Green light on rear bumper to show when you gain energy

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Caracalover

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 5, 2011
Messages
560
Location
Tujunga
I often wish there was three LED's on the rear of the car showing others when I am regenerating energy by slowing down. One green light for 10KW, 2 for 20, and three for 30. How hard would this be?

I would think that those behind me would understand why I am "timing" the stops more if they understood why I ws doing it.
 
I think staged brake lights like Tesla does with the Roadster would be much more intuitive. Green lights would give just the opposite of the desired affect I believe and would not likely be understood by most everyone...

Caracalover said:
I often wish there was three LED's on the rear of the car showing others when I am regenerating energy by slowing down. One green light for 10KW, 2 for 20, and three for 30. How hard would this be?

I would think that those behind me would understand why I am "timing" the stops more if they understood why I ws doing it.
 
I agree, but they should also be red. The other drivers don't care if you are braking from friction or regen. They just need to know you are slowing down.
 
i always thought (now that color is so easy to do) that brake lights should change based on the rate of application. red for medium stops, flashing red for hard stops and amber for just slowdowns.

with coasting, downshifting or just being in Eco mode. we have waaay too many rear-enders. granted some accidents can not be prevented simply because the driver is not "driving" but there are conscientious drivers out there that still hit people. this is a problem and changing the archaic brake light system should be addressed
 
I'm glad you mentioned coasting and downshifting, because I don't find that ECO mode regen is any more aggressive w.r.t. slowing down as is driving a standard and downshifting. In fact in my old car I intentionally used that technique to AVOID causing my brake lights to come on because I feel that excessive use of brake lights tends to cause ripple effects as cars behind see the brake lights and hit their brakes, etc. and overall this tends to impede traffic flow. If my brake lights come on, you KNOW I am really slowing down.

Also what about cars ahead that are actually accelerating, but just started up from going slow or stopped. I bet a fair number of those rear-enders are the result of this situation.

The net is that most drivers follow way too close. There should always be enough room between you and the car ahead to come to a COMPLETE stop. We all learned this when we learned to drive. And yes, we all violate that rule in heavy traffic, and we could probably successfully argue that with our clogged roads we NEED to follow more closely than the officially proscribed "two second rule" would dictate. But I've noticed that drivers these days drive very dangerously when it comes to tailgating. And not only is it dangerous, but I can now see how inefficient it is since you're constantly on the accelerator to keep that tiny gap between you and the car ahead while you go through all the ripples caused by brakes coming on and off. Yeah, I know we'll never change it, but at least by driving the LEAF I have incentive to maintain a good distance to the car in front to even out those braking/accelerating cycles. And as a side benefit (provided someone doesn't cut me off) I have extra room in case someone does come up to me from behind too quickly.
 
lpickup if this board had a like function or a +1 you would have gotten one from me.

@all, I'm always wishing my brake lights were on when my Prius regen brakes with my foot off the gas pedal. I'd love it no matter the color or intensity if the lights on the rear of my car would come one when my foot is completely off the gas pedal.

I will say though that I would not want it to come on any time the system is regen braking as I live in a hilly area and I sometimes see regen at highway speeds in excess of 70 mph when I'm still accelerating down a large hill. It would seem counter intuitive to have brake lights come on when my speed is increasing.

But modern cars are computer controlled fly by wire anyway. Let the system decide if you are gaining speed, maintaining speed, or losing speed. Make the brake lights come on any time you are losing speed and the system is regen braking no matter the state of the pedals. For example:

1. I'm going down a big hill that I crested at 55 MPH and will be at 70 MPH by the bottom of the hill, I take my foot off the accelerator pedal but don't apply the brakes, system is regen braking all the way down the hill as I gain speed, no brake lights.

2. I'm going towards a red light at 45 MPH on mostly level ground, I take my foot off the accelerator pedal but don't apply the brakes, system is regen braking, brake lights come on. My car slows down enough that brake lights make sense.

make the system smart enough to know the difference between 1 and 2 and I'm all for it.
 
dhanson865 said:
But modern cars are computer controlled fly by wire anyway. Let the system decide if you are gaining speed, maintaining speed, or losing speed. Make the brake lights come on any time you are losing speed and the system is regen braking no matter the state of the pedals.

I think you're onto something (although I'm sure this would be hell to get through any safety regulators).

Why stop there? Add automotive radar to determine if the speed differential between you and the car behind is above a certain threshold and they are within a distance that would indicate that they should slow down and flash a warning at them. Kind of like the reverse of what accident prevention systems in high end cars offer.
 
Many years back I had an acceleration sensitive brake light on my motorcycle and sports car called the Voevodsky Cyberlight. The harder you braked the faster the light flashed. It was very effective.

DaveinOlyWA said:
i always thought (now that color is so easy to do) that brake lights should change based on the rate of application. red for medium stops, flashing red for hard stops and amber for just slowdowns.
 
