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After several close rear end collisions (mainly from cell phone use by behind drivers), I decided to purchase a 5th Light Flasher from forum vendor supporter ZIP to help alert drivers behind me. But after some conversations with others and their comments that the flashing may trigger drivers behind with rage, I am having second thoughts. Looking for comments from anyone that has installed the 5th light. Thanks.
I’ve been heavily considering getting at least an LED “ 5th “light. It’s much brighter ( I also want to get modded halo LEDs)
the C5 sits pretty low, mine is slightly lowered and if I got rear ended by a high enough vehicle at a high enough speed I could see them hitting my back window....
Me personally I’m opting into plain and simple just the brightest lights possible as opposed to flashers.
After several close rear end collisions (mainly from cell phone use by behind drivers), I decided to purchase a 5th Light Flasher from forum vendor supporter ZIP to help alert drivers behind me. But after some conversations with others and their comments that the flashing may trigger drivers behind with rage, I am having second thoughts. Looking for comments from anyone that has installed the 5th light. Thanks.
I doubt you will experience road rage. I ran one on my motorcycle without issue. My personal opinion is it is kind of goofy on a car. You have a wide car with 4 sizable lights and a 5th light in the middle.
Are your lights tinted? Tinted or not you could always opt for brighter bulbs. Lastly, the vehicle behind you may not be as close as you think. For whatever reason, it is hard to judge distace to the rear of the Vette. You back up and think you're on top of something then you get out and it is further than you thought. At least that is my experience.
I've been running them on my daily driver and my wife's for several years after some close calls with people texting instead of watching where they are going. A blinking light really catches the peripheral vision in humans... that's just the way our eyes and brains are wired. I think they work and I don't think it triggers road rage.
We've run the flasher on our high mounted stop light as well as the halo LED tail lights for about a year with no indication anyone has been bothered by the lighting.
The flasher will pulse 3 times and then go steady. There is a certain time frame (1 minute, I believe), that if you hit the brakes again the light will just come on steady without the flash so in bumper-to-bumper traffic it's not constantly flashing.
I don't want anyone upset, but I'd rather they be upset and notice us than to miss our light on plow into us.
We've run the flasher on our high mounted stop light as well as the halo LED tail lights for about a year with no indication anyone has been bothered by the lighting. The flasher will pulse 3 times and then go steady. There is a certain time frame (1 minute, I believe), that if you hit the brakes again the light will just come on steady without the flash so in bumper-to-bumper traffic it's not constantly flashing.
I don't want anyone upset, but I'd rather they be upset and notice us than to miss our light on plow into us.
Nobody has ever complained to me. I have an ebay led 3rd brake light and also the dyna flash or whatever it is wired to it to flash. Same one radio flyer sells except $11 on ebay.
Been here for a while, and read lots of posts about the ‘middle’ light. You’re the first one I’ve seen that has referred to it as the ‘5th’ light. Always been called ‘the third’, like on every other car.
frank
Originally Posted by rrwirsi
After several close rear end collisions (mainly from cell phone use by behind drivers), I decided to purchase a 5th Light Flasher from forum vendor supporter ZIP to help alert drivers behind me. But after some conversations with others and their comments that the flashing may trigger drivers behind with rage, I am having second thoughts. Looking for comments from anyone that has installed the 5th light. Thanks.
For what it's worth, I run a Smart Triple Play on the busa. Turns my signals into running lights as well as gives me 3 brake lights. There 10 or so different patterns to choose from, I keep it on the one that pulses 3x then goes solid. I personally think this module is a necessity on a motorcycle, WAY too many idiots on the road texting or FB'ing. I honk the horn, shoot everyone I see doing this the 1 finger salute and use the universal phone signal to hang it up. Pissing me off.
For the C5, or any other vehicle I've owned, I've always wanted to do the flashing brake 3rd brake light. Never hurts to have something that grabs people's attention, I wouldn't hesitate to put a constantly flashing (with brakes) 3rd brake light, just because people are getting more and more stupid.
Those flasher style center lamps will become more common here on out as a lot of OEMs are now putting it on their cars stock. If people are raging over them they're about to have a lot more to rage about when +50% of the cars on the road have them.
Factory switch backs too will be more common. I'm glad to see Audi taking a strong initiative to have them on their cars. I believe most of their current year model cars have OEM switch backs on the rear signal flashers.
...The flasher will pulse 3 times and then go steady. There is a certain time frame (1 minute, I believe), that if you hit the brakes again the light will just come on steady without the flash so in bumper-to-bumper traffic it's not constantly flashing...
Originally Posted by thatguy662
Nobody has ever complained to me. I have an ebay led 3rd brake light and also the dyna flash or whatever it is wired to it to flash. Same one radio flyer sells except $11 on ebay.
Originally Posted by zachaeous
I have this unit also. I have never had any complaints.
Does the Dyne Flash unit has the same feature described by Route99, where if you reapply the brakes within a certain short period it won't flash again to avoid "over flashing" in a bumper-to-bumper traffic?
Ours was from http://www.3rdbrakeflasher.com/. They actually allow multiple configurations of the light (continuous flash, flash once, twice, etc). If I remember correctly, you can even program the light to flash quicker based upon brake pedal pressure - the harder you press the brakes the faster the light flashes.
Hope this helps.
Larry
I find the flashers are only noticed by those looking, which eliminates drivers locked into their phones...
If they are 100% lost into their screens there's really not much that can be done, but if they're still not complete zombies there's a better chance of catching their peripheral vision with a blinking light than with a steady one, as Walt G mentioned above in Post 7.
06-21-2018, 03:40 PM
5th Brake Light Flasher
They aren't that bad. 
