Technical New Traffic Light Viewer Fail

I have found them to be most useful when sitting stopped at a red traffic light, waiting it for it to turn green. It keeps me from having to crane my 6'6" frame while waiting for the light to change. I never have "driven through" the traffic light viewer.

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This is exactly what they are used for. If you think they are to see traffic around you, you are wrong.

 

I found this to be a very effective traffic light viewer. No distortion. Too bad it only works on Model As.

 

Hey Brent, sits right above the dash - center steering wheel. I set back in the seat, so look at it right beneath the top of the steering wheel.....right above the dash.....if that makes sense. Have the dash out right now or I'd take a pic.

 

Received mine yesterday and can attest that it will work just dandy also. Nice and clear with no distortion.

 

I had a 2” bubble mirror that I set on the dashboard of my old Kenworth with a sun visor. It worked fine.

 

Well, clearly you are not driving a chopped Model A with a visor in central Pennsylvania, because sometimes you need that help. I use it when I am first in line at a red light but the sight angle is too steep to see the overhead-only light. Also, thanks for always using the authoritative BOLD print every time you post.

 

Old, but a very useful thread! Here in Portugal most of the lights are just to the right of you on the corner - kinda dumb as they are hard to see unless you stop 10m back. Wife chides me about grumbling and craning my neck to see the damn light.

Glad for the warning about the United Pacific product...

 

Yep. Old thread but probably useful for folks who haven't ever heard of these. I have had this same one in Clarence since shortly after we chopped the top in 1993. Works great. In Clarence (1948 F-1 panel truck) I mounted it in the hole in the dash where the former vacuum windshield wiper knob was.



The only pic I have on my computer of it installed in Clarence is this one. This pic was taken the day after the October 15, 2025 damage on I-64 in East Illinois. Not a good pic but at least you can see where it's mounted.




Some previous comments suggested that the vehicle is in motion when using this. Not true. These are for when you're sitting still waiting for the red light to change to green.

The following pic is one I just snapped in my garage a minute ago. This is in my restored Model A. Both hood sides are open. The dot just to the left of the rear-view mirror is a prism of some sort that's about 1 1/2" in diameter. This also works great. It was in the car when I bought it. As the previous owner is deceased I can't ask him where he got it. I've searched several times and haven't found it listed anywhere.



If you're running a visor or chopped top I highly recommend you look into installing one of these.

 

One of the posts here note using a prism from a RV supply store. Noting our 2024 Peugeot e2008 would look out of place with something from the early 50's mounted on the dash. I will snap up a RV prism and play with it...

What is ancient may work well here.

 

So glad this was bumped up. I just bought one of the ones from my post above that lay flat on the windshield.

 

1: that’s awesome I really never considered the originals could give you a clear image!
2: I have a stock bodied 46 ford and if I’m the first car at the light I can almost never see the stop light unless I’m at an intersection that’s more than a couple lanes going each direction.

I think they can get away with the lights being perched so high because late model cars have such large laid back windshields and different seating postures. This isn’t some bs unless I want to stop a good twenty feet back from the stop line or lean far forward you seriously can’t see the light.

I just lean forward, but I can see the need for one being reasonable in more situations than you might think.

Edit: as far as the amount of time spent at stop lights I have an 8 minute drive from home to work and that’s 5 stop lights one way.

 

If you spent a couple miles in traffic driving my Willys, you'd figure it out pretty quickly. Definitely not just a gimmick. I use it every time I'm the first car at a traffic light, and that's the only time I use it. Without it I gotta lean way forward and crane my neck. And my car is unchopped.

 

Using a 35mm Pentax film camera with Ektachrome color slide film, it was held on the dash of my 327 powered 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery coming home from a photo shoot. I put the camera on the dash and just held the ****on down.

Hello,
This is a random photo I took many years ago, while sitting at a stop light prior to moving across the intersection near the old Lakewood Drive-in theater location. I was headed home from a long day of two photo shoot projects, one a custom motorcycle and the other an old hot rod photo shoot. But, I had several shots left on the Kodak film roll of 36 shots. So, I wanted to see if the photos at night would come out.

There were other fully exposed rolls, but this was the last one for the day to night photo shoot projects.

The sight line from the bucket seats in the cab was fine. I had the seat as far back as I could adjust the seat. Grabbing the steering wheel with one hand and holding the 35mm film camera with the other was not a problem. No manual focusing. It was set at maximum distance for a good wide shot from my 50 mm 1.4 speed lens. Yes, I was surprised when the finished color slides came back from the Kodak shop.

Jnaki

The view from the two bucket seats was very good through the narrow 40 ford window.

