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The Advertiser
7 days ago
- Automotive
- The Advertiser
How brake lights on the front of cars could reduce crashes
Lights on the front of a vehicle that show when it's braking are under study in Europe, and they've been shown to reduce intersection collisions and reduce injuries when these do occur. 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. 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. 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 Content originally sourced from: Lights on the front of a vehicle that show when it's braking are under study in Europe, and they've been shown to reduce intersection collisions and reduce injuries when these do occur. 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. 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. 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 Content originally sourced from: Lights on the front of a vehicle that show when it's braking are under study in Europe, and they've been shown to reduce intersection collisions and reduce injuries when these do occur. 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. 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. 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 Content originally sourced from: Lights on the front of a vehicle that show when it's braking are under study in Europe, and they've been shown to reduce intersection collisions and reduce injuries when these do occur. 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. 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. 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 Content originally sourced from:
7NEWS
7 days ago
- Automotive
- 7NEWS
How brake lights on the front of cars could reduce crashes
Lights on the front of a vehicle that show when it's braking are under study in Europe, and they've been shown to reduce intersection collisions and reduce injuries when these do occur. 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. 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. 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.
Auto Blog
01-07-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Blog
Study Shows How Front-Facing Brake Lights Can Save Lives
Simple Idea, Big Impact New safety technologies have become almost overwhelming in their complexity. Some, like certain lane-keep assist systems, can be obtrusive. Others, like automatic emergency braking, are proven to prevent potentially fatal crashes. But often, the most effective safety technologies are not all that complicated. Seat belts are one example, and a new one being investigated is the use of front-facing brake lights (FBLs) on cars. A study from Graz University of Technology in Austria suggests that up to 17% of crashes can be avoided outright, and up to 25% can result in reduced injury severity, with the use of front brake lights. 0:01 / 0:09 2025 Audi S3 vs Mercedes-AMG CLA 35: the executive decision Watch More Assessing Other Drivers' Intentions Is The Key Source: MDPI As with good ol' rear brake lights and turn signals, the ability to predict the actions of other drivers close to you is a key aspect of vehicle safety. Whether someone is in the process of stopping or turning, you can take the necessary precautions and respond. FBLs simply add another means of communication that is especially helpful in certain scenarios. It's often difficult to gauge the intention of approaching cars in intersections, such as when cross traffic doesn't need to stop. Pulling into or crossing the road will require an accurate judgment, based on approaching traffic and how fast or slow you think other drivers are going. Instead of taking a complete risk, as many drivers do, FBLs can show whether an approaching driver is slowing down or continuing at a constant or increasing speed. That way, you can make a more informed decision about whether it's safe to go. Furthermore, pedestrians can also use illuminated FBLs to determine if it's safe to cross a road or not. The creators of the study proposed that front brake lights be green, much in the way a green traffic light is associated with right of way or it being safe to go. Even A Small Reduction In Reaction Time Matters Source: why kei/Unplash Autoblog Newsletter Autoblog brings you car news; expert reviews and exciting pictures and video. Research and compare vehicles, too. Sign up or sign in with Google Facebook Microsoft Apple By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . You may unsubscribe from email communication at anytime. The study recreated 200 real car crashes to determine reaction times, carefully analyzing each step of how the collision took place and when the car/s started braking. Next, they recreated these accidents but added FBLs to cars coming from the front or side, while assuming that the quicker reaction times would apply when these lights are illuminated. Reaction times were measured at 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 seconds. Obviously, a lower reaction time is better. According to the simulations, 7.5 to 17% of the original crashes could have been avoided entirely with FBLs, and as many as 25.5% of those crashes would reduce the severity of injuries, due to the drivers responding more quickly. Even a half-second quicker reaction time can significantly influence the severity of a crash. The researchers also pointed out that side brake lights would be important in some cases, where front brake lights aren't visible. Fortunately, as with the front-facing brake lights, these side lights could potentially be retrofitted, and they wouldn't cost much to install on new vehicles, either. While more evidence is needed to support the study's results, these findings suggest that this simple piece of technology could significantly improve road safety for commuters and pedestrians alike. But even if more conclusive proof of FBL's benefits were to emerge, it would still need to pass legislation via the National Safety Highway Administration (NHTSA), an organization that is notoriously slow to adapt to new safety technologies. About the Author Karl Furlong View Profile
