You know how solar eclipse glasses allow you to see the sun surface without any glare by essentially reducing the light by like 50,000 times?
You can also point the glasses at a regular light to see the bulb.
I need the same thing that let’s me check really quick if some scrub has their high beams on so I can reflect their blinding light of death back at them because I’m too nice to do the same against morons who threw nuclear bombs into their regular low beam enclosure.
Although I am also very close to buying a rally high beam light array to do the light equivalent of telling people to shut up.
There’s a load of cars with headlights that are overly bright, but there is an even bigger epidemic of idiots driving around with high beams on as part of regular course.
In the city there is no need for those, ever. Let alone always being on.
it’s hard to tell the two apart these days because many cars have regular headlights that are as bright as normal high beams. there have been a few times i’ve been mad at someone behind me with their high beams on, and then they flash their actual high beams because they’re mad at me for not also speeding while blind
god, driving at night used to be so fun, now it’s ruined
I don’t disagree. There are plenty of led upgrade kits that are way too bright regularly and also probably misaligned causing them to be double bad. Brighter than normal and aimed directly into your eyes.
I’m with you though, driving at night used to be a lot different and more enjoyable than it is today with all these extremely bright lights pointed at your eyes.
because many cars have regular headlights that are as bright as normal high beams
You seem to have no grasp of how car headlights work, because almost every single car that has ever been produced has high beams that are as bright as their low beams
I’ve noticed quite the influx of highbeams in recent years. I simply can’t understand why though. Stupids wanting to see better, by making other’s vision worse? Western Canada here, and I thought it was just me taking notice. Fuckn why??
I mean I guess I’m stupid but I straight up can’t see if there’s oncoming traffic and my brights aren’t on. Doesn’t go for every oncoming car (if its lights are reasonable then I have no issues) but the vast majority of cars have newer, hilariously bright headlights that shine in a way where my normal lights simply don’t seem to cut it.
Dude YES. 20 years ago driving in the country you see some high beams in the distance and people would go back to low beams as they get around a corner or crest a hill when they see other cars.
My commute is through a lot of schools and parks and pedestrian crossings and it’s somewhat poorly lit, so everyone has high beams on regardless of traffic but as a result I can’t see shit. If there’s oncoming cars stopped and a pedestrian tries to squeak through I literally wouldn’t be able to tell.
It’s gotten so bad, either people have their brights on all the time or they’re not adjusted properly. In either case headlights DONT HAVE TO BE SO BRIGHT.
Meanwhile I’m out here driving a 20 year old car with correspondingly dim headlights and need to have the highbeams on just to be able to see anything when there’s oncoming traffic. My normal headlights are fine when there’s nothing coming the other way, but that’s not really how that’s supposed to work lol. Kinda defeats the purpose of ever turning the brights off! I swear any newer car’s normal lights are brighter than my brights
I don’t see how running high beams held you see when there is oncoming cars with brighter lights. Maybe it has more to do with the fact that older cars are smaller and lower?
I am not disputing new cars have higher brightness on regular lights, that absolutely is true. Though running high beams throws light both forward and up toward the oncoming drivers eyes.
Unfortunately I don’t know the physics, maybe something to do with how lights scatters through the windshield? Idk, all I can tell you is my repeated experience: turning the brights on definitely helps with seeing through oncoming traffic. But you are right, my older car is both smaller and lower, so I’m sure even the modern cars with lights aimed downward are more likely to shine directly at me
Our problem is not that we drive small cars (I drive a Focus). It’s that newer vehicles are enormous, usually for no reason.
Nearly every time I get on the highway, I’m tailgated by someone in some newer massive SUV where the headlights are at the same height as my rear view mirror. I don’t understand why those vehicles are allowed to operate on the same roads as me. They aren’t safe. By default, stock, out of the factory, they blind the other drivers in reasonable cars. I can’t imagine what getting into a wreck with one would do to my car (and me in it).
Oh, there is a reason, and it’s the fucking NHTSA. Those absolute fuckrockets mandate proportionally stricter emissions standards on smaller cars than larger cars. They base it on the area of the rectangle formed by where the tires touch the pavement.
If your car can’t quite pass emission standards, just make it a little wider, a little longer, and you get a looser standard.
Repeat the process for a few model years, and now 2025 subcompacts are larger than 1995 sedans.
Same, and they might even have properly adjusted headlights, but as soon as they tilt up (e.g. due to a speed bump), the flashing lights make it look like they are sending me a light signal. Usually takes a few seconds until I realise they just hit a speed bump.
