If someone is tailgating, cars should simulate brake lights
Posted by xiangkunwan@reddit | CrazyIdeas | View on Reddit | 105 comments
If someone is following way too close, your car could trigger a brief “phantom brake” signal, just flashing the brake lights without actually slowing down, to warn the driver behind to back off.
Rjc1471@reddit
Rear fog lights already exist. Usually that backs them off the first couple of times. Only brake check if they keep coming back for a sniff. And even then if there's nowhere to pull over and let them be someone else's problem
elcochon@reddit
Anti fog light should do the work
somecow@reddit
No simulation, they’re real. Brake to slow down. They’ll pass you, or just continue to ride your ass, in which case, drive even slower.
richrich07@reddit
I do this when someone decides to tailgate while I’m in the slow lane. I think all those “drafting saves energy!” videos a decade ago rotted people’s brains out.
xiangkunwan@reddit (OP)
But that slow yourself down, disrupts your driving rhythm and increases your fuel consumption slightly
Wild_Director7379@reddit
Fuel must be spent to maintain safety.
Bumslaw@reddit
Just have a bit of patience. It’s the only way to safely avoid a tailgater.
Slow down. Once they pass you, they’ll latch on to someone else. You can then pass both the tailgaiter and their new host and be rid of the problem.
Most people who tailgate are either not paying attention or are too nervous to drive a safe distance from someone. Just give them someone else to tailgate.
somecow@reddit
This is the way. They can go ride someone else’s ass. 99% of the time the “fast drivers” end up stuck at a light. Umm I’ve been driving the same road for years, I know the timing of the lights (and timing/location of the cops). Bye, good luck.
mylsotol@reddit
You can just tap your brakes without actually slowing down
No_Depth-@reddit
Nah just rock that shifter into neutral
PHILSTORMBORN@reddit
I'm not sure. Is there some parable that might tell us what happens when you make false warnings?
1234iamfer@reddit
How about the tailgater triggering the indicator, to promptly remind the lane to mode aside.
Wind_Mediocre@reddit
You can already do this manually. On any vehicle that is functioning properly, the brake lights should illuminate with a very light application on your brake peddle before the brakes actually grab. If someone is following way too close, I will lightly tap the peddle a couple of times to flash the brake lights, but will not engage the brakes.
If you don't know when your brake lights illuminate, look in you mirror when it is completely dark out with no cars around. You should be able to see when you lights get brighter. Pro-tip, when you are anywhere you can see the reflection of your vehicle, such as in front of a glass store front, look at your lights and verify that they are lit and have not burned out. Way too many folks ride around with burnt out lights.
PilotBurner44@reddit
This is an all around terrible idea. Brake lights serve one very specific purpose, and that purpose is incredibly important and should not be mixed into a hodgepodge of other random meanings that detract from the "vehicle slowing" meaning they are intended for.
ConorOblast@reddit
I just turn my hazard lights on. They usually get the idea.
originaljbw@reddit
And cars driving slowly in the left lane should move over on their own.
fancyPantsOne@reddit
training tailgaters to ignore break lights? seems like a solid plan
MediumAcceptable129@reddit
Are they capable of learning?
GrantNexus@reddit
*brake
Master_Art_1286@reddit
Something will definitely break though
fancyPantsOne@reddit
no time to proof read when shitposting
Blueshift7777@reddit
Bro you shouldn’t have to proofread two sentences
fancyPantsOne@reddit
I have a good excuse: I’m an idiot
Blueshift7777@reddit
Fair enough, same here
mechadragon469@reddit
You two? Small world.
taint_stain@reddit
I still don’t see a single sentence in this whole thread .
UnderwhelmingTwin@reddit
They lights will break if the car behind doesn't brake.
Nannyphone7@reddit
Provoking road rage everywhere you go, even when you're chill? Seems like a solid plan.
jigglywigglydigaby@reddit
Get yourself a vehicle with a manual transmission. A shitty vehicle with good airbags.....male sure you ha e good insurance as well.
Downshift, no brake, watch rearview mirror to see their flailing attempts to avoid the inevitable.
Bonus points if you remove the rear wiper washer fluid line so the fluid sprays straight back. Hit that washer button for a few seconds right after downshifting.
