American Reacts to Something American Cars Get WRONG (But Europe Gets Right)

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[@Gift0r]

There is another situation that is noteworthy. In Germany, when you are driving on the Autobahn and the car in front of you has brake AND warning lights on, you are likely approaching the end of a traffic jam and prepare to come to a halt, not only slow down. This is not mandatory, but something that people started to do, and I cannot estimate how many accidents thts has prevented. You can often see a wave of warning lights moving backwards on the road while the cars slow down. Edit: apparently, you can replace "in Germany" with " in Europe", if you go by the replies. Good to know.

[@lumpyfishgravy]

UK too. Though variable speed limits have made sudden slow-downs less of a thing.

[@Drew-Dastardly]

In the UK it is illegal to have your amber hazard warning lamps on while moving, it is only allowed while your car is a stationary hazard. I've had to be towed a few times and my idiot brother insists on hazard lights all around while on tow. Doh! Ok, the only exception is on a motorway when you know there is a traffic jam ahead and use the brake lights and the amber hazards to warn all those behind.

[@tamzinmenadue4887]

Same in France

[@peterhoz]

A lot of Euro countries do this, it's rare but not unheard of here in Australia. Probably by people like me who have driven in Europe 😉

[@TheBazino]

People started doing it because of HORRIBLE accidents with trucks plowing into the end of traffic jams, since so many drivers are tired because of driving longer than they should. So the thinking being that flashing lights help with that.

[@FredPilcher]

Aussie here. Bizarre's the word, Ian. I couldn't believe it the first time I drove in the US and saw this. WTF are they thinking to make this legal?? Blame the politicians who allow it, not the companies that'll do anything for a buck. You wouldn't be able to register them in Australia.

[@Spalato]

Greedy companies aren't toddlers absolved of all and any responsibilities.

[@user-er1fs3je4x]

@@Spalato sure but you'd be way better being angry at the government for something like this if you want to actually improve it. You need actual legislation, not the "free market force" especially for safety. Companies only care about morality as long as it helps their profits and they can only be held responsible by the government (which is what laws are)

[@Phiyedough]

There is a KZbin channel called Furious Driving and a couple of years ago the bloke imported an ex police Crown Victoria from US to UK. It was a real headache getting a legal setup for the lights so he could register it for UK roads.

[@Westcountrynordic]

@@user-er1fs3je4x As long as companies are allowed to bribe (Sorry give campaign donations) American lawmakers no laws will be passed

[@STOREpappa]

@@user-er1fs3je4x problem is these companies lobby all these politicians (which is legal!!) to get their way

[@demogaming8895]

Interestingly back when these American minivans, like the Chrysler Voyager were sold here in Europe, they had regular amber turn signals, at least the European versions did, while the American versions didn't. This is the opposite of money saving. Why bother having two different tail light designs, when the one with the amber turn signals was clearly safer? Why did they insist on installing the less safe tail lights on American versions?

[@automation7295]

Likely because US never mandated amber rear turn signals, and the fact US turn signals must be at least 50cm² or above for some reason.

[@module79l28]

I agree and it's not only having to have distincts tail light designs for distincts markets that makes it more expensive, it's also the different wiring and electronic commands needed for things to work. Simply swapping the tailights won't make the brake bulbs start flashing when commanded by the indicator stalk or the hazards' button.

[@hjrings9423]

The european chrysler voyagers have been built since the ES model in austria at magna steyr. On the GS they even put a sticker Made in austria on it. So these voyagers always had the european wiring and the european style backlights. Even the front lights are different because the light height need to be adjustable from the inside. This is not mandatory for the us version. If you have an imported us car you need to adjust the wiring and the backlights

[@Loki1815]

1990, I bought a two year old Mazda MPV. RWD selectable 4x4, 2.6i, Auto, 7 seater, that you could walk to the back three seats through the middle of the middle two seats. I bought it because I was part of a Motorbike Team, specialising in Gearing and Fueling, and during the Motorbike Racing season, every weekend, we went to all the British Race Tracks, and having used tents and even sleeping in the back of my Granada 2.8 Ghia X Pack, I decided to but the MPV, put the seats down flat and have a brilliant nights sleep, in a motor on a full size bed!

[@bigdude101ohyeah]

Even in Brazil, the Ford Super Duty got amber turn signals

[@IanDarley]

Many Euro cars have single colour light units whilst they are off, but still show the correct colours when operated, so that assumption about aesthetic is moot.

[@johnsmith-cw3wo]

americans will give you all kinds of reasons except the real one... GREED !

[@PropperNaughtyGeezer]

Amber or red is not the problem, but one light share two funktions is the problem. Very old german cars had red turn signas too.

[@hansosl]

Its not a Problem unless you are stupid

[@MrAronymous]

That's only since LED though. Before that, it was not possible. In order to have a white or amber light behind a "red" housing, the lense had to be pink.

[@MisterAtomic684]

Not only that, but even with yellow lights, you have a lot of styling options like lightning rods etc. as long as its clear within the given guidelines and rules you can do a lot of cool stuff with the lights.

[@NenadTrajkovic]

In my country 🇷🇸, it is not even possible to import and register a vehicle from North America without amber turn signals, you have to buy and install them before customs.

[@fruferSK]

same in Slovakia, plus front lights in USA are symmetrical, in Europe they aren't. Basically the left front light is set more to the right to center of the car

[@MIGBMWLOVER]

as it should and its the same in Greece!

[@Itsjustme-Justme]

Should be the same throughout the EU. That's what specialized car import and modification companies are for. They import the cars and do all the required conversions and you buy a 100% EU street legal product from them. It's expensive of course because it involves a time consuming manual work, but there still is a small but steady market for US cars.

[@darek4488]

In Poland the rules are uniform with the EU, but many import owners don't comply with respect to the lights. People often register the cars on USDM lights and then they convert the lights if it ends up being a problem one day. It all depends how difficult the conversion is. If it is a matter of taking the lights out and putting other lights in then people will obviously do it. However there are cases where no EUDM equivalent lights exist and there is nothing an individual could do to comply fully, so that is when people either don't bother to change it at all or at least try to make it less obvious so people won't notice. Either way passing an inspection is never a problem here if you know where to go.

[@wietholdtbuhl6168]

​@@darek4488you are in the EU?

[@PedroConejo1939]

The blank panel might also be reserved for a rear fog light, which is obligatory in Europe, but uncommon in N. America.

[@hanes2]

Japan have it too i think

[@antirufus]

My E46 BMW (EU) has a dummy light fixture on it. The lights look symmetrical, but the rear fog light is only on the left and a blanked out bulb fixture is visible on the right

[@HearsingAround]

cars which where sold in the uk and eu mostly had 2 spaces for fog lights (in the uk reverse side of eu) i wired both lights on my opel/vauxhall astra mk3 so i have 2 foglights in the rear hehe

[@iaing9028]

@@antirufusCars for the RHD markets in Europe have this reversed with the fog light in the RHS cluster.

[@RickDangerousNL]

But rear fog lights are also red. Doesn't make sense to make that a white/blank lens.

[@timoliver8940]

Most European cars if you brake really hard, hard enough to trigger the ABS, then the amber hazard warning lights come on

[@LemmyD_from_Germany]

Yes, I recently had to learn that with my 2018 Opel Crossland when I had to brake hard on a lonely country road because of animal crossings. The animals were still about 30m / 100 feet away and there was no car behind me. When braking hard (steering wheel straight out), the amber hazard warning lights came on while braking. I then turned this off again with the button (triangle sign on it) before I continued driving. I've had the car for a year now and didn't know it until now, but I think it's good that my car has this function.😅 Greetings from northern Germany ♥️🇩🇪

[@lumpyfishgravy]

I'm glad it's most not all. There are some weeks I "do an emergency stop" multiple times, usually due to dozy pedestrians wandering into the road. Usually in Deal, Kent.

