I’m interested in knowing the general opinion of the Thai visa community regarding are pulsing brake lights. When I first noticed a vehicle with pulsing brake lights it sure got my attention - which is good - a wee bit annoying at first  but at least I could see that the vehicle was braking.  

Now, I just bought my brother-in-law’s 2015 Toyota Revo and he had installed pulsing brake lights. They pulse a few times and then stay on. On my first driving trip - to Mukdahan - when stopped in a police check I was fined 100 baht because of these. Touted as a saftey feature in many parts of the world - what do you think?

 

 

If brake lights are bright enough, which they are on modern vehicles, then they are easy to see.

I think flashing doesn't make it any better.

If other drivers look at their mobiles phones they will miss any brake lights, pulsing or not.

Some drivers seem to have installed randomly flashing lights, which are more of a distraction than a safety feature.

I find them a bit annoying when following - especially in stop & go; or someone that accels-brakes, accels-brakes.....

Can't really say they are that much more alerting than the standard brake lights.....

Maybe good in foggy conditions where the mind can be lulled....

I think they are an unnecessary distraction and should be illegal. There's enough going on already that requires our attention. This goes for the blue lighting that is gaining in popularity, blue headlights, fog lights, flashing lights.

 

The other night had a vehicle coming up from the rear with flashing blue and red lights. Looked like a cop or emergency vehicle. When it went passed turned out to be a jacked up pickup with the lights on its rollbar to intimidate other drivers into moving out of the way.

 

Let this cat out of the bag then good luck getting it back in.

1 hour ago, pgrahmm said:

I find them a bit annoying when following - especially in stop & go; or someone that accels-brakes, accels-brakes.....

Can't really say they are that much more alerting than the standard brake lights.....

Maybe good in foggy conditions where the mind can be lulled....

Even more annoying is bike red front lights and white rear...????

The blinking break light seem to be a mandatory thing on pickup trucks in the rural areas. Those guys are always first with the modern stuff.

They are illegal in Thailand.

3 minutes ago, JoeW said:

They are illegal in Thailand.

And sadly the lack of BiB presence folk don't give a shit...????

I was behind some genius whose brake lights flashed bright blue at first and then went red. Just plain confusing, so if he brakes suddenly it's not really going to help the driver behind.

3 hours ago, transam said:

And sadly the lack of BiB presence folk don't give a shit...????

Actually it is quite enforced though. If THERE is a police check and the lights pulse, then you will get a fine.

3 minutes ago, JoeW said:

Actually it is quite enforced though. If THERE is a police check and the lights pulse, then you will get a fine.

Last Sunday night I saw a police motorbike who had his tail light on a constant pulse, thereby leaving the tail light off for several seconds, then flashing a couple of times, then off again for several seconds

Love them

 

Reminds you that you don’t live in a country where one dead bulb results in a vast fine and that  cameras track your every movement.

 

 

 

Screw a xmas tree on the roof,plenty LED lights,flashing,

I am sure they will see you.

regards Worgeordie

They get more attention from the driver behind than a steady glow, which may be mistaken for just having the lights on after dark, or may not register if the protective lenses are dirty. Yes, I would be in favour of them.

I drive  a bike and a car, personally I do not have  the flashing LED brake lights on either, but during the daytime and in bright sunshine, the flashing brake lights are a lot more noticeable. They can be irritating at night if held on in queueing traffic, but overall, if they make the bike stand out in the traffic then I am all for them. Most of the problems here are the idiots with no rear lights or so much white showing they look like they are going the wrong way.

What I have noticed here, or the lack of, is the pulsating headlamps. These were starting to become quite popular a few years back in the West.

 

58 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

They get more attention from the driver behind than a steady glow, which may be mistaken for just having the lights on after dark, or may not register if the protective lenses are dirty. Yes, I would be in favour of them.

I respectfully disagree. Human factors engineering means ensuring that warning indicators, that demand instant cognition, are consistant and provide unambiguous information.  Nothing more stupid than sliding into the back of the vehicle in front because the brain needed that extra fraction of a second working out what all the unusual flashing (and colours) was supposed to mean. There are other factors too such as on a dark night rapidly flickering lights can provide limited depth perception.

 

The sudden appearance of a red, or brighter red, light from the vehicle ahead is a consistant signal, easy to estimate the distance and how fast the gap is closing.

the people that made the cars have thought about how to make a car as safe as possible, and between legislators and manufacturers there is a global consensus that a couple of white (or previously yellow as well) headlights and a couple of red taillights are giving optimal visibility;
for large trucks (and I mean 10-wheelers, not a lowered two wheel drive pick-up) and large loads having additional lighting along the side and a couple of small lamps on corners indicating size is also useful;

indicator lights, flashing at a certain rate, for turning left or right in red or yellow
(left and right simultaneously to be used not to indicate one is driving straight ahead ???? but in case of emergencies;
bright steady brake lights, 2 or 3 or even four;
and where appropriate fog-lights head and front.

I would argue that in traffic the most important thing is to be predictable, and that anything else, including embellished cars with green, red, white and blue and yellow flashers, are distracting from the traffic, and, while these may aim to enhance the lacking virility of the driver of the vehicle, although I doubt the effectiveness, are a distraction, thus a pain in the neck, for other road users.

I think they are a pain in the rear.............

5 minutes ago, AhFarangJa said:

I think they are a pain in the rear.............

Absolutely. 
just a confirmation of the old saying: 
No Brain No Headache.

3 hours ago, JoeW said:

Actually it is quite enforced though. If THERE is a police check and the lights pulse, then you will get a fine.

Depends on whether it's tea money time. Every police check must have an officer of rank present, don't ask what rank, there are that many, and when he decides the tea money is getting low, that's when you are guaranteed a fine.

1 hour ago, AhFarangJa said:

I think they are a pain in the rear.............

and extremely enlightening...............

The visual equivalent of modified exhausts...unnecessary and annoying.

I have them installed on all my cars and motorcycles. Haven't been dinged with a fine yet.  They get my attention faster than brake lights that stay on. That is the reason my vehicles use them. 

8 hours ago, JoeW said:

They are illegal in Thailand.

No one told the cops that .there are thousands around here , the cops do nothing about it like every other rule they break.

 Until the police pull these idiots in then the trend for adding all sorts of colours front and back will continue. The other day , just getting dark, most drivers had their side lights on. A policeman was controlling the traffic to allow pedestrians to cross the road. I stopped and noticed the car behind me had his red front side lights on. After the people had crossed the policeman waved the traffic through and made no attempt to pull the 'red lights' driver over. So what hope is there for a change if the police don't act ?

1 hour ago, Sakeopete said:

I have them installed on all my cars and motorcycles. Haven't been dinged with a fine yet.  They get my attention faster than brake lights that stay on. That is the reason my vehicles use them. 

imho, the idea of brake lights is to attract someone else's attention. ????

In my country they are very rare but i did see one who had those on his car and in the dark he was really noticed among the other who were breaking.

 

I also noticed that on tanker trucks these are already more and more used but still rare.

 

I can imagine that when all the cars have those you will get insane from the constantly blinking of those lights in a traffic jam or so.

 

I have more problems in Thailand when they drive around with those Rainbow coloured lights (or no lights at all ????).

 

 

After the first few replies from Thai visa drivers I took the flashing bulbs out and put the originals (which I found in the glove box) back in. I don't see the brake lights when I'm driving but if its annoying to other drivers - out they come. I feel a lot better about this.

Thank you all for your comments. Drive safe.

You notice the Vehicles with these Boy Toy Lights have blacked out Windows too.