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Technology Connection on Rethinking EV Brake Light Operation...

315 Views 3 Replies 2 Participants Last post by  mochalatte, 
Nai3t
Alex of YouTube's Technology Connection channel owns a Hyundai Ioniq 5, and has a major (I believe serious) gripe about his brake lights NOT illuminating under heavy deceleration.

Later in the video he delves into motor vehicle safety standards and even looks at new regulations implemented recently in the EU.

I'll have to take the time to drive behind more makes of EV and see how others behave.


I am pleased with the scheme VW implemented with the ID.4. For the most part it feels very natural. My main negative critique is the brake lights are activated when traveling at a steady speed in B mode on a descent with my foot completely removed from the accelerator pedal -- in other words the speed is being "held" by regen, but the car is not decelerating. But honestly, this situation isn't all that big deal as it most often occurs on steep residential streets where my speed is around 15 MPH.

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What Exactly IS My Brake Light Doing Back There?

I mounted an inspection mirror to my back window to watch exactly how the ID.4's rear brake lights behave in regular driving conditions. > I performed a second test in an attempt to answer some questions that popped up after the the initial post, so I've edited this to add those comments in...
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mochalatte
Nai3t said:
My main negative critique is the brake lights are activated when traveling at a steady speed in B mode on a descent with my foot completely removed from the accelerator pedal -- in other words the speed is being "held" by regen, but the car is not decelerating
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Actually, I think it is right for the brake light to be illuminated in that scenario. If there were an ICE on your rear bumper, it would need to on the brakes to avoid hitting you. So I think the ICE driver needs to see brake lights to know he also needs to get on the brake.

In other words, the message being communicated by brake lights isn’t, “I’m slowing.” The message is, “you might want to hit your brakes (or regen) so you don’t hit me.”
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Nai3t
Well like I say, I'm not too bothered by it, but it would be the same argument to having brake lights illuminated while driving at a steady 50 on the freeway.
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mochalatte
Nai3t said:
Well like I say, I'm not too bothered by it, but it would be the same argument to having brake lights illuminated while driving at a steady 50 on the freeway.
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Gravity makes it a different scenario, right? You said in the first post that B mode was keeping you at a constant velocity going downhill. The only difference between that and letting off the accelerator on a flat highway is that going downhill you might not slow down while on the highway you will slow down if you are in B mode. But in both scenarios you need the brake lights to helpfully suggest that the car behind you needs to hit their brakes to avoid hitting your rear. If you are holding a steady 50 on a flat highway, then you haven’t activated regen, so no brake lights needed.

But to your point, I agree that VW did better than Hyundai thinking it through.
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