“When you need to stop quickly, the driver behind you reacts slowly,” it says on the BrakingBar.com website. “Let’s get their attention.”
To do so, Roland Hence developed Impulse, a bright, pulsating and battery-powered emergency brake light designed to reduce rear-end collisions. The light, with eight pulsating light-emitting diodes, reportedly can alert a trailing driver as much as 50 percent sooner that you’re stopping right now!
For his invention for passenger cars, as well as a version for semi-tractor trailers, Hence won the eighth annual SEMA Launch Pad program for young entrepreneurs aged 18-39, the award presented this week during SEMA360. More than 80 new products were entered in the competition.
According to his Linkedin profile, Hence has a degree in science and engineering management from Stanford University and founded FrontLane immediately after graduating in 2014.
The Impulse light is powered by batteries with a 4-year lifespan and is designed to attach to the inside of a vehicle’s backlight. Motion sensors activate the pulsating under hard braking situations.
The Braking Bar Impulse is priced at $129.
Noting that distracted motorists collide with the rear of a truck or its trailer every 9 minutes, Hence and his FrontLane.com company also produce Tailbone, a heavy-duty version of the emergency light for the trucking industry.
