Brighter signals for daytime (paging Daniel Stern...)

It's another scaldingly bright day here in the Southwestern desert, and
sometimes the few people who use their turn signals get their message
lost in the glare and through-shine and retroreflection (not to mention
window tint and sunglasses).

So... Given all the electronic sophistication, ranging from
tremendously helpful to just plain silly, that pervades modern cars
(especially the luxury models), why don't we have turn signals and
brake lamps that crank 'way up in bright sun and dim themselves down
appropriately in other circumstances?

--Joe

On Wed, 25 May 2005, Ad absurdum per aspera wrote:

> It's another scaldingly bright day here in the Southwestern desert, and
> sometimes the few people who use their turn signals get their message
> lost in the glare and through-shine and retroreflection (not to mention
> window tint and sunglasses).

You mean reflection, not retroreflection.

> So... Given all the electronic sophistication, ranging from
> tremendously helpful to just plain silly, that pervades modern cars
> (especially the luxury models), why don't we have turn signals and brake
> lamps that crank 'way up in bright sun and dim themselves down
> appropriately in other circumstances?

These are explicitly allowed in the international regulations used
by most every country outside North America (more for glare reduction at
night than for extra conspicuity in very bright sunshine), and are
implicitly allowed in North America.

No automaker I'm aware of has ever equipped a car with such signals,
though.

DS