autolite flareglo

For some reason, I tend to hit curbs when I turn corners. I'm sure it has nothing to do with being a bad driver or spatially challenged or something, I suspect the curbs jump out at me when I'm not looking. I've had to replace two tires in the last three years because I hit curbs and the tire blew out. Once as I pulled into the parking lot of my friend's apartment building, and another time in the parking lot of huge baby superstore. Slightly pitiful, I admit.

Both times were at night, and both times my car ended up stranded in the middle of a trafficky area and all I had at my disposal to ensure that no one hit me were my hazard lights. Both times I also thought to myself that it would have been pretty helpful to have had flares or cones or something that would make people realize before they were practically on top of me, that my car was unable to move.

I'm pleased to report that I now have that product: the Autolite Flareglo. The Flareglo Safety Lite is a small battery operated light that serves the way traditional flares would, without the whole live flame thing. Each Flareglo has three super bright LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights inside of a small red plastic casing. The lights blink rapidly and can be seen from up to 500 feet away. I didn't actually measure out 500 feet to test it out, but I did walk down the street while Josh stood at one end to make sure the lights were easily visible, and according to my tester (Josh), the lights are easy to see and really obviously blinking.

The Flareglo Safety Lites were compact and easy to store in the car, an issue for us since I am a rather serious packrat in my car. These are small enough to fit in a safety kit in your car, or even in the glove compartment if it wasn't packed full of napkins and straws like some people. The batteries were also easy to install in each Flareglo. My only complaint was that one of the tiny LED lights was burnt out in one of the Flareglo lights I received, and I wasn't sure how to go about replacing it. The light still worked fine, since there are three LED lights in each Flareglo, but it did make me wonder whether there is an easy way to replace the bulbs. This is a minor concern, though, if you consider the fact that with flares you'd have to keep flammable stuff in your car. Batteries and LED lights are more reasonable, especially with kids around.

All in all, I'd recommend the Autolite Flareglo Safety Lites, especially if you have a penchant for having car emergencies. I think they'll come in handy in the future, especially now that I'm carrying precious cargo around with me. Check out the rest of the reviews at Parent Bloggers and for more information about the other Autolite products.