BS: how to make a car noticeable

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 13 Jul 11 - 09:09 PM

As indicated, if you want a high brake light approximating what's on most newer cars, you'll almost have to get an LED unit made for a current car as similar to yours as you can find.

The closest thing I can think of otherwise would be one of the brake light fixtures sold for use on (boat?) trailers and the like. Those would meet the specs for the normal lower brake lights, but will use a conventional bulb rather than LEDs.

In principle, you could probably use one of the brackets sold for mounting CB antennas or the like, to create a "post" to mount the light, with the bracket mounted to come through the crack at the top of the tail compartment lid.

On some cars, just a strip of good red reflective tape (automotive grade) stuck on or just above the top of the rear window might be unusual and bright enough to make cars (with headlights on) coming from behind notice you a lot more. (In the dark, they might think you were a cop with a lollipop bar on the roof.)

John

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 13 Jul 11 - 10:30 AM

Thanks, John, for summing up many things I already said.

I looked at the fancy LED lights in a store, and the packaging said 'For off-road use," so I gave that up.

Years ago we took our first trip to Iceland, where all cars had their headlights on at all times. That really convinced us that it is a good idea to do that. I use my headlights all the time now.

It is especially important on the two-lane highway, "the killer highway."

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: GUEST,Patsy
Date: 13 Jul 11 - 09:30 AM

Colour it the most hideous colour imaginable, you will be noticed and a talking point for ages.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Little Hawk
Date: 13 Jul 11 - 07:04 AM

Sounds like you and Shane are on the same page for a change, Rap! ;-D

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Gurney
Date: 12 Jul 11 - 10:26 PM

An English car, the Wolseley, used to have a small illuminated badge on the grille. I used to notice them.

Rap, the cop wouldn't be able to catch you. I took a friend's car onto a motorway, a car that had spent all its life on a nearby island and had never got into top gear. When it got hot (for the first time ever) the carbon smoke closed the traffic down like the thickest fog.
I kept going (what would you do?) and the smoking diminished and finally stopped. They never found out who it was, luckily.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Rapparee
Date: 12 Jul 11 - 09:40 PM

Open the truck (boot) and fill it with oily rags. Include some fireworks. Light this on fire and as you drive by a cop at 120 mph, give him the finger.

This will make your car noticeable. I guarantee it!

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 12 Jul 11 - 06:27 PM

According to the AAA article linked up above, red is the least visible color in peripheral vision, and "looks like black" after sunset.

If by "noticeable" you are referring to safety aspects of "notice," it probably doesn't make a lot of difference what color you use.

There are two separate factors that make something visible:

1. There must be color contrast between the object and it's background.

2. There should be a brightness contrast between the object and the background.

Color contrast that can be achieved in one place may be completely absent elsewhere, as you have observed. Even perfect color contrast is usually unnoticed without some brightness contrast. (Your brain ignores the expected, and only sees the differences.)

While different colors may vary in "brightness" under different lighting conditions, the "reflectance" varies with the light levels and wavelength ranges, and hence with time of day in natural light. Brightness contrast for all colors goes to near zero at twilight (the "all cats are grey in the dark" principle), and with external lighting in some night driving situations. (alon lights used on some major city streets make a yellow car - or most green cars - disappear almost completely.

About the only "visibility feature" that has been shown to be somewhat effective is the use of "Daytime Running Lights" (DRL). In the US, these are required on all new cars. The main external lights come on when the engine starts (and a few other times as well) and remain always on.

Since lots of people objected strenuously to "adding another mandatory feature" extensive testing and accident analyses have produced credible evidence that they do improve safety. The proven effect may be somewhat less than one might expect but you can be assured that under condition where the color is detected (and the ambient light may be sufficient to make the lights less obvious) you'll be visible, and when the color and "color contrast/brightness" fades due to lighting and background the DRLs usually will be more apparent.

