Brake Light Bar on Cybertruck Prototype! [7/2/23 Photos] + Good Look Against Model Y Size

[SolarWizard]

CHMSL on my gladiator is located on the tailgate because of the removable top BUT it is higher than the main lights.

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[PilotPete]

But the question is: can manufacturers pass regulatory compliance with vehicle lightning designs that operate to obscure required lights in some expected/normal course use cases.

… a pickup truck tailgate being down is a more expected if not advertised use case in the design (eg “you can fit a sheet of plywood with the tailgate down”) which would tend to make one think that tailgate down configuration would be expected to continue to comply

it’s a narrow question and just an oddity of interest

Ok, sorry, let me say it this way.

Driving with the tailgate down is not part of the “certification” or “regulatory compliance“ test. The tailgate is “supposed” to be up. Just like the doors are supposed to be closed. There is nothing in my SUV owner’s manual telling me how to drive with the back hatch open 24”, but I’ve done it. Do I assume all responsibility for the operation in that state, you bet. Can I sue (successfully) the manufacturer for a design flaw if something happens as a result of driving that way? Not likely. But I can do it. As I read it, the same goes for putting the tailgate down on your truck and driving it.

 

[cvalue13]

CHMSL on my gladiator is located on the tailgate because of the removable top BUT it is higher than the main lights.

yeah, that's the only truck-like example i could think of, but with the asterisk that convertibles tend to be subject to the code requirements differently from other vehicles

in any event, if tesla has put it there, they've sorted out that it's ok

 

[cvalue13]

Ok, sorry, let me say it this way.

Driving with the tailgate down is not part of the “certification” or “regulatory compliance“ test.

based on what, in the code, is this assertion based?

because it seems to just assume the conclusion being (uninterestingly) wondered over

case in point: if your assertion is true, then there would appear to be no reason Tesla, in the OG prototype, had the corner tail/stop lights integrated into the tailgate but then also duplicated the corner tail/stop lights into the sails so that they were visible when the tailgate is down; nor why, in the pre-production prototype, they changed the design to move the corner tail/stop lights to be permanently affixed to the sails (and no longer on the tailgate at all).

If that approach to the corner tail/stop lights was not merely a design choice, but instead responsive to the code, the only portion of the code that seems applicable is its generalized prohibition on impairment of the functionality of any such lamp:

S6.2 Impairment.​

​

S6.2.2 If any required lamp or reflective device is obstructed by motor vehicle equipment (e.g., mirrors, snow plows, wrecker booms, backhoes, winches, etc.) including dealer installed equipment, and cannot meet the applicable photometry and visibility requirements, the vehicle must be equipped with an additional lamp or device of the same type which meet all applicable requirements of this standard, including photometry and visibility.​

On this read, regarding the corner tail/stop lamps, the tailgate in the downward position would cause the corner tail/stop lamps to not meet the applicable visibility requirements, and so necessitate the redundant lamp - such as was seen in the OG prototype design (and avoided in the pre-production design).

Again, that the CT's high center stop lamp is on the tailgate is itself indicative of the fact that it passes muster with the code. im not suggesting otherwise. instead, there's just no clear and apparent reason in the code that the corner tail/stop lights would be treated differently regarding redundancy than the high center stop lamp.

apparently it's not, but not sure as to why

​

 

[PilotPete]

based on what, in the code, is this assertion based?

because it seems to just assume the conclusion being (uninterestingly) wondered over

I’m working on a general understanding of some of the DOT Certification standards, 40 years of interpreting government-ese, and working for the Federal Gov’t (DOT) for 20 years. And I’ll certainly admit I could be wrong.

In many states, it is illegal to drive with the tailgate down, when it could be closed (i.e. you aren’t carrying a load that prevents closing the tailgate.) If I recall, Minnesota is an example of one of those states. I can think of a dozen or more reasons why the DOT wouldn’t address a lowered tailgate. And I don’t think you can equate a tail light and a CHMSL In not only their necessity, but how strongly they are enforced at the local level.

Of one thing I can be certain, it meets all the DOT regs to put the CHMSL on the tailgate. And if the CT has it there (I believe it will) it will be in compliance with the regs. I don’t doubt that everyone here believes the latter. I think the whole thing is being over-thought probably because the government is so specific in so many aspects of our lives.

We don’t know why the tail lights are different on the latest sightings vs how they were on the First prototype, and we don’t know what the final production is going to look like quite yet. Everything is just speculation at this point. Could the entire tailgate bar serve as the CHMSL? I don’t see why not, I also don’t design the CT for a living, so it doesn’t matter what I think.

 

[Greshnab]

In many states, it is illegal to drive with the tailgate down, when it could be closed (i.e. you aren’t carrying a load that prevents closing the tailgate.) If I recall, Minnesota is an example of one of those states.

Same in texas...
A: It is illegal to drive a pickup on our roads with the tailgate down unless you are carrying a load that does not allow the tailgate to close.

 

[Crissa]

Same in texas...
A: It is illegal to drive a pickup on our roads with the tailgate down unless you are carrying a load that does not allow the tailgate to close.

That just seems to be a rule to have a rule.

-Crissa

 

[Kahpernicus]

Seems like a rule to not have shit in your bed flying everywhere.

 

[Crissa]

Seems like a rule to not have shit in your bed flying everywhere.

The tailgate doesn't stop that. You need to tie down and cover tightly for that to be prevented. Especially at the speeds some of you guys drive.

-Crissa

 

[Kahpernicus]

The tailgate doesn't stop that. You need to tie down and cover tightly for that to be prevented. Especially at the speeds some of you guys drive.

-Crissa

I want to go on record that I never speed.

 

[Greshnab]

I want to go on record that I never speed.

I want to go on record saying that I...

have thought better of confessing to ANY illegal acts in an online forum: i am ALWAYS certain to observe the current speed laws!!!

 

[Kahpernicus]

I want to go on record saying that I...

have thought better of confessing to ANY illegal acts in an online forum: i am ALWAYS certain to observe the current speed laws!!!

I have also never murdered anyone.

 

[charliemagpie]

Place is full of Hoons !!

 

[SlegMD]

I had a traffic collision with the tail gate down. Head-on.

The tail gate became a flying guillotine that flew 30ft. Missed anything important, luckily.

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