While on tour last week with the Tennessee T's, our tour leader had a yellow flashing magnetic LED light on the rear of his car. It was battery operated and was visible for a long distance on the dreary, rainy day.
I asked about where he purchased it. All he remembered was that he bought it from a vendor while on the Covered Bridge Tour.
Does anybody know who this vendor may be? This light may get the attention of a "texting driver".
I have purchased several from a local John Deere dealer here in Abilene. Try your farm and ranch stores. Regards, TDE
Most heavy truck parts suppliers will have them, they are also available in red. KB
Wow, what a great idea!
I found this http://www.magnalight.com/pc-1571-21-led-amber-strobe-light--18-leds--battery-po wered--dual-magnetic-base-continuous-or-strobe-output.aspx
$25.00 It goes 120 hours on a single set of 4 AA batteries
Bob,
You can get those many places. If you do a Google search for "magnetic battery LED Amber Strobe Light" you will find several sources.
Also bicycle tail lights offer a good choice and different mounting options. See bicycle light reviews at:
http://bicycles.blogoverflow.com/2012/03/tail-light-review/
Jim
TSC stores and other places here in Texas handle that light. It has a magnetic base which makes it very easy to install.
One warning, Do not get the flashing "RED" as that indicates an emergency vehicle. Get the Amber light. Don't ask me how I know that.
I have them, they are great. they are not very visable out in bright sunlight but they work great on a cloudy day or up in the deep canyons where they is little sunlight. Mine were bought at a truck repair place.
OK Willie----how do you know that (smile) Regards, TDE
Willie brings up a good point, are they legal? When you get right down to it, flashing amber or red lights are probably not allowed on our slow cars.
Here is what Minnesota says and other state may be similar.
"Flashing lights are prohibited, except on an authorized emergency vehicle, school bus, bicycle as provided in section 169.222, subdivision 6, road maintenance equipment, tow truck or towing vehicle, service vehicle, farm tractor, self-propelled farm equipment, rural mail carrier vehicle, funeral home vehicle, or on any vehicle as a means of indicating a right or left turn, or the presence of a vehicular traffic hazard requiring unusual care in approaching, overtaking, or passing. All flashing warning lights shall be of the type authorized by section 169.59, subdivision 4, unless otherwise permitted or required in this chapter."
That is unless you consider a Model T going 40MPH on a higher speed road a ".. a vehicular traffic hazard requiring unusual care in approaching, overtaking, or passing". Of course that would require that when traveling with the traffic on lower speed roads that you may have to turn off the flashers.
They make sense, and you may get by with them if the law enforcement guys are reasonable but technically are probably not allowed unless your state has an exemption to allow them on slow moving cars. I don't know??
Jim
Here is what Washington says:
"RCW 46.37.215
Hazard warning lamps.
(1) Any vehicle may be equipped with lamps for the purpose of warning other operators of other vehicles of the presence of a vehicular traffic hazard requiring the exercise of unusual care in approaching, overtaking, or passing.
(2) After June 1, 1978, every motor home, bus, truck, truck tractor, trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer eighty inches or more in overall width or thirty feet or more in overall length shall be equipped with lamps meeting the requirements of this section.
(3) Vehicular hazard warning signal lamps used to display such warning to the front shall be mounted at the same level and as widely spaced laterally as practicable, and shall display simultaneously flashing amber light: PROVIDED, That on any vehicle manufactured prior to January 1, 1969, the lamps showing to the front may display simultaneously flashing white or amber lights, or any shade of color between white and amber. The lamps used to display such warning to the rear shall be mounted at the same level and as widely spaced laterally as practicable, and shall show simultaneously flashing amber or red lights, or any shade of color between amber and red. These warning lights shall be visible from a distance of not less than five hundred feet in normal sunlight."
As long as you, or the law enforcer, considers that a Model T meets, "Any vehicle may be equipped with lamps for the purpose of warning other operators of other vehicles of the presence of a vehicular traffic hazard requiring the exercise of unusual care in approaching, overtaking, or passing." you can use red or amber lights on the rear. Of course you have to have two and they have to flash simultaneously. That would leave out two battery powers strobes.
Jim
This looks like what I am looking for at TSC
2 Function Magnetic LED Amber Safety Light
A side note: if a law officer cites a Model T driver for displaying a flashing yellow light "for safety purposes", then he/she has simply had a bad day.
