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Because human factors engineering is no longer considered in automobile design. Sorry, but that's the truth. Rotary knob transmission selectors, constantly-changing emergency brake designs (electric and mechanical), 19 different column stalk configurations, radios where you have to go three menu levels deep to switch from an AM station to an FM station, touchscreen-controlled HVAC systems, etc., etc.,etc., etc.
They've put the software guys in charge of user interaction design and the results are predictable, unlike the operation of the functions. It is a fundamental tenet of human factors design that controls that will be operated while doing something else, ESPECIALLY if safety can be affected, should be operable without having to look at them - at a minimum, you shold be able to briefly glance just to find the button or knob.
This basic fundamental requirement of engineering a 3000-8000 lb. vehicle with 300 HP intended to be operated at speeds of up to 100 MPH by minimally trained people, has been pulled out, torn into shreds, gleefullly stamped upon, and set on fire by the current crop of computer-weenies who fancy themselves automotive controls designers.
I suggest anyone who questions this spend a week driving a 1970 model car with manual transmission and see after a week how often you need to look away from the road to operate ANY function - then get into a 2024 vehicle and see how often you need to look away from the road.
Good grief, YES. Used to be able to drive and adjust other functions by feel without looking away from the road. Now everything is routed through a menu screen that warns me not to take my eyes from the road, yet I have to use to adjust any function in the vehicle. I had to do some human factors work during my career and it's obvious no human factors were considered in how car controls are laid out.
Tactile feedback, sound, and muscle memory are some of the best control mechanisms we have. And we lose all of them with many of the new touch screen style control set ups. Relying on vision and menu scrolling takes your eyes of the road for too long AND occupies processor cycles in the brain. No different than texting while driving.
I have a GM vehicle and it has thier feature. It's their exit lighting. Runs the headlights and reverse lights for a preset period of time.
You can configure it in the vehicles' menus. I have mine set to OFF because I don't need it, and I think it's annoying when i see it on other GM vehicles in a parking lot because I think they are backing up.
This is GM's exit lighting feature (not sure if other brands have it) to make it easy to see around the car in the dark. It's configurable for time (and even if it happens) on many GM vehicles.
If you don't see brake lights, you don't have to worry about them backing up into you...
THIS^^^^^^
There have been some whacky answers so far but this is why it happens.
If you don't see brake lights, you don't have to worry about them backing up into you...
But OTOH, if you continue to see brake lights on when someone is NOT backing up, you begin to perceive this as a false signal and begin to ignore them which could lead to your being run over by someone who is actually backing up. This is kind of like the boy who kept crying "WOLF" when there really wasn't any wolf around.
An alarm signal begins to lose its significance with humans when it continually broadcasts a false alarm. For example, who the heck even bothers to pay attention when a car's burglar alarm goes off these days? About 99.9% of the time that we hear a car's burglar alarm, it's a FALSE alarm. So, our brain is conditioned to ignore the alarm after continually being exposed to false alarms. Same thing applies to backup lights that continue to shine when no one is really backing up... or even in the car! It's a very bad idea to use warning lights for general illumination.
But OTOH, if you continue to see brake lights on when someone is NOT backing up, you begin to perceive this as a false signal and begin to ignore them which could lead to your being run over by someone who is actually backing up. This is kind of like the boy who kept crying "WOLF" when there really wasn't any wolf around.
An alarm signal begins to lose its significance with humans when it continually broadcasts a false alarm. For example, who the heck even bothers to pay attention when a car's burglar alarm goes off these days? About 99.9% of the time that we hear a car's burglar alarm, it's a FALSE alarm. So, our brain is conditioned to ignore the alarm after continually being exposed to false alarms. Same thing applies to backup lights that continue to shine when no one is really backing up... or even in the car! It's a very bad idea to use warning lights for general illumination.
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Your analysis of false warnings is spot on! A false warning is worse than a failed warning.
btw - in case this still has people flummoxed, I should mention, on these vehicles, or at the least my Grabowski, the reverse bulbs are on AND the marker light bulbs as well which might scare people into thinking the brakes are on too...
btw - in case this still has people flummoxed, I should mention, on these vehicles, or at the least my Grabowski, the reverse bulbs are on AND the marker light bulbs as well which might scare people into thinking the brakes are on too...
Yes, because usually the tail lights illuminate as well. Can sometimes be difficult to tell if it is the tail lights or brake lights that are illuminated, depending on the ambient lighting conditions and whether you are approaching the vehicle directly from behind (usually better able to distinguish), or approaching from a crossing behind direction (can be more difficult to tell).
I've noticed this with new GM cars. It doesn't make any sense, as a driver thinks the vehicle is backing up. There have been a lot of complaints about this feature, hope they change it.
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