Anyone else noticed this ??

[DXP55]

Or is it me. ?

I pulled up at a crossroad and a Transit was coming from right hand side and then slowed down - I thought is he letting me go but stayed there and his indicator was on to turn right - Thing is his headlights were also on and the indicators are right next to headlights down the outer edge.
Today the same thing only on a BMW - I can see the headlights but the indicator was almost invisible.
Is it because the headlights of today are much brighter than of old.

 

[Mcnumpty2323]

No it's not just you
And some cars seem to have indicators that are closer to yellow than orange which doesn't help either

 

[Semple]

Or is it me. ?

I pulled up at a crossroad and a Transit was coming from right hand side and then slowed down - I thought is he letting me go but stayed there and his indicator was on to turn right - Thing is his headlights were also on and the indicators are right next to headlights down the outer edge.
Today the same thing only on a BMW - I can see the headlights but the indicator was almost invisible.
Is it because the headlights of today are much brighter than of old.

Most newer cars, at least for DRLs get dimmed on the corner where the indicator bulb is being illuminated. Which helps massively.

 

[Mcnumpty2323]

May also be caused by people fitting non street legal headlight bulbs as well

 

[Danm54]

The led lights on the rear of a bus are the worst I've seen, a bit of sun on them and you can't see if they're on or not.

Car indicators have been getting worse for a while, especially the rears when the brake lights are on as well.

 

[Finglonga]

Car indicators have been getting worse for a while, especially the rears when the brake lights are on as well.

Noticed with the rears the Mirror, Signal, Manoeuvre has been replaced with forget the Mirror, Manoeuvre then Signal and the brake lights are so bright they mask the indicators.

 

[Danm54]

Noticed with the rears the Mirror, Signal, Manoeuvre has been replaced with forget the Mirror, Manoeuvre then Signal and the brake lights are so bright they mask the indicators.

True, a couple of flashes before braking would help no end.
Instead you just get people braking, normally a bit late for the junction, and a flash or 2 as they turn in.
I assume these people don't think braking is a manoeuvre. Not that I think it would help if you told them.

 

[iamdjdz]

Yeah often get this at the crossroads near mine end up stopping to let someone turn right opposite when I'm turning right. The ones that change/dim headlight to indicator are good, seem to be standard on land rover and mercs.

 

[PardonTheWait]

Definitely an issue more and more as cars get more modern. Current designs really favour indicators that are really integrated in the headlight unit on a lot of cars and it looks good but it does cause an issue with seeing indicators, especially with how good headlights are recently.

 

[LiE]

My car sort of helps with this as it uses part of the DRL so turns it off on the indicting side at the top.

 

[NVP]

The worst indicator lights to see were when Audi first brought our that thin strip of yellow light on the rears which lit up from inside to out... they were a nightmare to see in sunshine.

 

[DampDog]

I and a couple of mates were having the "pub-discussion" about this not so long back. You would have thought there would have been some sort of legislation in place to stop this. Headlamps are getting brighter and even DRL's can be pretty bright, all of which makes it more difficult to spot the turn signal. Imo, the indicator should be separated from the headlamps and sod the design aesthetics. Apart from placement some indicators are tiny. Progess eh!!!

The moving strip indicators that are appearing on Audi's are quite effective (on the rear anyway)

 

[cheesyboy]

The worst indicator lights to see were when Audi first brought our that thin strip of yellow light on the rears which lit up from inside to out... they were a nightmare to see in sunshine.

Pretty sure I saw a Peugeot with a similar strip on the front (was a while ago now, and don't recall seeing again, so perhaps a less common model?), filling inside to out, and it was not at all obvious that it was flashing. Really bad idea those ones.

 

[TheVoice]

I and a couple of mates were having the "pub-discussion" about this not so long back. You would have thought there would have been some sort of legislation in place to stop this. Headlamps are getting brighter and even DRL's can be pretty bright, all of which makes it more difficult to spot the turn signal. Imo, the indicator should be separated from the headlamps and sod the design aesthetics. Apart from placement some indicators are tiny. Progess eh!!!

They don't need to be separate, the manufacturers just need to either dim the appropriate DRL and make their indicators bright enough in the first place to be visible past the light from the headlights. The front indicators on my Leon are tiny yet are easily visible with the headlights on.

Pretty sure I saw a Peugeot with a similar strip on the front (was a while ago now, and don't recall seeing again, so perhaps a less common model?), filling inside to out, and it was not at all obvious that it was flashing. Really bad idea those ones.

Agreed, the whole benefit of LED lights on vehicles is that they provide instant, bright light with a definitive on-off. Audi et al are just making them harder to notice again for the sake of extra bling, and now everyone's copying them.

 

[Mcnumpty2323]

Guess unless there's a specific law banning it car manufacturers will use what ever they think looks good
The laws change way slower than manufacturers innovate
Flashing brake lights are also a thing that confuses people behind them
But no UK law against flashing brake lights apparently

 

[theone8181]

Guess unless there's a specific law banning it car manufacturers will use what ever they think looks good
The laws change way slower than manufacturers innovate
Flashing brake lights are also a thing that confuses people behind them
But no UK law against flashing brake lights apparently

I thought they only flashed if you slammed on (or are one of those poor drivers that can't judge speed while trying to be in somebodies boot).

 

[Mcnumpty2323]

I thought they only flashed if you slammed on (or are one of those poor drivers that can't judge speed while trying to be in somebodies boot).

That's the idea
But looks like you can have them flash for normal braking if you want to
So guess some one will do it

 

[DampDog]

They don't need to be separate, the manufacturers just need to either dim the appropriate DRL and make their indicators bright enough in the first place to be visible past the light from the headlights. The front indicators on my Leon are tiny yet are easily visible with the headlights on.

I'm not convinced by the logic of making one lamp dim so that another becomes more visible. Feels like poor design to me, going down the technology for technologies sake path. I quite like the use of the Audi style indicator lamps that move and flash, they tend to catch the eye. But even those feel like it's more for decoration than function. They'd be better off putting some tech in the car that punches them in the face if they turn without signalling.

 

[Mcnumpty2323]

Mine doesn't punch me in the face lol

But it does start making load of noise if I cross the white line with out indicating
Guess that's better than nothing

 

[TheVoice]

I'm not convinced by the logic of making one lamp dim so that another becomes more visible.

DRLs are obviously designed to be visible in daylight so they're usually at least as bright as an indicator would be, so a slight dim (or using the DRL to flash orange instead) makes a lot of sense and is why most manufacturers do just that (though not all, unfortunately).