From the middle of this year, all new cars in the European Union will have to have a new mandatory brake light installed, which clearly indicates danger in certain situations and the aim is to warn other road users as soon as possible and avoid collisions with a braking vehicle.
According to the EU regulation on general vehicle safety, as of July 7 of this year, the obligation to install an emergency stop signal is introduced, which includes a brake light that turns on during hard braking and the automatic switching on of the turn signals after an immediate stop.
This signal is automatically activated at a speed above 50 kilometers per hour. Without this signal, it will no longer be possible to approve the vehicle’s homologation from the specified date.
During heavy braking, usually at speeds above 50 km/h, the so-called adaptive emergency brake light will come on. The brake lights will flash several times per second and signal hard braking. If the vehicle stops after heavy braking, the hazard warning lights will be activated automatically and the brake light will remain on.
The new regulation applies exclusively to new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, and they add that existing cars do not need to be modified or equipped with this system.
This system is part of a wider package of European Union measures for safer roads, included in EU regulation 2019/2144, which establishes the mandatory installation of a number of active and passive safety systems in new vehicles, such as advanced emergency braking systems (AEBS), lane keeping assistance, intelligent speed limiter, driver drowsiness/fatigue detection, rear view camera, etc./9plusfun/
