Warning light added to show when the brake lights are on.

[Everest]

On a related note... there has been some discussion over the years about whether front brake lights could improve road safety. e.g. like mentioned here

Front brake lights could significantly prevent road crashes

What if a simple addition to your car—an extra brake light on the front—could prevent thousands of collisions?

cosmosmagazine.com

 

[Everest]

If someone can’t put a handbrake

What's a handbrake

 

[tsedge]

If someone can’t put a handbrake on properly (not use auto hold) and take their foot off the brake then maybe they shouldn’t have a driving license at all.

I never use the handbrake ever*. Autohold when driving and when I hit P at the end of a drive, the handbrake comes on automatically.

I know this frustrates some people, but I don't believe the MG4 brake lights either large or dazzling and it is the way many people drive nowadays.

*Except when needing to start driving or reverse up a steep slope.

 

[crispyjay]

I never use the handbrake ever*. Autohold when driving and when I hit P at the end of a drive, the handbrake comes on automatically.

I know this frustrates some people, but I don't believe the MG4 brake lights either large or dazzling and it is the way many people drive nowadays.

*Except when needing to start driving or reverse up a steep slope.

I regularly queue at traffic lights on my way home. It’s a slight uphill incline so the SUV brake lights are dazzling in the dark.

Call me old fashioned (quiet at the back) but it comes from my manual gearbox days. Stop, into neutral and handbrake. I guess all these automatics make it too easy not to do this.

/rantover

 

[tsedge]

Absolutely, the convenience trumps every other consideration - I would like tougher laws and MOT testing to eliminate dazzling brake lights.

 

[Tuareg]

If someone can’t put a handbrake on properly (not use auto hold) and take their foot off the brake then maybe they shouldn’t have a driving license at all.

Agree.

 

[OriginalBigAl]

If someone can’t put a handbrake on properly (not use auto hold) and take their foot off the brake then maybe they shouldn’t have a driving license at all.

A bit draconian but the roads would sure be a bit quieter . In reality each has its own uses and advantages and they have to be weighed against common courtesy and decency. If stationary at traffic lights when you know you'll be a while, handbrake and neutral, when traffic is creeping forwards , stop /starting , time of being stationary variable, then autohold , or in an earlier car , foot on brake. There will always be inconsiderate abusers and a growing trend of " if they do ,so do I " and with a trend to brighter brake lights both side and high level its another aspect of annoying modern life. Lecture over!
Alternatively , leaving a film of road grime on the lights would mark you out as considerate to others whilst those who constantly shampoo and polish ....... oops ! I might have overstepped the line here, please accept my sincerest apologies.

 

[MG Clive]

I don't like OPD, but I thought I should test it out for brake light purposes, and it seems to be just the same as using maximum regen (3 on the XPower), but because the car comes to a full stop using OPD, the brake light comes on when fully stopped, and remains on until you drive off again.

 

[Everest]

The brake lights on my tractor come on when the handbrake is on - not sure who I'd be dazzling though

 

[MG Clive]

The brake lights on my tractor come on when the handbrake is on - not sure who I'd be dazzling though

That's something we don't see round here, a tractor with working lights.

 

[PeteC]

I'm surprised that using the EPB (i.e. pulling up the lever) applies the brake lights ... unless it only does this when you're still moving. After all it is the equivalent of using a handbrake.

I can understand there being no brake light in regen 1, but I'm surprised that regen 2 doesn't put it on.

I was stuck in traffic today with a shiny car behind so I could see my o/s brake light in the door mirror. Using autohold had the brake lights on (as expected) so I then used the EPB while stationary and the brake lights went off (which is also what I would expect). I tried it a few times to check that's what happens with my early Trophy. Didn't try the EPB while moving.

 

[MG Clive]

I was stuck in traffic today with a shiny car behind so I could see my o/s brake light in the door mirror. Using autohold had the brake lights on (as expected) so I then used the EPB while stationary and the brake lights went off (which is also what I would expect). I tried it a few times to check that's what happens with my early Trophy. Didn't try the EPB while moving.

I bet they all wondered what the hell you were doing.

 

[MrPeaski]

Just an addition to the autohold, if you sit long enough (about 3 mins?), it actually goes of and applies the EPB, so along with that the brake lights go off.
No need to disengage at the switch, just accelerator down and it does it automatically.

 

[Staffex]

I don't think the word blinded is being used in its literal sense. Dazzled would perhaps be a better description.

Agreed. According to Google AI it takes 20-30 minutes for the human eye to become accustomed to the dark. Anyone who doubts this should try turning off their room lighting at night and waiting until they can see through the encircling gloom.
I passed my test in the days when motorists were more courteous, and I was taught to apply the handbrake when stationary at traffic lights etc. If you leave your brake lights on, particularly in unlit countryside, you will inevitably impair the night vision of the driver behind you. Google AI suggests that a brake light typically has 4-10 times the light output of a tail light.
Personally, I find that driving-off from a standstill is smoother if the EPB has been used, compared with auto hold. Somehow I doubt that MG included an EPB just for the benefit of boy racers performing handbrake turns.

 

[MG Clive]

Inspired by PeteC's observations above, and not being able to exactly remember when the brake light came on with the EPB, I've been out for more testing.
If you pull the lever while driving, the brake light comes on until you release the lever, or come to a stop.
If you've slowed right down under regeneration and pull the lever to stop the car, the brake light comes on, and the car comes to a stop, but the brake light then goes off when the EPB is fully engaged and you've stopped, so I think I must have mis-remembered this and thought the brake light was still on when stationary, when in actual fact, the brake light came on while the car was still moving.
So I apologize for the earlier confusion.

 

[tsedge]

A parking brake is a legal requirement, so MG had no choice about that. But with auto-hold it is largely redundant, except obviously auto-hold on MGs doesn't work in reverse.

I find auto-hold quicker to move off from than the EPB, with the EPB I have to wait for the handbrake to physically release first.

Each to their own, but it seems from the roads around me that the majority of people either ride the brake or use auto-hold.

 

[MG Clive]

I agree completely @tsedge

 

[salty]

Never used auto hold. I'll pull up at the lights. Press P on the dial. Sit there, when the lights change foot on brake, into D and away I go. That's my routine, works for me. Also don't mind OPD you almost literally don't have to use the brakes at all. But each to their own.

 

[Tuareg]

At the lights, with my foot on the brake, just flick on the e-brake. When the lights go green, just press the electron pedal and off I go.

 

[Staffex]

At the lights, with my foot on the brake, just flick on the e-brake. When the lights go green, just press the electron pedal and off I go.

Yes, my MG5 reacts instantly. The moment I touch the accelerator the EPB releases and the car is away with no delay whatsoever. If it felt sluggish I'd suspect that the drums or cable links required attention.