Ellsworth

During two separate incidents last week I noticed something about vehicles that were driving near me that caused me to do some legal research. Just driving by I knew something was (maybe) wrong.

1) On I-5 Northbound in Seattle I saw an tractor trailer combination (semi truck pulling a big trailer). This one was shiny and new and had AMAZON written all over it. I always assume that operators like that (Amazon, Fed-Ex, UPS, et cetera) maintain their fleets a bit better than many smaller companies or solo-operators. And I always figure they are the ones obeying every rule of the road due to GPS monitoring, in-truck monitored camera pointed at the driver, et cetera.

So when I saw the trailer's brake lights go on and simultaneously an amber flasher turn on I was surprised.



I had done a deep dive into rear vehicle lights a while back. Amber turn signals reduce accidents by approx 25%, and are required in the European market. America went with the 3rd brake light which reduced accidents by around 3-5% (these numbers are from memory).

It's about natural human observation / response time to a visual anomaly -- red brake lights and red turn signals blend together in a field of vision.... Yellow turn signals next to red brake lights are a real stand out. I've been slowly adding amber turn signals to all my vehicles and trailers.

During that phase of my amber light education I learned that brake lights must be red. Zero exemptions in Federal Law as far as i could find.

I had also looked up flashing amber safety lights. I rarely see construction vehicles on the road using them (often in construction zones, and rarely just randomly driving on a highway). So I thought 'Hey, if amber turn lights help, I wonder what flashers do?' Which caused me to look up the law. Continuously flashing yellows are not legal. It's ok in a construction zone for work vehicles, it's ok for government vehicles, but not ok for the average person to just throw a yellow flasher on top of their truck and drive around. I had guessed that before my research, and wasn't really interested in such a bright 'look at me statement.' But once you head down the amber light rabbit hole it's hard to stop.

Back to that Amazon truck in Seattle. Imagine my surprise when I saw a amber flasher activate on the trailer along with the brake lights. It surely reduces their accident rate significantly, because a yellow brake light REALLY stands out in a sea of red brake lights.

So dug back into vehicle light research. It seems like there may be some specific Federal exemptions being made (just for a few special truck owning companies?) and that data didn't turn up in my search from a couple years ago. My earlier deep dive (actually reading codes) did not turn it up... but now just a glance on a search engine reveals the data. Yellow brake lights are controversial, some states really don't like it, and it might still be enforced as illegal. Heck if I know what the real legality status is for amber brake lights, it seems that convoluted.

https://www.topmarkfunding.com/fmcsa...ght-exemption/
https://www.arnolditkin.com/blog/tru...ailers-bendin/
https://www.fleetmaintenance.com/equ...leet-equipment


2) I was stopped at an accident scene waiting to make a turn. It was an overcast evening, no rain but the roads were wet.

A motorcycle drove toward me in the oncoming lane. Black motorcycle, all black leathers, black helmet -- no headlight on. I was about as shocked as seeing an amber brake light. So I flashed the rider a few times with my headlights hoping they would get the message. As the bike drove by I noticed it did have two small white lights adjacent to the headlights and those small lights were on, and I reflected upon up how black vehicles are the most prone to be in a vehicle accident because they are the most difficult to see (especially in poor conditions).

So I filed that all away and decided I had some research to do. My truck had about 1k pounds in the bed that day (over the rear axle even), and I was on a road I know well, and I admit I lost traction when I started driving from a dead stop (it was on a hill). I have driven that road one million times, so that should give an idea of how accidents can happen. Heck my tires are new and I sure didn't have a lead foot. It was the same intersection where my elderly mother almost died in a car accident, which made me reflect on how easily accidents happen, and her difficult choice to stop driving.

Anyways, shoving that little embarrassment aside, I did the research into motorcycle headlights when I got home. Sure enough daytime headlights are required in my state. But apparently in some states motorcycles only need to use daytime running lights. Maybe the rider was an out-of-stater. But if they knew statistics like I do, the bike and leathers would have been yellow (lol).

https://www.motorcyclelegalfoundatio...eadlights-laws
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...g/74076937007/

The take away from this blog post?

• Amber turn lights are awesome and make you tons safer on the road. Amber turn signals = approx 25% reduction in accident rates, blinking amber brake light = 33.7% reduction*
• America should have adopted amber turn lights (like Europe did) instead of 3rd brake lights.
• Some companies might be getting a free pass on amber brake lights.
• If you ride a motorcycle make it a brightly colored on and use your headlight.
• Sometimes weight does not equal traction.
• The ability of some corporations to use blinking amber brake lights is a de-facto subsidy that gives them a market advantage, because there is a large reduction in accident claims (corresponding insurance savings). But, without their initiative nothing might change.

And lastly, have a fun and safe summer!

*This could impact self driving car safety statistics, if that market adopts yellow flashing brake lights. And if adopted for all vehicles, then it would have a significant impact on insurance companies and medical costs. I'm all in on amber lights.