[@adrianmclean9195]

​@@LemmyD_from_Germany I think it was a Citroen Zsara idea. Peugeot own Citroen and now own Opel/Vauxhall, under Stellantis. The Germans had to be different and just make their hard braking, via making the brake lights flash really quickly. I think the French version is more effective and distinct. Renault does the hazard lights as well, but makes them flash twice as fast.

[@WreckItRolfe]

Most?

[@JohanHultin]

@@lumpyfishgravysounds to me like you’re a shitty driver..

[@Bowwow30]

And the absurd thing is, that on the front, US cars have to have an amber turn signal and moreover: the glass has to be amber. Whereas the glass can be transparent just as good, as long as the signal shines amber. The ambiguity in these regulations is beyond my comprehension.

[@IWrocker]

Yea it’s honestly just all over the place here (USA) for many of our car regulations and standards

[@hansosl]

No...europe is much worse with regulations

[@Bowwow30]

@@hansoslEvery lawyer knows that a bare statement, meaning a statement that lacks substantiation, can be contradicted by a bare denial. Therefore: nonsense.

[@astina7574]

@@hansosl prove it.

[@xheralt]

The glass has to be amber because regulators know that American drivers are cheap, lazy, and inconsiderate. I am of an age to recall when amber-tinted bulbs were made...but they're special and cost more. If an American driver is even mindful enough to carry spare bulbs, they're not going to get a full set of clear & amber, they're just going to get the cheaper clear ones and use them everywhere, whether appropriate or not. A rear facing turn signal that is white could be mistaken for a reverse light (irrespective of blinking). This is an unacceptable failure mode. Better and more convenient (and cheaper all around, for manufacturer & consumer) to just make and sell clear bulbs and let the glass/plastic cover dictate the color displayed. Now if you DO need a new cover, that's a more occasional repair, and the car part makers make more money selling those highly customized bits of plastic.

[@CherryGS]

The thing is: the look of Viper backlight wouldn't need to change at all. Just leave the turn signal white (when off) and use amber bulbs or LED when flashing. This is totally fine if you don't want an "always amber" area in your backlight. A lot of european cars actually do it like this. So there's even less reason for not using amber turn signal. And what's totally beyond me are cars that are sold worldwide (like some VW oder Audi) with amber turn signals, that get this changed to "all red" just for the NA market.

[@IWrocker]

True

[@jevonbotha5669]

they are amber leds

[@fryke]

I guess it's even more confusing when the odd American car with the all-red setup shows up in European traffic, since we simply don't expect indicators to be red.

[@sennheiser1986]

yes and it's legal too :(

[@donut3946]

Who expects a color, just look at the flashing. It’s not that difficult. Lol

[@BlameThande]

The chances of seeing an imported American car with all-red indicators in traffic in the UK or Europe is vanishingly small though.

[@bionicgeekgrrl]

If a UK registered car is old enough you may come across clear indicator lights, as it wasn't mandatory until the mid 60s that they had to be amber, and as long as amber lights are not retrofitted (in much the same way as with seat belts), they are perfectly legal. The chances of seeing them are quite low though.

[@jhdix6731]

@@bionicgeekgrrl Here in Germany, these usually are fitted with amber-tinted lightbulbs behind the clear glass.

[@bremCZ]

When you see flashing brake lights in the rest of the world, you better hit the anchors yourself.

[@alexanderkupke920]

Here in Germany I know flashing brake lights only from vehicles with some sort of emergency brake system or brake assist system, where the vehicles brakes by itself either as soon as it detects your food moving fast from the accelerator to the brake pedal or if it detects a possible collision to warn about it braking at about max power. Sometimes even combined with switching on the hazard lights. Not sure if the latest generation still does this though

[@jur4x]

@@alexanderkupke920 If I recall correctly, some newer cars your brake lights start flashing if you hit certain number on accelerometer setting when slowing down. And on some cars hazards start flashing instead.

[@alexanderkupke920]

@@jur4x Yeah, I think I have seen both. For sure I have seen cars switch on the hazard lights if you hit the brakes very hard or if the emergency brake assist or collision avoidance system brakes. The flashing brakelights I really only can remember from thos systems before the car was able to brake on its own using radar and cameras, but could start preloading the brake and increase braking power if a sudden switch to the brake pedal was detected. I have them seen around the time those systems came up, I cannot remeber having seen them lately. Which of course does not mean that cars, or at least some models do this. I just don´t remember personally seeing any car flashing its brakelights lately. I would not be surprised at all if it is still used.

[@bremCZ]

@@alexanderkupke920 Almost all cars for the last 10 years flash the brake lights when a particular deceleration force is met.

[@Zandain]

Mini vans are still fairly dominant in Europe, here they're produced by Mercedes, VW, Kia, Hyundai etc.. The wonky brake light system in North America is stupid and dangerous! Red = stop Amber = turn White = fog/reverse Thank you, Europe 👍 hello from Denmark 🌸

[@marcuswardle3180]

The first car I can remember my parents having was a Morris Traveller. These cars used to have "Traficator's". These were turn signals that "popped" out of the side of the car and were lit by a bulb. Once you had completed your turn they would retract, or fall back, into the side of the car! The other thing notable for the Morris Traveller was the wood down the side of the car giving it its coachwork build effect.

[@alex-E7WHU]

My sister had one and she used a cranking handle to start it 😂

[@wenglishsal]

The first car my father owned, that I can remember was an Austin, I must have been about 3 or 4 yrs old.. My Dad named her 'Little Ada' she also had the little signals that popped out (like a tiny flag) to indicate the car was turning.. I thought, as a little child that they were really cute. Our neighbours had a Morris, which at the time I thought was huge, compared to Ada, mind you I was little at the time.. That Morris would seem tiny nowadays though..

[@espekelu3460]

Here in Norway, the American brake/indicator lights are not legal. So when you import an American car with ONLY brake/blinker lights, you will be instructed to put on orange blinkers by those to whom you must show the car before you get Norwegian plates on the car. We saw this on American vans that were used as ambulances here in Norway from 1980 to 2010. They had to fit an orange light under the headlight at the back of the car, which was not particularly pretty, it actually looked better in the front. But many US cars had to put this on in order to be approved here in Norway.

[@kenlykkeslett7501]

Depends on the car though. Plenty of old vintage American cars legally roll around here with red turn signals.

[@Gazer75]

It is legal with red turn signal for imported cars since 2017.

[@MichaelEricMenk]

Drove behind a American car (Corvette) on Wednesday in Vestland county, it had red turning signals. Know there are some who add amber turning signals for the registration, and then remove them afterwards..

