I guess the idiot didn't see the two larger brake lights?

 

^Idiots abound. It would really suck if they had any grounds to escape fault.

 

yes

 

What about cars with manual trannys? Is it the law to keep your foot on the brake?

 

^I'm not sure if it's "law" per-se, but I know in many driver handbooks it tells you if you have a MT to always keep you foot on the brakes when stopped at an intersection.

There are two VREY important reasons to do so.
1) The obvious brake light issue
2) If you are rear-ended unexpectedly, you stand a much higher risk of being knocked into another car or busy intersection if you don't have your foot already on the brake.

 

no, the person that rear ended him does not have a case regarding third brake light being out. That person was following to closely and/or not allowing enough distance (if they were initially stopped).

For those that want to go in circles about this - please dont bother. Either contact your insurance company or a transportation attorney, you'll get the same answer (unless they are idiots, in which case you should find someone more competent).

 

It's basically the same argument as tinted tails and being rear ended.

Did you see the car in front of your coming to a stop? No.

Then you're a ****ing idiot, GTFO

 

front car could have just released foot from brake to accelerate forward and same outcome - rear car rear-ends, they were too close. It will always be looked at that way by insurance and court (unless there is proof that front car was in reverse).

 

^truth

 

Well, whether or not the person has a legal case, you're still more likely to be hit if you don't have all your brake lights.

 

I don't know about you guys, but I HAtE being beind someone with tinted taillights, brake lights that don't work, or a failed third brake light. I will go pit of way to change lanes and get out from behind them.

Tinted lights...let's not kid yourself you put tint on anything you reduce light output. Some guys just put a light film on, but ive seen some cars with dark lights. Get behind a car with HEAVILY tinted lights on a bright sunny morning and you canny see ****. I sometimes have issues even telling if the other guys lights are even on in certain lighting or weather situations. It's not always a bright sunny day with perfect visibility. They other person may be at fault for rear ending you, but you aren't making it any easier for them to see your lights if you slap triple 5% tint on your lights. Sometimes I wonder what my friends are smoking when they say "you can see them fine!"

No working brake lights. It sucks anyway you look at it when your mind is imprinted to instinctively go to the brake pedal if you see red. Drive a safe distance behind a big suv for 30 minutes and then have the suv do a panic stop with no warning or brake lights. You will definitely react slower than if you saw the red lights light up. Lets not kid ourselves here...we don't all drive at 100% attention all the time. There are times we are tired or distracted, and seeing a truck slow down fast without brakes can take longer to react to.

No working third brake light. Yes...you do have two other bright brake lights, but people are idiots and used to seeing three. I myself react quicker to seeing the high mount stop light come on vs the other lights.

Call me an idiot if you want, but indefinitely react better to seeing three bright brake lights and will go out of my way to avoid driving behind vehicles with tint and uncooperative brake lights.

 

the topic was solely in response to tiresmoke getting rear ended... I dont think anyone was implying not to address faulty third brake light.

 

got any problem seeing these?



how 'bout these?



and that's just the running light illumination... when braking it's even brighter.

Your concern may be valid on cars without LEDs... but your concern is not valid on all cars. And if your are so close that you have to rely on brake lights to know when to bake off - you are asking for a law suit.

 

^ some people really make it dark, last week a Black Coupe had the tails tinted so dark that I could only see the thrid brake light and it was an overcast day...

 

The problem is you ask a question that is strictly opinion based. Everyone is going to have a different answer. And everyone tints their lights to a different level. Like you said before, each cars lights are different (and led is not necessarily brighter than halogen always) . But what might be perfectly fine for one person might not be fine to Joe blows 60 year old grandma with slow reflexes and barely legal vision. Yeah someone like that should not be driving...but we do share the road with them, so they have just as much of a right to be out there as you do.

And the excuse "well if you can't see them then you are blind" isn't a valid justification to make it okay to smoke out safety equipment. Basically you are taking the responsibility of having proper working safety equipment off yourself and placing it squarely on the other person. True they should not be riding your ***, but that is no excuse for making it more difficult for them to see.

I have the equipment to measure light output and intensity. I'll have to borrow it at work and get some hard numbers on some of my friends cars. I hate stating things without proof, so one of these days I intend to get hard numbers on the effects tinting does on taillight lighting intensity.