I think perhaps the biggest thing the internet has done for human society is that is has made everyone in the world into roommates. We’re now in a position where we can know all sorts of absurd details and opinions about people we’ve never met, and be baffled by these opinions from half a world away. Everyone on Earth has the potential to be a weird, rarely seen roommate now, casually dropping strange statements and confusing opinions that make us all wonder, with surprising intensity, just what is the deal with that weirdo? A bit of this magic happened just the other day, when, unbidden, someone on the Internet tweeted angrily about brake lights in a way that puzzled much of the driving world. Let’s talk about this.
Here’s the tweet in question, which has been making the rounds on car twitter and has come to me from a number of sources:
Hat-trick tonight. Took every bone in my body to not put main beams on when we got going.#blw pic.twitter.com/LuBYdtiEZB
— Kitch???? (@UPnDOWNvids) March 21, 2023
Now, if you’re like most of us, you’re probably looking at that picture with confusion. What, exactly, is wrong here? People are stopped at a red light. That’s how that’s supposed to work, isn’t it? The guy said something about a “hat-trick” which is sports-talk for three goals or related triumphs, so that must mean the three people stopped there. So why did it take “every bone in [his] body to not put main beams on” to presumably retaliate against those three drivers? What did they do?
Well, here’s their crime: they have their feet on their brake pedals while stopped.
The reason the tweeter feels this is bad is because they find the glow of the brake lights unpleasant or distracting, it seems. And, okay, I guess some brake lights can be bright, but who doesn’t keep their feet on the brake when stopped at a light? I can’t ever recall thinking of a time I’ve been dazzled by brake lights – they’re not high beams, after all – but I’m sure it’s possible, but at the same time, there are benefits to it, too.
In an automatic, do you really need to be shifting from D to P every time you come to a traffic light? That seems ridiculous, and potentially annoying to other drivers behind you, who would probably rather you actually start moving right when the light turns green instead of waiting for you to shift back into gear, a process that will, assuming the standard PRNDL layout, flash your reverse lights at the people behind you, which is more likely to cause annoyance than the brake lights that indicate you understand how traffic lights work.
In a manual, I guess you could pull your parking brake, but, again, why? You’re stopped. That’s an ideal time to be illuminating the lights that warn people behind you you’re not moving, because you’re not, and you’re in an active traffic lane, so let people know that!
I’m really baffled by this one. If you can’t deal with an occasional bright light, maybe night driving isn’t your thing? Roads at night are positively full of bright lights: the traffic lights themselves, street lights, advertising signage, flashing yellow construction warning lamps, highly energetic fireflies, headlights of oncoming cars, you name it.
This just seems such a strange thing to get worked up about, right? It’s not just me? This is from the UK, so perhaps it’s more of a thing there. In fact, it is mentioned in the UK Highway code:
“In stationary queues of traffic, drivers should apply the parking brake and, once the following traffic has stopped, take their foot off the footbrake to deactivate the vehicle brake lights. This will minimise glare to road users behind until the traffic moves again.”
Here’s a post from “The Official Highway Code,” which “applies to England, Scotland and Wales”:
Reactions to that post are mixed:
Huh. Okay. What’s odd about this is that I’m all but certain this code was written in a pre-LED era where brake lights were feeble 12V (or even 6V) bulbs behind likely grimy red plastic, so the idea of being dazzled by the brake lights of a Ford Cortina or an Riley Elf seems a little far fetched to me, but who knows. These same rules also suggest not using headlights at all on roads with street lighting:
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“use headlights at night, except on a road which has lit street lighting. These roads are generally restricted to a speed limit of 30 mph (48 km/h) unless otherwise specified”
So, you know, maybe there’s a greater fear of light-dazzling in the UK than I realized. Like, a pathological fear.
But this Reddit thread implies that Australia and New Zealand have similar things in their drivers’ codes. (I haven’t been able to confirm). It’s all a bit bizarre.