[@localsheriff]

This very much depends on a vehicle's vintage or status. Prior to Apr '71 vehicle regulations were fairly lax and just about any factory equipment was OK. From Apr '71 onwards the rule of thumb was E-marked light equipment with clear front markers and amber rear flashers. Thus all sorts of 'creative' use of trailer lights could be seen hanging below bumpers or glued to the blacked-out OE lights on US cars in Norway, with horrible aestethics and cut-up wiring harnesses as results. Also the typical '68up US side markers were PROHIBITED and some road authority officers even made a big issue out of that to a point some owners were faced with loosing their license plates unless markers were made inoperable ON SITE!! Some vehicles registered under certain EU exceptional rules requiring them to stay 110% bone stock were allowed to keep US spec lights. HOWEVER in recent years the rules have somewhat softened meaning US market lights have become legal as long as the above correct colors are emitted, aka with the help of colored bulbs/caps, converting backup lights to flashers etc. Also, cars coming from US/ CANADA as part of the owner moving to Norway (flyttegods) weren't required to alter their lights, even should the original owner sell the vehicle on later date

[@Hirotoro4692]

​@@kenlykkeslett7501vintage cars get special exceptions in most countries

[@stumccabe]

There is a solution if car manufacturers don't want to use amber next to red for aesthetic reasons - for the indicators they could use clear (non coloured) lenses with amber coloured bulbs. Unless they also consider red next to clear to be ugly - I don't!

[@ianmontgomery7534]

My 1999 Ford Falcon (Australian) has amber bulbs with a clear lens.

[@bionicgeekgrrl]

Some European cars do that these days.

[@davidclemens1578]

​​@@ianmontgomery7534 my parents and I had the 60s mustangs. In the front they had below the bumper a clear lens with an amber bulb for the turn signal and parking light

[@IQEGO]

So basically like majority of 2000+ european cars. Even my 2012 basic Škoda Octavia has these.

[@Spidouz]

Here in Europe you also have Red light cap that actually light up as orange/amber… so when the light is off, you believe it’s an all red design, but when it lights up, you still see orange/amber color going through… I also had on my car some dark/black lights that looks all smoked and yet still lights up as red or orange. There’s plenty of ways to fix the “design” without impacting the color other driver will see.

[@evilbabai7083]

The thing is light colors are also indicating the direction: White - forward, towards to observer Red - rear, away from the observer Amber - side, sideways to observer The latter is also important because it could be used in such an astonishing safety feature (for an average American that is) as turn signal repeaters, which could be located on a fender, outside mirrors or (in case of long vehicles) along the whole side, making a your vehicle and intended direction much more readable for those who are driving across.

[@DanaTheInsane]

I've tried to Retrofit my Honda Civic, but I can't find any. We got a different Civic than the EU did. ours was a four door sedan, they got a three door hatchback.

[@Capt.-Nemo]

However, the BMW does not have a turn signal installed

[@automation7295]

All road-legal cars MUST have turn signals installed, that also includes BMW. I hate when people say "Oh BMW DoEs NOt HaVE TurN siGnALs InStallEd"

[@janryckmans3902]

@@automation7295 But they don't use them..

[@Terepin64]

​@@automation7295 r/whoosh

[@operius2385]

LOL 😂

[@alkoyyy]

Perfect! No ambiguity, when a light comes on, it has to be the brakes!

[@adrianmclean9195]

The penny has dropped: I was always told that the third eye level brake light was introduced because it reduced rear end accidents in the US studies by the highway institute thingy. Now I'm thinking it was actually the lighting system in the US - that was causing the accidents. ?

[@bruhgamingnl1315]

I mean, the third brake light is also mandated in Europe and probably also helps reduce car accidents, the impact may not have been as big as some places, but it is a legitimate safety upgrade. Lighting ambiguity probably didn't help a lot, but it probably wasn't the only reason.

[@vanesag.9863]

Do you think the amber lights that newer cars (at least in Europe) have on the lateral rear view mirrors are a security feature to minimize lateral accidents?

[@adrianmclean9195]

@@vanesag.9863 They certainly could - but I think it is mostly a design thing. Some cars have "repeater" indicators on their side, usually on the quarter panel, which alerts drivers/pedestrians to the side of the car. I think this is a good idea. Perhaps having them mounted on the exterior rear view mirrors helps in vision terms, as they are higher up.

[@vanesag.9863]

@@adrianmclean9195 yes, they are on the exterior mirrors. English is not my first language and usually I have problems explaining concepts.

[@adrianmclean9195]

@@vanesag.9863 That's, okay - I can't speak another language - so your doing better than me. 🙂

[@GunnarMiller]

Amber turn signals/indicators are demonstrably better, but it's not completely accurate to say that in the European configuration "red always means the car is slowing down/stopping"; there are of course standard-brightness red marker lights for night driving, and very bright red fog lights (always one, sometimes two). Some vehicles are set up such that a fourth (running lights one, brake lights two, indicators/hazards three) auxillary light fixture is red on the left (inside) side and clear on the right (outside), the former for the fog light and the latter for the reversing light (flipped in the UK for left-hand driving), although many have five in the cluster; for instance, most of my Land Rovers have two rear fogs and two reversing lights (the headlights can be flipped using an under-hood lever from RHD to LHD as well so as not to dazzle the other lane when visiting). Here's another fun feature on the front of the some European vehicles; some illuminate one of the forward white fog lights on the side into the turn when the indicator is on for extra visibility as a cornering light, and if one is using front fog lights as daytime running lights, it will do the opposite and turn off the fog on the indicator side to not distract from the indicator. I drive on the Autobahn a lot, and the convention of hitting the amber hazards when one sees a stopped traffic jam ahead is *very* useful, especially on tight curves and entrance/exit ramps. Also, in some Asian countries, a quick amber hazard flash is a "courtesy flash" when one merges in front that says "I see you, thanks for indicating and letting me know you're going to pull in front of me". Sometimes Americans can be very obstinate, and cook up all sorts of ludicrous reasons ("they're socialism/communism!") to not adopt standards demonstrated to be superior in the rest of the world ... enforcing the illegality of passing on the right, traffic circles, universal car safety inspection (not required in poor/backward states), and the metric system also spring to mind. But I agree with the view that cost ultimately dictates this; rigging four lamps (five with a reverse light) in two-color (and that on only one side) rear clusters has to be much cheaper than 10 lamps in two three-color clusters (running, brake, indicator, reverse, and rear fog ... times two). After all, the Big Three calculated that it would be cheaper to settle safety lawsuits than adopt seatbelts, airbags, etc. for *years* after they were proven, until they finally caved .

[@ianmontgomery7534]

the other thing I can't understand is why registration plates are not compulsory on the front of all cars/trucks.

[@GunnarMiller]

It varies state to state. Reasons usually given are cost-related (the state license plate budget is cut in half) and tradition. The minute one mentions that front plates might be needed for toll reading, identification/cops/speed cameras in the future, brace yourself for a lecture on federal over-reach and individual "states rights" ;-).

[@ianmontgomery7534]

@@GunnarMilleryeah I have heard all the bulldust reasons before and you are right it is almost as bad a reaction as advocating gun control/

[@killkiss_son]

​@@GunnarMiller front plates are also useful for normal people not just the government. For example when you have a crash and that your dashcam recorded the scene, but because the other car didn't have a front license plate you can't use that to find out who it was.

[@dougbrowning82]

@@GunnarMiller It's a cost cutting measure. Here in Manitoba, we went to rear plate only in the 1990s to save money. It lasted 5 years.

[@Real_MisterSir]

@@GunnarMiller wtf is a "state license plate budget" lmao it's sheet metal with paint. Are these 3rd world states or something? Tradition I get. And I can believe many would use any and all opportunities to shout "government oppression" whenever possible. But the budgeting part is just pure cope

[@vophatechnicus]

the only thing i can think about if i see flashing red lights on the tail of a car in germany is "hit the brakes!" cause that is what newer cars do.. if you hit your brake as hard as you can, the brake lights will flash on many newer cars ...

