1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,020
Turn signals.

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00:00:01,020 --> 00:00:02,360
They’re a good invention.

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00:00:02,380 --> 00:00:03,460
Use them.

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00:00:03,540 --> 00:00:07,860
Every motor vehicle legal for road use has
to have a certain number of exterior lights

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00:00:07,870 --> 00:00:10,700
and indicators to be considered roadworthy.

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00:00:10,700 --> 00:00:14,080
This is practically a worldwide truth, and
for good reason.

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00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:18,320
Putting our fragile meat bags into metal boxes
capable of traveling speeds well in excess

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00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:22,179
of what our bodies can naturally accomplish
is inherently dangerous.

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00:00:22,179 --> 00:00:26,500
To help make this activity just a little bit
safer, governments world-over have mandated

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00:00:26,500 --> 00:00:30,640
that these high-speed mechanical conveyance
devices be fitted with indicator lights to

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help inform the humans in control of other
dangerous driving machines just what sort

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00:00:34,690 --> 00:00:39,370
of action the vehicles around them are currently
doing, or about to do.

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Hopefully, this helps avoid collisions.

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00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:42,600
And it does!

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00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:44,600
But there’s one continent in particular

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00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:46,040
--North America--

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00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:47,460
that allows tail lights that are

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proven to be a safety compromise, that would
seem bizarre to anyone living in Europe, and

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00:00:52,239 --> 00:00:54,769
which frustrate me to no end.

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What is that compromise?

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Well, let’s take a look.

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Oh no, I’m gonna have to go outside for
this, aren’t I?

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Gah!

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Nature!

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This is a 2002 Honda Odyssey.

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It’s a minivan, the most exciting and desirable
class of vehicles available today.

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00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:15,300
This vehicle is following European tail light
standards.

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Notice this red section of the tail light.

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This is the brake light, activated by the
brake light switch on the brake pedal, and

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00:01:21,890 --> 00:01:26,270
whenever it’s lit, you know without a doubt
that the driver is slowing down (at least

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barring a mechanical issue or a driver riding
the brake).

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00:01:29,670 --> 00:01:33,450
With the aid of the third brake light, there
are a total of three indicators to tell drivers

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00:01:33,450 --> 00:01:36,360
following the Odyssey that it is slowing down.

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00:01:38,050 --> 00:01:41,020
Now notice this amber section of the tail
light.

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Whenever it’s lit, you know that the driver
is signalling for a turn.

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There is no ambiguity between these two signals.

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Red always means stopping, and amber always
means turning.

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This is a 2013 Chevrolet Volt.

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You may have immediately noticed the compromise
here but let’s make it more clear.

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00:01:59,010 --> 00:02:03,120
If I step on the brake pedal, three lights
illuminate just like in the Odyssey.

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00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:07,270
But if I hit the turn signal, now one of the
brake lights has started flashing.

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There is no amber indicator of any kind on
the rear of this vehicle.

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00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:16,120
In North America - that’s right, Canada,
too - the motor vehicle standards allow for

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red turn signals on the rear.

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00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:23,940
But even worse, they allow for one indicator
to share the function of both a brake light

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and a turn signal.

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00:02:25,310 --> 00:02:29,860
To manufacturers who are continuing to use
this lighting setup, I have two words:

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Stop it!

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00:02:31,140 --> 00:02:34,880
Now if it’s somehow not obvious that this
is a safety compromise, let’s go over the

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reasons why.

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00:02:36,250 --> 00:02:38,840
Recall a statement I made 11 sentences ago.

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“There is no ambiguity between these two
signals.

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00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:46,390
Red always means stopping, and amber always
means turning.”

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00:02:46,390 --> 00:02:50,490
Well, there most certainly IS signal ambiguity
when it comes to this vehicle.

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For other drivers, the only way to discern
the meaning of the signal is its behavior.

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00:02:54,970 --> 00:02:59,100
A solid light indicates braking, and a flashing
light indicates turning.

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00:02:59,540 --> 00:03:04,820
Fair enough, but this creates far too many
unclear and thus potentially dangerous situations.

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00:03:04,830 --> 00:03:07,500
Say you’re following a vehicle with a broken
tail light.

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00:03:07,500 --> 00:03:13,000
If it were the Volt, then every time the brake
pedal is depressed, only one side would illuminate.

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To an American driver, this would appear as
a turn signal until the point in which they

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have registered that it isn’t flashing.

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00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:24,170
In essence, its function is delayed for however
long it takes the person behind you to realize

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00:03:24,170 --> 00:03:26,350
that the left tail light is out.

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00:03:26,350 --> 00:03:31,440
Granted, the third brake light, mandated for
passenger vehicles in 1986, helps by only

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illuminating with the brake pedal, but then
you have to rely on the driving knowing that.