My car’s headlights blind me sometimes when they reflect off road signs. I tried to find warmer replacements, but it seems like that’s just not a thing
The most annoying thing about bright LED headlights is that LEDs don’t have to be bright. Yet because so many are, people view LED headlights as the problem. You can get varying brightness LED bulbs for your home, why not your car?
Or LED’s in modern electronics. I have a wine fridge that insists on telling me its temperature in the brightest possible blue segmented display. And apparently, I must be informed of the temperature at all times because I cant turn it off. Blue LED on the subwoofer brighter than the sun. I had to put a yoshi plushy infront of it to block the light. Wireless phone charger next to my bed… you bet that puppy needs a bright ass light to light up my sleeping area… FUCK! Electrical tape is my best friend today, I use it to cover up any of these stupid LEDs now.
My samsung microwave has the need to beep 10 fucking times. Shut the fuck up already. God damn it. Instead of giving us the options to turn off these noises and lights, we are given other functions we never use.
I know this website seems sketchy/scammy AF, but I found that these actually do a good job dimming the LEDs to reasonable levels, but keeping them visible.
I imagine (mostly because of all the “patent pending” bs) that this is a film you just just buy from somewhere else way cheaper, I just don’t know what it is.
And we drive all LED elements at 100% of their rated value, no matter what. there used to be a Youtuber that rewired electronic things and dimmed all the lights as he was going through them, it’s been ages since I’ve see him tho.
My man, I watched an accident yesterday in a grocery store parking lot. A raised up truck was backing out and a car was behind it. The car honked. Laid on that horn. It was a loud horn. Truck didn’t even flinch. Backed right into it.
I’ve been passed by “loud” motorcycles many times. I saw them in my mirrors. I have a tiny blind spot, but I tracked them the entire way. What I didn’t do is hear them. Especially at highway speed, they’re undetectable.
Your argument is the equivalent of, “I saw someone get stabbed to death so you shouldnt wear your motorcycle helmet.”
I have no doubt you did see these things but that doesnt mean loud pipes dont add a bit of safety at the expense of noise comfort. Every bit of safety adds up and can save your life. There is no one thing that will do it but if you do enough it can have an effect. Maybe you didnt hear those pipes but a few hours later someone else did and didnt see them and they were saved.
I only know that for me, driving with windows up, radio quiet, I don’t hear most loud pipes until too late. It’s probably not a good idea to startle drivers just as you’re passing them
As someone who didnt have an excessively loud bike. … I’ve almost been killed so many times by people who didnt see or hear me and who switched lanes or pulled out in front of me.
Loud pipes do save lives and no amount of bullshit research about one particular scenario that doesnt factor in everything else will change that.
If you think you cant hear loud pipes if you are in front of or beside a motercycle then your an idiot who probably doesnt even ride.
No amount of anything will prevent headons .
But i dont ride anymore and if you do and you want to cruise quietly then you do you.
This lawyer doesn’t post the actual study referenced anywhere in that blog. After looking for the study, it seems to be referencing a quite limited series of tests in a YouTube video made by the Association for the Development of Motorcycling in Romania.
I recently had a high beam tailgating me. I moved my side and rearview mirrors to reflect it back and he passed me on a double yellow line with him in front of me I just turned on my own high beams. He turned off soon after but I hope it made his day a little more frustrating ¯_(ツ)_/¯
The brightness is one thing but also the alignment. These people install new headlights or the manufacturers just do not adjust the lights alignment correctly at all.
I installed entire new headlight assemblies in my car upgrading from weak stock crap bulbs to LEDs with running lights, but I FUCKING ADJUSTED THEM afterwards.
If I am ~50 feet from a wall there is a hard line where the top of my lights do not shine. That line is purposely placed so it won’t shine until cars in front of me unless I am every far away from them or there is an elevation difference. Sitting behind a car at the lights my lights will cut off generally right below the top of the trunk of most sedan models.
I have never seen a headlight that could not be adjusted up and down with a little screw. Maybe the newest cars need an app or something stupid but I would be willing to bet they can also be adjusted.
It’s also the height of install. If you drive a subcompact a lot of vehicles will just have lights so high up to you that what’s a reasonable angle for them is directly in your mirror
This is another issue. The ride of the front of certain vehicles. Namely large trucks. I’m 5’11" and there are many trucks sold now that have headlights at my shoulder level. It’s ridiculous.
They need to lower the front hoods of all these vehicles. It’s dangerous for pedestrians and just general road safety but it also would help alleviate some of the headlight woes others experience.
Where do you get those? Or is it just for a few models?
My car has nice LED projectors but my old car that my kids are driving has older xenon bulbs that were bright when new but insufficient in the face of modern glare. I’m tempted to get the glaring ones because then at least my kids could see but if I had a way to upgrade the right way I would
You haven’t bought eBay replacement headlights before then!