Am I out of line, here? I’ve never driven with anyone who takes their car out of gear and puts it in park or pulls the handbrake at stoplights. Ever. I mean, you usually have no idea how long the light will be? You may just be there like 11 seconds! I’m sure on flat roads I’ve sometimes taken my foot off the brake, but unless I’m feeling really lazy or it’s an absurdly long light, I’ll keep it in gear and the clutch down.
Is the tweeter/UK Highway code right about this? Is everyone I know doing it wrong? Is this man the lone voice of reason in a cruel, red-glowing world? Is this a UK thing? Do any of you agree with this?
Let’s discuss this. I’ll be amazed if there’s a decent number of people for whom this makes sense, but you know, I’m okay with being amazed.
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Hey, I went to a certain amount of trouble in retrofitting a Center High Mounted Stop Lamp in my ’67 96 and therefore I intend to use it:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52472774190_d011b247fc_c.jpg
Whoever created the third brake light that flashes every time the brakes are activated should be run over with a tank. Sitting in LA traffic getting strobe lighted in the face sucks.
Just wanted to say thanks for including the beautiful rear end of the VW Corrado. That was such a great car to look at ( at 6’3″ I never fit in one, though).
Oh, and “Lighten up, Francis”.
The UK has some bizarre driving rules. When I was an American living in England, I took a driving test to get a local license. Failed the first time due to: 1/ failing to use my parking brake at a stop light, 2/ putting in the clutch as I coasted up to a stop light (which was deemed “losing control of the vehicle”), and 3/ refusing to reverse back out of a narrow lane into a busy intersection. I still can’t believe the last one is something they insisted I do, rather than turn around in a driveway or just go around the block. Passed the second test, but it was surprising to see the differences firsthand.
This law makes sense when you put it into UK context. Applying the parking brake gives you enough time to step out of your vehicle, disassemble it, and stash it in the bushes next to the road so it doesn’t spook the horses going by in the opposite direction.
Don’t even get me started on how rude people are to the guy who is supposed to walk in front of your car and warn others that a motorized carriage is approaching.
> This law makes sense when you put it into UK context. Applying the parking brake gives you enough time to step out of your vehicle,
And repair it.
In my i3S I sit at lights with my foot off the brake… one-pedal driving rocks for city use! It comes to a complete stop with brake lights on, once it stop the brake lights go off. I hover over the pedal and keep an eye on traffic coming from behind, if i’m last in line i’ll light up the brake lights so cars approaching can see the lane is stopped. But if i’m surrounded by cars all stopped (and on level road) I don’t sit on the brake pedal… similar to driving a manual.
I have been blinded by brake lights before: — ~2015 Hyundai Sonata Hybrids with insanely (and ironically considering it’s a Hyundai) bright brake lights come to mind — but this is nonsense. If I’m stopped in a line of traffic I absolutely want my brake lights on.
As someone who drives a manual trans car and could elect to just leave the trans in neutral and foot off the brake on level ground, I always make it a point to leave my foot on the brake so the person coming up behind me knows I’m stopped. The only exception may be if I’m in a really long queue that isn’t moving.
This guy would probably have a stroke if he got stuck behind my neughbor’s diesel rabbit. The guy put some crazy bouy light or aircraft marker in a mirrored housing in the back window so that whenever he gets bighted because the car is slower than a 36 horse beetle, he can blind them with a brake tap. It has a red lense and theres no rule on brightness of a red taillight here so he can be as much of an ass as he wants. One would think an EMT wouldn’t want to be that guy but there he is.
JASON! (sorry, just wanted to make sure I got your attention)
I haven’t read the replies here, but one part of your post forces me to try to get your attention. When you stated “I’m sure on flat roads I’ve sometimes taken my foot off the brake, but unless I’m feeling really lazy or it’s an absurdly long light, I’ll keep it in gear and the clutch down”, I shuddered. I used to do the same thing until it cost me bigly. Keeping your foot on the clutch at stops will destroy your throw-out bearing and require rather expensive repair if you want to, you know, keep shifting gears. Please don’t do that to any manny tranny going forward (or reverse).
