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FLASHING INDICATORS AS FOG WARNING?
Page 50
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AFTER many experiments by the Ministry of Transport, the Road Haulage Association and other bodies, aimed at finding a suitable vehiclemounted danger warning system to prevent multiple pile-ups in fog, the Ministry has suggested that flashing direction indicators might be the answer.
Members of the RHA highways and vehicles committee have been asked to comment on the idea, the intention being that a switch in the flasher circuit should be arranged so as to cause both rear direction indicators to flash together, as a warning to following traffic when vehicles are brought to a standstill. This precaution is particularly aimed at preventing motorway crashes.
In one experiment a powerful rearward-facing spotlamp with a red lens was tried as an emergency collision warning, but in thick fog it was visible at only about three or four times the distance of a normal rear lamp, which would not really be sufficient in these severe conditions.
It has also been suggested that lorries should carry flares for emergency use, but it is thought that these would be too costly and short-lived.