By adding a green LED to the red LEDs, one could get:
1. Green - gaining speed
2. off - steady speed
3. Yellow (Green & Red) - slowing slightly
4. Red - slowing significantly
5. rapid-flashing Red - major braking

Having #3 would typically give a following car almost an extra second of warning.
Yes, a law change would be required.
 
garygid said:
By adding a green LED to the red LEDs, one could get:
1. Green - gaining speed
2. off - steady speed
3. Yellow (Green & Red) - slowing slightly
4. Red - slowing significantly
5. rapid-flashing Red - major braking

Having #3 would typically give a following car almost an extra second of warning.
Yes, a law change would be required.

The key to me is that slightly vs major has to be based on accelerometers, GPS, or RPM style speed indicators not pedal travel/brake activation/throttle position. I.E. I want all 5 of those modes to behave the same no matter what my foot is doing. It's all about relative speed not whether or not brakes are involved.
 
i agree with Gary, this should be the system required now. now will color blindness play a part and should color schemes be changed? so we need someone who knows this first hand to chime in.
 
I'm no expert on color blindness (or much of anything else ;) ), but I've noticed that most "green" traffic signals these days are not green at all, but more of a cyan color. I assume this change was made to address the red/green color blindness problem.

Ray
 
I want a way for other drivers to know that I am actually fueling my vehicle as I drive. If I want them to know I am slowing down I can and do touch my brake pedal. I think a power gaining gadget would promote the EV movement, and when people don't understand what it is, they will ask questions. I see that as a positive. Small enough lights wouldn't be distracting to other drivers, but CA Vehicle code being what it is I can see there being an issue with it. A sign in the back window that lights up would likely be a no-no too. Have to research the VC to see if a gauge of some kind would be ok. Perhaps a video screen positioned for the "back seat" that shows the energy use screen enlarged by 10 would work. As far as I know the video screens in the back of SUV's playing movies isn't prohibited yet, although it may be soon. Wonder how big a screen I could fit back there...
 
I think the people who this would reach (who don't already know about regeneration and are objective thinkers) is very small. For them to recognize what they green light means would require thought and some understanding of physics which sadly few have in the US. Look at all those people who think there is benefit from adding a magnet to their gas line or generating hydrogen from the alternator and feeding it into the fuel or adding a little solar panel to the spoiler of the Leaf or ... I could go on but I'll stop there. This will not change the minds of those who deny the negative effects of our energy consumption and they will just see this as a sign saying "stupid smug tree-hugging hippy commie on board." Most don't give a rat's ass why you are not rushing up to that stop light - they just know you are inconveniencing them and how they want to drive. IMO, the best thing we can do to promote the vehicle is to quietly use them and thus demonstrate that it simply isn't big deal. Eventually they will start thinking about that $.02 per mile cost of operation and how nice it would be to wake each morning with a full tank without ever going to a gas station but if we try to cram it down their throats they will just dig their heels in and rationalize with the stuff they hear on Fox.
 
planet4ever said:
I'm no expert on color blindness (or much of anything else ;) ), but I've noticed that most "green" traffic signals these days are not green at all, but more of a cyan color. I assume this change was made to address the red/green color blindness problem.

Ray

The color difference you mention may be due to the shift from incandescent to LED lights in traffic signals. LEDs only really come in certain wavelengths, and none of them will perfectly match a white incandescent with a green filter in front of it.

Colorblind people learn to recognize each light by their positions within the signals themselves. That's why there are regulations as to the order of signal colors (including arrows, etc.). Some places even use different shapes for each color (I've seen this in some areas in Canada).
 
turbo2ltr said:
Not exactly on topic, but I always felt blinkers should "double blink" to indicate a U turn.
I like this idea... Have nearly been hit a few times while doing a legal U-turn because the other driver assumed I would just be turning left instead of making a U-turn. Having a standard of a double blink might have helped... but some drivers will still be clue-less.
 
TickTock said:
I think the people who this would reach (who don't already know about regeneration and are objective thinkers) is very small. For them to recognize what they green light means would require thought and some understanding of physics which sadly few have in the US. Look at all those people who think there is benefit from adding a magnet to their gas line or generating hydrogen from the alternator and feeding it into the fuel or adding a little solar panel to the spoiler of the Leaf or ... I could go on but I'll stop there. This will not change the minds of those who deny the negative effects of our energy consumption and they will just see this as a sign saying "stupid smug tree-hugging hippy commie on board." Most don't give a rat's ass why you are not rushing up to that stop light - they just know you are inconveniencing them and how they want to drive. IMO, the best thing we can do to promote the vehicle is to quietly use them and thus demonstrate that it simply isn't big deal. Eventually they will start thinking about that $.02 per mile cost of operation and how nice it would be to wake each morning with a full tank without ever going to a gas station but if we try to cram it down their throats they will just dig their heels in and rationalize with the stuff they hear on Fox.
I don't think you give the average person enough credit. Americans are among the most intelligent people on the earth. You may not realize that from our media, but it is true none the less. Many people are too busy and are still not aware that electric cars are on the road - that does not make them stupid, it means they are ignorant. Ignorance can be cured.
 
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