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There is another reason for brake lights coming on that nobody has mentioned yet... it's fairly new, but it's already causing some comments... in some hybrids and EVs that have regenerative braking (which uses the motor as a generator to charge the battery)... the brake lights come on when you lift your foot from the accelerator pedal. Technically the car is braking, electromagnetically, even though you aren't stepping on the brake pedal, so some designers turn on the brake light at that point.