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At a glance, this looks like a driver signaling
for a right turn, which is not an ideal assumption

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to make.

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00:03:43,010 --> 00:03:44,870
They might be slamming on the brake.

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00:03:44,870 --> 00:03:49,520
Also, if you’re on an angle and can only
see one of the tail lights, again you can’t

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get a clear picture of what’s going on.

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00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:55,420
If you’re looking from this angle and the
driver has their left turn signal on, then

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00:03:55,420 --> 00:03:57,880
you couldn’t see that they are stopping.

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00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:01,800
This might be an uncommon problem, but imagine
you’re following this car through a left

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00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:04,850
turn and you can’t see the other tail light.

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00:04:04,850 --> 00:04:09,730
With the left one flashing, it’s up to you
to see that the third brake light is lit.

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00:04:09,730 --> 00:04:10,800
See the problem?

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00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:14,760
Of course if you have a brake light go out,
now you’ve also lost a turn signal!

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00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:17,280
Say on this car that the left tail light went
out.

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00:04:17,280 --> 00:04:21,449
Then, every time I step on the brake, it will
briefly look as though I’ve engaged my right

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00:04:21,449 --> 00:04:24,259
turn signal, since this light hasn’t lit
up.

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00:04:24,259 --> 00:04:28,530
And even worse, if I am using the right turn
signal, now this light can’t function as

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00:04:28,530 --> 00:04:32,849
a brake light, and the only thing that will
indicate that I’m slowing down is the third

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00:04:32,849 --> 00:04:33,949
brake light.

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00:04:33,949 --> 00:04:39,150
So with this light out, and that light flashing
the only indicator that you’re slowing down

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00:04:39,150 --> 00:04:42,129
or stopping is the Center High-Mounted Stop
Light (CHMSL).

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00:04:42,129 --> 00:04:43,629
That’s pretty dumb!

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00:04:43,629 --> 00:04:46,789
Now for the Europeans out there, you might
ask what this vehicle looks like with its

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00:04:46,789 --> 00:04:47,889
hazards on.

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00:04:47,889 --> 00:04:48,889
Let me show you!

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00:04:48,889 --> 00:04:50,210
They look like this.

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00:04:50,210 --> 00:04:54,830
Now neither one of these lights can function
as a brake light!

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00:04:54,830 --> 00:04:59,870
If I were driving around with my hazards on,
the only indicator that I’m slowing down

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00:04:59,870 --> 00:05:01,509
is the third brake light.

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00:05:01,509 --> 00:05:05,930
I think it’s for this reason that in Illinois,
and other states I’m sure, you cannot drive

95
00:05:05,930 --> 00:05:08,379
with your hazards on; it’s considered illegal.

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00:05:08,379 --> 00:05:11,629
And this is a shame because there are plenty
of reasons where you would want to do that,

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00:05:11,629 --> 00:05:15,809
such as letting other drivers know that you’re
on a spare tire and warning them that you’re

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00:05:15,809 --> 00:05:17,169
driving slowly.

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00:05:17,169 --> 00:05:23,210
But with this car, with the hazards on, TWO
THIRDS of its brake lights are no longer functional

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as brake lights.

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00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:28,610
In the Odyssey, the hazards can be on and
the brake lights work completely normally.

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But this car?

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00:05:29,610 --> 00:05:31,999
Ugh, I can’t stand this design!

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00:05:31,999 --> 00:05:35,319
Now there are plenty of vehicles here in the
States that use red turn signals, but use

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separate indicators.

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00:05:36,900 --> 00:05:43,199
In fact on this Odyssey, from 1999 until 2001,
the turn signals were a slightly lighter shade of red.

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That’s better, but there’s still ambiguity.

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For a vehicle in Europe, red light ALWAYS
means braking.

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If you ever see red, you know you should slow
down.

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00:05:51,900 --> 00:05:56,919
But here in North America, that’s right
Canada too, red could just mean turning.

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00:05:56,919 --> 00:06:01,050
So long as this is allowed, we will always
have to deal with signal ambiguity here in

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00:06:01,050 --> 00:06:02,369
North America.

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00:06:02,369 --> 00:06:06,389
While I’m up on my high horse, let me say
to you, car manufacturers in America, could

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you please just stop?

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00:06:08,300 --> 00:06:11,279
Why do you continue to use this flawed design?

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Are you so concerned with saving a few dollars
per car?

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Multiple studies have shown that there is
a clear safety advantage to using amber turn signals.

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Even without a study it should seem obvious--

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distinguishing function by color will always be faster than

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00:06:25,789 --> 00:06:27,819
by whether it’s flashing or not.

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00:06:27,819 --> 00:06:32,129
My speculative answer as to why this continues
to be a thing in North America is that car

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designers like the cleaner look of red-only
tail lights, and the general public just doesn’t

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care enough.