[@IQEGO]

Yes, because people are already used to the "drivers" which brake for no reason (instead of just lifting the accelerator), so they're not responding to it, they wait if the car in front really slows down or just "scratch the breaking pedal". The flashing is just like "omg hit the brakes immediately"

[@dbclass4075]

Alternatively, all turn signals flash more rapidly than usual.

[@Biotee]

There is one hazardous situation where I would painfully miss the separation of break lights and turn signal lights. That’s when you are on the highway getting into a traffic jam. I use to turn on my hazard lights when i see the traffic jam in front of me to have a additional warning for the drivers behind me

[@16jan1986]

Fun fact german motorcyles before the middle of the seventies used amber breaklight and red taillights

[@csabagajdos1215]

In the 1980-s there was a beautiful black Pontiac Trans-Am in the neighbourhood next to my school. It had black rear lights. When it was on, you coud realitze it had red parts for the ligths and brakes, and amber part for indicator. So the colour of the "glass" doesn't affect the colour of the light.

[@paulwilliams200]

In UK, ALL flashing turn indicators were required to be amber/yellow on or before the beginning of 1959, though most cars were being equipped this way by the mid 1950's.

[@Belaziraf]

Car lights in EU and in Europe in general follow the signification of traffic light. That's why there is and never will be any green light. Amber/orange for warning/imminent risk or danger. Red : Immediate danger. That's why stop, parking, etc signals are red and turning and warning amber.

[@MrLordcaptain]

Additionally white light is always facing in the direction of travel, thats why the indicator for backwards driving is white.

[@benjaminloehner257]

Not anymore! We will see green/turquois as sign for full autonomous driving in the near future. Mercedes Benz (yeah, Germany leading the way again) applied (and got it approved) in California and Nevada end of 23. I'd wager that becoming an international standard.

[@John_Lyle]

Doctors on an emergency call use a green flashing beacon in the UK.

[@davidebacchi9030]

@@MrLordcaptain fun fact: it wasn’t meant to be an indicator it was meant to actually illuminate the road when backing.

[@Loki1815]

I commented in a previous Video that my Murican mate, in Millwaukee, argued with me because I said that I didn't understand why he only had stop lights that doubled as Indicators, he said they didn't and got out to see and got back in very, very quite, yes, I know, it's very unusual for a Murican to be quite but he was dumbstruck as to how he had never noticed before! It was only when he came to London and we were flooring it through the London Traffic, in my Wife's 2.8 Ford Capri, did he see the sense of Amber Indicators, and head high grab handles, he used those a lot on our journeys!

[@Hirotoro4692]

Given how bad London traffic is, for you to be "flooring it" you must be driving a golf cart

[@Sophie_Emilia_von_Zerbst]

I don't know what the legality of this is, but here in Germany my parents have a BMW Z4 (among other cars) and I found out that if its rear turning light bulb fails, it will instead blink the break light. So you basically get the "American way".... In this way you at least have some level of information output to your surroundings, that you are planning to turn. Normally this doesn't happen, and the remaining turning light bulbs on that particular side flash faster (by law btw, to make the driver conscious of the bulb failure).

[@raven1508]

Using the Turn Light means communicating. Many have a serious communication problem. And that applies worldwide. Greeting from Germany.

[@4TheRecord]

In Europe the red light being on doesn't always mean the car is braking. During the night you have both front and rear lights on so there's a red light on at the back. When applying brakes the brightness increases along with the third light coming on.

[@gregmullins6927]

In Australia we've had separate amber turn and brake lights since 1960 that I remember,come on America catch up!!

[@francoislegallo802]

In France, we had Renault Espace. Fourth generation was the best.

[@janryckmans3902]

We love the Renault Espace in Belgium. Was very popular here

[@pikminologueraisin2139]

the 1st gen was innovative

[@Mafed24]

I've seen people who had put US-Style tail lights on their vehicles here in Germany. Of Course red indicator lights are not allowed, so the "semi-legal" solution to put green light bulbs in. The red housing filters the green light in the way that it turns amber.

[@alexanderkupke920]

I cannot imagine any combination of these that would have a K number, E number or ABE to be legal to use here in Germany in that fashion. Although, for imported vehicles, as long as they are in original condition, you may be allowed to use the original lights legally. This car needs an individual treatment for both registration and TÜV inspection anyways. But if I remember right this is only valid for a historic vehicle that can get a H license plate. (Yeah ok, pretty soon that includes vehicles from 1990 as well.) Also for European vehicles, they may be operated without adapting the lighting, if they are historical vehicles and in overall original condition.

[@norma8686]

Some cars sold here in Europe have started doing the 2 for one too, the turn signal is in the same place as the brake light, it just starts flashing yellow

[@jduck1979]

The Porsche 968 (1991 to 1995) that was brought out to replace the 924/944 was noted in car magazines of the time for the trick it's rear tail light design had. It was an all red design, but had a trick filter system so when lit the indicators flashed amber, and the reverse lights lit white.

[@Brauiz90]

European cars even have flashing blinkers/indicators built in their mirror, so you can see someone tries to turn when you're aproaching this car from an angle... (My mom was driving a 2005 VW Polo and that car had indicators in the mirror (bottom of it)

[@cochazza]

That is just a variant for the side indicators

[@dbclass4075]

​@@cochazzaAn example is a fender indicator. Between the front wheel arc and front door.

[@MoshooDesign]

When there is a traffic jam in The Netherlands we warn other drivers with the hazard lights. I wouldn't do that if it switches my brake lights off as I want to warn people I am slowing down.

[@JoriDiculous]

There isn't a law in Europe that say direction light "glass" have to be amber(yellow) as long the bulb is it is ok. That's why you can see some cars with no coloured (and even darkened) rear light assemblies. But it is mandatory to have blinking direction lights on the side of the car, either on the from fender or some have on the side mirrors. That eliminates the problem of not seeing the rear (or front) blinkers when at an angle.

[@Kierenstanden-qz7eu]

Indicators lol

[@FatWhiskyDrinkingGuy]

We call'em 'Pinkers'... it's a flemish thing...

[@paulqueripel3493]

You can even get bulbs that are silver but illuminate amber for clear lenses if you don't want to see an amber bulb.

[@sirsancti5504]

Fun fact: why are rear-lights red? It came from the trains. Trains used - still use - a (single) red light in their rear. When someone thought about installing rear-lights in cars, they used the surplus of train lights. It got standardized in red.

[@LeSarthois]

Interesting. It's probably also because it made wiring more simple, especially on early cars. Since the same lamp has two functions, it mean you can fit the device that make the lamp blink under the hood, and only run one wire to the lamp. This also explain why front lights are amber : havind red lights on the front would be confusing in some situations (a very bright day and the car being in the shadows) and also, the relays to make a whole headlight blink would need to be quite beefy.

[@arandominternetperson4462]

2:09 Before the pandemic in the Balkans, middle aged dads were falling in love with used french (and german) minivans and crossovers. (Citroen C4, Peugeot 5008, VW Touran etc.) I still see them everywhere, but now the newest craze is bosses and managers importing F150's and Silverado's and Toyota Tundra's.

[@simonatkinson1107]

On some models of UK and European cars the red lights can be used for two purposes. They are used as the standard tail light and they are also used as the brake lights. The difference being that it is a 'twin element' bulb. The tail light element is a lower brightness compared to the brake light element. Basically when you touch the brakes the light gets a lot brighter. The Equinox and Cruze are sold outside the US under the Daewoo and Holden brands.

