Smart Brake Lights Make Drivers More Aware

The problem with brake lights, according to a group of Virginia Tech engineering students, is that the warning signals are simple “yes or no” propositions. When a driver engages the brake in any way, the lights go on without any indication to the following vehicle of how quickly the car will decelerate. Therefore, you get the same signal whether the driver is merely tapping the brake or slamming on the pedal to avoid a major obstacle in the road.

In response to this problem, the students have devised a new kind of brake light, one that actually tells drivers how quickly the car in front of them will stop. The lights are a series of bars that glow orange when a car is merely slowing and bright red when it is about to come to a more immediate halt. The urgency of the lights would be intuitive for drivers based on existing traffic signals.

The only drawback is that the lights will be more expensive to manufacture than existing brake lights. The students think the price of the technology will come down quickly, especially when the lights become commercialized.

Smart Brake Light System Would Provide More Information to Drivers (Physorg.com)