A side note...to the side note above:
I would take my chances any day... a trooper issuing a citation vs. a texting driver!
I would get one of them signs reading "SLOW MOVING VEHICLE" and mount it atop of it.
I usually drive my antiques a bit faster than the slowest modern car drivers. Logically, I should be okay, as anyone that would slam into me should be slamming into any of hundreds of other cars or trucks on the same roads.
However. I have seen and heard it way too many times. Antiques have been hit when there is simply no excuse that they were not seen, at speeds close enough to speed limits, even over the local speed limit, by people that simply did not see them.
I truly believe some of it may be genetics. A lower level of instinctive brain function in the visual centers of the mind in otherwise supposedly intelligent people. I am positive that a lot of it is training and education. These days, way too many people are not taught personal responsibility. Whatever the combined reasons, they cannot see an object that they do not recognize. And they do not recognize cars more than 60 years old.
For this reason, I think flashing lights are a good idea, technically legal or not.
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2
I have several of the clear ones. They will light "on" or flash. Good trouble light too that will magnet to hold in place. One is stuck on my running board tool box right now. Kick panel of the front seat makes a good place to light up the driver's area. Son-in-law gave them to me. Neat light.
Never had anyone complain about me flashing the light on the rear tub of the tourings
Ken in Texas
I just recently purchased a pair of magnetic, battery-operated, manually-controlled lights from etrailer.com and have been very satisfied with them. Bought them after a cop pulled me over because he felt that my stock tail light was not bright enough for night driving.
The magnets have held up well despite the bumpy ride (although the lip across the back of my sedan also helps to keep them from sliding down). They have on/off/flashing modes and are available in a variety of colors.
http://www.etrailer.com/Lights/Custer/HF18R-HD.html
Me too! Same place. Online. Got them on the way.
Here is a picture of my new turn signal, flasher, these are wireless. They are advertised in the Vintage Ford. a little spendy though.
Rick
Back in the old days, driving a car was an activity that required attention. That has been more and more removed. Now our cars got faster and faster and the driver is more and more removed from the activity of driving. To some it has become an activity that they do while they do other things, so that plays into it.
My way of defense is not to drive at night if I can avoid it, have a big brass cow bell at the front axle, the Aermore whistle slightly breathing when I drive and blasting when I approach an intersection, and agreed value insurance at twice the replacement value. I personally will neither install safety belts, turn signals, or flashing lights on my antique car to make life even easier for texting morons.
This texting story is currently on the Huffington Post ....Heartbreaking!
-------------------------------------------------
Like most 16-year-old girls, Savannah Nash couldn't wait to get behind the wheel once she got her driver's license.
Her first solo drive turned out to be her last.
Nash, who turned 16 last week, got permission Thursday afternoon to drive to the grocery store in Harrisonville, Mo., to pick up items for the family dinner.
Her vehicle slammed into a tractor-trailer on the way, and she died at the scene, according to WAFB-TV.
Investigators said the crash occurred when Nash turned left into the path of the truck, which was unable to brake in time, KMBC-TV reported.
Investigators said they found an unsent text message on Nash’s cell phone, and believe texting and driving was a factor in the the crash, the Democrat-Missourian newspaper reported.
Like a gun, a car can be a deadly weapon. Operating it requires a certain maturity. It's my opinion that few 16-year-olds possess it. Generally speaking, teenager should not be driving a car unsupervised. Really bad gets it when the supervising parent is a bad role model. It's the proverbial catch 22. My daughter did not feel the desire to drive before age 18. I bought her first car, an old Mercedes 240D with 4-speed and did not let her take the test before I felt she was ready. She just today graduated from college (I'm so proud of her), and she still drives responsibly, doesn't use her cell phone, doesn't roll through stop signs, doesn't speed, and doesn't do any crazy stuff. That's how I drive, that's how I taught her to drive, and apparently that left an impression on her.
I have seen these sold at those cheap tool places. Like Harbor Freight Tool. They were like 6-7 dollars.
I got mine laying on side of the road one night around 9o'clock pm. I seen a bright flashing amber light in tall grass, I had no idea what it was so of course I stopped turned around and investigated it was one of the led strobes just like the one in the photo... So I put it in the car and it took 30 min to find the little gray on off switch...! But hey it was cheap enough and had $5 bucks worth of new AA batteries in it.