[@adamcichon6957]

I the topic of clear look - everything red... SAABs 9-3 had all their back lights "frost white"... but they had correct coloured bulbs working as blinkers, position, fog and stop lights ... and y'all guess what, i never heard that anybody ever had a problem with this setup. I remember, that many old cars at the occasion of facelift, had their blinkers swapped out from amber to clear with amber bulb inside, and it wasn't a problem back than. Now many cars have their front lights all clear and back lights clear (reversing lights and blinkers) and red (position and brake lights), some others have amber lampshade as a design choice... To add up to the mix, some european cars have automatic hazard lights firing up, when the emergency braking is done, like "I'm not just braking, i'm dropping anchors!!!" So the driver behind will see not just three stop lights, but also hazards firing up...that means he must "drop the anchor" also. It's a stark contrast to the US brake/blinker setup...

[@adrianmclean9195]

Good old SAAB - I blame GM for their demise - they bought them and spat them out - SAAB refused to lower it's standards to GM's. Caused problems.

[@Itsjustme-Justme]

Minivans were extremely popular here in Germany about the same time as in the USA. They never really looked exciting, they never were designed for having fun on the road. But on the other hand, they offered an elevated seating position like a SUV, they were highly versatile, offered extremely large internal room with removable seats and often had a continous cabin floor front to back. Another benefit is their low fuel consumption due to favorable aerodynamics. They usually offered all that extra room without needing more fuel than a big sedan. Usually they were bought by families but they were in commercial use too. Young guys often inherited them from their parents as their first car and quickly found out how useful the large internal room is for all kinds of activities. Some German fast luxury cars have "emergency brake lights" that work normally when you are just casually driving, but they change to fast flashing when extreme brake force is applied in an emergency situation. That's totally street legal here because the law accepts them as an optional, additional safety feature. In the USA a flashing red brake light would cause massive confusion. Clean look is certainly one of the reasons for using all red tail lights. It's basically the same with the front turn signals in Europe. Until the 90s they had amber glass with a clear light bulb behind it. Today, for clean looks only, front turn signals usually have clear glass and only the light bulb (or LED) is amber. Subaru uses clear glass in the back too.

[@la-go-xy]

Astonishingly, SUVs are less efficient for the average use than minivans, but so much more loved: why?? Is it the idea the're selling, that you /could/ go offroad...

[@Itsjustme-Justme]

@@la-go-xy That idea plus the more fancy looks.

[@pikminologueraisin2139]

@@la-go-xy it's all about look sadly the average person is superficial

[@NikesZ28]

Another problem is when you import a car from the US, i got here in Sweden an imported Camaro. The problem is when you need to change it from red to orange, on some cars like on my Camaro you can change your reverse light in to indicator. But thats because reverse light isnt legaly manditory here in Sweden. But on many cars that is not an option because the placing of the reverse light. But then there are many cars here in Europe that has a red tail light but it flashes orange when you indicate. Looks good and is functional. Reading this make my head spin... but i hope you get what i mean 😁

[@peckelhaze6934]

I am in UK and I have never had a car with indicators in with brake lights. This is over 50+ years.

[@PedroConejo1939]

It stopped being legal in the early 60s, I think. Some early Moggie Minors had them. Same with white front indicators. It is always a pain importing US cars because of this.

[@Kierenstanden-qz7eu]

Some these new cars the indicators are so small and hidden it’s hard to see them

[@572Btriode]

@@Kierenstanden-qz7eu Or worse, that happens from time to time when the stylists take the upper hand, they have brake lights and the indicators coaxial, all very well until the red ring of the brake light illuminates with the centre of the orange indicator operating and the indicator almost disappears.

[@Kierenstanden-qz7eu]

@@572Btriode yes that what I’m on about the are to small and get over taken. They are tiny

[@572Btriode]

@@Kierenstanden-qz7eu The Mk1 VW Tiguans have concentric brake and indicator, although oval the indicators virtually disappear when the vehicle is braking. Some UK double-deck buses also have neat but concentric LED clusters and the indicators do totally disappear when braking, I'd ban concentric brake/indicator lights if I had my way. What is orange anyway, red with some yellow added.

[@jptv5726]

that Chervolet Volt was sold in Europe, we had 2 versions 1 as Chervolet Volt and 1 as Opel Ampera both the same car, but both come with amber turn signals and red breaklights.

[@M24RV_F]

I'm glad you touched on this because I literally do not understand why they do that in the United States! It makes absolutely zero sense especially when it's illegal to use hazards in some states.

[@noseboop4354]

It's all about saving money. In the US, coporate profits are more important than public safety.

[@jazzx251]

@@noseboop4354 It's the medical companies The more accidents there are, the more they get paid .. CaCHING!! $$$$$$

[@IndiBrony]

This is beautiful seeing two awesome channels at the same time!

[@kevin_mitchell]

17:42 BMWs are assembled in the US, with 70% of them exported to 120 different countries. So I guess the choice of taillight/indicator assembly depends on the country of destination reflecting both regulations and customer preferences.

[@Lonewolf_121]

Some bmws are manufactured in the USA, they have 5 factories, 1 in the US, though I dunno if the export as much now, I think like 30% of that was to China, now they export 0% to china, just for a bit more clarity

[@kevin_mitchell]

@@Lonewolf_121 Most car companies have manufacturing plants in multiple countries. Just stating the obvious for clarity.

[@DunnoTmind]

damn i love the vibe of your videos man, the subjects are depending on people taste but is always so nice, chill and friendly. Big hug from Portugal and all the best!

[@TwoBassed]

In my youth when I rode motorcycles, on occasions I would break my rear light cover I would simply paint the bulb red instead; got pulled over a number of times and ‘threatened’ with prosecution for faulty lights, I stated “if you read the code, it simply states the rear light must be operational and must show red, and I was in full compliance with the code”. This is in the U.K. Not once did I get prosecuted! I did always replace the lens cover, but being an older model (1968 Triumph Bonneville) replacements were rarely held in stock and normally took 2-3 weeks to arrive once ordered.

[@pusikuracsnickom]

In Croatia, and most of the Europe it is quite common to turn on hazard lights if driving on a highway and coming to traffic jam. It indicates drivers behind you that you might have to brake much harder and come to full stop from high speed. hazard lights are also a signal to thank driver behind you who yield in a city during traffic jams when he had a right of pass.

[@PHDarren]

I would have thought the brake light/indicator was a 1960s-1980s thing (thinking of all the movies and TV show cars that did it) and it would have gone out of fashion by now.

[@hackbyteDanielMitzlaff]

Technology Connections is a American as far as i know... and he makes a really good amount of cool videos about lots of differences and common things all over the world. ;) The web says he is located in Chicago, Illinois. ;) Maybe it's worth to look into them ...... to extend your channel beyond cars and beer.... just a bit, for the horizont... You might like it. ;) Like .. do you have a electric kettle in your home? If not, _why_? ;) Ask alec, he can tell you why it makes sense, still. ;)

[@deptusmechanikus7362]

I'd much rather we had minivans everywhere instead of giants oversized lifted blocky pickups with empty beds and blind spots that can easily accommodate 17 children

[@ProjectAchieva]

The first and second generation Dodge Viper DID indeed have amber rear turn signals! In fact, they where physically separated from the main brake lights! The 3rd gen also had a clear piece inside the red lights that flashed amber. EDIT: I commented before the end!

[@petenikolic5244]

So does Front and Rear Number plates makes a lot of sense

[@Bowwow30]

I think it's mainly for the police and parking attendents.

