[Mikeys69]

Can some one explain how to use one of these? Looks like a mirror to me.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/upd-a5169/overview/

 

[JWagner]

Wow, a blast from the past. If it is what I think it is, it is a prism that allows you to look up at a steep angle (while seated in your car). This is done if your car is too far forward to see the traffic light.

 

[RichG]

They were a;so used on cars (mostly the 50's) that had exterior visors on them.

 

[Uppster]

An option often bought at a Western Auto Store so the driver could see the traffic lights after he put his Western Auto visor on.

 

[Ken Hayes]

Also used for cars that had a chopped top so they could see the traffic lights.

 

[JWagner]

Yes, visors! Man, you guys are old!

 

[Coppertop]

http://www.classychevusa.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=30/prd30.htm

 

[Coppertop]

Ok, let's see who is really a dinosaur here

Do a google search for Stadco Lifesaver...

Anyone remember these little traffic lights in rear windows?

 

[Philip]

I thought I was old but do not remember the traffic light. Kinda cool idea.

 

[Mikeys69]

OMG you mount it inside the car on the dash?

 

[rocks66ss]

I see them all the time at cruises around here on early 50's chevys with the visors, or any car for that matter with the visor.

They are generally plastic, and stair stepped, and looks like a D laying on it's back and they mount to the dash. It work like a prism. It refracts the light so you can see what color the light is, because you can't actually see the stop light because of the visor.


Rocky

 

[Cam]

Last Wednesday I saw a beautiful 1956 Bel Air with a visor and one of those traffic light viewfinders. It was a genuine accessory with the steps on it. I prefer the mirror because you can be sure the red or green light you are picking up is actually from the traffic light, not some neon sign

 

[Uppster]

I confess to seeing the small traffic light in the back of cars, but I was a very small child. I thought they were "really cool".

 

[Georgia69]

My 64 C10 truck had one of those on the dash when I bought it back in 1994 or 95. I left it on there. It does exactly as described above. If you're first in line at a stoplight, you don't have to lean forward or crane your neck to see when the light changes to green, you just look into the prism.

It's not only for vehicles with visors. Windshields tended to be much more upright back in the day, as opposed to steeply raked for aerodynamics as they are now. It's harder to look up at the traffic lights in many older vehicles. The windshield in my 64 C10 is nearly vertical.

 

[Dean]

I remember when they were "factory" on new Oldsmobiles in the fifties.

Speaking of Oldsmobiles, this looks just like the one I had.
It took every penny we could get hold of to keep it on the road.

 

[Chris R]

Didnt the old traffic lights throw the light in more directions so these traffic light viewers could work better compared to todays lights that really only throw the light to a certain direction though? Did the old days have just a traffic light or did they put a street light right there as well like they do today? Which I would think, further defuses the red/yellow/green and makes it harder for a prism to pick up.

 

[Georgia69]

The one in my truck still works perfectly. It doesn't matter what type of bulb is in the traffic light. You see the whole light fixture, not just a reflection of the color.