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Congratulations, Mini, you made the stupidest turn signals ever

jalopnik.com

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Re: Congratulations, Mini, you made the stupidest turn signals ever

#411

Post by bryanrasmussen »

sellyme wrote: post #395
bryanrasmussen wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Mini has not heard any concerns from customers regarding the rear turn indicators >I wouldn't expect them to: they cannot see their own turn signal lights while driving. >If they happen to be behind another Mini, they already know about it The second sentence indicates that they would not inform Mini of any concerns because they are not aware there should be any concerns. The third sentence indicates that they wou…

> The third sentence indicates that they would know if there were any possible concerns because they own a Mini. It indicates that they're used to that because they own a Mini, and by the first time that it actually matters they're accustomed enough to not recognise the concern. The human brain is really good about not having to ever consciously think about something if it's had enough exposure in advance.

if they cannot see their own signal lights - how did they get used to it?

Re: Congratulations, Mini, you made the stupidest turn signals ever

#412

Post by CRConrad »

frutiger wrote: post #229
thesuperbigfrog wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> I can't think of driving at night behind a car and not seeing both rear lights, and usually illuminated license plate and illumination coming from the rear window pane. Have you ever driven in a snowstorm at night? (I am not being facetious, there are terrible snowstorms in the winter where I live due to lake-effect snow. Your mileage may vary depending on where you live.) Visibility is terrible in a nighttime sno…

> Have you ever driven in a snowstorm at night? (I am not being facetious, there are terrible snowstorms in the winter where I live due to lake-effect snow. Your mileage may vary depending on where you live.) Yes, once or twice. The general recommendation is NOT to drive during a snow storm. For those that must drive during a snow storm probably aren't driving these Minis. After all, most cars are not designed for ev…

It's absolutely technically possible to drive a Mini in a snowstorm, just like any other car (apart from perhaps super- and "hyper-" sports cars with ~zero ground clearance).

Whether one can follow the common-sense recommendation not to drive in a snow storm is due to all kinds of other circumstances, approximately none of which is related to what brand of car you own.

Re: Congratulations, Mini, you made the stupidest turn signals ever

#413

Post by tannhaeuser »

CRConrad wrote: post #410
tannhaeuser wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 3 rapid flashes [...] a common signal for "you’re a little too close" That's new to me as EU driver. What I tend to do is hit brakes three or more times in a rhythmic fashion to signal there's traffic jam ahead; specifically on Autobahn where speeds go high with distances often way too low, instead of turning on alarm blinkers.

I think that was exactly what was meant: A manual [§] signal. Only the context the GP meant, and that I've also seen it used in, was usually a more personal "You're driving too close on my arse; back off a bit to create a safety margin" rather than your warning of stau ahead. ___ [§]: Well, pedal.

Ah ok, that makes sense; it's basically the same thing. Though there are other nuances to "teach" other drivers behind you, like driving extra-slow or breaking once I guess.

Re: Congratulations, Mini, you made the stupidest turn signals ever

#414

Post by CRConrad »

chrisseaton wrote: post #315
exporectomy wrote: post #311

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then what does this flashing arrow on the back of the vehicle mean? https://trafficsafetyzone.com/product/magnetic-led-direction... or this which looks a lot more like the Mini indicator: https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/business/2304413-red-light... Of course you can work it out with context and time, but are you sure your reflexes can work it all out quickly?

The Mini indicators don't look like arrows to me. They look just like basic indicators. I don't know what else to say? To be honest I think people are massively exaggerating how confusing they are for fun Internet outrage points. People calling for people to be sacked and things. Crazy.

> The Mini indicators don't look like arrows to me.

How do you draw an arrow?

Re: Congratulations, Mini, you made the stupidest turn signals ever

#415

Post by CRConrad »

icedchai wrote: post #131
Bud wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The MINI is actually not a BMW, although it is true that it is made by BMW. Nor are MINI drivers really very much like BMW drivers, in fact I'd say that overall as a population, they are quite different. (I had a MINI from 2002-2020. Put about 300k miles on it.)

The Mini and BMW dealers near me are, indeed, separate. They are right next door to each other, and appear to share employees and a repair facility. Strange isn't it?

Sounds like they're indeed not separate, just different doors into the same actual business.

Re: Congratulations, Mini, you made the stupidest turn signals ever

#416

Post by CRConrad »

lttlrck wrote: post #41

Personally I find the Audi-style sequential lightshow signals far more stupid - and more distracting. These look odd in a static image where the reader has been primed by the title, but in real life they are flashing lights on the corner of the car. The animated GIF in the article isn’t confusing is it?

> Personally I find the Audi-style sequential lightshow signals far more stupid - and more distracting.

I've noticed Teslas, at least newer ones, do the same. But maybe it's less stupid and distracting when American companies do it...?

Re: Congratulations, Mini, you made the stupidest turn signals ever

#417

Post by chrisseaton »

CRConrad wrote: post #414
chrisseaton wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Mini indicators don't look like arrows to me. They look just like basic indicators. I don't know what else to say? To be honest I think people are massively exaggerating how confusing they are for fun Internet outrage points. People calling for people to be sacked and things. Crazy.

> The Mini indicators don't look like arrows to me. How do you draw an arrow?

They don't look like one as they're not in the context of one.

Re: Congratulations, Mini, you made the stupidest turn signals ever

#418

Post by CRConrad »

WalterBright wrote: post #336

Reminds me of official aviation-speak where "takeoff power" means firewall the throttle, for things like taking off. Until one day the copilot heard it as "take off power" and chopped the throttle, resulting in a crash. Military aviation had to learn that the hard way, too. These sort of mistakes seem stupidly obvious, but it's only when you see it. For example, on Windows 95 the "turn off" button was infamously labe…

> For example, on Windows 95 the "turn off" button was infamously labeled "Start".

Windows 95 to Windows 7, IIRC. But, in fairness, it did do a lot of stuff besides turn off, among them to start applications.

Re: Congratulations, Mini, you made the stupidest turn signals ever

#419

Post by CRConrad »

superkuh wrote: post #351
MattRix wrote: post #161

I’m on mobile so I don’t have ads blocked and Jalopnik is just awful to read. There’s a giant ad every sentence or two. The modern web is a disaster.

I'm on desktop with remote exploits mitigated (JS disabled) and all I get is text. I'm curious as to what the actual turn signal looks like. The text definitely doesn't get across the point.

You know what the UK flag, the "Union Jack" looks like? A rectangle with a square and a diagonal cross on it: A + overlaid on an X . Mini cars have that design, split in half, as the motif of their rear lights. (Half and a bit: The center vertical bar is replicated on the inner edge of both sides.) The rest, the center horizontal cross bar from the square cross plus half the diagonal cross, makes an arrow on each side -- pointing towards the other side.

Left side: ->| Right side: |The -> and pointing right on the left side of the car, and vice versa.

Re: Congratulations, Mini, you made the stupidest turn signals ever

#420

Post by CRConrad »

sklargh wrote: post #53

Similar situation...the U.S. fire fighting community starting using European-style reflective chevrons in the 2005-2010 period. U.S. apparatus spec is governed by something called NFPA 1901 but is highly decentralized and people were mounting them upside down even though they were conforming to the (nascent) standard for rear reflective surface area. The "V" shape of upside down chevrons can pull people TOWARDS a veh…

> Just why?

Just to leave a nice uncluttered center area as background for the shield. Everyone knows the sanctity of graphic design trumps puny safety regs.

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