[@dasy2k1]

It also means we don't have stupid parking rules like prohibited reverse parking even though reverse parking is actually safer

[@Bowwow30]

@@dasy2k1 I don't know where you learned that, but reverse parking is not prohibited in Europe in general. In some European countries there are some specific places, within some cities where reverse parking is prohibited, but only when the houses are very close to the street and the exhaust gases would be disturbing for the inhabitants there. That's called taking care of each other. But for the rest we are free to park our cars as we want.

[@scottirvine121]

​@@Bowwow30it's also to distinguish in a millisecond what way a car is going, UK anyway

[@Bowwow30]

@@scottirvine121 Yes, UK maybe, since you have white front plates and yellow back plates. But I don't know if that's the best way to distinguish the direction of a car and I doubt if that way is faster than looking at the colour of the lamps (white vs. red). I already hear you say: it's for daytime when the lights are off. Okay, but can you really tell the driving direction better by looking at the plate than at the rest of the car itself? And how often does one have to see in a split-second which direction a car goes? As far as I know, the UK is the only country, or at least in Europe that has this. France had white front and yellow back for a while ca. 20 or 30 years ago too, but they're both white since many many many years now. What's the real use of it and how effective is it? And, going back to the original question: can that result not be achieved by putting a plate on just one side?

[@brunobaumann9405]

What's also strange and impractical is that the US has still not switched to the much more practical and less error-prone metric system. It's also such an anachronism with electricity: 110 V and huge, clunky sockets.

[@Drew-Dastardly]

The US actually has 220-240V coming into the home but with a centre tapped transformer splitting the supply. So all the arguments about "load balancing" a UK ring main are kind of moot when they also have to plan a US install deciding which side of the transformer the piddly 110V radials come from.

[@jk9554]

Technology Connections actually has a video about that, too... maybe Ian will do a reaction on that one, too.

[@LeSarthois]

Huge clunky sockets? Maybe you are mixing with the UK. But US sockets have issues of their own (and part of those issues are because they are too small, in fact), and their electrical system and regulations are also easily 30 to 40 years behind Europe. 110 volts isn't a problem much, and it's in other places than the US. Japan is noteworthing to have both grids in place (230V 50htz and 100 v 60 htz). The issue is that replacing the electric grid especially today would be a massive cost on all levels; I'm not sure the mid to long term gains would be noteworthy. But their safely regulation need updating. And again when discussing this issue Americans complain about the cost of redoing electricity in their cardboard houses... I even talked with an awful lot that are PROUD of having bare wires (yes, no insulation at all, look at tube and knob wiring) 80 years old still in use in theur houses, I'm like "Dude most houses here you have to dig trenches in stone and cinderblock walls and redoing electricity is something many people do every 30 years or so".

[@matejlieskovsky9625]

​@@Drew-Dastardly many EU homes have access to 400V three-phase power if it is needed for something. The 230V we use daily is one of those three phases.

[@Drew-Dastardly]

@@matejlieskovsky9625 Yes, I agree - I know in Germany most homes get 3 phase even if they never use it. In the UK any street will have 3 phase but they just alternate 1 phase for every house next to each other as load balancing. It's 240VAC though within the EU spec of 220.

[@lithgowlights859]

My 2022 Mustang here in Australia originally had the inner 2 stripes as red brake lights, and the outer stripe as a blinker/turn indicator. $1200 later it now has an "animated" brake where the center turns red, then about 1/2 second later the outer 2 turn red. When the blinker is initiated it scrolls an amber light inner, center, outer for about 0.3 seconds each and then all off for about 0.8 seconds in turn, and if you have the brakes on then that 0.8 seconds of no indicator it turns red again. Works really well and loads of people love it as it's different to the standard 2 red 1 amber lights that come stock

[@joeruchotzke5003]

Hi Ian i have a 67 Firebird in Australia, I had to cut out the red plastic and glue in amber plastic to the rear tailights for the indicators.

[@Apinitis]

"Manufacturers prefer red-only lights due to clean, cool look" *Laugths in AUDI dynamic led indicators*

[@jazzx251]

Err ... no Audi is fitted with indicators! I've met several Audi drivers, unfortunately, I've never seen a single piece of evidence to suggest that an Audi is fitted with an indicator. Not once. These guys passed their test, so it must simply mean that no Audi has indicators installed on it.

[@goldendon511]

@@jazzx251 lets face it there are audi's with indicators but that is only if you pay for them and with the audi price tag it must be somewhere in the 4 digit range for them

[@automation7295]

@@jazzx251 I hate people who think that "no Audi is fitted with indicators!" when ALL road-legal vehicles MUST have indicators.

[@automation7295]

@@jazzx251 Just because you never seen Audi drivers using their indicators, doesn't mean that their cars aren't fitted with indicators. Also I've seem plenty of Audi drivers using their indicators.

[@automation7295]

@@jazzx251 I guess when you see an Audi parked legally parked on the street or on a their own driveway, you immediately hate the person and become enemies with him/her?

[@martinlowe4388]

Don't forget I Europe we now have advanced brake lights. They flash under extreme breaking.

[@MichaelVermylen]

Some brands/models have flashing break lights ( and some only the third break light) when engaging an emergency breaking maneuver, other brands/models they light up the blinking amber hazard lights to warn rear traffic.

[@clivewilliams3661]

Yet more gimmicks.

[@alkoyyy]

​@@clivewilliams3661 I wouldn't call that a gimmick. If you see flashing brake lights on the car in front of you, you immediately know you should brake *hard* and I guarantee that's already saved a lot of people's a**es

[@clivewilliams3661]

@@alkoyyy I've never seen this on any car as a bone fide feature. I have seen flashing brake lights on several occasions that clearly were generated by a fault in the brake switch causing the brake lights to flash when no braking occurred. Or maybe by hovering the foot over the brake pedal without firmly pressing the bake. I have to say that i go bacj to my original comment about it being a gimmick that will for me be confusing.

[@derbigpr500]

@@clivewilliams3661 In Europe ALL cars have had this by law for years now. And if you think it's a gimmick, that's just because you lack experience driving on high speed highways and realizing how much difference there is when someone in the distance is braking lightly, or braking hard. This feature saved countless lives so far because seeing someone brake with flashing hazard lights gives you a signal that they're braking hard or even stopping entirely, and you have time to react and not rear end them. Especially in low visibility. It's not confusing and it's not a gimmick. What's confusing to me is how someone can be ignorant enough to think that this is a gimmick, other than what I already mentioned above. It takes one single situation like that in the real world to make you realize how good that feature is. There's a reason why EU mandates it. When EU mandates something, it's actually legit smart and useful is about 99% of cases.

[@BR618]

Just FYI ^^: Since the end of 2019 EU-regulation 2019/2144* is in force. one of the changes that brought is: An emergency brake light as an assistance system that indicates to the road users behind the vehicle that the vehicle is braking with a strong deceleration (iirc: 6m/s², over 50km/h) rate for the given road conditions. When a driver brakes hard, the brake light flashes + is brighter than in a "normal" braking and are therefore more visibly than usual, so other drivers behind are warned and can react earlier. Beginning on July 6, 2022, it applies to all new car models in the EU. As of July 7, 2024 the system must be standard issue for all newly registered passenger cars in the EU. * "Regulation on the type-approval requirements for motor vehicles and their trailers, and systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles as regards their general safety and the protection of vehicle occupants and vulnerable road users ..."