/end screed
I’ve done some UK and Denmark nighttime countryside driving and I can say that the UK does have a pathological fear of light dazzling. This fear reigns supreme to the point that the UK actually require a different headlight aiming pattern than the rest of Europe. The UK aiming pattern sees the majority of the headlight beam be focused not on the road but off centre up and to the left, giving a wonderful view of the massive stone wall, hedge or tree you might hit if you drift out of your lane instead of the badger, pheasant or sheep that you will hit because the low beams illuminate so little of the actual road.
When I imported a car from the UK I had a really hard time refocusing the lights for Canadian roads so I did not blind oncoming cars.
The UK has special headlights compared to the rest of Europe because we drive on the other side of the road. The angle of the beam pattern is the same for RHD and LHD, just opposite.
I bought Euro headlights for my ZX7R, and fixing those to get a legal beam pattern was a nightmare.
The rest of Europe, apart from Ireland, Malta and Cyprus
The turning the headlights off on lit streets part is even weirder to me, I don’t think it’s a great idea to be telling drivers to ever turn their headlights off at night, it’s hard enough to get them to turn them on in the first place. I would hazard a guess that hardly anyone in the UK actually follows that rule on purpose
I think the key for that is two fold. European cars have ‘city’ lights that are a little brighter than American parking lights (and white) so you can see where a car is, but the cities have enough light you don’t need headlights to drive. The parking brake situation is helped over there by countdown times and warning lights the light is about to turn green, giving you an opportunity to put your car in gear, and not sitting at lights with the clutch depressed prolongs the life of your throwout bearing.
By city lights, do you mean daytime running lights? Because those are not in any way adequate lighting at night, and also do not turn the taillights on with them.
Americans are idiots, 80% of people think their drls are ‘automatic headlights’
I dunno. I’ve spent nights walking around in Paris (the City of Light, right?) where they use yellow city lights. The streets weren’t that bright and the cars weren’t that easy to see.
French cars no longer use yellow lights.
They’re not talking about lights on the cars, they’re talking about road lighting. Street lamps.
It really doesn’t read that way.
Switching lights off on lit streets is categorically NOT a rule.
One pedal driving activates the brake lights and they stay* on when you stop completely, are they going to complain too?
*The first gen Chevy Bolt actually turns them off and I hated that
Clearly outdated info. Makes a lot more sense for a stick shift vs an automatic that can easily overpower the handbrake in D
Keep in mind that we’re talking about Great Britain here. Nearby, highly placed bright lights in foggy conditions are quite annoying to the next driver.
Okay.
I lived in rainy Portland for over a decade. Similar conditions. This sounds fucking asinine. Brake lights are for lighting up when the brakes are applied. It’s literally their only job, and it’s an important one. If they bother you, wear amber or polarized glasses while driving.
This is EXTREMELY common in China and the far east. I had never seen it done until I visited China and Malaysia. I love traffic where I can just sit in my drivers seat and the car is not moving, with everything untouched, no clutch, no gear, no brake, just maxin relaxin. Then I clutch, 1st, move 5 feet, clutch, neutral, sit again until the process repeats.
NEVER sit with your foot on the clutch longer than say…. 5 seconds. The throw-out bearing will fail long before your clutch will if you practice this and are efficient at shifting.
With this said, modern cars place WAY too many lights on the back of a car. This is understandably justified, but you’re still a monster for doing it.
I also like when the cars coming up behind me know that I am, well you know…. stopped?
you are clearly not alone in your opinion, Jason.
this seems an odd hill to die on. my sense is that there are many higher priority issues – like actually paying attention to the driving task. there are so many threats on the roads that brake lite glare was not on my radar screen as a concern.
grew up in a relict of British empire (S. Africa) and never heard of anything like this..
