What does "Instinctive" Illumination mean?

What does "Instinctive" mean? According to dictionary.com, it means "prompted by or resulting from or as if from instinct; natural; unlearned: an instinctive will to survive." One synonym for Instinctive, Intuitive, may actually be a better description for the way our technology works, but I digress. 

I like to use Instinctive because using Slow-N-Tell isn't something you have to learn. What does the driver have to do differently, now that Slow-N-Tell is installed? Nothing! The Control Module is hooked up and the driver drives. Easy. No muss, no fuss. Brake lights work when they should. 

What differences will a truck driver see? 

In the cab of the truck, nothing. Our early installs had a light in the dashboard to let the truck driver know that lights were on, but we do not do that anymore. The light was more for our purposes than theirs and it saved us having to follow the truck to know if it was working the way we wanted it to.  Feedback from drivers indicated that it was not needed. once they were confident that the system worked the way we described, many of them covered the light with black tape or removed the light to prevent distraction. Now, we use the light to verify calibration, then remove it for the same reason. 

On the road, truck drivers will begin to notice that traffic stays further back from their truck and reacts more quickly and safely to the truck braking than without Slow-N-Tell. Duh! If the brake lights are on, people can recognize deceleration because the brake lights are on, they do not need 5 or more seconds to process visual and spatial differences to  recognize it on their own. Another benefit of this is that drivers following trucks DO NOT appreciate trucks slowing down without brake lights, so when they see brake lights, they do not get upset, because they are less afraid of running into the back of the truck.


"Instinctive" has meaning for another group of drivers affected by Slow-N-Tell, too. What signal do vehicles use to show they are slowing down? Brake lights. The beauty of Slow-N-Tell is that we use a universally understood signal, brake lights, to let drivers behind trucks know that the truck is slowing down. From the time we first climb behind the wheel, we learn that when we see brake lights, the vehicle ahead is slowing down. We all recognize brake lights for what they are. 

Brake lights are designed to get our attention. They are the largest lights on the back of any vehicle and the brightest. They say "Look at me! The vehicle ahead of you is slowing down! Pay attention! The vehicle ahead of you is slowing down! Quit texting, get off the phone, stop playing with the radio, put down the paper! The vehicle ahead of you is slowing down! Pay Attention!!!! The vehicle ahead of you is slowing down! 

Alternative braking methods are very effective at slowing trucks. We must be more effective at letting people know that we are braking. If we don't use our brake lights, how will people know?

Brake Lights on Heavy Trucks. Turn 'em On...Slow-N-Tell!