Who on here remembers the days when indicators were mounted separately from headlights and tail/brake lights ?

This was bought home to me yesterday when the car in front of me appeared to slow right down for no apparent reason and it took very careful examination of his rear light cluster (made more difficult by the sun on it) to actually see he was indicating..
Similarly, when cars are coming towards you (particularly at night), the fact their indicators are so close to their headlights means you can hardly see them either.

Form over function.....

Yep, these were much better:

 

8 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Yep, these were much better:

 

You may joke EB, but they actually were better than an indictor built into the headlight that can't 'effin see !

Actually many cars now have indictors in their door mirrors (a similar idea to your pic ! ) which are much more easy to see.
The down side of that is that the soddin' mirrors are even more expensive to replace when they get damaged.....

I'm sure there's some on here would remember drivers using arm signals 🤔😃

56 minutes ago, Turvey said:

I'm sure there's some on here would remember drivers using arm signals 🤔😃

Still had to do them when I took my driving test. It was p*ssing down on the day and my arm got soaked. I'm sure the examiner kept me doing them longer than necessary. Fortunately dry for my bike test a couple of years before.😀

3 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Yep, these were much better:

 

I remember those. My grandad had a morris minor with them on. 

My father's car had them. It was a Morris Twenty-One, one of the Big Six range with a 2.9-litre six-cylinder side-valve engine producing (you guessed it) a nominal 21hp!

I once got caught out by the hand signal for "I intend to slow down or stop". I was riding a scooter on my way to work and the driver of the car I was following appeared to make this signal so I began to overtake, only to have him turn right, throwing me off. It was an elderly driver who had simply not kept his arm still while actually signalling to turn.

I'm sure I've mentioned this before but kinda related to this thread.

Some cars/vans/trucks have indicators and DRLs built into the same bulbs whereby the DRLs switch to indicators when applied. Brilliant idea 10/10

 

However, some vehicles have 'turning lights' which come on when you indicate and turn the wheel thereby obliterating the view of the indicator from the front! Rubbish idea 0/10

8 hours ago, Turvey said:

some vehicles have 'turning lights'

That was one of the very first things I used FORScan for. I disabled the cornering lights on my Focus. What a totally stupid and confusing idea they are.

Agreed, stupid and misleading, especially when they come on with the merest hint of steering lock.

 

Followed a car this morning with a feature I've only ever seen on older American cars but what I think is brilliant, albeit illegal I think in this country 🤔🤷

Rear light on the appropriate side going out when indicator engaged. Indicator was quite large and not easy to miss but with the rear light out was even easier to see.Car in question was a Jeep Avenger.

5 hours ago, Turvey said:

albeit illegal I think in this country 🤔🤷

I guess not as that's a UK reg car. There seem to be quite a few about, down here, but the reviews I've seen have all flagged up quite a lot of charging/software issues. (Odd, as it's based on Stellantis' small EV platform and I haven't seen the same issues mentioned with other models).

5 hours ago, Turvey said:

Rear light on the appropriate side going out when indicator engaged

These EV's will do anything to save a tiny bit power 🤣

1 hour ago, unofix said:

These EV's will do anything to save a tiny bit power 🤣

Makes a change from wasting 75% out the exhaust pipe /radiator/ friction. 😂😂😂

On 12/20/2024 at 1:02 PM, Turvey said:

Followed a car this morning with a feature I've only ever seen on older American cars but what I think is brilliant, albeit illegal I think in this country 🤔🤷

 

On 12/20/2024 at 6:17 PM, Eric Bloodaxe said:

I guess not as that's a UK reg car. 

 

I think I've worked out what I was thinking about 🤔 ...... maybe 😀

It must be the brake light that goes out on American cars to allow you to see the indicator, not the rear lights. 

2 hours ago, Turvey said:

 

 

I think I've worked out what I was thinking about 🤔 ...... maybe 😀

It must be the brake light that goes out on American cars to allow you to see the indicator, not the rear lights. 

A lot of older British cars used the same system, where the brake light bulbs were also used as indicators. This stopped in the 1950's, I think, and would have been illegal on anything built from 1965 on, when indicators had to be amber.

Anyone remember the early Mini, where the front side lights also acted as indicators, using a dual wattage bulb with a clear lens? Then, from 1965, they put the sidelight in the headlight and used an amber lens on the indicator.