Weird Stuff on YouTube
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Did he get his Jab?
Nobody's allowed to perform in public UNLESS THEY HAVE THEIR VAXX PASSPORT.
Anyone checked, to see if his physician is a Science-Denier and Anti-Vaccine and maybe abused really-really-valuable National Resources - by squirting the Safe-And-Effective down the drain, during the office visit?
Sorry. That's the first thing that comes to mind when I see a healthy elderly celeb like this. How so MANY of them tried to goad us into the Depopulationists' grip.
Nobody's allowed to perform in public UNLESS THEY HAVE THEIR VAXX PASSPORT.
Anyone checked, to see if his physician is a Science-Denier and Anti-Vaccine and maybe abused really-really-valuable National Resources - by squirting the Safe-And-Effective down the drain, during the office visit?
Sorry. That's the first thing that comes to mind when I see a healthy elderly celeb like this. How so MANY of them tried to goad us into the Depopulationists' grip.
Didn't watch the vid - because I know what they are for.
They are NOT "clearance lights." You don't put clearance lights down low, on the roof of the lower cab.
They're telltales. To show all, but especially state inspectors and scale staff, that this here is a **COMMERCIAL VEHICLE** (by its size and GVW) and is obligated to obey lane laws, enter scales, and whatnot.
The three in the center, bunched together, are to make identification at a distance easier. Spacing them out is, or used to be, legal, but was discouraged.
Putting them on a bro-dozer, which fits the legal dimension limits for passenger cars (barely) is silly, and technically illegal (no one ever gets cited, or even flagged at vehicle inspections). Now, if the bro-dozer has dual rear tires...by width, he IS in the category of commercial vehicles, and must have the "clearance lights." Interesting how many makers of these bro-dozers, put the three back red lights, down low by the bumper. Which is legal.
They are NOT "clearance lights." You don't put clearance lights down low, on the roof of the lower cab.
They're telltales. To show all, but especially state inspectors and scale staff, that this here is a **COMMERCIAL VEHICLE** (by its size and GVW) and is obligated to obey lane laws, enter scales, and whatnot.
The three in the center, bunched together, are to make identification at a distance easier. Spacing them out is, or used to be, legal, but was discouraged.
Putting them on a bro-dozer, which fits the legal dimension limits for passenger cars (barely) is silly, and technically illegal (no one ever gets cited, or even flagged at vehicle inspections). Now, if the bro-dozer has dual rear tires...by width, he IS in the category of commercial vehicles, and must have the "clearance lights." Interesting how many makers of these bro-dozers, put the three back red lights, down low by the bumper. Which is legal.
Maybe you should.
Yes.
No.
They are required by law on vehicles over a certain width.
.....passenger cars excluded.
They are meant as a "tell" that a larger wider vehicle is approaching.
The limit is 80"
Once there, it has to have those lights.
Applies to both non- commercial as well as commercial vehicles.
Viking
Yellow Jacket
Mine already have them.
That's why they're "telltales."
In years past - maybe not today, so much - there'd be a State Trooper parked at the weigh station. He wasn't there to have lunch - he was there to pull over any truck that blew past the scale.
Well, several things have happened - truck traffic has exploded; scales weighing at speed are commonplace; a lot of times the scales open and close with electronic signs, to avoid lines at the (more-precise) standing-weight scales at the station.
That, and tag readers and videotaping. But, add to that, the fact that those lights are appearing everywhere. Including mini-trucks, back when they were around.
Yes.
Which is another reason why it's irrelevant.
By the (1940s) laws, any truck past specified dimensions, had to have them. Nobody could have imagined that people would use massive trucks as personal vehicles, or that an industry would be based around self-service moving rentals.
Kinda throws a monkey-wrench into the whole works. And another fun fact: Both the 1959-60 GM full-size sedans/wagons, and the 1960 Ford full-size cars, exceeded those dimensions. Somehow, everyone agreed just to ignore that slipup and not require commercial-vehicle telltales on them. How they engineered that, I don't know...government being government, small minds obsessed with control and power, always there's some jag-off making noise...but this time they all looked the other way.
Not the first time. In 1957 Chrysler and Cadillac (on a couple of premier top-end models) came out with quad headlights. They were not legal in all states at the time - and the National Highway Traffic Safety Act, creating the regulatory funhouse, didn't get created until 1966 and effective 1968.
But again, states overlooked this little misstep.
Just did.
About half-accurate info, like I expected. Starting with, "marking the edges"...?
Look at, say, a box truck, on a straight frame. Lights on the cab roof...WAY below the top edge. Extreme left and right of the roof, are about a foot inboard from the box dimensions.
Yes, there are amber dots on the top corners of the box. THOSE...are, in fact, clearance lights. Not the roof lights.
Has nothing to do with tractor-trailers. In any event, the five-dot line has little, sometimes nothing, to do with actual clearance limits.
The doolie Raptor must have gotten a special exemption from the DOT...which does this all the time; they regulate all lights, shape, light pattern, reflector properties...this, of all vehicles designed for sale. Never has it been legal to put the telltales in the grille, or use amber parking lights as extreme right or left limits. Until now.
If you wan to know how farked up is government regulation, just look at what they approve, against the stated purpose, once they're captured by industry.
Look up the law on it. It's only to signify width.
Federal Requirements (FMVSS 108)
• Width Threshold: Required on any motor vehicle that is 80 inches (2,032 mm) or wider.
