck no F's are given when a light goes out.
They blink faster on older cars here in the United States when one of the turning lights are blown out.
1:03 mans did the Doug DeMuro "this"
why does this have so many dislikes? Are people really that offended over turn signals?
Yeah I've seen multiple comments saying "make me" or "you have no business knowing where im going"
Criticising North American rear lights is unpatriotic I guess.
A lot of BMW owners follow this channel apparently
One guy was so offended he made a video about it !
@@900stx7 Can you link it please?
Did he just do a Doug DeMuro impression?
"Thhhhhhhhhiiissss... is a ..."
glad I wasn't the only one to catch that
Yep, Aging wheels has done this for ages too.
Yes. Yes he did it
1:03 ...was NOT expecting Doug DeMuro to just show up out of no where!
quirks and features: tail light edition
Still waiting for the Doug Score...
Jesse Burke yeah me neither. Had to do a double take to make sure it wasn’t doug
THIS IS A 2002 HONDA ODYSSEY AND THIS IS WHY THE TURN SIGNALS ARE BAD
What
Not to mention in some cars, when the headlights are on, the rear lights turn on red. Breaking or turning simply increases the brightness. It's terrible.
In Iran all heavy vehicles have a brake light in the front, and once I got used to it, it helped to figure out whether it would be safe to do a left turn in sight of an oncoming truck, more generally helped to anticipate the truck's trajectory
That's a good idea, I'm surprised more countries don't do that
That's a good idea. If a car repeatedly brakes behind you, and you're a member of the 20% of mankind who are kind, you will just let him pass. The other 80% will play Gandalf.
@@jggouvea Why would they *brake* behind you when they want to assholishly insist on you letting them pass, when they have a perfectly good horn at their disposal? Passive-aggressive road rage?
Plus, if you're in a one-lane road, usually they can pass after waiting like two minutes for the striped lines to show up. If you're on a road with more than that and there's someone occupying the other lanes, they're SOL, and if they can't wait, they can suck a fart, it sucks to suck.
@@StupidIsMyJob The horn isn’t supposed to be used to bully slower drivers either, please don’t encourage that behaviour.
@@StupidIsMyJob Stay out of the left lane, you bloody slowpoke.
"THIS is a-"
Daddy Demuro is that you?
haha that had to be purposeful
He’s only got one t shirt on though
This! Is a 2002 Honda Odyssey
Exactly!!!
@Castle Bravo no it didn't
I recently learned a bit more about this, and was reminded of this video.
1) A big reason why some cars that have amber rear turn signals in Europe don't in the US is that the US requires the lights to be a minimum size (I have seen 50 square cm and 2200 square mm quoted). That is, if the car has separate brake and tail lights, they must both be that size, but if there is only one light it still only needs to be that size: having separate turn signals and brake lights doubles the amount of space you need for lights. Also, about 4 years ago Mazda spokespeople explained to members of the automotive press that the US versions of their cars didn't get the cool sequential arrow turn signals used in the rest of the world because US law said each of the sequential lamps had to meet that minimum size.
2) you will be pleased (or annoyed) to know that there IS data to support your hunches: a 2009 NHTSA study shows cars with amber rear turn signals are 5.3% less likely to be hit, compared with the 1986 study that showed cars with third brake lights were 4.3% less likely to be hit. And a study by the University of Michigan showed people react faster to the brake lights on cars with amber rear turn signals.
And not only is there no scientific evidence to support the idea that bigger lights are better (the US standard was developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers in the 50's, mostly arbitrarily), but a 1993 study by the NHTSA found bigger lights made no difference.
www.acarplace.com/2018/01/index/
That article is sprinkled with pictures of the export versions of classic US cars showing off their amber rear turn signals.
SpyOne cool stuff thanks for posting
This was actually interesting
turn signals don't have to be big if they're bright but tell that to the dumbass that makes these laws
As for the sequential arrow turn signals, there's a workaround - apparently US code specifies minimum area, but only at the start of a flash cycle, so it can be done by flashing entire light then leaving just one LED lit, that way it's still considered the same cycle, and transitioning into arrow turn signal.
Doug DeMuro reviewed at least one car that had this solution, but I can't remember which one was it.
First of all: Per 3:44, tail lights sharing the function of turning signals and brake lights is ambiguous even when both brake lights are working. If it the minimum size for tail lights in North America were the same as the rest of the world, then separate tail lights for braking and turning would surely be more common and in that case, I'm sure Alec would have had a lot less to say in this video.
And if red rear blinkers were allowed but still had to be separate from the brake lights, I don't think this video would have much to say at all.
