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Turn signal light | |||||||||||||||||
As I was driving earlier this evening, I made a right turn onto a dark street. I noticed that the flashing amber turn signal light lit up the area to my right before I made the turn, which gave me an idea. How about putting a small white light near the front turn signal lights that turn on when you turn on the turn signal? they wouldn't flash, but would stay on until the turn signal shuts off. They would light up the area in the direction you are about to turn. I know that a number of cars have featured headlights that move with the steering wheel, but my design has some advantages. Simply turning a light on and off is much simpler than a mechanism to rotate the headlights. This would make it a lot cheaper and more reliable. It would be easy to add to an existing car design. The light would come on when you turn on the turn signal, which is normally done well before you actually turn. This enables you to see to the side much earlier, thereby giving you more time to spot potential hazards and avoid them. Now, I'm sure someone will think that the white light would make it harder to see the flashing amber turn light, but I don't think this would be a real problem. Notice that you can see the turn signal of a car that has it headlights pointing toward you. My turn light would be quite a bit smaller and dimmer than a headlight, so I think the amber turn signal will still be very visible. Also, the white light coming on would itself be a very obvious indication that you are about to turn.
Dwane Anderson, Sep 18 2009
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called a 'cornering lamp,' my Dad's '72 LTD has them. I think they work fine, but since they're related to the turn signal but on a relay, there have been occasions where they wouldn't go off. Also, turning a bright light on and off often will reduce it's service life. But with LED's so bright now, this wouldn't be a concern.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/peasandcornbread/123406500/
I see that according to wikipedia, they're illegal in ECE countries. I don't know why.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_lighting#Cornering_lamps
generally, I think they're good, but something else to break on a car when it's old.
Hrench, thanks for commenting. I guess I reinvented another old idea. Oh well.
I knew a guy from Russia who once told me that it was illegal to drive in Russian cities at night with your headlights on. Apparently, the street light systems were so good that you could see fine without headlights. The reason it was illegal was because they tend to blind oncoming drivers. I don't know if this was also the reason for outlawing cornering lamps, but it might be.
I was just reading the second link you posted. It says that generally, in accordance with a UN convention, lights on the sides of vehicles are required to be amber. That is probably the reason cornering lights are illegal.