Not only a third brake light, shit can the hydraulic brake light switch. You are stopping before they activate. Besides, they are prone to sticking, both on and off. A well adjusted travel switch will tell the guy behind you when the brake pedal moves, perhaps giving them an additional tenth of a second to react. Bill
When a friend did the NSRA 23 point inspection on my car he recommended a 3rd brake light. He was right. I'm trying to find one but not having a lot of luck with universal units. Anyone found someting to use in the rear window of a 48 Ford coupe ?
Then paint your car school bus yellow, put the red/white reflective safety tape across the back and maybe rub some garlic back there too. Rear end accidents happen because people don't pay attention or they are driving to close to stop regardless if the back of your vehicle was lit up like a Christmas tree. Being in the insurance industry, I'll say that ABS brakes have done far more to cut rear end collisions than 3rd brake lights. How many here are running to put Day Time Running lights in your hot rod? These were bureaucratic ideas that do nothing but add cost to your car. And I saw one guy who claims these lights 'saved' him from rear ending someone else. What was he watching before the lights came on? You know what would have saved that guy on 101? A seat belt!!! Accidents are going to happen. It's surviving the accident that matters...
Let me also lay this out there. As my daily, I have a 2001 Ford Ranger with a rear brake light built into the cargo lamp on the cab. It also has Antilock Brakes (ABS) and five functioning seat belts. I've had 3 people rear end my truck while I've been sitting at a red light. 3rd brake light and all. I've had no front end collisions because I leave plenty of room between me and the car in front of me. You can't control what's behind you, only what's in front of you.
Tailgaters? Keep some old hydraulic lifters handy and accidently toss em backwards. Ok, barring that, something is better than nothing. I can see using a mid/late 30s painted taillight housing mounted on eash side of an early tudor or on the back of a coupe. Use the shape as a custom element to the build. The window LED gigs are ok. Like a firearm, better to have it and not need it... Fink, cell ph blocker? That would bring out the slinky driver. Drop the call, pay attn to the phone not the road, preferably they fall into a ditch and have to wait 3hrs for AAA. Just yesterday I narrowly escaped some mouthbreather ramming a car from behind and the 3rd one deciding to jerk their car into my lane. Saw it happening, eased left, avoided the dipshits...and, I WAS ON MY PHONE! People are fuckin idiots and think YOU owe them your space. Gotta stay alert.
Are you serious ! Are you saying that the 3rd Brake light hasn't prevented an accident ? How would you even know that to be fact? I think we are all intellegent enough to know that rear end collisions are going to happen no matter what you do, but some must be prevented by making a car more visible. I think anything that gets the attention of the driver behind you is worth doing . Think about why strobe lights are added to traffic lights ? You can't tell me that the stobe doesn't get your attention over the red light alone. You are wrong on all counts.
I know its a bit over the edge Boss..but they are out there, and not too expensive..and i hear they work..really it was just a suggestion. If the mouthbreathers cant pay a fucking tenstion, it dont matter what you put in or back there for them not to see.but mine will have one for that one time it saves my ass I got rear ended in my daily a few years back in a 02 Z-71, by a dodge ram..the ass hole was flying down a 2 lane at probably 80..flew over the rail road tracks as i was stopped at a light... I think the newer cars invoke a certain amount of feel good trust now a days with anti lock brakes, crush zones and air bags..people have walked away from pretty bad wrecks with out so much as a scratch, so thay have a false sense of security and that i feel breeds complacency, it gives them the feeling that they dont have to pay as good attention because they feel those anti lock brakes will save their lazy asses in a short stop after riding motorcycles for the better half of my life and all over this country i have run across people that are just fucking dead from the neck up and should be off the dam roads, our testing for renewals on licenses..needs to be improved big time HIGHLANDER..i sill have some nice ball bearings in my saddle bags
And THAT is the problem. Why do I need to get your attention while you're driving??? That little light isn't going to get anyones attention if they are not paying attention already. And if you need a strobe light on a traffic light, you should not be driving. I looked at a '86 Mustang GT yesterday insured with a classic car policy. The damage was to the front. The owner readily admitted he wasn't paying attention, looking to the right and left. When he looked straight ahead, there was a Lexus at a complete stop. To avoid the Lexus, he turned to the left and into oncoming traffic and was hit. There isn't a Lexus built that doesn't have a 3rd brake light.