Follow me for more great advice......
Penis-Dance@reddit
I just tap the brakes randomly and slow down.
xiangkunwan@reddit (OP)
But that slow yourself down, disrupts your driving rhythm and increases your fuel consumption slightly
brn1001@reddit
Breaking increases your fuel consumption more than people think.
cobalt999@reddit
Driving 5 or 10mph is often more efficient anyway. Just coast for a bit and they'll go around you. Having a tailgater already disrupts your rhythm. You can afford to take an additional 15 seconds to get where you're going, especially in the name of safety.
People who tailgate are often absent-minded and not paying attention anyway. They just keep accelerating until there is something in front of them. They don't know how fast to drive, so they just let somebody else set the pace. They don't know how to use cruise control. They only wake up once they realize they're going slowly and try to go around. Brake checking them or flashing your brake lights is not going to get their attention, it will only cause them to hit you in the worst case.
Don't overthink this. If you wanna get rid of a tailgater, just slow down 5 miles per hour. If that doesn't work, try another 5 miles per hour. I make it a game. How much am I going to bump down my said speed before they finally go around? 55? 50? 45? I have plenty of time to get where I'm going. I don't need them to worry me about it.
Cheap-Chapter-5920@reddit
I feel so vulnerable with bad drivers behind me. Three times I've been rear-ended as well as many other close-calls and they weren't even tailgaters just idiots not paying attention. So you know those little loops that Google maps shows as an alternate route? Yeah, that's me, letting all those idiots get ahead of me.
DeniedAppeal1@reddit
You are not entitled to drive at maximum efficiency at all times. If you want to be safe, sometimes you have to sacrifice speed and efficiency.
xiangkunwan@reddit (OP)
Phantom traffic jam is caused by tailgaters following too close and braking harder than if they have the correct following distance.
If everyone had at least 2 seconds of following distance we would have fewer traffic jams
Penis-Dance@reddit
One guy would not stop tailgating me so I flashed my brakes SOS a few times. There was an unmarked cop behind him that pulled them over.
xiangkunwan@reddit (OP)
That is how photom traffic jam forms when someone in front of a line of tailgaters (randomly) brakes and the tailgaters brakes harder and so on
Steve-Shouts@reddit
Or a confetti cannon.
brn1001@reddit
Fart gas.
Horror_Ad3292@reddit
Turn on your right blinker, but don’t slow down. They will slow down. Turn off blinker. If they ride your ass again, do it again. If they ride your ass a third time, use your windshield washer fluid. It’ll get theirs wet too. They’ll figure it out.
RogerRabbot@reddit
Just tap the brake pedal. There's a slight give before the brakes actually engage
enry@reddit
Hit the hazard lights for a second.
chris14020@reddit
You can do this by pressing your brake lightly enough they illuminate but not slow down, did you seriously not think about that option?
I'm not specifically calling this post stupid, but I am thinking of some synonyms (that means 'words that mean the same thing') that you might still grasp.
Ghostley92@reddit
I don’t condone brake checking, but you can activate your brake lights without slowing down
Chemical_Support4748@reddit
Why not switch lanes?
xiangkunwan@reddit (OP)
Try that on a 2 Lane road and you will be in oncoming traffic
Chemical_Support4748@reddit
Shoulder
xiangkunwan@reddit (OP)
Not a driving lane, and why should I inconvenience myself to let a tailgater pass, they deserve to have a rear-end collision and pay for their actions.
Chemical_Support4748@reddit
Well you were already inconvenienced. Did you forget
xiangkunwan@reddit (OP)
That inconvenience is different, you can still go towards your destination at the speed limit and ignore them, but when you pull over you have to slow down, stop, wait for it to pass, then speed up again, reducing fuel economy and wasting time
Chemical_Support4748@reddit
Maybe tailgating is different from the other drivers
derekclysdale@reddit
So brake checking someone?
hamburgernet@reddit
Enhance auto addons for Tesla have this as a feature. Press a button and your brake lights turn on
SnooFlake@reddit
Fuck that, I would rather have a kill switch for mine!!!! If you ride my ass, you get ONE warning before I STAND on by brake pedal. Learn how to drive at a safe following distance or don’t fucking drive.
