brake light

a red light attached to the rear of a motor vehicle that lights up when the brakes are applied, serving as a warning to following drivers

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Brake Light

a light signal on a motor vehicle, trolley car, or similar vehicle that warns the drivers behind that the vehicle is braking. One brake light is situated at each side of the motor vehicle and is usually integrated with the taillights; the two lights are connected by a switch with the brake system’s pneumatic or hydraulic circuit. When the brake pedal is pressed, the diaphragm of the brake switch bends under the pressure of compressed air or brake fluid and closes a pair of contacts, thus switching on the brake lights. Brake lights are equipped with red diffusing lenses. The light intensity in the direction of the optical axis should be not less than 40 international candles. Brake lights with dual intensity modes for daytime and night driving are also produced.

Mentioned in

adaptive headlights

References in periodicals archive

Stoptix Bicycle Brake Lights have a uniformly illuminated octagon-shaped face with a larger effective area than most bike lights.

MechOptix introduces Stoptix Automatic Bicycle Brake Light

Probably no more than the center brake light reduces car accidents these days.

Those annoying EHR pop-up windows

Brake lights are an essential piece of auto equipment, but they don't relay much information.

Detailed taillights

The advance brake warning system (ABWS) is a mechanism that activates the brake lights in response to a rapid disengagement of the gas pedal, before the driver's foot reaches the brake pedal.

Fleet Study Evaluation of an Advance Brake Warning System

RAY: I don't know exactly what the lifespan of this third brake light is (''TBL'' is what I would have called it).

Just how do you change a CHMSL?

The Brake Light Stick will play an important role in helping drivers who are alone to test the functionality of their brake lights.

Innovation Direct[TM] Selected to Serve as Official Representative of Brake Light Stick Invention

FORD has tested a hi-tech early warning brake light that can warn drivers following behind - even if they are around a bend or behind other traffic.

FORD has tested [...]

KIA is recalling 25,192 vehicles sold in the UK for the replacement of a possibly faulty brake light switch on a variety of cars built between 2006 and 2011.

Kia to recall 25,000 vehicles

Athol Ouwendijk, 40, was caught with the Class A drug diamorphine when undercover police stopped his car last February to investigate a faulty brake light.

Junkie let off over pounds 1 stash

vehicle lighting standards and Mercedes had to get a "pass" from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to introduce rear brake light technology on the latest S-Class that emits warning flashes when a rear-end impact is imminent.

The next safety frontier: vehicle communication