annoying rear lights - Terje's cars

This is the new trend for rear lights whether you like it or not. Interlocking LED light strip created by designers who focus more on art than traffic.

The E-tron's rear lights are annoying

The new Audi e-tron was not the first car model to get an LED light strip at the rear, but it is perhaps the model that most people are annoyed by. Partly because of the model's prevalence, and partly because of the design of the light. The e-tron's rear lights consist of 50 different OLED elements and can be programmed to emit light in specific patterns and sequences. It looks great in the showroom, but is annoying in the dark. It is difficult to put your finger on what is wrong. The light strip could have been narrower and provided less light. But that alone is not all. The lighting system is placed on the outside of the bodywork – not recessed – so that the light is not reflected on the car's surface. Relatively high brightness, high position and shape make the light float in the air like a two-dimensional creation – like a projected light that visually does not appear to be associated with any car.

Destroys depth perception

Depth vision is extremely important in traffic, not least at night. In the dark, we depend on our own lights, road markings, road lighting and the lights/reflections from other road users. Ordinary taillights with license plate lights do not just send light backwards . Some of the light also illuminates the car itself so that we can perceive its contours. Together with the contours of the car, it is easier for other road users to judge speed and direction. The E-tron's taillights block the ability to perceive the contours of the car. The lights form an independent, two-dimensional shape that jumps and dances in front of us. It certainly looks nice in a dark showroom, but it does not fit well in live traffic.

Porsche Taycan

taycan lights — Porsche Taycan – the light strip is recessed into the bodywork

Porsche has also started with LED light strips. The Taycan and new 911 (992) have it, and the new Macan gets it too. Porsche's rear light arrangement seems far less disturbing in the dark than the e-tron's rear lights. The difference is that Porsche's light strip is embedded in the rear of the car. This causes some of the light to illuminate the surface of the car. It helps to tell about the shape of the rear and sense the contours of the car. The light strip's design is also very elegant, no matter what time of day you are.

Polestar 2

polestar rear lights — Pole stars. Simple and stylish. Works well.

Polestar's light strip curves around the extreme points to form imaginary rectangular taillights. A nice effect to create a recognition effect. The light strip is narrow and placed on the outside of a flat surface that does not catch so much of the light. The light strip is narrow and less dominant than on the e-tron. In addition, it does not destroy the ability to perceive the contours of the car in the dark.

Was the Saab 9-5 ahead of its time?

saab 9-5 lights — The historic Saab 9-5 was early on with an LED light strip

It was not the e-tron that came first with a light strip on ordinary cars. The Saab 9-5 had a similar arrangement in its last model, which was discontinued shortly after launch 10 years ago. I don't know if all models had the same solution, but I at least found one point that annoyed me: When the driver braked, the lighting system was transformed into 3 rear lights by the middle part of the light strip being extinguished. When the brake lights went off, the middle part of the light strip fell back into place. I learned that the unfamiliar light pattern was not picked up by my own spinal reflex. Had the model been allowed to live, I'm sure many 9-5 owners would experience being hit from behind. Another example of a nice lighting arrangement that didn't fit in with the traffic.

LED light Mercedes-Benz EQC

eqc rear light — The light arrangement on the Mercedes-Benz seems simple but not very elegant.

The Mercedes-Benz EQC has a similar arrangement to the e-tron. The high position and strong brightness prevent us from seeing the contours of the car. Nevertheless, the scheme is not experienced as annoying as the e-tron's rear lights. What saves the scheme is the end of the light strip's extreme points, which form imaginary rear lights. But the light arrangement does not harmonize well with the rest of the car. Although it is about taste and comfort, - not traffic safety. There is, however, the EQC's LED light strip between the headlights. It destroys the visual effect one associates with a car front.

LED light strip in front

Car manufacturers who have chosen to place LED light strips in front of the headlights probably defend it by saying that it provides better light, or something like that. The thing is that the light strip can ruin the visual impression that other road users experience. In the dark, our brain will associate the impression of two separate headlight clusters with a car. Heavier cars are recognized by marker lights on the roof. It's all about spinal cord sensation. Horizontal light strips in the front change shape and form, which means that other road users do not perceive the vehicle as easily - and the speed. Those of us who occasionally drive two-wheelers know that other drivers involuntarily violate the duty to give way because they do not perceive the two-wheeled road user as a vehicle - or are unable to perceive the speed. The problem also exists at sea. Correct lantern guidance requires the placement and color of the lights so that other road users can read the movement of the vessel. The new ID series from Volkswagen adorns itself with a light strip in the front - fortunately not completely continuous. The hydrogen model Hyundai Nexo has also had a light strip in the front, both in the new and outgoing model.

ID.3 rear light — Volkswagen ID.3 with discreet front light strip

The advantages of LED lights

LED lights generally win over conventional lights with low price, low energy consumption, space-saving, and the possibility of creating intelligent dynamics. The LED light elements can be programmed to cast the light where it is needed. If a camera detects dark areas, the car can throw more light there, - or provide a rich dipped beam without dazzling oncoming road users. It can also be used for animation, for example sequential flashing lights and emergency flashing lights. In the future, you can also imagine even stronger lighting effects to warn of danger - or perhaps party effects?

LED – not just an accessory

LED is making its way in – not only in premium models – but also in more common models. The new Seat Leon gets it – probably together with the LED package. The new Hyundai i20 gets it. Right now there is a danger that car manufacturers will outdo each other in supplying LED light strips. Bearing in mind that today you can buy LED light strips for retrofitting for a couple of hundred Swedish kroner, it can easily be "inflation" in creative lighting schemes. Currently, I don't think there are LED light strips that can be legally installed on older cars. But maybe it is possible to mount on trailers?