Stupid design for definite. Another thing I've thought of is the fact that someone might be expecting the amber signals on some cars and never see them thanks to the fact that it isn't unified.
When a motor scooter has proper turn signals and a full size car doesn't.
kurisu7885 there hasn’t been any full size sedans since the death of the ford crown Vic
Justin Leonard How bout “not-sedans”
Right?
Justin Leonard uhhhh bmw 5 series and equivalent merc bmw 7 series and s class
@@justinleonard6183 Rip 1992-2011
Finally. European here, lived 7 years + countless summers in the US. I totally agree with you. Driving with hazards on means I am at the end of a traffic jam it signals imminent bigger slowdown on. highway to anyone arriving from behind. This is a universal signal in Europe it helps avoiding pile-ups. It is insane that this would be forbidden by law ...
It is also forbidden in some countries in Europe, Finland and Sweden at least where only stopped vehicles may use hazards.
It’s common among truck drivers, but as you said, only when we are last in line. Provincial or state (and likely federal) law mandates four way activation if travelling under so and so speed. It would be more illegal if you didn’t.
In America, hazards are used to indicate your car is a hazard, and using them while driving can confuse people into thinking you’re stopped/stalled. They also won’t be able to tell if you’re signaling or tapping on the brakes or not, and sometimes it makes it hard to see if the driver in front of you has his brake lights on. If you need to indicate you’re slowing down because of an accident, that’s what brake lights and following distance are for.
@@Starkl3t maybe if you used AMBER color lights like everyone else in the world to avoid confusion of important signals ... sigh.
Andras Libal hazards use your amber light my dude
A light on the dash telling you if a brake light is out should be a standard feature.
But what if that light is also out?
@@qwertyuiopzxcfgh That's getting a bit nitpicky and petty. When's the last time you had a warning light on your instrument cluster go out?
@@exoticcar5482 Yea, I wasn't being serious. Should've added a "/s" I guess.
Not only a 16 yr old minivan, my *1987* Toyota Supra had a warning light for burned out taillights. And each taillight had 2 bulbs so you still had a half working taillight while you were being warned.
@@JoeUrbanYYC If only Subaru would do the same thing (and also not put the oil filter underneath and in-between the exhaust manifold...)
Oh God yes!!! I always argued with my friends - fans of the American automobile industry - on this topic!! In my entire life I have not found anyone who would agree with me on this issue! And here is your video!! Thank you very much, Author!! Now I know that I am not alone in this opinion!!
When I first started driving in the US after learning in the UK, I was totally thrown by the sudden appearance of red indicators. I could never quite pin down why they bugged me so much, but this makes my dislike rational again. Thank you!
Havent experienced US redlights but i can imagine
Whenever I've visited my family that's stateside, I am paranoid on the road. There are small differences between Europe and the US that just make me uncomfortable.
Though I do like the idea that you can turn right at a red light... That just makes sense. It'd be left here in the UK
The same thing happened to me years ago when we went to Florida on holiday. Driving from the airport, and I was sat in traffic being totally bewildered by the flashing red lights. It makes no sense whatsoever!
@@himaro101 I can just imagine the insurance chaos that would cause, being able to turn left on a red. 😂😂
American cars don’t have rear fog lamps either. Which I find strange.
God, I hate red turn signals. Especially those lane-changers that like to indicate their intended action by flipping the signal for a split second before turning them off. "Why did that guy step on his brake? Is the other brake light out? Why is he changing lanes? Oh...red..."
THIS! As a commuter, these sh*t tier brake/turn signal combos are awful in the hands of the person who flips them on 1/2 second before coming over. Why even bother signalling? These are a pet peeve of mine, and I've actually refused to buy cars because of the tail lights or insisted that I get an aftermarket tail light that has the amber signals.
I hate accidents and I'm a stickler for auto safety features. Too many preventable deaths.
You have in one sentence conveyed the most valid argument for amber turn signals, and one which he missed in his ten minute rant.
@@larryclemens1850 To put it even more simply, a single flash of red on a single side will always be ambiguous, but a single flash of amber on one side will never be ambiguous
True but there's always a third light on the top of the car that signals breaks. 3 lights if breaking, 1 if turning.
Despise people who do that. It's like, if you're going to change lanes...USE your blinker. That means turn it on BEFORE you move, look, move over, THEN you can turn it off.
“This is a 2002 Honda Odyssey”
Hi 2002 Honda Odyssey
I've thought this for years. Amber turn signals are much better. There have also been some SUVs and crossovers recently with oddly low blinkers which I don't like.