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That second part seems clear.

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00:06:40,449 --> 00:06:46,110
When the new Chevrolet Cruze hatchback was
released, GM decided to put in amber turn signals.

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SaabKyle04’s review of this car mentioned
this, but only as an aside in courtesy of

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those who might prefer it.

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It’s not preference, people, it’s safety.

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It truly baffles me how little people care
about this.

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And other times, the design seems to be there,
but the function is killed.

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I was thrilled when I saw the design of the
tail lights on both the Chevy Cruze sedan

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and the Equinox.

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Two white inserts, one of these is probably
an amber turn signal!

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I thought, good going GM, you fixed yourself.

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Nope!

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That one is a reverse light, and that one
does nothing.

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00:07:17,889 --> 00:07:22,379
Although, I would bet that if either of these
cars is to be sold in Europe, you would indeed

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find an amber bulb behind that white lens
there.

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00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:29,160
Even weirder, this problem isn’t limited
to American automakers.

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Sure, your GM, Ford, and Chrysler products
are most likely to use this turn-signal brake-light

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00:07:34,139 --> 00:07:39,249
two-for-one combo, but a surprising number
of Volkswagen and Audi models do it, too.

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They couldn’t get away with it in Europe,
but in the US they do.

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That’s why I think it’s a designer preference.

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Plenty of “foreign” automakers --

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♪ lively music ♪

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00:08:01,940 --> 00:08:04,000
Plenty of “foreign” automakers

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also use red turn signals on their cars for
sale in the US market.

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00:08:07,759 --> 00:08:12,009
It’s less common to see the shared turn
signal and brake light, but it is surprisingly

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00:08:12,009 --> 00:08:13,830
common in German makes.

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00:08:13,830 --> 00:08:18,280
Oh, and even the Tesla Model S uses this obnoxious
turn signal brake light combo

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for models sold domestically.

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00:08:20,580 --> 00:08:23,180
Yes, I know that’s American but, eh…

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00:08:23,180 --> 00:08:23,820
[sigh of frustration because this part of the script hadn’t been completely thought out]

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Now I get it, how often is this really an
issue?

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00:08:26,679 --> 00:08:29,280
We seem to be doing OK with cars like this.

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00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:33,639
And a good, defensive driver will probably
still treat a red light of any sort as cause

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to start slowing down--or at least cover the
brake.

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00:08:36,750 --> 00:08:41,389
But I’d love to see an entity like the Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety starting to take

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this into account for their safety scores.

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00:08:43,769 --> 00:08:48,699
I would imagine the IIHS has data on rear-end
collisions per vehicle model, and I’d be

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curious to see if there’s a clear difference
between red-only cars and red-plus-amber.

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00:08:53,850 --> 00:08:58,139
But the point remains--in Europe at large,
a red light on the back of a vehicle will

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always mean braking,

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and an amber light will
always mean turning or a hazard condition.

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See red?

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00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:05,080
Must be braking.

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00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:05,860
See amber?

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00:09:05,860 --> 00:09:06,780
Must be turning.

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00:09:06,780 --> 00:09:08,460
But in the US, see red?

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Who knows!?

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00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:11,660
You’ll have to stare at it for a moment
to be sure.

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And while I’m griping--I know I’m such
a downer--this 16 year old minivan has a feature

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that ought to be standard in every car sold
today.

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Here’s the instrument cluster.

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00:09:21,269 --> 00:09:24,300
Pretty basic by today’s standards, but it
gets the job done.

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Now I’ve pulled one of the brake lights out
so it isn’t working.

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00:09:27,670 --> 00:09:30,320
Watch what happens as soon as I step on the
brake--

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a red light appears.

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00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:34,120
What does it say?

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00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:35,240
BRAKE LAMP.

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00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:39,529
This 16 year old car is monitoring the current
going through the brake light circuit, and

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00:09:39,529 --> 00:09:42,779
when it gets too low, it illuminates a warning
light on the dash.

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00:09:42,779 --> 00:09:44,970
Why is this not just a universal thing?

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00:09:44,970 --> 00:09:48,279
Another thing, can we make automatic headlights
standard?

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00:09:48,279 --> 00:09:52,540
This vehicle has a light sensor on the dashboard
and when it gets dark outside the headlights

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00:09:52,540 --> 00:09:54,220
come on by themselves.

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00:09:54,220 --> 00:09:58,279
Even better, they’ll also come on if you
turn on the windshield wipers during the day.

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00:09:58,279 --> 00:10:03,161
I’ve seen more and more people lately driving
around at night without their headlights on, and

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00:10:03,161 --> 00:10:07,949
I think that’s because so many new cars
have backlit screens for gauges, so the instrument

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00:10:07,949 --> 00:10:09,740
cluster is always lit.

