Highway Driving At Night And Vehicles Approaching From Behind

[Rob Croson]

...we are working with the correct people...

Regardless of the final answer, EM claims to be "working with the correct people" to get it resolved. Just because Morgan wasn't successful in reaching a resoution doesn't mean Elio won't be. And just because they aren't putting every single detail out for public scrutiny doesn't mean they are burying their heads in the sand, and hoping it all just works out somehow.

Don't forget that Morgan had other problems beyond the fact that they had two, wide-spaced headlights. Perhaps an even bigger issue was that the two headlights they used were not properly certified/marked as compliant. So even if they got a pass on the two light issue, they still would have been out of compliance because the headlights themselves were non-compliant and would not have been acceptable even if mounted properly. Morgan resolved both issues at once by adding a third, centered, *comliant* headlight.

While there are similarities between the Elio situation and the Morgan situation, they are not identical. Don't forget to take thos differences into account when using the Morgan case to evaluate EM's position. (Plus the fact that EM is working on it in advance, and Morgan tried to get a pass after the fact.)

 

[Ty]

I understand the need for visibility. But I fail to see why it would matter if a trucker or any other vehicle thinks they are coming up on a motorcycle, autocycle, or automobile. They should be approaching all of them the same way.

The problem is that when you have two widely spaced tail lights (or headlights), your brain can calculate your closing speed as the lights get further and further apart. You figure when the lights get XXX far apart, you are close to the vehicle. When following a motorcycle, many motorists do not realize how fast they are closing the gap and end up hitting the bike from behind even if they saw it first. The same goes for people pulling out in front of motorcycles. You often hear "He was going faster than I thought" which could be translated to "I couldn't tell how fast the distance was closing." The Elio will have these problems as our brains see two lights close together and we just assume it's a regular size car that is further away.

 

[wizard of ahs]

The problem is that when you have two widely spaced tail lights (or headlights), your brain can calculate your closing speed as the lights get further and further apart. You figure when the lights get XXX far apart, you are close to the vehicle. When following a motorcycle, many motorists do not realize how fast they are closing the gap and end up hitting the bike from behind even if they saw it first. The same goes for people pulling out in front of motorcycles. You often hear "He was going faster than I thought" which could be translated to "I couldn't tell how fast the distance was closing." The Elio will have these problems as our brains see two lights close together and we just assume it's a regular size car that is further away.

And that's where 50+ years of riding experience pays off..........of course, NO ONE can control what the OTHER guy is doing !!!

 

[W. WIllie]

It all depends how loose the (nut) on the steering wheel is.(The other guy)