In a manual car I’ll usually leave it out of gear while stopped at the light, but usually a foot on the brake.. handbrake on for hill starts, but otherwise not.
“handbrake on for hill starts, but otherwise not.” Not ever.
Please see this…
https://youtu.be/wqREtbLe4sY
you are clearly not alone in your opinion, Jason.
this seems an odd hill to die on. my sense is that higher priority issues – like actually paying attention to the driving task. there are so many threats on the roads that brake lite glare was not on my radar screen as a concern.
Australia and New Zealand were probably based on the UK regs so that’s why they are similar.
Negative. Must be a right-hand drive thing – mebbe the tail lights are aimed slightly to the side, which ends up being the wrong side for the folks driving on the wrong site of the road. Lets go with that and start a brand-new conspiracy theory.
I’ve seen comments about this as well and am just as confused. I’ve never in my life seen brake lights anywhere near bright enough that they should be a glare issue, even on dark roads where your eyes are more night adjusted. Maybe there are some drivers out there with epic cases of astigmatism or something but otherwise this feels like people desperately looking for something to be upset about. Is the guy whining about the hat trick also squinting at the traffic lights?
Also, they wouldn’t get nearly as much light refraction if they ever cleaned their windshield and/or installed new wiper blades.
It’s not common, but there are definitely some brake lights that give me glare issues. Not to the extent of modern headlights though. I don’t think we should be putting on parking brakes, but it is an issue with modern LED lights.
I find it more annoying when people flash their brake lights on and off constantly because they don’t know any other way to control their speed, such as lifting off the accelerator a bit. A steady red is no big deal, flashing them like a strip club marquee is just stupid
These are often people who drive with one foot on the gas and one on the brake, in my experience.
As someone with an astigmatism, it has never – not once – bothered me.
I’m in the UK. When I stop at lights I apply the parking brake, pop the manual gearbox in neutral and let the clutch up. I get back in gear in anticipation of the change to green. It’s no bother, and if I’m a feeble old dear (which I’m not yet) there isn’t a risk of my left leg giving up on the clutch and the car jerking forwards. Fractional safer, I guess, for no effort I notice.
If I’m driving an auto (borrowing a one legged friends car, or something posh like driving a JLR product to a garage for repair) then it’s foot down, brake lights on. I’m supposed to find the neutral button, then the stupid electric handbrake button, then the D button and then the electric handbrake button again? I’m already stopped, leave me alone.
When I worked over there in the US even two legged people drove autos, it’s like a different country and everything.
I do know people who complain of being “blinded” by brake lights in traffic. You’re stopped, look at something else if your retinas are too feeble to cope, or stop further back. You’re not going anywhere until the blinding lights have turned off, so I’m sure you’ll notice. Such babies.
Don’t recall reading about it in the Irish rules of the road. When I was getting lessons, my instructor advised me to apply the handbrake when stopped at lights in case of being rear-ended, as it would minimise the chance of the car running into oncoming traffic. I do this, only at lights where I know I’ll be waiting a while, but still keep my foot on the brake so cars behind me that haven’t caught up know I’ve stopped.
New automatic cars often come with a Brake Hold button, which lets you take your foot off the brake and keep the brake lights on. Sounds like this guy’s nightmare.
I have this brake hold feature in a manual car, in the UK.
At traffic lights I’ll use the brake hold until the car behind has stopped, (just in case it hits me), then apply the parking brake.
To me, the not dazzling the driver behind is a secondary benefit of using the parking brake. The primary benefit is it gives me a few seconds to take my feet completely away from the pedals. The car is effectively parked, I can relax more than if I was holding it on the brake.
This is absurd.
Glare? Seriously? Maybe people’s eyes work differently in the UK, but the glare in the twitter pic isn’t any worse than the traffic lights. And certainly less than any on-coming traffic. What do they think the glare is hiding in that instance anyway?