In the now-rare(?) circumstance where a car you have or purchase doesn't automatically turn on the low-aimed headlights, you can turn them on each time you start up. It probably is a good idea to turn them on regardles of lighting and time of day just to make sure they'll be on if the light changes without your notice.

You should be able to rig your car so that they come on when the engine starts, like the original equipment stuff, very simply and/or auto parts stores may have add-on kits to take care of it.

Adding odd-colored or "extra bright" headlights in the hope of making your own car safer is not recommended, and in many places is actually illegal. Unusual headlights might make oncoming drivers either more or less likely to hit you, especially if the lights are "extreme." They have also been shown to be the cause of "road rage" incidents that can be exceedingly dangerous.

With DRL it becomes even more important to be sure that you lights are working and properly aligned to avoid blinding oncoming traffic. They will hit you if they can't see how to get past you.

A second "visibility feature" that has a documented contribution to safety is the "high mounted brake light." Older cars had "brake lights" mounted on the fender (wheel shroud) or elsewhere, often at near "bumper" level, and might not be visible, especially if the vehicle behind is close to you. All new cars in the US are required to have a "brake light" mounted at or above where they are approximately at "eye level" for drivers (in similar sized vehicles) following the you. One of these probably will have little effect if you're rear-ended at highway speeds, but can make a lot of difference in local traffic where vehicles are close together.

If you don't have a high brake light, you should be able to add one on fairly easily; but "aftermarket" tail-light fixtures and bulbs are generally not truly up to the task. Typical "original equipment" high brake lights are generally LED fixtures with "more than 100" elements (some run up to nearly 500 elements, but most of us can't afford those cars). About the only way to get something even approximately equivalent would be to find an OEM part, or "direct replacement," for a newer vehicle with similar mounting surface/slope/curvature to where you need to put one.

Usually, each individual LED element has its own "lens" to aim the light in a fairly specific and rather narrow direction. It is important that an add-on fixture be at the same "tilt" it would have on the vehicle for which it was designed - unless your main concern is about being attacked by UFOs.

IF you have a high brake light it's important to check occasionally to make sure it's still performing adequately. The reason for have so many LED elements (aside from brightness) is so that you can allow a certain percent of them to fail before you really need to replace one. Specifications for how many "black dots" are acceptable do vary, but if you have more than about 20% dead - and definitely at 30% - you need a new light assembly. Be aware that dealer prices run >$100 (US) on nearly all such. I haven't needed to check whether "OEM approved" aftermarket replacesments are likely to be available, but you might want to ask a parts shop or two before having the dealer replace yours.

John

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: gnu
Date: 12 Jul 11 - 02:44 PM

Gurney... hahahahaaa.

(Even tho it don't happen.)

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Little Hawk
Date: 12 Jul 11 - 10:51 AM

Their owners also seem to resent people using them without permission...

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 12 Jul 11 - 10:42 AM

Thanks for the thought, Gurney. I'm pretty sure I lost all those mirrors to people who were leaving the local bars and preferred my quiet, narrow, cop-free street to the main road one block south. Of course, some of them could have been on motorcycles.

BD of BR: you are not the first to suggest a police cruiser. But I fear they get pretty bad gas mileage.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Gurney
Date: 12 Jul 11 - 03:40 AM

Leeneia, it may not be drivers but riders who monster your (sideview?) door mirrors. Both of mine were broken by motorcyclists as they filtered through traffic. Hurt their hands, though.

Yeah, Shane. I've heard that about the nick. The company sucks. And sometimes they make you do it.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: GUEST,Blind DRunk in Blind River
Date: 12 Jul 11 - 01:41 AM

You wanta talk to someone with half a brane? Talk to just about anyone in this hole flippin' town! That is my advice. Nothin' arownd here but flippin' retreads and majer loosers!

Ecsceptin' me, that is. I rock, eh?