[@hobizoli]

the NHTSA should force ALL the manufacturers to use the safest version, so then is no question about on how to save cents/pennies on this

[@daphneschuring5810]

Sorry I don't have telegram but Jan de Rooy 1988 Paris Dakar. And he is a fake Doug DeMuro

[@aut0maniak]

Yes that's was on point and very funny 😂😂

[@cadifan]

The "American" system used to be the international standard before amber turn signals were invented and integrated into the tail light system. Many people seem to forget that. It's just that the Americans retained the original system while the rest of the world switched to the amber system. New Zealand is possibly the only country outside of North America that allows the US system, but only on American designed cars (even those that were assembled here retained the American tail light system), everything else is amber. I've owned several American cars here, 64 Fairlane (NZ assembled RHD), 69 Chevy Caprice, 73 Cadillac Coupe De Ville, 75 Cadillac Coupe De Ville, 84 Cadillac Sedan De ville, all with the combination brake/turn signal and a 07 SRX, and currently a 98 DeVille both exports to Japan and both with amber turn signals factory built into the tail light system (the 98 is ex-US embassy car and LHD, the SRX is RHD). Euro cars built for the US market have to be built to US spec, and often built in the US so have no amber rear turn signals. Japanese cars built for the US I think it depends on where the model was built. If built in Japan will have amber, if built in a US factory won't have amber. i don't know. One I always thought was unusual was the Firebird/Camaro. Basically the same car but the Firebird never had amber, yet the (later) Camaro only had amber turn signals. Incidentally to tell where a Ford F100 was built down here back in the day, if the reverse lights where orange and wired to be turn signals it was built in Australia, if the reverse lights were not modified and the brake lights flashed as turn signals it was built in NZ. Same with square body Chevys.

[@talideon]

It being the original system is really no excuse when practically the whole world has moved on. It's not as if this is some difficult infrastructural thing that would require much coordination either. Many of these vehicles are sold outside of the US, just with different light fixtures. Give manufacturers a grace window where they're allowed use their existing light fixture stock and mandate that anything sold after that date has to use the same system as the rest of the world.

[@robertpatrick3350]

I don’t think that’s correct as the US standard was created by n 1968 and the UK law in 1956.

[@cadifan]

@@robertpatrick3350 The US using brake light/turn signal combination was WAAAAY before 1968.

[@cadifan]

@@talideon I never said it was an excuse for anything. Just pointing out that it was once the world standard and not just an "American" system. The rest of the world changed and America didn't is simply a statement of fact.

[@Hampstead343]

FMVSS 108 need to get rid of two things 1: Get rid of the 7 3/4 sq. in. EPLLA requirement 2: Ban red turn signals

[@eisikater1584]

I'm German and have been to several European countries. Brake lights are red, turn signals are amber, that's so much in my brain that driving in the U.S. sure would be confusing to me in the beginning. The two different colors communicate action and intention at the same time: The guy in front of me brakes because he's preparing for a turn. There can be no misunderstanding.

[@adrianmclean9195]

His argument is correct, as the Chevy Volt is actually an Opel - in Germany: Opel designed and engineered this car, so it is European ! Australia's version was called a Holden. Therefore, Chevrolet DIDN'T save money on CHANGING the lights from European style to the US, but cost them money, as they had to modify them. The mind boggles.

[@Paraegg]

Chevy volt was designed and built in the US 1st. Deliveries to retail customers in the United States began in mid December 2010.Volt deliveries began in Canada in September 2011. The first deliveries of the Chevrolet Volt in Europe took place in November 2011. The European version of the Volt, the Opel Ampera, was released to retail customers in Europe in February 2012. Deliveries of the right-hand drive Vauxhall Ampera in the UK began in May 2012. The Holden Volt was released in Australia in December 2012.

[@herrakaarme]

That only verifies it's not about saving money, it's an "obligatory" design trend in the USA. Having amber turn signals would hurt sales, so manufacturers are unlikely to take the risk. At the end of the day, the cost difference is so small that maybe selling a single car more would offset it for the whole model. Or vice versa, selling one car less would likely cause more loss than the price of needing to wire the US model differently, in a model designed elsewhere in the world.

[@adrianmclean9195]

@@Paraegg YOU ARE WRONG - DO YOUR RESEARCH - it is an OPEL design!!!!!!!! If you read the history - from Europe, not the US - you will see where it originates from !!

[@Paraegg]

@adrianmclean9195 Jelani Aliyu is the man that designed the volt. A Nigerian man who works for GM. If it was an opel design why was it designed by a GM employee and why was it produced and introduced in America 2yrs before it got to Europe? IN 1994 after graduating from the College for Creative Studies, Aliyu joined General Motors. At General Motors Aliyu was the co-designer of the Oldsmobile Bravada, Buick Rendezvous and the Opel Astra and was the lead exterior designer for the Pontiac G6 and the Chevrolet Volt, a hybrid electric vehicle with a sleek arcing roofline. GM also owned opel. After listing on the stock market in 1929, General Motors took a majority stake in Opel and then full control in 1931, making the automaker a wholly owned subsidiary, establishing an American ownership of the German automaker for nearly 90 years.

[@Marcus21H]

@@adrianmclean9195 You do realize Holden is owned by General Motors and Opel was also owned by GM until 2017. The Opel Ampera and Holden Volt are literally rebadged Chevy Volts.

[@Stischt]

Just for information, isn't european standard, amber lights are a world standard, of course not in north america. But, here in Switzerland, you can import and register cars with north america standard lights.

[@xperiasony6304]

Amber lights don't mean that the glass design is amber. In the 90 they begin to be black with amber light inside, then in the 2000 most of the cars have red and white. Some have all red design, like the Peugeot 206, and inside all bulbs with the rigjt colors (for amber they use green glass under red to make it amber when the light is on)

[@markstraatman8780]

9:57 I was indeed wondering about this. Here in the Netherlands we have the habbit to turn on the emergency/hazard lights when approaching and slowing down for congested trafic (keeping an eye on the rearview mirror and saving enough distance to prevent a potential chain colision) signalling to drivers behind us that there is an upcoming congestion and should moderate/lower their speed. In a different scenario like an emergency hard stop, cars in Europe automatically turn on their hazard lights and the third breaking light starts flashing rapidly, indicating an abrupt emergency stop. I've driven in South Georgia for a little over a year and seeing breaklights blink to indicate a turn signal baffled me at first (still does). I mean, yes it works, but it's far from safe or clear enough to accidentally misinterpret the light.

[@audir9]

Now it's getting really funny. I live in Germany close to the US Airbase Ramstein. There are a lot of US models (also from European manufacturers) driving around there and even the European manufacturers use red indicators. When I saw the models (BMW or Mercedes) for the first time I thought they had an electronic fault. But because of the side markings I knew, ah... US model... So confusing here.

[@patdurt023]

I'm in Australia, The new Chevy Silverado and the Dodge Ram trucks are sold here. When new LHD vehicles are sold here, they have to be converted to RHD and modified to comply with local laws. It doesn't matter for classics. They change the indicator lights over to amber ones when they come over. Interestingly this is done in the old Holden HSV plant where I live.

[@willierca]

I belive if the costumers would stop buying the brake/turn combo lights because its worse, the corporations would stop doing them. The issue is american costumers don't care if its worse, as long as its cool or cheaper

[@summersky77]

This is America, we don't need to look at the pretty colors, just a big ol' light saying "hey asshole, slow down before you slam into me!"

[@chucku00]

Ah, Technology Connections. Alec Watson is a fantastic content creator. His RCA CED "trilogy" is a real saga. 1:48 I love _this_ Doug deMuro parody.