In contrast, when we were 10 years younger, my brother and I built our first 1940 Willys Coupe for future use of it being a daily driver to school and play.
We originally built up a 283 SBC motor with 6 Strombergs as we wanted it to be a somewhat easy start and able to drive on the streets, which we did when we got finished with the rolling project. Cruising inside with both of us was a little cramped, but it ran fine to and from the local teenage hangout. The vision out of the front window was fine and there were no blockages from anything. we did not install a dash mounted tach until later.

It was a fun hot rod to drive around locally and we did it for a couple of weeks prior to taking it to nearby Lion's Dragstrip to see what it could do in that form. Carburetor powered SBC with a 3 speed LaSalle transmission and a 4:56 Positraction rear end made driving around excellent. There were no problems seeing the intersections. The left rear part of the cab did create a blind spot, but we had outside mirrors to help out.

As we all got information from our dads and the driver ed teacher, we also learned to adjust our view of the road without any items bothering us during our drives. As much as those viewing devices are historic, they create a distraction as if you are looking at your Iphone to make a call or distracted otherwise. Any distraction device is not law abiding as it is a hindrance to clear vision and awareness of the surroundings. YRMV

 

@jnaki you're arguing against something that's as useful as your rear view mirror. Is that device a distraction?

How about eye gl***es? Hahah

Chopped cars are hard to see out of - period. Seating position, windshield angle, visors, etc., impede vision. Isn't it responsible to use a device designed to help?

I, for one, wouldn't argue about something that helps reduce risk/danger for someone else.

Comparing it to an iPhone is silly. It's an inanimate object that has one sole function. I doubt there's anyone crashing because they're watching the road through or otherwise entranced by a stop light viewer.

 

X2

 

Ok, I feel like beating a dead horse. I just was out running around and thought of you as I looked through my Light in Sight.
first pic is me sitting at a traffic light. You can see the Light in Sight above my mirror. (See yellow circle) that red dot is a traffic signal, unseen through the windshield from my seated position.

Next shot I moved my phone down and forward to show what I can’t normally see.

So this is how it is every day in my ‘39 Willys. Maybe I’m taller than you? I’m 5’10”.
Maybe my seat is higher, or farther back. I don’t know, but my prism helps me a lot, and I don’t look through it as I drive, just if I want to see those lights above my view when I’m at an intersection. So I guess you could say my mileage does vary.

 

I picked up these little guys off the Spanish Amazon site, they run about 9.50 USD for six. I put one roughly where Mohr did on his '39 Willys with painter's tape - seems to work fine. Will mount permanently with 4 small dabs of clear silicone.

https://www.amazon.es/dp/B09SHTC5MK?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_***le

 

This is one of the pix I posted in response #69 above. The traffic light finder is the small round dot just to the left of the rearview mirror. I've searched and searched and not found any like this for sale. Does anyone know where to get them? It's about 1 1/2" in diameter.

 

@jnaki

You seem to be under the impression that these things are meant to be watched while your vehicle is in motion. That's NOT the case at all. These are only for "seeing" a traffic light when you're stopped at a light and waiting for it to change from red to green.

 

Hello,

I seem to be under the impression that a clear view out of the front windshield is the main thing and any obstructions, however small can detract from the vision. You and others with the device can use it, but, why? It is good thing at car shows and questions from others, not knowing what those things are. So, there is that. (street lights and drag strip lights are in clear vision from normal windshield openings anyway and can be seen from the driver's seat.)

But, I am one of those old, original hot rod cruiser/racers that see things differently than the current folks who think I am critical of objects. Back then, I did not even have a shiny tach on my dashboard. It was neatly placed inside of the Impala dash area. Small, but lit up at night and showed accurate rpms.
An added accessory to make others think something is under the hood... which there was in more horsepower.

Actually, for me, I did not need a tachometer as the procedure for winning was watching the light and flooring the gas pedal. The C&O Stick Hydro did the rest. The tach did its own thing and no need to watch anything other than the yellow light going off. So, no obstructions of any kind to block or distract any vision at that one moment when the light goes off.

Jnaki

Yes, the small tach blocks the last mph on the dash. But at the start of the drag race and during, as soon as the pedal is down to full power, the needle pegs and there is nothing else other than going straight and fast. YRMV

 

Now I am outraged! @mohr hp is looking through his gl***es, a phone, a yellow circle and a Light in Sight! This is peak distraction!

Here's what else I know... you can't see it but I can guarantee his eyes are closed!

@jnaki if you look at the pics you can see how none of the prisms are in a direct line of sight. They're not tchotch·kes. They have a purpose.

This is the first time in my life that I've ever heard someone be against them and they've been around for 80 years. However, I applaud you. We like what we like and don't like what we don't. It's all good.