Car Indicators - Is it me?

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
danhopgood
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Car Indicators - Is it me?

Post by danhopgood »

Maybe it's my age (52) but I struggle to see the front indicator of modern cars - especially when they have lights on. I experience this both in the car and on the bike, I had a near miss this morning with my son on the back of a tandem where I failed to spot a car turning across me who had right of way at a mini roundabout. It was raining (I wear glasses), I was being overtaken and there were roadworks - I was thinking about narrow lane widths on the other side of the junction that distracted me. Barriers and cones also blocked the view of the other car, but I find it frustrating that I still didn't see the indicator. Anyone else have this issue? It seems to happen more when I'm looking at the car from the side rather than head on.

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jezer
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Re: Car Indicators - Is it me?

Post by jezer »

Not just you. I find day running lights on modern cars tend to diminish the visual impact of indicators, plus many drivers don’t even bother to use indicators properly. BTW “right of way” doesn’t actually exist, priority is the correct term.
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mjr
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Re: Car Indicators - Is it me?

Post by mjr »

danhopgood wrote:Maybe it's my age (52) but I struggle to see the front indicator of modern cars - especially when they have lights on. [...] Anyone else have this issue? It seems to happen more when I'm looking at the car from the side rather than head on.

Yes and I thought it was a problem just after viewtopic.php?p=1269323#p1269323 where someone else reports indicators that aren't aren't visible over a wide radius, but someone else says it's not a problem because they can tell the difference between two shades of yellow.
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Cyril Haearn
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Re: Car Indicators - Is it me?

Post by Cyril Haearn »

On some audis the running light goes off for a few moments so one can see the indicator better :?

There really should be firm standards. Are indicators easy to see in bright sunshine?

I never trust them anyway. When driving I almost always indicate
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mjr
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Re: Car Indicators - Is it me?

Post by mjr »

Cyril Haearn wrote:On some audis the running light goes off for a few moments so one can see the indicator better :?

I think on some audis the running light goes off for a few moments so you can't tell whether there's one or two lights lit. Don't want to make it easy for people to get out of the way, eh eh!
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Grarea
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Re: Car Indicators - Is it me?

Post by Grarea »

Yep, not just you.
Exactly the same thoughts.

It was way better when the lenses were orange rather than just the bulbs.
Plus headlights are too bright, plus there is a lot of form over function with indicators now it seems.
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Re: Car Indicators - Is it me?

Post by Samuel D »

Not only that, but the indicators are often deeply recessed, focused LEDs with clear lenses that are hopelessly dim from certain angles. They may be more visible than old bulbs at 500 yards straight ahead – DRLs permitting – but that should not take priority over close-range, omnidirectional visibility.

Modern car noses are also so bulbous for aerodynamic reasons that the indicator on the far ‘corner’ cannot be seen outside a narrow range of angles nearly on the car’s axis, especially from close distances. (For example, here the right indicator is hidden behind the car’s own nose. Compare with this clearly visible indicator despite the even less favourable camera angle.) This means you often cannot see the lamp flashing on that side, which would be a reassuring indication of the driver’s intention to imminently point their deadly weapon away from you. Although I never take indicators as a sure sign of anything, I need all the information I can get to balance the many conflicting risks of traffic appropriately.

My complaints about new car lighting would fill a book. It’s unbelievable to me that the regulators have allowed, nay, enabled, this state of affairs.
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Re: Car Indicators - Is it me?

Post by Cyril Haearn »

Not unbelievable or surprising at all IMHO :?
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100%JR
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Re: Car Indicators - Is it me?

Post by 100%JR »

Cyril Haearn wrote:On some audis the running light goes off for a few moments so one can see the indicator better :?

I find that this is the case with most cars fitted with the super-bright running lights.This far better IMO than the old style running lights that didn't dim.My problem is drivers who either indicate miles before turning so you don't know if they're turning or pulling up or those who indicate just as they're about to do the turn :|
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Re: Car Indicators - Is it me?

Post by peetee »

I had the same issue some weeks back in bright sunshine, although I would add it was not impeding my vision in terms of glare, it was more a case of sunlight producing a bright reflection within the light unit and masking the lit bulb. Grarea hit the nail on the head: form over function. There is a trend for clear indicator lenses that do nothing to diffuse sunlight and when that is visible in the reflector the indicator bulb is puny in comparison.
I have noticed that many newer cars have multi-faceted light lenses and reflectors that can cause some strange lighting effects. On several occasions (always Volvo's, it seems) I have thought drivers were flashing their headlights at me but it was just the car reacting to the bumpy road surface.
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Psamathe
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Re: Car Indicators - Is it me?

Post by Psamathe »

danhopgood wrote:Maybe it's my age (52) but I struggle to see the front indicator of modern cars....

Not you, many cars these days don't seem to bother to indicate and if they are not indicating your wont see the indicators. Sit waiting to pull out onto a roundabout and watch all those cars turn left without indicating but if they aren't indicating you have to assume they are going straight on.

Ian
Cyril Haearn
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Re: Car Indicators - Is it me?

Post by Cyril Haearn »

Psamathe wrote:
danhopgood wrote:Maybe it's my age (52) but I struggle to see the front indicator of modern cars....

Not you, many cars these days don't seem to bother to indicate and if they are not indicating your wont see the indicators. Sit waiting to pull out onto a roundabout and watch all those cars turn left without indicating but if they aren't indicating you have to assume they are going straight on.

Ian

Never trust an indicator or rely on lack of one
Indicating should be banned I think maybe :?
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Re: Car Indicators - Is it me?

Post by foxyrider »

Some newer Audis (how come only Audi?) have moving strip indicators on the rear, why can't they put them on the front too?

IME it's the high intensity 'bulbs' that are the chief problem along with poor brightness levels for the indicators.

Of course it would help if drivers actually used them too - my pet hate is drivers sat at traffic lights without indicators (going straight right?) who then indicate only when the light has changed to green and i've already decided on a move based on their non signaling.
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mjr
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Re: Car Indicators - Is it me?

Post by mjr »

foxyrider wrote:Some newer Audis (how come only Audi?) have moving strip indicators on the rear, why can't they put them on the front too?

I have seen a car with animated front indicators. It might well have been an Audi. It still sucked and I would prefer a simple light on the corner and no switching the headlight off.
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Debs
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Re: Car Indicators - Is it me?

Post by Debs »

I can sympathise too.

i also find it can be even more difficult seeing a rear car indicator, especially when moton applies the brakes long before giving an intended turn signal to left or right, the brake lights completely overpowering the turn indicator.
When driving in my car i always find it very easy to indicate my turning intention long before a need to apply brakes.

I agree that modern car headlights seem too bright and dazzily, it's as if car manufactures are competing for who can sparkle the most.
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