The following is a copy of a letter sent to Sen. Ernie Lopez, Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf and DMV Director Cohan, and to several motorcycle safety and advocacy groups, with a copy submitted to the Cape Gazette for publication.
On behalf of the owners of the more than 30,000 motorcycles registered in Delaware, I am writing to ask your help in resolving an inconsistency in motor vehicle law regarding vehicle safety standards.
Anyone who rides a motorcycle will tell you that they have to operate their vehicle as though it is invisible. One of the major problems is that drivers of other vehicles either cannot or do not see them. One solution is better training of those drivers to be aware of what else is on the road. Another is to increase motorcycle visibility. Bikes, as they often are called, are required to have headlights and taillights on at all times. In addition, many riders supplement those lights with reflectors and auxiliary LED lights. Those lights are legal in Delaware as long as they are of the proper color and in the proper placement.
However, one item that would greatly improve motorcycle visibility is not allowed: brake lights that flash for three to five seconds to catch a driver’s attention before becoming a bright, solid red.
Delaware does recognize the importance of briefly flashing brake lights. Page 25 of the state’s Motorcycle Operator Manual, written in conjunction with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, states “Your motorcycle brake light is usually not as noticeable as the brake lights on a carparticularly when your taillight is on.” The manual further recommends that motorcycle riders “help others notice you by flashing your brake light before you slow down.” The same recommendation is made by instructors in MSF and other motorcycle skills and safety courses.
There are several aftermarket products available that automatically flash briefly before becoming solid red, but if a motorcycle is equipped with that system, it will fail state inspection.
Chapter 43, Title 21, Delaware Code, Relating to Equipment and Construction of Vehicles does not specifically mention flashing brake lights. But section 4353 prohibits flashing lights except on authorized emergency vehicles, school buses and snow-removal equipment. It is that section that inspectors at vehicle inspection lanes use to fail motorcycles with brake light modulators, even though section 4353 obviously refers to continuously flashing lights such as those on police, fire and ambulance vehicles.
I am not asking that regulations be modified in such a way as to mandate flashing brake lights on motorcycles, but that they be changed to specifically allow them should a rider choose to equip his or her bike with them.
Delaware is among just 13 states that do not allow flashing brake lights. I am asking that you do what you can to let Delaware join the 37 other states that either have specifically legalized them or at least allow them in practice.
I suggest something similar to Tennessee’s DMV rule TN-55-9-402 which allows “a brake light system in which the brake light pulses for no more than five seconds … and then converts to a continuous light as a normal brake lamp.”
Oregon, under section 816.100, is even simpler: “Brake lights for motorcycles may flash intermittently, provided that the brake lights do not override the rear turn signal function.” This might be able to be achieved administratively or might require a legislative change to the Delaware Code.
Either way, the state should allow motorcyclists to practice what it preaches: “Help others notice you by flashing your brake light.”
Bob Kotowski
Rehoboth Beach
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