The best flippin' way to be ntoiced when you drive arownd is to steal a cop car and drive it flippin' FAST all over tonw with the flashin' lights and syrens on. I done that once and I got a lotta notice, eh? Even got my face on the front page of the paper. And I got free meals and a room fer, like, quite a few months, curtsy of the flippin' Sudbury jusdiss system. When I figger on the money that I saved on meals and stuff, it worked out not bad, but the companny kinda sucked. Still, you gotta look on the brite side, eh?

- Shane

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 11 Jul 11 - 06:27 PM

Darowyn: thanks for trying, but the page you linked is blank.

Jack the Sailor: thanks for the link. It's nice to talk to someone with half a brain.

Gurney: thanks for your thoughts.

I like a red car because I noticed, when passing on a two-lane road out in the country, that I could see an on-coming red car better than any other color. There were probably no yellow-green cars about for comparison, but let's face it, the world is not going to start liking yellow-green cars.   

Today I bought some reflective tape such as bicyclists and motorcyclists use. It is about six inches wide and sparkles in headlights. I'm going to put it on my sideview mirror and back bumper, and I hope drivers at night will notice my parked car better. One car I used to own was on its fifth sideview mirror when it went to auto heaven.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: gnu
Date: 11 Jul 11 - 02:26 PM

LH... pass it around man.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 11 Jul 11 - 01:20 PM

I'm more interested in that 'light up the sky' stuff.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 11 Jul 11 - 01:06 AM

Stick Always maxi pads all over it. This will give other drivers a clear warning that you are not a woman to be messed with.

Sorry- just remembering an event in the Piedmont Virginia Community College parking lot, years ago.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 10 Jul 11 - 11:43 PM

oznium.com

"You've polished every panel, you've bought the coolest rims, your audio system is seriously thumping - but something's missing. What your car needs is some serious glow, and Oznium.com has all the parts, products and accessories you need to light up the night sky."

This clearly comes from an alternate universe to the Mudcat, where playing the spoons can be regarded as wildly exhibitionistic and inappropriate.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 10 Jul 11 - 11:39 PM

After a grueling afternoon on the hot asphalt, we solved the daytime visibility issue yesterday. Bought a used Nissan Versa in a shade they call 'Red Alert.'

As I told my husband, "I wanted a red car, but not one that looks like a Christmas-tree ornament." However, the other choices were white (bad in winter) and an anemic blue which looked like conformity itself.

The red paid off this very afternoon. We were leaving the Hy-Vee when a woman in a big black car drove toward us while looking back over her shoulder. She spied our Red Alert car out of the corner of her eye, and her head whipped around so she looked where she was going. That's what it's all about.

But what about at night? Sometimes I come back from music-making at 11 pm through the tree-shrouded streets of Johnson County Kansas (you have to read about Johnson County to understand it). I'm gonna look into the LED lights. I think there's a whole world of sparkling rainbow color for cars which has been a closed book to us tasteful, eco, middle-class-guilt bearing folk.

The kind of people who have all earth tones in their homes.

I'll be back with a link. Trouble is, they show the lights, but they don't show what you do with them.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Gurney
Date: 10 Jul 11 - 01:23 AM

If you Google 'Weird Cars' there are some very noticeable ones.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Crowhugger
Date: 09 Jul 11 - 10:10 PM

Looks like most figure there is some kind of paint job in your future, Leenia!

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Darowyn
Date: 09 Jul 11 - 04:44 AM

Citroen have just the car for you! A neat little hatchback but about as noticeable as you can get without a Dayglo paint job.
The 200 HP should keep you from problems with tailgaters too.
Citroen DS3 Racing
Cheers
Dave

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Little Hawk
Date: 09 Jul 11 - 12:55 AM

Get a car that does this:

!!!!!!!!!!

It will be noticed.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: GUEST,PeterC
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 07:42 PM

Buy a retired police cruiser.
and put a high viz jacket on the parcel shelf

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 07:17 PM

Here is what AAA says.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: gnu
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 05:21 PM

A study? I did. NB Power trucks are now a dirty cream colour with a slightly dark shade of fluorescent orange logos and other markings rather than the forest green they used to be back in the early 80s. I wanted to go with a slightly dark shade of fluorescent orange with white fluorescent logos and other markings but they decided on second best... IMO. How that would look on your weehicle might be of debate.