SomeSamples@reddit
I know of some people who have a switch in their car that will flip on their brake lights, just for this reason.
YonKro22@reddit
Yeah tap on the break while you have your foot on the accelerator until they back off.
twopointtwo2@reddit
EV, all you need to do is let off the gas and the break lights come on. I love it!
skookum-chuck@reddit
Really? That seems crazy to me.
OtterHostler@reddit
During the day you can do this with your tail lights. Just flick them on briefly and watch the asshole behind you slam the anchors on like a muppet.
Source: my dad. Who also told me it's a really stupid idea and not to do it. Better to either slow down and let them pass, or get the fuck out of the outside or middle lane.
traumahawk88@reddit
I mean ... Learn to solder and put a momentary switch on your dash. You could make this a reality in like 10 minutes.
Can confirm.
UnderwhelmingTwin@reddit
Hear me out: captrop.
Dick__Marathon@reddit
I often think about how much easier things could be if I had James Bond style spike and oil slick dispensers on my car
OrganizationPutrid68@reddit
Bond is too classy for dog shit launchers. I'm not.
NativeMasshole@reddit
Rear-facing machine guns.
shecky444@reddit
That would be illegal but I have no idea where these spark plugs in their windows came from. Must’ve bounced up from the road.
BeerAndTools@reddit
?
UnderwhelmingTwin@reddit
Instead of brake lights, or simulated brake lights, to encourage the other driver to back off, I'm advocating dropping captrop(s). Caltrop is traditionally a 4 pointed metal star type thing (so one point is always up). But anything that would destroy their tires would work. In this context, it would give them a flat tire, forcing them to stop and change their tire.
LawnJerk@reddit
I think they meant caltrop
herejusttoannoyyou@reddit
They should flash super bright, so the tailgater wants to get away from the bright lights.
Mundane-Caregiver169@reddit
They should be like a little ball of sunshine that instantly and permanently blinds them.
herejusttoannoyyou@reddit
Now we’re cooking with fire
BrowningLoPower@reddit
Nuclear fire, baby!
Mundane-Caregiver169@reddit
Oh yeah! It should cook them with fire!
LawnJerk@reddit
I used to have a camper so on my tow vehicle, there was a brake controller. The brake controller has a button that will activate the trailer brakes without pushing the vehicle brakes (which will also activate the brake lights). When not towing, the brake controller doesn't really do anything but if you push the button to activate the trailer brakes, the brake lights come on without activation of the vehicles brakes.
plumberbss@reddit
We had a truck with one of those. For towing our Airstream. That was in the 80's
plumberbss@reddit
I have often thought about installing a switch for this. But Clint Eastwood just pulled the headlight knob in the movie "The Eiger Sanction".
Karn-Dethahal@reddit
If your city has potholes in the streets just avoid one in the last second. It will teach them to keep distance. Or worse.
Exotic_Bill44@reddit
That would probably be more dangerous in the long run as the following driver may overreact to the phantom braking, causing a rear end collision behind him, or they might ignore real brake lights thinking it is phantom braking.
Reejerey1@reddit
2 seconds at 60 is 175 ft, or 10 car lengths. While it may be ideal it’s not practical and you’ll be constantly cut off.
BassesNBikes@reddit
No.
https://www.frantzlawgroup.com/insights/car-accidents/brake-checking/
Ben-Goldberg@reddit
Reading is hard.
The OP is suggesting the opposite of brake checking.
BassesNBikes@reddit
I guess reading *is* hard.
QED above
DeniedAppeal1@reddit
You can apply light pressure to your brakes to trigger them without actually slowing down -- no need for phantom lights.
BoxofRain2@reddit
Just put your turn signal on. Does the job and isn’t dangerous.
tads73@reddit
Well, you can gently tap on your break, allowing the break lights to go on, without the car breaking.
Blueshift7777@reddit
BRAKE BRAKE BRAKE BRAKE BRAKE BRAKE BRAKE BRAKE BRAKE BRAKE
fugaziozbourne@reddit
Or tap on the hazard lights. That has always been my trick.