For a deck-top installation, how about a chrome-plated universal licence-plate light with a red bulb or lens? It might just look the part. I'm concerned at the way thinking has shifted around signal-lighting design over the past ten or twenty years. It used to be that turn signals had pride of place in any "rational" design: they were as near to the car's corners as possible, and the rear ones were at the top. Now I'm seeing brake lights in that position. It's almost an admission that driver's don't signal and, accustomed to ABS, don't modulate braking or downshift either. It's saying that we've got bad drivers and that's how it should be. It's yet another reason I'm sticking with old stuff. If I get a new car I'd not only have to fit carbs and a distributor, remove the airbags, remove the air-conditioner, engineer window winders, fit door locks, rig a starter switch, and disable the power steering; I'd have to rearrange the taillights too!
Rear end accidents will happen no matter what- but who knows how many have not happened because of 3rd lights etc. Whatever we can do to make ourselves less likely to be hit is good- whatever we can do to protect ourselves from the mouthbreathers when they do hit us is better. I plan on putting in a 3rd brake light on my truck but I know my late model was hit at a stoplight by some idiot who was playing with his radio and could not see a full size pickup stopped in front of him! Seat belts do help!
With safety in mind, I tried to be cool when I designed this third brake light using two Chevy Small block rods and pistons. Pulled the caps off and one bolt per rod. Bolted the two together, glued a 2" common clearance light grommet into the opening, attach an L.E.D. 2" right clearance light and BINGO you got yourself a third light. I welded the piston rod combination to a 2"x2" trailer ball shank and slide it into my trailer hitch receiver. I also use L.E.D. tail lights, they use very little amperage and are about 10 times brighter than normal lights. the 2" lights can be purchased at any NAPA store or truck centers.
Ugly but effective, would be a pair of magnetic trailer lights wired in for temporary use while driving with the idiots. then remove them and hide em for the traditional look.
Yes, they certainly do. I think tire technology has increased the trust as well. I was riding around in a 2011 Malibu the other day, and the person who was driving was going 20mph over the speed limit on basically every street we were on, I knew we were going too fast because I looked over at the speedometer, but to be honest the car didn't feel like it was being rushed, and with the windows up and the cush interior, it's so peaceful inside. It could definitely lull you into a false sense of security.
We tried the 12V halogen bulbs and also the LED 1157 replacement bulbs. Both were a little brighter than the regular 12V bulbs but not enough to make us happy. we went with a replacement LED board that has 15-20 LED's in each taillamp. They are very bright when lit and are hidden in plain sight unless they are lit. we also have a 3rd brake light at the very top of the rear window that is also almost invisible until it is lit. One good thing, in ontario they have made hand held device use illegal while driving. hands free is still OK. It is a pretty hefty ticket too, something like $480.00 if you get caught. The law is a good start but they did not go far enough IMO. It should be illegal to use a phone or stuff like a blackberry at all while driving IMO.
More than one in five Americans -- some 36.9 million -- are not fit to drive and would fail a driving test if asked to take one today, according to a new survey of the nation's drivers. And only one in four knew safe following distances.
Even with all the 3rd lights and bright tail lights, why not go TRADITIONAL and use arm signals. They work well in a roadster and the slow signal has saved my ass a couple of times. Also handy to give someone the #1 finger!
I installed the Speedway Motors '39 Ford LED tail lights on my roadster, and after several near misses with people almost rear ending me, I realized that they were pretty much invisible during the day unless you were right in back of them at eye level. I painted the insides of the housings white, and installed super bright halogen 1157 type bulbs. You can see them from pretty far away now. I also installed a third brake light.
Sedanbob.....That would be 1 of the best so far. Discreet but very noticeable when lit. I'll be doing similar.
More, bigger, brighter is all good. But remember, every now and then somebody figures out how to ram the back end of a cruiser that has a full light bar going.
