Braking without your brake lights! - GreenHybrid

haroldo · #1 (**permalink**) 03-03-2008, 06:23 AM

Many might already know this, but in case you're not...

When you use the engine brake to slow your car, your tail brake lights will not illuminate. Of course, they don't light up when a manual transmission car downshifts, either.
Your car will slow down, but an unsuspecting driver following you may not notice that you are intending to slow down.
Brake lights are a wonderful convenience, so much so that in the mid 1980s cars were mandated that they display a (higher up) third brake light.
It's unfortunate that engine braking doesn't provide a visual warning to other drivers that your car will be slowing down.
If you are a driver and typically use engine braking, please make sure you don't have a tailgaiter behind you.
Similarly, if you are driving behind a car, you should be aware that the car in front of you might slow down without warning.

Again, many here might be aware of this, but some might not.

talmy · #2 (**permalink**) 03-03-2008, 06:55 AM

A good reason to use "B" only for maintaining speed on long downgrades. Regenerative braking (beyond the very mild amount used to simulate coasting with an AT) does turn on the brake lights.

About the time the high mounted brake lights were mandated, the local buses had an experiment with a three light system. Red for brakes, Yellow when coasting (engine braking), and Green for power. I really liked it but I guess it wasn't deemed effective because they dropped them.

haroldo · #3 (**permalink**) 03-03-2008, 06:59 AM

...if I'm not mistaken, they also experimented with pressure lighting, that is, the harder you braked, the brighter the lights became.

schmidtj · #4 (**permalink**) 03-03-2008, 11:12 AM

Such a feature is very important when you are driving down dark alleys without headlights at night trying to avoid the police. Brake lights are a dead giveaway. The emergency brake is better though. You can stop more quickly and still not give away your location.

mikieboyblue · #5 (**permalink**) 03-03-2008, 11:17 AM

And what happened to the eye sockets of the unsuspecting driver following you? People just need to pay attention.

cast_and_blast · #6 (**permalink**) 03-03-2008, 11:35 AM

They don't illuminate when the emergency brake is on either - non issue.

SPL · #7 (**permalink**) 03-03-2008, 12:30 PM

If you put a regular (non-hybrid) automatic vehicle into 'L' gear, it engine-brakes similarly to the TCH in 'B', and there is no brake light showing either. So this isn't a new phenomenon.

Stan

haroldo · #8 (**permalink**) 03-03-2008, 12:37 PM

True, other than the fact that the "B" for Engine Braking might be thought of as an alternative to regular braking.
I imagine most would think of "L", as in low gear, that would best used for snow driving or towing, etc.