How brake lights on the front of cars could reduce crashes
According to US outlet Motor Trend, citing ZME Science, Graz University in Austria and the Bonn Institute for Legal and Traffic Psychology in Germany have studied putting brake lights on the front of moving vehicles.
The benefit is to bring other road users more obvious understanding of when a vehicle is braking, making it easier to predict its movements.
According to the study, these 'indicators' – as they 'indicate' what a vehicle is doing – could be mounted to the front and side. Unlike red tail lights, the study has suggested the best colour for the 'front indicators' is green.
Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. Supplied Credit: CarExpert
ABOVE: What these front brake lights could look like
Green – which would light up when the car is braking – as Motor Trend suggests, would mean you are good to go when negotiating an intersection or otherwise.
The testing was conducted by recreating a series of real-world crashes with three different reaction times between 0.5 and 1.5 seconds.
The study found the use of green front indicators reduces the number of intersection collisions by a 25 per cent. It also found the number of injuries was down by 17 per cent.
Those injuries were less severe, as testing showed the average speed of collisions fell from 45km/h to 29km/h. Supplied Credit: CarExpert
According to Transport New South Wales, a pedestrian has a 90 per cent chance of surviving a 30km/h collision with a vehicle – but at 40km/h, the risk of death doubles.
Australia's National Road Safety Data Hub shows the majority of fatal crashes in the past 12 months (to the end of June 2025) involved single-vehicle crashes.
Pedestrian deaths increased 15 per cent to 192 deaths over the same 12-month period, while cyclist deaths were up 11 per cent – while all other road-user types (driver, passenger, motorcyclist) saw decreases in fatalities.
While their benefits seem clear, adding 'front indicators' would require significant undertaking – and a change in global design rules.
Australia Design Rules (ADRs) currently only allow front lights to emit white or yellow light in Australia.
MORE: Australia's 2024 road toll the deadliest in over a decade
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