Then again, I am slightly colour blind but I am still a good engineer... IMO... >;-)

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Gurney
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 04:30 PM

Mine was BRG, British Racing Green, and I grew tired of the adrenalin caused by others pulling out in front of me as if I wasn't there. A biggish car, too.
I did notice in times past that Minis often suffered rear-end damage. I put it down to their being conspicuously smaller than other vehicles of the day, and to the unobservant, seeming further away.

On wet roads, silver is harder to see.
Someone must surely have done a study?

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 10:50 AM

Blue flashing lights and a siren? Or might the police object?

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: EBarnacle
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 10:34 AM

When I was selling SAABs in the early 70's they introduced a rather bilious yellow-green as one of their primary car colors. They only sold when no other colors were available. They were visible but I would not wish to own a car in that color.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Donuel
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 09:57 AM

A nice deep red car is surprisingly the least visible car after sundown.

The human eye sees more shades of green than any other color.
A bright green is as good as yellow.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 09:51 AM

With 50,000 people getting killed every year and thousands more injured, why would I bother with courage? Alertness and accuracy sound a lot more important.

Also, being noticed when driving in the deep shade of a tree-lined sidestreet.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Deckman
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 05:36 AM

To add to Don Firth's suggestion of yellow: Another bonus of this color is that it might be a reflection (sorry about that) of the driver's courage! bob(deckman)nelson ((I'll grab my coat and leave now))

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Gurney
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 01:13 AM

Paint teeth on the grille. Worked for me.

Last green car that I ever bought.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 11:49 PM

I do turn on my lights when driving. I almost always remember.

Just this Sunday I was driving to church in a heavy rain. I waited for a pack of cars to pass and was ready to make a right turn. But wait! here comes one more. Gray of course, no lights, emerging from a cloud of spray. That's the hard-to-see kind of car I don't want to be.

I remember driving home from a long day in Utah once, and getting dangerously tired. A pickup truck came towards me, and it had a rainbow-shining piece of plastic across its front. It wasn't very big or garish, but it really helped me notice that truck.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Little Hawk
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 11:22 PM

Janie - LOL! I'll be watching for you as I drive around.

Thanks to Spaw for providing the link to the spectacular picture of Conrad and his car. Holy crap! What an apparition! I wonder if I should send a donation?

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: frogprince
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 11:17 PM

"The simplest is contrasting strips."

But don't do the strips while driving; that is really distracting. (not sure what defines strips as contrasting, either)

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: EBarnacle
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 10:11 PM

The simplest is contrasting strips. You do not want the to become so engrossed in admiring your vehicle that they forget to brake.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Janie
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 09:53 PM

I get my car noticed by making sure there is always something very wrong with it that makes extremely loud screeching sounds. To make absolutely certain, I turn on the hazard flashers, drive 15 mph, and drive with the passenger side wheels on the berm or grass. When that is not sufficient, I use my phenomenal mental abilities to cause the car alarm to start sounding as I limp along.

This technique works best with cars more than 13 years old.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 09:29 PM

Buy a retired police cruiser. Even with the light bars and insignia removed, it will still scream "COP CAR!" to anyone within visual range. Not only will they see you, but they'll drive safely and courteously to boot.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: frogprince
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 08:55 PM

Bobert, please don't tell people to install those infernal blue lights. Haven't you noticed that they're brutal on the eyes when you meet them at night!

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Bobert
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 08:44 PM

Okay, we've seen what Spawzer and BillD (gutter mind brothers) have in mind but you just want folks to see you, right???

Lights are the answer... I mean, you don't want to look like a Christmas tree on wheels but you need lights and the more the merrier...

