does anybody here use pulsing brake lights?

[PattiB]

I would love to have those lights but they are illegal in Canada.

The only vehicles that are allowed to have flashing red lights are Police, Fire and Ambulances.

Darryl...These are programmable, so you could just have the bright LED panel to operate like a regular brake light, no flashing. I think it has 3 modes on it. Just turns on, flashes for 1 sec then stays on, or flashes for 1.5 sec then stays on.

I will post a pic soon....

[Darryl Cainey]

I didn't know that!

Thanks!

I think the 1977 R100RS might want an upgrade!

[20975]

Flashing brake lights are not illegal in BC. I have been using them for years. I have even been complimented on my visibility by the police!

Perhaps this is unique to Ontario.

[GSAddict]

Flashing brake lights are not illegal in BC. I have been using them for years. I have even been complimented on my visibility by the police!

Perhaps this is unique to Ontario.

Ditto - see post 16
Applies to 2 friends as well

[SGRIMSON]

Hi there.
I ordered Hyperlites by phone from Toronto last spring. The owner was very helpful and the shipping was very fast. I never thought of them being illegal in Ontario and quite frankly I don't think they are. Others I've ridden with, praise them, and I feel they are very effective. It's not only a safety issue.
In a pool of red lights at night on the highway they are more conspicuous when things suddenly slow down.
And if I am ever knocked down by some cage he'll have a real problem telling the court he didn't see me slowing. As a lawyer I once defended a man that rear-ended a Ferrarri on an off ramp. When the guy said he slowed down just by downshifting and admitted the brake lights wouldn't have come on before he was hit, it was game over. My client who was asleep at the wheel having driven almost non-stop from Thunder Bay walked out of court, off the hook. That's why I wear ridiculous Hi Viz clothing, a white helmet and use Hyperlites. I don't want to have some other lawyer score big like I did. Just my opinion..

[Mike_Philippens]

Hyperlites, Kissan Signal Minder (which converts the turn signals to marker lights as an option), LED lights wired into the stoplight (intended to mounted as turn signals on the mirrors) & just about any other shiny thing I can think of.

I still got rear ended.

There's nothing you can do if somebody's just not paying attention. You may hope that the extra brake flash helps them focus their attention, but when they're busy texting, on the phone, soothing the baby, arguing with the passenger or whatever, you're out of luck. Look at this (Dutch) police bike:

This happened on a straight, two lane road. A car wanted to turn left, and crossed the lane where the police bike was coming from. The driver apparently didn't see the police bike at all and hit him. The policeman was badly injured. I can't find the left cylinder in the picture...shows you how hard the impact was.

Incredible that you miss such a big bike with all the police colours...the policemen over here wear bright yellow helmets and jackets, so you can't say you don't see them...unless you're looking the other way.

[t6pilot]

add me to the list firm believer in the P3 lights, installed on my 2011 gs they are just plane bright

[kctay]

I used the Comagination on all my prior bikes. Not sure it would work with CAN BUS.

What is the part number I need for 2011 R1200RT? Are you guys using the U-32 kit with 16 led's per side? Or the smaller kit with 8 led's per side?

Also, is everyone using the kit with just the brake light modulator, or brake / running lights? Is the bracket required? And how do the lights attach to it (hopefully not double sided tape).

[robsryder]

On many of my bikes I have added pulsing LED brake lights.

I've discovered that pulsing brake lights are not legal in Ohio. Interestingly I called the State of Ohio traffic safety office and discussed this matter with them. I learned that the State of Ohio (using MSF safety training info) actually recommends manually pulsing the brake lever when stopping to get rear motorists' attention.

I was referred to the Ohio State Patrol. The fellow that I spoke with also rode motorcycles and he acknowledged that the strict interpretation of the law was that the pulsing LEDs were not legal, but he thought that they would be ok if the lights only pulsed a few times and then were constantly illuminated.

I did some further research and found several technical publications in various safety journals. In one paper the investigation was with incandescent brake lights that are pulsed. The reaction time for a rear motorist was increased (i.e., more likely to hit you from the rear!) with the pulsing brake lights. The speculation was that the incandescent brake lights don't get fully illuminated when pulsed.

Other technical papers addressed pulsing LED lights. The time for the full light output of the LEDs is much shorter than for incandescent lights. In this study the pulsing brake lights decreased the reaction time of rear motorists. These studies were simulator based rather than actual measurements in real traffic.

I have some ideas about developing a device using a GPS, laser range finder, and data acquisition system to gather data in actual traffic situations. All I need to do is get a grant to fund the research.

I contacted the AMA (which is conveniently headquartered near Columbus, Ohio) about the laws governing pulsing brake lights. I forwarded the technical papers to their legislative coordinator. A legislation package is being developed that has several proposed changes that affect motorcyclists and will include pulsed brake lights (with some limitations).

If some of the forum readers would be interested in the papers, then I'll be happy to forward them along (you will need to send me a pm with your email address). The papers will be pdf files.

[widebmw]

On my bike and most bikes that I see that have pulsing brake lights they are in addition to the stock non-pulsing lights.

[johnnywishbone]

I would love to have those lights but they are illegal in Canada.

The only vehicles that are allowed to have flashing red lights are Police, Fire and Ambulances.

do you always obey stupid laws?

[Mike_Philippens]

I have the Kisan Signalminder, which is the easiest upgrade. I connected the brake light to have the brake flash option activated and I like it a lot. I really have the idea that it attracts attention from other drivers. Some people think it's a bit too much, but since motorcycles are often overlooked, I'll keep it on.
The fast flash feature of the Signalminder which quickly flashes your indicator as long as you hold the button is also a nice feature. I think that really works.

I also like the running lights, which make a bike much more visible at night. The RT I ride is just a little red dot in the dark, even though the bike itself is quite large in daylight. On a busy highway, the little red dot will fade among all the other red lights from cars.

I also added the Black ScotchLite on the side- and topcases, and on the front fender (sides). Unless you're sleepwalking, you can't really miss it now I guess...

[XTrooper]

Hyper-Lites here. Don't leave home without them!

[jkbales]

I've used Hyper-Lites on two bikes. The current one has 2 modules, 16 really bright "modulating" lights each, that is, they go from dim to bright, never actually off. I'm thinking about going to a Skene modulator on the rear, too. I added a Skene modulator to my HyperWhites up front and I like the effect. I have had no problems connecting Hyper-Lites to CANBUS.

I ride at night daily and I have multiple lights front, rear and side. I use Oznium flexible strip LEDs to enhance visibility. Hooked up to the Skene modulator, they also twinkle.

One thing I do is deliberately slow down cars driving behind me well before a stopping point, when I can. Give them a couple sets of flashes until I know they're slowing. So many drivers are on autopilot, simply following the person in front of them. A little jolt of red flashing works wonders getting their attention.

[tsperez]

The Skene P3 can be setup to not flash. You turn on the key and within about 5 seconds you press the brake 4 times and you are done until you program it again.

Hth,
Tsp
Blog: www.swriding.blogspot.com

I would love to have those lights but they are illegal in Canada.

The only vehicles that are allowed to have flashing red lights are Police, Fire and Ambulances.