Haha Leave it to airgate to notice something like this. I was driving the S behind a 3 series sedan and the light changes to yellow. Instantly, the lady in the BMW slams on her brakes. The New Bern City cops were on the other side, moving some cones for the fire department, so I guess she felt safer comingn to a complete stop.

I used the "nearly rear-ended" part to spark curiosity. I did'nt really come close to hitting her, but I did find something rather interesting. When she applied her brakes, the three stop lamps came on, then about a full second later, two more stop lamps, below the turning signals illuminated. This peaked my curiosity. Did the car react this way because she firmly stopped, or is it simply a delay.

When the light turned green, I made sure to stay behind her and when she stopped at the next light, only the original three stop lamps illuminated. I was impressed.

It seems that BMW has a sensor that measures brake pressure/feel and gives the other drivers (like me) a heads up that she is stopping NOW! Very cool, IMO.

 

yea, mercerdes & bmw & other euro cars do this.. standard /required feature in germany...

 

Ha! We've got a 3 series, and I've never noticed it. Pretty cool.

Is the circuit switched on by the white knuckle grip on the steering wheel ?