Having amber turn signals is also consistent in the sense that red means stop, amber means 'pay attention, caution', just like on traffic lights. In Europe at least, it's also the rule for emergency vehicles, where motorway breakdown and maintenance use flashing amber lights up top (blue is reserved for police, ambulance, fire).
true we over here in Europe have pretty good traffic rules
It is also important when changing lanes. Ironically he left it out in the video, but when you're in dense traffic and you can only see one of the taillights of the cars in adjacent lanes, you won't know that a red light is a turn signal as it will appear as a solid red light until it goes out for the first time and then come back on in the same time interval. The red may just mean the driver in the lane left or right of you is braking, but a turn signal of a separate color will alert you that a driver intends to merge into the lane you're in much more quickly and effectively than a blinking light of the same color (or same light in the case the brake light is also stupidly enough the turn signal as well).
@@gg-eo6ez Unless it's a tow truck - in some states (maybe all?) they're permitted to use the ol' red and blue just like the police. I live in Kansas and it's always a crapshoot on whether you're about to come across someone getting a ticket or getting a tow.
Well, Amber (Amarillo-auto) in spain is reserved for evergency vehicles (except police, police usew blue) , Slow vehicles and tow trucks.
The law was changed recently and every emergency vehicles needs to have blue lights
@@gg-eo6ez The problem is that everytime I've seen roadwork on a highway there are 5-10 cops just chilling and doing nothing with their lights on
2017 Mustang be like : le,le,left ..le,le,left
Sequential turn signals. Thunderbird had them, too.
You mean that annoying pattern is factory default? Always thought it was the owner customizing their car in an annoying way.
@@addanametocontinue i think so 😆
@@addanametocontinue still funny it's the top selling Muscle Car in the world
“Hahaha! Those are awesome! I saw them on a BMW this past weekend!” (-James)
as a European, I approve of everything you are saying
Says a person who drives on the wrong side of the road. ;-)
@@CJGilliam last time I checked 90% of Europeans use the right side of the road, which is probably what you mean by "right" side
@@CJGilliam um only the British get that one confused. Sweden changed a while back to the right and every other country I've been to uses it too
@@zoravar.k7904 52 years ago was indeed a while back
As an American, I don’t give a shit what you approve of
Here in Germany (well, it's probably the case everywhere else too) I've noticed that there are newer cars with LED daylight driving lights that double as indicator lights. To me, this is not looking better and it is also irritating. I can't imagine that the manufacturer saves that much money with this.
I love when someone is this passionate about something like this.
Seems like a very specific reason to be angry. The overwhelming majority of drivers never even notice these things. This limp wrist apparently needs a hug from his boyfriend to make it through the day.
@@takuyatanaka5587 I wouldn't mind a hug from my boyfriend every day, it would make each day much easier
@@billabobyt sounds like a plan
@@takuyatanaka5587 That is why I always reach my arm out whenever I want to turn. People almost never pay attention to turn signals
BMW drivers never use them.
Cadillac drivers never turn them off.
Cadillac added a warning message and chime if you leave the signal on for too long for the past 20 years lol
Aye I have a 2011 Cadillac STS with the best brake light / blinkers out of any car... AND I know how to turn them off. I'm not some old senile man. Lmao
Also Buick drivers leave them on as well.
@@SlickBlackCadillac ive had that warning remind me to turn mine off and im only 34
@@SlickBlackCadillac Old people can't hear chimes.
Just as dangerous - back-up lights that double as courtesy lights. If they don't necessarily mean the vehicle is in reverse then there are too many false warnings to be effective.
YES. All too often in parking lots there are very new cars that seem to be in reverse. But the car never moves. Then, the driver leaves the vehicle and I finally understand that... those lights just stay on until the driver walks away from the car? What the heck?
I constantly see people waiting for a car to pull out in parking garages when the guy is sitting in the car having a smoke/on the phone. They see the red light, they assume they're backing up and it's not just a car idling.
It's infuriating for a cyclist.
Cough GM cough
@@planescaped I see that all the time, it's fairly obvious that the driver doesn't have their foot on the brake, so they're not in reverse or drive. And manual transmissions aren't common enough to even be considered, especially on GM vehicles that do this.
What really pisses me off is when people slow down before turning on their signal. The signal is an indication that you are about to slow down. Slowing down is not an indication that you're about to signal. 😤
I find myself irritated by poor signaling as well, and I remind myself of what my defensive driving instructor said when I was a teen. She said that you can rely on other drivers to use their vehicles incorrectly. Your job is to use what information you can pull from the situation, such as slowing down without warning and not indicating why, and react in anticipation of what may occur…and not just by shaking your head in disgust (ok, I do that as well!). Luckily, braking alone even without a turn signal share enough information to avoid almost all accidents. She said that it’s not about being right. It’s about not getting hurt or hurting others.