Mr_Blott@reddit
You had three attempts, and fucked it up all three times
zdriveee@reddit
I like to make them shit themselves a little by speeding up then suddenly turning on my regen (EV) which does not trigger brake lights but simulates the deceleration of downshifting in an ICE, and seeing them slam on the brakes in my rearview mirror
koyaani@reddit
You sure? It doesn't simulate deceleration by downshifting, it applies a braking force at the wheels, lol
zdriveee@reddit
EV regeneration at a rate comparable to downshifting in an internal combustion engine vehicle. Maybe that clears it up for you, original wording may have been confusing.
koyaani@reddit
ICE cars don't really downshift like that though. With an automatic transmission, if you take your foot off the gas, the fuel use disengages and you can coast freely. People don't really engine brake and downshift in normal cars. I don't really understand the point of the variably aggressive regeneration instead of true coasting in EVs, but I guess it probably helps with range or something
zdriveee@reddit
Maybe my wording is still confusing, but the phrase comparable to is the keyword here.
The amount of deceleration in the EV under regen is COMPARABLE TO lifting off in an ICE and downshifting a gear
koyaani@reddit
Weird comparison, but ok
zdriveee@reddit
Can you help me come up with a clearer one? I could tell you that its 0.1g but if you couldnt even understand coasting and a downshift youd've been even more confused
beastpilot@reddit
EV's do trigger the brake lights via regen, by law.
zdriveee@reddit
Mine do not, I have checked with an insta360. Its required if its applying braking levels of regen, not ice coasting levels.
beastpilot@reddit
As you say, the level of deceleration matters. But it needs to trigger at about 0.1G, which is minimal.
You're not making people shit themselves with 0.1G of deceleration. Why would they need to slam on their brakes when you're barely slowing down?
zdriveee@reddit
I am certain it is going beyond .1g at 80 mph. It will decelerate from 80 to 70 in 1-2 seconds.
And you have to take the entire comment into account. I am speeding up. the tailgater is also speeding up to match me, their foot is on the throttle. If they have even a car length between us, that gap is going to close in less than a second once I go from acceleration to deceleration, while theyre under the impression I am still accelerating.
Disc0Turkey@reddit
Even worse if there’s a clear path around you but they wanna be a bumper sticker cus that’s the following distance they’re used to driving at. Double points if you’re in traffic and there’s nowhere for either you or them to go…
Brake lights IMO don’t rly give people the hint to back up. Sometimes it can aggravate people since it bruises their ego(?) Also if they’re really that close, I don’t wanna take the chance that their reaction time is gonna save me from a fender bender.
BUT - especially if they’re in a convertible - Suddenly realizing my windshield is dirty and I need to spray em down typically does the trick. If my windshield spray can touch your car, chances are you’re already too close.
Worst case I’ll hit a turn off and just get them in front of me if they’re really up on me. I don’t want that stress in my life. If you’re gonna drive like that, do it in front of me so I can avoid whatever the heck you’re up to.
the_gamer_guy56@reddit
If your brake pads/rotors are worn a bit, you've got a bit of travel in the pedal where the pads haven't started making contact with the rotors yet, but the brake lights come on as soon as the pedal moves from its resting position at all.
altigoGreen@reddit
I drive on a lot of side roads with my work truck. People love to ride my ass because I'm too slow.... but I'm in a company truck I should technically be doing exactly the speed limit otherwise I'm risking my job. I drive at like 10 km/hr over.
I'll first try and hit them with wiper fluid a few times. Its kinda funny seeing them turn wipers on when its sunny and 30C out. They usually back off but sometimes they catch right back up. If they keep tailgating and refuse to pass ill slow down to exactly the speed limit. Usually they pass now. If they still won't pass and continue to tailgate even with adequate opportunities, I'll touch a couple tires to the gravel shoulder 'accidently'. They almost always back off or pass then.
kalel3000@reddit
Just slow down so they merge around you or merge to the right to let them pass and merge back. Either way you dont have to deal with them after that because they cant tail gate you if they're in front of you.
You dont know how unhinged they may or may not be, if they think you're brake checking them, you could start a whole road rage scenario, where now they get in front of you and start brake checking you.
JCMiller23@reddit
I always put on my flashers and slow down a bit, they sometimes get the idea