[@Real_MisterSir]

USDM spec cars from Euro manufacturers go through a localization process, where certain elements/details are changed to better reflect what the local sales/marketing division believes aligns the brand more closely with its targeted customer segment. For example when VW sells their cars in NA, they go through a process of detail tweaking which the US branch of VW deems more fitting for the US audience and their expectations/taste. Oftentimes this means conforming to cultural norms and expectations, and the local idea of what "clean tail light design" means to them, regardless of what the EU based VW design team originally intended. This stuff is fairly normal, and independent departments within brands will often deal with this stuff and then get the green-light from higher up when their proposals are presented pre production.

[@ZhaojuEphastine]

Up to 7:10 => I think the issue with only one brake light left that also is turning signaling is that if the driver in front brakes by small amounts at a time (it help with your brake disks' longevity), it could even "blink like a blinker" and confuse people even more.

[@adrianmclean9195]

There were, so many things that car makers from overseas, had to change to suit the US market/regulations: it's why the US has missed out on so many cars, over the years because of cost. The quad headlight thingy, larger bumpers, lights, seatbelts etc.

[@hansosl]

America has enough cars....and there are enough models only sold in us where europe misses them due to european rules

[@paulschneider9286]

UK here. I’ve noticed the brake light flash in various films for years and have been over to Seattle and Chicago and also over into Canada (Vancouver). At first I thought I was imagining it! I’d never considered the effect on reaction time for drivers following. Oh - minivan - here in the UK the Renault Espace launched in the 1980’s (maybe 1984) and that dominated that market sector here, followed by the Scenic (a smaller “compact” minivan). Great video! Nice to discover your channel 😊

[@G-Confalonieri]

It´s funny how the industry introduces lots of airbags, ESP, adaptative cruise control, cross lane alarms, etc, meanwhile a single turn signal in a different colour represents a drastic budget raise and does not look "cool".

[@oienu]

17:07 It is cheap to use the same part, but cheaper to not install the lightbulb.

[@adamgreaves8173]

Quite a few cars have clear indicators here in Australia but run an Amber globe. That could be the case for the newer viper

[@Trololoc]

I don't know if you've ever looked at this brand before, but in the Netherlands DAF used to make cars along their truck line-up. They used special transmissions called "Variomatics" that could use full torque and power while going in reverse. It's an interesting system, and we even had reverse driving championships (with a separate category for these) because of them

[@bleukreuz]

Another thing that Americans allow that make me scratch my head is having no licence plate at the front for the sake of looks (by the driver) or saving money (by the state government). It just makes it harder for yourself if you are involved in hit and run (the back licence plate might not get caught by your dashcam) , or if the police is trying to collect evidence of crime (e.g. finding cctv of car in question).

[@TopiasSalakka]

One reason why manufacturers use red turn signals is style, apparently most american buyers prefer it this way. Some cars even come with the amber turn signal, but it gets disabled for the north american market.

[@pwalker1360]

You know, now that you mention it, as 50 yo Canadian, I remember amber signal lights as a kid but never even noticed them disappearing.

[@iEnofadov]

In Australia we received the Chevrolet Cruze sedan and Chevrolet Equinox, but they were sold as the Holden Astra sedan and Holden Equinox and yep, those clear indicators flashed amber over here! It's crazy that they would not do the same for the North American market! In Australia, rear indicators have to flash amber. The remanufacturing from LHD to RHD American pickups by RAM, Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota in Australia, all have rear flashing amber indicators and separate reverse lights as well. When Holden decided to import the Chevrolet Suburban back in 1998 as the Holden Suburban, the rear indicators flashed amber. This was helped by the fact that it was built in Mexico. It was the same case with the Ford F-250 and F-350 when Ford Australia began importing them from Brazil and again, they came with rear amber flashing indicators straight from the factory. MPV's or Minivans have never really been big sellers in Australia, but thanks to the Volkswagen Kombi, that was the van that started the whole van craze in our part of the world. After that, the Toyota Tarago took over, which was called the Toyota Van in the US and then the Toyota Previa. We did receive the Honda Odyssey in Australia, but we received the Global model, only sharing the first generation with the US. The Kia Carnival is now the king of the MPV market in Australia.

[@mothmagic1]

This is a great video. Combined brake light/indicator is a silly an idea as being allowed to turn right on a red light (Left turn of course for us Brits). I have seen enough video clips on here which prove that this is a silly idea.

[@neilanyon4792]

Actually the all-red solution is not really simpler/cheaper to implement. The flasher relay switching has to be changed over from normally off under steady driving to normally on when the brake light switch is operated. Thus requires either an extra relay or extra contacts to accomplish. With separate ambers, the relay is always off when not flashing.

[@ADD1-zv1nt]

some cars have all red tail lights in Europe (ex. older Peugeot) but have separate indicator for turning that has an extra lair of green glass or green light under and when it flashes it is amber

[@horsespoland]

If You import VW/Audi to Europe, You can change a blinkers from red to yellow with a special software, its not need to replace all light unit.

[@enginerd80]

If I remember correctly, someone in the comments of the original video said that in North America there's a minimum size (area) for the rear signals. That's why adding large enough non-obligatory separate signal lights could expand the light clusters larger than what would fit nicely with the rest of the design. And that could be why some cars that originally were designed with separate signals end up having brake lights used instead in North America, if the signal lights weren't large enough but the brake light would be, either direcly or after combining the area of the original brake light and signal light into a larger dual-purpose light. After reading that comment I paid attention here in Finland that there's at least one (French?) car model around that has really tiny rear signals that make me wonder if there should be a requirement for the minimum size here as well (though, could be that there is by now -- the cars with the tiny rear signals are all a bit old). A related observation of mine is that in the recent years cars have emerged with the rear signals consisting of line of tiny amber leds that make a smooth animation of a line extending towards the side. Perhaps it's just me, but I think a signal that switches on and off instantly would be better noticeable than the smooth animaton, which also usually consists of a _really thin_ line. I think it's a design that probably is supposed to look cool and modern, but in my opinion is dumb and not practical. I have no idea how the North American variants of tose cars would be like (if such exist).

[@Rallarberg]

I also just learned that white reversing lights aren't (or recently weren't) mandatory in the in some places, which is perhaps even weirder.

[@ZhaojuEphastine]

16:10 => To save money :} Those cars were also sold in Europe (if I remember correctly), so they'd just have to change the electricity mapping and not the whole tail lights

[@gailltidetymothy2528]

If I remember corectly the 6th gen Mustang to be imported in Europe has to changed the color from red to white because of the rurning signal After checking, the volt in Europe has amber signal and lighter red color

[@automation7295]

Except thew Chevrolet Volt was rebadged as Opel Ampera in Europe and Vauxhall Ampera in the UK.

[@gailltidetymothy2528]

@@automation7295 Both were sold in Europe actually but yeah we only remembered the ampera

[@davidbodan4781]

9:57 here in Europe we say thank you in traffic with two blink of hazard lights. With a car imported from America, it would look like brake checking.

[@WoZYtaZ83071]

In Europe we also have red fast blinking break,this is emergency brakeing, when you cruze at highway and there is some situation on the road and you presss break very fast and very hard then break light start to blink very very fast to inform other drivers that you are break in emergency situation

[@janniksauer]

To the saving money aspect: That's where I start losing my mind. Nearly all europeen manufacturers as BMW, Audi or Mercedes use individual taillights for the US market with red indicators. Concerning Mercedes, its often just coding which allows the car to use only the brake light as a turn signal while the amber section remains unused. But Audi and BMW produce taillights where they remove the amber section and replace it by a red one. So they invest money to create a much more unsafe taillight just to fit american standards. And that's just crazy 🤯

[@huntermad5668]

Not even American standard. There is no law against the original set up, they just want to appeal to American customers