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00:10:09,740 --> 00:10:13,440
In an older car like the Odyssey, it’s obvious
that your headlights aren’t on because at

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00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:17,180
night you can’t see the gauges, but that’s
largely not the case anymore.

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00:10:17,180 --> 00:10:22,330
It’s apparently a little too easy to not
notice that you haven’t turned on your headlights.

194
00:10:22,330 --> 00:10:26,080
And also, too many people see the light from
their daytime running lights and assume that

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00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:32,420
their headlights are already on, not realizing
that their tail lights aren’t lit for nighttime driving.

196
00:10:32,420 --> 00:10:35,670
So please, let’s get automatic headlights
in more cars, OK?

197
00:10:35,670 --> 00:10:39,550
They’re almost all computer controlled via
a relay anyway, so could you just stick an

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00:10:39,550 --> 00:10:42,129
ambient light sensor on the dash and call
it a day, thanks.

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00:10:42,129 --> 00:10:46,740
Now as you may know if you follow this channel,
in my family there are now both a Chevy Volt

200
00:10:46,740 --> 00:10:49,269
and a Chevy Bolt EV.

201
00:10:49,269 --> 00:10:53,199
And in the case of the Bolt, it has separate
amber turn signals!

202
00:10:53,199 --> 00:10:54,199
How amazing!

203
00:10:54,199 --> 00:10:59,570
Now, I suspect the reason it does is that
GM is marketing this car in Europe, and rather

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00:10:59,570 --> 00:11:04,339
than create two separate tail light designs,
they use the same European-compliant version

205
00:11:04,339 --> 00:11:05,690
for both markets.

206
00:11:05,690 --> 00:11:10,950
I think this probably also explains the Chevy
Cruze hatchback’s use of amber turn signals.

207
00:11:10,950 --> 00:11:16,209
But this car demonstrates a humorous dedication
to design in spite of regulations.

208
00:11:16,209 --> 00:11:21,040
See in the US, tail lights, turn signals,
and headlights cannot be on any part of the

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00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:22,209
vehicle that moves.

210
00:11:22,209 --> 00:11:28,329
So they can’t be on the hood or bonnet,
the doors or the boot/trunk/hatch lid/whatever.

211
00:11:28,329 --> 00:11:30,730
On this car, they are on the hatch.

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00:11:30,730 --> 00:11:35,620
To get around this, GM has installed a second
set of redundant brake lights in the bumper

213
00:11:35,620 --> 00:11:38,920
which the vehicle will switch to as soon as
the hatch is opened.

214
00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:39,740
Take a look.

215
00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:47,240
What this says to me is that the whole “one
lamp for both the turn signal and the brake

216
00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:50,060
light” isn’t so much of a cost-saving
measure.

217
00:11:50,069 --> 00:11:54,240
It’s just a design that people like and
can get away with.

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00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:55,800
And I don’t think they should.

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00:11:55,800 --> 00:12:00,070
Incidentally, I saw an Audi crossover on the
road with tail lights like the Bolt, and one

220
00:12:00,070 --> 00:12:02,390
of the LED modules had failed.

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00:12:02,390 --> 00:12:05,260
The computer had apparently detected this,
so for this car,

222
00:12:05,260 --> 00:12:09,050
the left-hand bumper brake light
was illuminating in its stead.

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00:12:09,050 --> 00:12:12,730
It was rather an odd sight, but there was
a working brake light on both sides.

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00:12:12,730 --> 00:12:16,959
That’s a very clever and thoughtful use
of redundancy there, Audi.

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Good job.

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But the fact that the LED failed is a little,
um, worrisome.

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Anyway, that’s enough hammering on about
automotive design for now.

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I admit--I like to look at the designs of
tail lights and I think they are a huge part

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of the look to any vehicle.

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I always appreciate a cool-looking tail light,
and I can understand the temptation to keep

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the design clean by eliminating the amber
bulb.

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But please.

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Think of the children!

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Or at the very least, think of the various
scenarios we’ve discussed in which having

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a separate amber turn signal is clearly advantageous

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and creates a safer, less ambiguous driving environment.

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Thanks for watching, I hope you enjoyed this
video!

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This is a little different from most of my
videos, and I have Jared S --AKA Wookie Goldberg--

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on Twitter for the inspiration to make this.

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I was beginning to worry that I was the only
human who was remotely concerned about this

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stupid design, but it seems at least 12 others
agree!

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So that’s good news, I guess.

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Anyway, as always, thanks to everyone who
supports the channel on Patreon, especially

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the fine folks scrolling up the screen.

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This channel is made possible with the support
of people like you, and if you’d like to

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join these amazing people and support the
channel too, why not take a look at my Patreon page?

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Thanks for your consideration, and I’ll
see you next time!

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Gah!

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Nature!

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That actually pricked me.

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Great going!