Check out some of the "big rigs" and see what they are using... Some guys have over a hundred lights on their rigs...

You don't need a hundred lights, leenia, but you do need lights... Them blue light headlights seem to work real well... Maybe just a set of them, I donno...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Donuel
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 08:35 PM

Auto lettering websites have press on vinyl decals of star trek shuttle craft and all sorts of things that do not require paint.

You can always spray glow in the dark designs/words and cover them with laquer. They are invisible by day.

In the place of the front insignia I have a chrome peace symbol and in back I have red and blue non functional lights that slow down traffic to the rear.

On the driver door I have the United Federation of Planets logo.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: gnu
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 08:14 PM

"...for a couple of hundred bucks."?

A bargain at twice the price!

As fer Conrad... he's DEFINITELY rad dude. I wanna hang.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Bill D
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 07:54 PM

Yep... great minds run in the same... gutters

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: catspaw49
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 07:53 PM

I see I was typing while Bill was posting.

LOL


Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: catspaw49
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 07:53 PM

Where's my buddy, Conrad Bladey. The Number 1 Pissant.......Ol' Conrad has your answer although I doubt he can understand the question. His motives and motifs are a tad outside the norm but Conrad's only saving grace is that he kinda' lives way out there, on the edge sorta'.......out where the buses don't run, so to speak........

Here he is in all his glory.......CONRAD BLADEY. #1 PEASANT..........standing next to one of his "Artcars".......others are linked.   See anything you like? Maybe you can do it yourself or get a Mudcat discount.


Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Bill D
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 07:46 PM

Noticable? why sure!

Conrad, our #1 Peasant, does some of these.

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 07:24 PM

I don't know how available it is elsewhere, but around my town there are a couple of places that will do a "full paint job" in a few days, if you can pick a single color, for a couple of hundred bucks.

Fancy stuff, like flames and gliter paint cost extra, of course, but it's actually fairly cheap just to change the color.

If you pick a car that actually has a hood (in front) there are a few places where you can pick up a fancy ornament (steer horns, donkeys, a lion or tiger up on their hind feet - I've even seen one guy with a rather large pink flamingo up front. Usually under $20 (US) and some come with built in lights (eyeballs or other). Try a larger truck stop, since truckers seem to like gaudy, and anything "too big" for your car will make it exceptional.

My old VW beetle sort of stood out because of the trailer balls front and rear. (If you tell people the boat's at home, some will understand.)

A few "bathtub daisies" (stick on anti-slippery pads) strategically splattered on doors and such adds a distinctive touch. Popular on "hippie vans" a few decades ago.

In my area, it's best to omit the "fringe around the windows" and fuzzy dice on the mirror (and some shades of purple paint?), since people might take you for a pimp, but "west coast mirrors" on a really small car will make it stand out from the mundane.

John

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: Don Firth
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 07:00 PM

Years back I read an article in Motor Trend magazine on this subject.

They said that a nice, bright yellow, being right smack in the middle of the spectrum of visible light (to humans, maybe, not to insects, who tend to see in ultraviolet--tiny eyes, short wavelengths), is the most visible color.

Some folks think it's too "garish," but if you want visibility, what some people call "garish" is exactly what you want. Some people might assume from the color that you are a taxicab, but then, notice how visible cabs are amid the rest of the traffic.

Nah. Yellow isn't a bad color at all. Looks nice. Especially if you don't mind people noticing you.

Don Firth

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: gnu
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 06:55 PM

#2 would be against going green.


(Gas mileage... sorry if that's PI.)

Subject: RE: BS: how to make a car noticeable
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 07 Jul 11 - 06:43 PM

The DH? Do you play baseball in the American League?
Don't pay attention to Little Hawk's suggestions...at least three of them are likely to get you traffic tickets, and one may get you vandalized by animal lovers. :>]
Many newer cars do come with running lights (see JtS above) and that seems the best solution short of pasting sequins or rhinestones around the side panels, front and back.
Enjoy your new (to you) wheels.