Oh come on, what if a small hatchback decided to stop suddenly, and
tere was a small truck behind it? Reaction time + stopping distance
difference would surely result in a crash. Somehow i dont think its
the truck drivers fault
It is the law
its your lawful duty as a road user to maintain a safe distance
between the front of you and the car in front of you. In the eyes of
the law - if it takes 100 metres at a given speed and conditions to
stop a truck - then he has a legal obligation to keep 100 metres clear
in front of him when doing that speed in those conditions.
I believe too that even if you are stationary behind a car and someone
rams up the back of you, pushing you into the car in front of you, you
are still in the shit for the damage you cause. (though you would
presumably do your best to dump it on the bloke behind who is the real
cause?). I dont know if non-working or non-approved brake lights come
into this though.
Either way - I wouldnt like to have been in any way in any sort of
accident - and have the investigators (or insurance company) discover
that you had home made brake lights or other modifications to the
vehicles safety systems that may or may not comply to standards. The
onus might be on you to prove it - and even if you are in the right -
it might cost you a fortune in costs to prove it in a court or to
defend your actions.
These days though they are probably more likely to bust you for
breaking some "C tick" standard
Also the same advice above applies to the bloke on here recently who
wanted to make a DIY Cruise control for his car.
If you did have some non-approved brakelights etc etc that you bought
from some discount or auto parts store - there might be some case of
product liability from them or the manufacturer.
Again - I think that these sort of things are hassles that are better
off not being had in the first place.
