PWM freq of car LED Rear light

[flatfootskier]

Hi,
I can see which cars in the distance in front of me have LED rear light clusters. It appears as flickering to me ...sometimes it's quite distracting.
What frequency are these LEDs run at?

 

[Joe G]

not enough I'd say, but one article in these forums had it but I don't remember which one

 

[flatfootskier]

How can I reduce the frame rate in my eyes?

 

[Joe G]

I made a second brake light that flickers on purpose for my motorcycle so that it's more noticeable to attention deficit motor vehicle operators behind me (got rear ended once, it really hurts if it dosen't kill you) The only way I know of not being able to see the flickering is texting while driving , being blind or to petition all motor vehicle manufactures and all government DOT's to put a stop to any "flickering leds"???

 

[flatfootskier]

Not sure which of your options to pick.
Does a mk1 brain have any way of underclocking?

Seriously though, does anyone else notice this?

 

[jbeng]

I definitely notice it & find it pretty annoying. If they would have just chosen a higher freq, it wouldn't be so bad. I have noticed that the freq varies from make to make. I've even seen some which I think might be current-controlled, instead of PWM'd, since they didn't flicker at all.

 

[JimB]

I have not noticed anything like this on cars, but bicycles is another thing altogether.

Because cyclists are a danger to everyone around them most of the time and blame it all on motor vehicle drivers, some have rear lights which flash on/off to attract attention when you are approaching them from behind.
This is all very well, but I have noticed on a couple of occasions when getting close to these guys in the dark, it is very difficult to actually focus your eyes on them to try and avoid running in to them, all because of these stupid damned flashing lights.

JimB

 

[flatfootskier]

Unfortunately I see that with many cars too, only much faster flash rate. Welcome to my hell!
Cyclists need dip beam capability with some of the high lumen outputs. I've started *not* dipping my lights for some of the worst offenders.

 

[stevewaclo]

Have not noticed the flicker effect but did see an LED equipped car begin rapid flashing, before a steady "on". This only occurred under heavy braking.

Anyone else notice that cars with LED DRL's will turn off the LED when the turn signal on that side comes on ?

Man, smart engineers think of everything.

 

[Diver300]

Because cyclists are a danger to everyone around them most of the time ...
JimB

I'll remember that the next time one bumps into me on a walkway.

It's so much safer to be hit by a car or a truck.......

 

[JimB]

It's so much safer to be hit by a car or a truck.......

An interesting thought, but I cannot help but think that you are extrapolating things a bit too far.

However if you wish to set up an experiment to test your hypothesis, can I drive the car?

JimB

 

[crutschow]

..........
Because cyclists are a danger to everyone around them most of the time......................

Now that's a rather odd statement. When's the last time a cyclist hit a motor vehicle and the one injured was in the vehicle?

 

[misterT]

How can I reduce the frame rate in my eyes?

Blink as fast as you can (or slow). I don't recommend that while driving though. Blinking destroys your ability to sense movement/speed.

 

[flatfootskier]

I prefer the idea of underclocking my cerebral processor, but I'm scared that I'll be less ninja...

 

[fezder]

Hi,
I can see which cars in the distance in front of me have LED rear light clusters. It appears as flickering to me ...sometimes it's quite distracting.
What frequency are these LEDs run at?

i feel you, another quite irritating thing are those fog lights, or what they are called sorry for bad translation, but those super-bright lights which are supposed to be on when visibility is limited due fog/smoke etc, but NOT otherwise! and there are other irritating things too in traffic but those are another story....IF i get new enought car which has LED backlights which flicker, i might do small hack to increase frequency, i know those irritate others too. dunno what safety inspector thinks about that