One of the most dreadful, fearful events for a motorist is when the vehicle the motorist is riding in has mechanical or other type of failure and is inoperative, thereby leaving the occupants of the vehicle stranded. This is particularly problematic when the breakdown occurs on a dark, desolate stretch of road or where the breakdown occurs in a very busy, congested stretch of the road where driving conditions are difficult.
One related problem is that if the breakdown occurs at night or on a sharp bend or just over a rise in the road, it can be very dangerous for the occupants since the vehicle may be very difficult to see. Also, in some unfortunate instances, the vehicle is not able to be completely moved out of the travel lane of the road and therefore, a portion of the vehicle lies within the travel lane, thereby creating a very dangerous situation. This can potentially lead to another car striking the vehicle and injuring, even fatally, the occupants of the vehicle.
There are a number of products available to both alert other motorists that an emergency exists and that help should be summoned and to make sure other motorists clearly see the broken down vehicle. These products range from a simple bright orange flag that has a message printed thereon, to a safety flare that is placed in the road before the vehicle, to a portable strobe light to alert other motorists and also to a number of emergency flashing light units.
While several multiple LED emergency flashing light units are available for use with a vehicle, they suffer from a number of disadvantages. For example, one LED product is a rigid unit that includes a number of LEDs and can be mounted in a stand in both vertical and horizontal orientations. The unit can be coupled to a vehicle using several different techniques, including magnets or it can be inserted into the stand. However, one disadvantage of this product is that the unit is a rigid unit (e.g., a block) and therefore, it is not that flexible and this limits the locations of where the product can be used. In addition, the rigid nature of the unit limits the manner in which it can be stored. For example, if it is desired for the unit to have a large elongated appearance, a comparable space must be found for storing the unit and also, the maneuverability of the unit within the cabin of the vehicle may be difficult.