NHTSA Complaint #10711842 — 2015 FORD ESCAPE

THIS ISN'T PERTAINING TO MY VEHICLE, BUT THIS IS RATHER A COMPLAINT ABOUT THE CURRENT BRAKE LIGHT STYLING TRENDS IN MOST NEWER VEHICLES (NOT JUST THE FORD ESCAPE, BUT I'VE ALSO SEEN IT IN OTHER MAKE/MODEL VEHICLES AS WELL). THE ISSUE IS THE BRAKE LIGHTS SHOULD BE NOTICEABLE AND DISTINGUISHABLE WHEN THE BRAKES ARE ENGAGED, BUT IN THE CASE OF THE FORD ESCAPE (AND SEVERAL OTHER VEHICLES), THE BRAKE LIGHTS ARE A SIMPLE STRIP OF WHAT I PRESUME ARE LED LIGHTS THAT ARE VERY DIM AND HARD TO TELL THAT THEY ARE LIT (EXCEPT MAYBE AT NIGHT), ESPECIALLY WHEN THE BODY VEHICLE IS SIMILARLY RED IN COLOR. I ALMOST HIT ONE THE FORD ESCAPE BECAUSE I COULD NOT TELL (UNTIL I WAS UP CLOSE AND WAS THEN ABLE TO SEE THAT THE THIN BAND OF BARELY LIT LIGHTS WERE ACTUALLY LIT), AND ONLY REALIZED THEY WERE BRAKING DUE TO THE RELATIVE SPEEDS OF NEARBY VEHICLES. THESE NEW "STYLES" FOR THE BRAKE LIGHTS SHOULD BE LOOKED AT AS I BELIEVE THEY POSE A SAFETY HAZARD RATHER THAN BEING A SAFETY FEATURE. *TR