• Center Cluster (Identification Lamps): Three amber lights in the front and three red lights in the rear mounted as high as practicable on the roof to indicate the presence of a wide vehicle.
• Outboard Markers (Clearance Lamps): Two additional clearance lights positioned on the outer edges to mark the specific overall width of the vehicle. (Note: The combination typically creates a set of three center ID lights plus outer markers, commonly referred to as cab marker or roof lights).
• Purpose: Acts as a nighttime safety indicator to let oncoming drivers know an approaching vehicle takes up extra lane space.
Edited to add: I used to think the same on it as you're saying. I was surprised to find out it was a width thing.
That's why I posted the vid as I thought others might not know either, but I looked it up before I did because I still half doubted it.
I asked AI if that was really the only reason. It gave the following.
Yes, vehicle width is the primary legal justification for why these lights are mandatory. However, while 80 inches or wider is the strict legal threshold, the functional reasons for the law go beyond just measuring a truck's width.
The requirement exists to solve specific safety and operational problems on the road:
1. Distance and Speed Judgment
Human eyes struggle to judge the speed and distance of an oncoming vehicle at night if it only has two standard headlights. Spacing out additional lights on the roof provides a visual frame of reference, allowing oncoming drivers to instantly gauge how close and how fast a large vehicle is approaching.
2. Cresting Hills and Obstructions
Because these lights are mounted as high as possible on the cab, they are visible over the crest of a hill or around a sharp curve before the actual headlights come into view. This gives oncoming drivers an early warning that a large vehicle is just out of sight.
3. Differentiating Trucks from Cars
A massive semi-truck or heavy-duty dually requires much more braking distance and turns much wider than a standard passenger car. The center cluster of three lights specifically signals to everyone else on the road that "this is a heavy commercial vehicle or trailer," prompting surrounding traffic to give it extra space.
4. Aerodynamic Exceptions (The Raptor Rule)
Some consumer vehicles have these lights purely because of their design, not their weight. For example, the Ford F-150 Raptor and the Ram 1500 TRX are light-duty pickup trucks, but because their off-road fenders extend their body width past the legal 80-inch limit, the manufacturers are legally required by FMVSS 108 to integrate these clearance lights into the grille or hood scoop.
Yes, vehicle width is the primary legal justification for why these lights are mandatory. However, while 80 inches or wider is the strict legal threshold, the functional reasons for the law go beyond just measuring a truck's width.
The requirement exists to solve specific safety and operational problems on the road:
1. Distance and Speed Judgment
Human eyes struggle to judge the speed and distance of an oncoming vehicle at night if it only has two standard headlights. Spacing out additional lights on the roof provides a visual frame of reference, allowing oncoming drivers to instantly gauge how close and how fast a large vehicle is approaching.
2. Cresting Hills and Obstructions
Because these lights are mounted as high as possible on the cab, they are visible over the crest of a hill or around a sharp curve before the actual headlights come into view. This gives oncoming drivers an early warning that a large vehicle is just out of sight.
3. Differentiating Trucks from Cars
A massive semi-truck or heavy-duty dually requires much more braking distance and turns much wider than a standard passenger car. The center cluster of three lights specifically signals to everyone else on the road that "this is a heavy commercial vehicle or trailer," prompting surrounding traffic to give it extra space.
4. Aerodynamic Exceptions (The Raptor Rule)
Some consumer vehicles have these lights purely because of their design, not their weight. For example, the Ford F-150 Raptor and the Ram 1500 TRX are light-duty pickup trucks, but because their off-road fenders extend their body width past the legal 80-inch limit, the manufacturers are legally required by FMVSS 108 to integrate these clearance lights into the grille or hood scoop.
I don't think we "found out" anything from that midwit.
What we can learn, is how loosely, how flexible, fuddrel regurgitations are enforced, when "requests" for a "variance" are enveloped along with legal tender.
You'll notice, too, that "regulations" stipulate that the three telltales are to be grouped and in the center - not the five spaced evenly across. Yet Ford, even fifty years ago, spaced lights on their Medium-Duty F600 trucks across.
Like I said, mini-trucks. I worked with a guy who put those things on his little first-generation S10 truck. Lookit me, Maw, I'm a TRUCK DRIVER!
What we can learn, is how loosely, how flexible, fuddrel regurgitations are enforced, when "requests" for a "variance" are enveloped along with legal tender.
You'll notice, too, that "regulations" stipulate that the three telltales are to be grouped and in the center - not the five spaced evenly across. Yet Ford, even fifty years ago, spaced lights on their Medium-Duty F600 trucks across.
Like I said, mini-trucks. I worked with a guy who put those things on his little first-generation S10 truck. Lookit me, Maw, I'm a TRUCK DRIVER!
AI just repeats online misinformation. I've found out that dead friends (I have the obits) are alive and well, with Brave AI.
Stand out on a road, watch a truck approach, and tell me how much you learn from those clearance lights. All you learn is that it's PROBABLY a big or at least medium-capacity truck. Not speed, which is impossible to judge without radar or a side shot.
In this case, it is accurate.
The federal regulations covering these lights can be found in CFR (Code Of Federal Regulations) 49 Section 571.108
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-V/part-571/section-571.108
Point is, all vehicles have lights that are intended to help observers ID them and determine various things about the vehicle.
Cars have 'em, as do airplanes, trains, and trucks.