Emergency Brake Lights

[Wooster]

The Toyota brochure for my model year and the 'Vehicle Techdoc Vehicle Summary' for my specific car says I have Emergency Brake Lights. (See attached) I saw a Prius brochure once that showed a Prius doing an emergency stop and the brake lights flashed to warn any driver that was following. Is this what is fitted to my car? If so:

1) How would you ever know they'd work when needed?

2) Lighting regulations used to specify lights had to be 'steady and continuous'. Doesn't this apply anymore?

Toyota EBS Document.pdf Toyota EBS Brochure.pdf

[Parts-King]

They don't have that on UK models, the document you uploaded has models on there not available in the UK 

[forkingabout]

Just think one day Toyota might get round to fitting the autowarn hazard lights feature like French vehicles have had for 20+ years.

Automatically activate hazard lights for rapid deceleration or impact.

Both my 2003 Peugeot 206s had it, the 2016 Peugeot 308 I had took it a step further, hazard lights could flash extremely fast depending on speed & deceleration rate.

[TonyHSD]

But why do you need these lights? 
Anticipation ahead and planning is all we need as a good and safe drivers. 
These lights are only good to show boy racers when they do careless driving and dangerous manoeuvres but we can hear them before see them anyway. 
Those who are tailgating you no lights will stop them as they are already too close, those who use their brains when driving keep safe distances and watch ahead further than the car on the front. 

[Wooster]

44 minutes ago, Parts-King said:

They don't have that on UK models, the document you uploaded has models on there not available in the UK ...

How can this be true? The 'build information' shown on the Toyota EBS Document I attached, came directly from https://www.toyota-tech.eu/Euro5search/vehiclespecifications   (Anyone can sign up and you'll just need your vehicle VIN)  With my VIN, it produced the document.

[Wooster]

45 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

But why do you need these lights? 

I'm not saying I need them. I'm just asking two questions about a feature that is spec'd on my car. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

1 hour ago, TonyHSD said:

But why do you need these lights? 

They warn drivers behind you that you're emergency braking. You can plan ahead all you like, but you cannot plan for everything no matter how good a driver you are.

If something unexpected happens in front of you (ie the driver in front of you crashes), at least these give the drivers behind you a little warning that something is amiss.

Our i20 has this system.

[Parts-King]

1 hour ago, Wooster said:

How can this be true? The 'build information' shown on the Toyota EBS Document I attached, came directly from https://www.toyota-tech.eu/Euro5search/vehiclespecifications   (Anyone can sign up and you'll just need your vehicle VIN)  With my VIN, it produced the document.

No idea, but the models on that doc are not UK models, I have never seen that system on any UK Toyota, seen it on plenty of boy racer cars, and imports, sorry 

[forkingabout]

32 minutes ago, Parts-King said:

I have never seen that system on any UK Toyota

I would expect the Proace will have it fitted due to it being a badly disguised Peugeot 😅

 

[TonyHSD]

2 hours ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

They warn drivers behind you that you're emergency braking. You can plan ahead all you like, but you cannot plan for everything no matter how good a driver you are.

If something unexpected happens in front of you (ie the driver in front of you crashes), at least these give the drivers behind you a little warning that something is amiss.

Our i20 has this system.

I agreed and that’s obvious, my point is that no matter what safety systems the cars has built in, the drivers are always in charge and careless and dangerous driving todays are the norm. 
 

[Cyker]

If you mean the rapidly-flashing hazard lights under hard braking, my Mk4 definitely has those!

It seems if I brake hard enough to trigger the ABS the hazards will flash rapidly (Which doesn't always need to be that hard - I first discovered it did this while braking on a grassy downhill slope!)

[Guest]

If I were following someone, and their brake lights started flashing on and off, I would think the driver was having some sort of right leg spasm episode. Not that they were "emergency" braking.

 

[Wooster]

15 hours ago, Cyker said:

If you mean the rapidly-flashing hazard lights under hard braking...

Maybe these are the 'Emergency Brake Lights'. 

 

19 hours ago, Parts-King said:

No idea, but the models on that doc are not UK models, I have never seen that system on any UK Toyota, seen it on plenty of boy racer cars, and imports, sorry 

My car was built in Burnaston. The first owner was Motability UK. Toyota-Tech.eu (eu = Europe, obviously) took my VIN and produced the specification sheet, that showed the emergency brake lights. None of this suggest 'not UK', 'boy racers' and 'imports'. Sorry. 

[APS]

I was under the impression pretty much all cars do this nowadays. It's just built-in to the ABS controller software.  Go to any track day and you will see pretty much all modern cars flashing their hazards before each corner. Our GR certainly does it.

23 hours ago, Wooster said:

2) Lighting regulations used to specify lights had to be 'steady and continuous'. Doesn't this apply anymore?

It's the hazards that flash albeit more rapidly than normal. 

23 hours ago, Wooster said:

1) How would you ever know they'd work when needed?

You just need to brake hard enough to trigger (or nearly triggering) the ABS. 

 

[Wooster]

9 minutes ago, APS said:

You just need to brake hard enough to trigger (or nearly triggering) the ABS. 

And have someone you know following you to tell you if they flash.....  

[APS]

7 minutes ago, Wooster said:

And have someone you know following you to tell you if they flash.....

You can tell as the hazards indicator flash on your dash.

[Wooster]

1 minute ago, APS said:

You can tell as the hazards indicator flash on your dash.

Ah - of course!  (I can't find an emoji for a 'light bulb moment'!)

[APS]

Just now, Wooster said:

Ah - of course!  (I can't find an emoji for a 'light bulb moment'!)

 

[Wooster]

 - that's the one!  Thanks for your input into this. 

Your words ("I was under the impression pretty much all cars do this nowadays. It's just built-in to the ABS controller software. Go to any track day and you will see pretty much all modern cars flashing their hazards before each corner. Our GR certainly does it.") might - hopefully - quash the 'imports', 'not UK models', 'never seen that system on any UK Toyota' comments. 

[Paul john]

19 minutes ago, Wooster said:

Ah - of course!  (I can't find an emoji for a 'light bulb moment'!)

💡

[forkingabout]

4 hours ago, APS said:

I was under the impression pretty much all cars do this nowadays. It's just built-in to the ABS controller software. 

Very early multiplexed PSA Peugeot / Citroen vehicles without ABS also had the feature - its was written in to the body computer software.

[Cyker]

6 hours ago, Slartybartfast said:

If I were following someone, and their brake lights started flashing on and off, I would think the driver was having some sort of right leg spasm episode. Not that they were "emergency" braking.

It's not the brake lights that flash - What happens is all 3 brake lights will be lit as normal, but in addition to that the hazard lights (i.e. left and right indicators) will flash rapidly at the same time.

It's just an automatic evolution of what a lot of people already tend to do, which is flash the hazards when they are slowing down rapidly (Very common on e.g. the M25 where you're happily doing 70mph, go round a bend, then have to slow a bit sharpish because there is suddenly 4-lanes of stationary traffic in front of you    )

Sort of an extra "Please don't crash in to me!" emphasis to the brake lights!  

[forkingabout]

Some of the newer German products flash the brake lights instead while the French went with hazard warning lights over 20+ years ago.

The hazard lights are much more visible & a better system. 

[Wooster]

Does anyone know how fast the 'emergency hazard lights' flash at?  

[Cyker]

I'd guess about twice as fast as normal but haven't timed it for obvious reasons  

You can sortof see the flashers triggering in onboard race cams for GR Yaris, e.g. : 

 

...but not many long braking zones because people have gotten too good at carrying speed round turns in the GR4!