Vehicle breakdown lights

In another thread, I mentioned setting both a red Glo-Toob & blue Glo-Toob to strobing mode, in the event of vehicle breakdown on the highway. Several members had discourage against this practise and suggest using the vehicle hazard light or flashlights.

I had no intention of impersonating an emergency or police vehicle.
Just thought that using a flashlight, eg. G2+P61 or 9P+P91 or PM6 to flash around, may blind the drivers in oncoming vehicles.

What is the best way to mark a breakdown vehicle, to prevent other vehicle from crashing into it from behind ?

All inputs and suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

I like the turboflares. Craig has a review of them on his website. They're fairly inexpensive and the combination of light and "movement" is much more visible than light alone.

Two good options are Turboflares and FlareAlerts. Pros/cons to each one. I have several FlareAlerts and they're much brighter than you'd expect. They're magnetic so can either lay flat on the road to stick to your car.

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/sdg_turboflare360.htm
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/keystone_flarealert.htm

I think red and blue is a terrible plan, but red and yellow Glo-toobs would be fine, or Yellow/White or Red/Yellow/White, or any combination that's not Red/blue or Red/white.

I keep an Inova 24/7 in each car - I think the red/yellow slow pulse or red/yellow/white quick strobe makes an excellent marker, though it's quite directional.

My only problem with the TurboFlare is that it's effectively only two LEDs turned on at a time... while there's plenty of motion, I don't think it's really bright enough to have much long-range warning power - I'd much rather see it have a half-dozen LED's lit at once. The advantage of the TurboFlares is the 360 coverage...

In some ways, old-style road flares have a lot going for them... very bright, 360 coverage, minimal space to store.

firefly99 said:

What is the best way to mark a breakdown vehicle, to prevent other vehicle from crashing into it from behind ?

All inputs and suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

Click to expand...

The best way is to park a fire engine between you and the on-coming traffic.

Your four way flashers are intended for this and most people will recognize them.

If not the method required for trucks in California is probably as good as any.

Reflective triangles that you set in a pattern starting a considerable distance from your vehicle at the road side. Each triangle closer to the vehicle is farther out, similar to what is done in construction zones.
towards tthe bottom of this page is more information. Note especially the distances involved.

Mike Painter said:

The best way is to park a fire engine between you and the on-coming traffic.

Your four way flashers are intended for this and most people will recognize them.

If not the method required for trucks in California is probably as good as any.

Reflective triangles [OR FLARES]that you set in a pattern starting a considerable distance from your vehicle at the road side. Each triangle closer to the vehicle is farther out, similar to what is done in construction zones.
towards tthe bottom of this page is more information. Note especially the distances involved.

Click to expand...

EXACTLY

Mike Painter said:

The best way is to park a fire engine between you and the on-coming traffic.

Click to expand...

What should you do before the fire engine reach the scene?

Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions, will pick up some turboflares and other colour Glo-Toobs.

I think your best options are reflective triangles, Turboflares or FlareAlerts.

I personally use FlareAlerts as they were about 1/2 the cost and size of Turboflares. Therefore I have two in each car, vs 1 Turboflare in each car.

I figured at the low cost, if I passed a dangerous road hazzard (abandoned car in road, dead cow, etc.), I could just leave one to warn approaching drivers.

However either Turboflare or FlareAlerts are great improvements over the old flammable strike flares. I'd suggest getting one or the other, probably in addition to reflective triangles.

firefly99 said:

What should you do before the fire engine reach the scene?

Click to expand...

Act Nonchalant when the high patrol shows up and wants to know who dialed 911 when there was no need.

I don't mean to advertise here, but will this help?

http://emilionworkshop.com:3072/osc...d=295&osCsid=dcc66808efdcd21a9ed13c4d65da4415

Another vote for reflective triangles. Consumer Reports did a visibility test of various popular warning devices a few years back in various weather conditions. Admittedly they probably didn't test turboflares or other recent devices, but their results showed that the triangles were outstanding. Also, they cannot suffer from dead batteries and can be left in position for days if necessary without loss of effectiveness. They also work well both night and day, unlike most electric devices. This is a case where simple is an advantage.

i have a Triglo made by Autolite. Found it at sears. Basically, it's a 5mm red LED safety triangle powered by 4 AA's. It also has 3 5mm white led's on the other side that can be used as illumination. Great product, very visible from far away. Only cost like 10 bucks too. The only thing i wish was that it's bigger-each leg of the triangle is about 8-10" only.

Here is the latest entry in the electronic flare area. At least it uses a lithium cell so it has some hope of coming to life when you really need it. Pretty pricey though. PowerFlare

One big issue with the TurboFlare or FlareAlert is the use of alkaline batteries. Many months in the average car trunk and I believe you might just find dead or leaking batteries making it useless when needed. Most of us are used to checking and changing batteries in our gear, but this is not typical.

Considering cost, battery reliability and the KISS principal, it is hard to go against the plastic reflective triangles.

Also, pick your favorite EDC light and pickup a traffic wand attachment for it. The small flasher lights sold in places like Home Depot and other locations are also relatively cheap - longer lasting than flares, you can place them far behind your vehicle - even if you loose them, no big cost. What I don't like about triangles (even though I carry them) is that they are bulky and heavy.

If you carry a SL Pro Polymer 4AA Luxeon in your car the traffic wand for a Stinger will fit found this out from a customer service rep at SL, makes a dandy traffic wand. http://www.lightmanstrobes.com/new.htm This company also make Xenon and led lights for safety/ vehicle kits, I have used a red/blue xenon set on my police bicycle and they are bright, run off 2 AA batteries per light.

:wow: