Q: I’m seeing more electric cars on the road every day; I myself am the proud owner of one. One of my favorite aspects of driving electric is the regenerative braking, which allows me to slow down without using the brake pedal. Sometimes I am concerned about drivers behind me not paying enough attention to realize I’m slowing down without seeing brake lights. If I’m hit from behind while using regenerative braking, can I be held partially liable because I didn’t engage the brake lights?
A: Until you mentioned it, I hadn’t thought about brake lights and regenerative braking, which is one more indicator that I probably shouldn’t be a legal adviser for the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). By the way, if you ever end up in a room full of traffic safety people, they won’t refer to that organization by it’s full name or even by saying each initial; they just cram all the initials together into the made up word, “Nitsa.” It’s much faster, and since NHTSA is connected with just about anything that has to do with traffic safety, saying “Nitsa” instead of the full name throughout a traffic safety professional’s career saves 700 hours worth of unnecessary syllables. That’s just a guess; I don’t have the data to back up that 700 hour claim. Continue reading “Brake Lights and Regenerative Braking”