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Mildly Infuriating @lemmy.world

0x0 @programming.dev

1y ago

Form over function, eh?

Earthshine (@earthshine@hackers.town)

You had one job...

121 comments

And it's also red. I hate red turning indicators, they should be amber.
- They are required to be in other countries. At some point we decided red was ok and there's so many problems with that!
  
  This is how the indicators look in the UK
  
  yeah, I had to get used with the lack of regulations here and there when I moved to the US
  land of the free corporations
  
  Can you explain because I'm 46 years old and have driven plenty and can't recall a single time I've ever been confused by a turn signal.
- Amer is harder to notice
  
  I expect you also think Fahrenheit is more intuitive
  
  Amber has been scientifically proven to be easier to notice, and mildly safer than using the same bulb as the brake light to indicate a turn.
  Here's a paper on it. https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/811115
  This paper contains data relating to the effectiveness of amber turn signals by comparing striking and struck cars with the same configuration (amber or red), and the odds of not getting struck with an amber turn signal equipped vehicle is always about 4-8% better than otherwise.

I think, if you put them together, it's supposed to be a Union Jack?
- Hence the form in "form over function"
- Yes, Mini uses that pattern a lot.
- Yup. That's right.

Leave it to brits to install right indicator on the left side
- Don't blame us, Mini has been owned by BMW for decades.
  Good thing we stopped them in WW2. That flag in the indicator would have been even more confusing.
  
  I think you're confused on who stopped them. Here's a hint, it was America and Russia. Personally I agree with Patton however, we shouldn't have stopped in Berlin. Oh well.

I don't get it... What's wrong with it?
- The turn signal to turn left looks like an arrow pointing to the right.
  
  The bigger issue is that the US still alows Blinkers to be the same color as break lights. Just weird to me.
  
  I guess... It's still a big blinking light on either side of the car I hardly think it's going to confuse anyone
- Multiple wrong. The brake light double as a turn signal, the signal colour itself being red, and the arrow pointing at different direction.
  In a saner world, signal and brake light will always be separated and must be the colour of amber.
  
  But that's just a US issue, right? Most other countries already require amber signal lights.
- I'm turning
  -> <-
  that way
- It's the right turning light... In the shape of an arrow pointing left
  
  How else would you know which car is turning right??

How do we know this isn't just someone on the brake where one bulb has blown?
- It's a video in case you are just looking at the still picture.
  
  Yup you're right I didn't notice it's a GIF
- Means how the top center brake light is also lit up, I think you're right.
  
  I think you two are too European to understand this.
  The US and Canada allows blinking a brake light to act as a turn signal. It's absolutely stupid, I know.

I just like to tell the Americans that this is your fault. You have lacks traffic laws that allow this kind of thing. This isn't be legal in the UK.
- Lax* but yes they also lack them too
- They look like this here in Germany, sure there was the brexit but do you really have s different version?
  
  Germany only allows amber turn signals.
  
  I thought it was an EU law but maybe not. All indicators have to be separate lights, you can't flash the brake light like that. It must be a proper indicator light.
  So here they have the same basic look for the lights, i.e. the union jack effect, but that LED panels and they kind of pulse in the direction of the indication so it's much less confusing, they don't just flash on and off.
  
  No, the turn signals ("Blinker") here in Germany have to be yellow.
- Lax* short for "relaxed."
  Not trying to be a dick, just took me a minute going "how does one 'have lacks,' one can 'have a lack of,' one can 'lack,' but 'have lacks?!' OHHHH." Lol
- *This isn't legal in the UK. Fixed it

Is it not valid to hang the Union Jack vertically, like a pennant? Mini could have just designed each light to be a complete flag, made the same reference, and not have everyone point and laugh at them.
- I honestly think this qualifies you to be part of their design team. Clearly you have a smarter take on at least one design question, paper qualifications or no.

Why would you ever click a link from hackers.town tho
- My thinking:
  Hackers != crackers
  
  I don't want to go to crackers.town either... That's a bad vibe
- You know, I feel like it's really easy to get someone to click a link in browser. I pretty much expect the browser to be secure enough to do most of the heavy lifting, and click on whatever.
  Is that dumb?

It's supposed to represent the union jack. I understand how it could be frustrating though.
- Maybe put the whole flag on each indicator then.
  
  It's probably a lot harder than you think.

This has ALWAYS irritated me, THANK YOU!

Think of it as a chicken’s foot.
The car has_many places to be over that way.
- Underrated comment

Oh god, which way is it actually turning?
- Right, I didn't even realise what the problem was supposed to be. But it's still a bit of a shit indicator.
  
  I actually think it's left. The blinking light is on the side turned into, even if it just happens to be shaped like an arrow pointing right.

You could say that about anything that's broken though. .. this isn't a deflect caused by prioritising style to something else
- It isn't broken though it's operating as intended. Which is just stupid.
  
  Oh its indicating for a turn? If that is the case then it is pretty neat!

121 comments