In the late 80s, I was driving home on a street with a 30 mph speed limit in a 78 Eldorado with a third brake light. When I looked in the mirror there were two women in the car behind me. They were looking at each other and talking. I pressed the brake pedal with my left foot until the brake lights came on. (I could see it in the fiber-optic indicators) I drove 3 blocks glancing in the mirrors before she turned her head and slammed on her brakes. Police cars have the best and brightest lights flashing and they still get hit. Don't get me wrong, third brake lights will help if the driver behind you is looking through your windshield. If the driver behind you is gawking somewhere else, nothing will help. As long as collisions are treated as accidents, there will be many distracted drivers on the road. Only when we start treating collisions as serious crimes will we have a chance to get people's attention. Here in Wisconsin, we just had a man killed when his stalled car was hit on the side of the road by a woman who was texting at the time. She should at least be charged with Manslaughter but they are charging her with homicide by negligent use of a motor vehicle. We have people with 7 and 8 DWI convictions. I firmly believe that 4th offense should be life in prison as should driving after revocation.
The reason as it was once explaind to me is this," Some of us are driving, the rest are just going somewhere". Think about it !
I have a modified 41 chevrolet tail light ready to be fitted slightly below the rear window of my '51 Chevy p/u, I thought about several solutions but at least this will look as if it's an older application. Perhaps with some pinstriping at a later date. I guess a cat's eye type light fitting would also look ok if i could find a suitable period lamp.
After reading this thread, most of you are not putting the 3rd light where it actually belongs! Its a proven fact that eye level contact is the BEST solution for warning rear drivers of your stopping intentions. Also mentioned in this thread is the ADDITIONAL left hand waving up & down to attract attention while making a FAST stop OR slowing. When I rebuilt my roadster in 1996, I wanted to come up with a good bright 3rd light that REALLY worked, after running one of those 6 inch billet type ahead of the rumble seat panel, & standard 12 volt rear bulbs. This was about the time LED lights were in vogue. I settled on a Honda spoiler unit that is 12 inches long, & 1 1/2 inches thick, I had to relief cut the wood tack strip (oak) that runs around the shoulder height body, BUT, who cares?---The upholstery almost hides it, & when you hit the brakes it definately zaps your eye level!! Also added LED bulbs in both tail lights---Good improvement! Lots of '32 owners don't give it a 2nd glance as they use the standard light bulbs in tail lights. I can't say how many times I have almost rear ended a '32 in front of me cruising at a safe distance,with sun shining on their rear end, its almost impossible to see when they hit the brakes, that dimly lit bulb is not to be seen! In the 300,000 miles I've DRIVEN my roadster, I've been fortunate enough to only one rear ender,---Sitting still in traffic, with foot on brake pedal, young kid in a rice burner not paying attention to driving, crunched my rear bumper & brackets, luckily I heard the screech of brakes & popped my clutch making the impact as small as possible ($500 bumper & brackets). When cops were writing him a ticket, he asked me to hit the brake lights---I'll never forget that BIG smile when the 3rd light damn near blinded him in DAYLIGHT!!! These pix are self explaining to all of you that just might be thinking of the need for a BRIGHT 3rd light!!!-------Don
I often think the same thing. We enjoy driving but a car is just a way to get from point A to point B to most drivers.
cheap fast fix magnetic tow lights put them in the rear window when driving and remove them when at a show
I have a new Chevy suburban / tahoe one it was used from the late 90's to 05 including on Caddy's. Comes direct with two-faced tape and is drilled for 2 tiny screws. A buddy had on on a 47 Ford coupe rear deck looked like it belong there. I found I can mount mine upside down in the rear window of my coupe it fits the existing trims screw holes. I had my car hit from behind when it was parked, thanfuly is built tough on the newer monte carlo chassis.
J&L Enterprise out of Ellington, CT has a nice small third brake light set up. 860-916-3582 or jsbieback@sbcglobal.net. I have one on my '32 3W and the low profile makes it easy to see out the rear window but it shines bright due to the LED bulbs.
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