I have never been able to get them adjusted properly to the point where they match even close to the factory pattern. I usually end up pointing them away to low just to be kind to anyone in front of them. The only saving grace is a love in the city and want didn’t need to rely on them for proper lighting.
You would be correct. I buy replacement lights from reputable brands with quality parts and adjustability lol
My dad bought some replacement lights for his car recently and he was so angry about the way they were pointed he apparently sent them a super angry letter. I then showed him I could adjust the beams down with my hands and he went back inside to send them another email apologizing hahahahah
I recently rented a car from SIXT, a BMW SUV - it was one of their rideshare cars, it was nearest to me, just so you know it was not my choice.
It auto-aligned lights to just slightly blind everyone in front of me. It also had tinted rear windows, wonder why. As a cherry on top, the navigation software made it impossible to anticipate off-ramps, so it had you switch multiple lanes at the last moment.
I think I understand a bit more about why BMW drivers suck.
Built in GPS always sucks, except for Stellantis who at least licenses software, maps from TomTom og Volvo who has built in Google. VWs are a dumpster fire.
The hell of it is, its even stock vehicles now. So many new models have these crazy bright headlights. I know it can be done right, so how about we start having the safety bodies dealing with this bullshit at the manufacturer level?
I personally think headlight brightness peaked just before LED became mainstream. Through the mid teens companies were installing projector headlights. I had a 2014 Corolla with projector headlights so bright that I got non-stop flashes from opposing drivers.
Newer LED headlights are often matrix headlights. See the entire road like you’ve got high beams on, except the oncoming car’s area is dark. Best of both worlds if implemented well enough. You can still turn off the high beams so that if the system stops malfunctioning, you have something equivalent to normal LED low beams.
My car has standard bulbs but with lenses that pivot to achieve the same effect, but I’m dreading the day that one of the servos breaks and my car starts looking like Forest Whitaker
For me mainly bicycle lights are sometimes brighter than cars but mostly far too high and some on the back blinking too (illegal here, but still seeing it often).
But there def is regulation (even candles at different distances) & technically a car isn’t road worthy if its blinding oncoming traffic.
I haven’t seen it much enforced by the cops, just by the mandatory scheduled road-worthiness checkups.
Also, how tf is automatic headlight leveling not standard equipment? It has been on the market for like 20 years now (& I think we need it bcs of people, not bcs that lil 1-5 scroll switch of the olden days wasn’t sufficient … do people not see their own lights shining in peoples faces?).
However I do wish cops would regularly stop & fine people (foreigners :)) with misaligned headlights (the needed equipment is ez & smol, tho level ground is needed) … or those fuckers cruising with fog lights “bcs it looks sporty” or whatever.
Some cars now even have break lights that shine brighter than the light of a thousand suns. I don’t get it, there ought to be some regulation for this. This is Germany speaking.
Yes, some specific cars and lights are surprisingly bad, but in general it’s not comparable to the US. Maybe also depends on the specific country, too, of course.
I drive a van, so I could easily be the culprit. I therefore make a habit of adjusting my beam dip appropriately. Apparently that is unusual enough for them to note they had been adjusted in the service. There’s literally a dial on the dashboard. You’re SUPPOSED to adjust them to the vehicle and road conditions! Apparently not having them set to max is now considered a “fault” to fix!
If you normally drive the van with a load on the rear axle and it went for a service with nothing in the back, that could explain why they adjusted it higher.
The load varies, though I’ve found the suspension is hard enough that it doesn’t shift for a normal load up. I mostly do it because I’ve noticed that, when I hit a bump, my lights can sweep up over the windows of cars in front.
Also, I don’t mind them readjusting it. It’s calling it a fault that bugged me.
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You know how solar eclipse glasses allow you to see the sun surface without any glare by essentially reducing the light by like 50,000 times?
You can also point the glasses at a regular light to see the bulb.
I need the same thing that let’s me check really quick if some scrub has their high beams on so I can reflect their blinding light of death back at them because I’m too nice to do the same against morons who threw nuclear bombs into their regular low beam enclosure.
Although I am also very close to buying a rally high beam light array to do the light equivalent of telling people to shut up.
There’s a load of cars with headlights that are overly bright, but there is an even bigger epidemic of idiots driving around with high beams on as part of regular course.
In the city there is no need for those, ever. Let alone always being on.
100% this; I’ll see the same make a model go by, with LED lights, and it will be fine one time the next time I’ll be like 🔥 MY EYES 🔥.
High beams and fog lights on a beautiful sunlit day.
it’s hard to tell the two apart these days because many cars have regular headlights that are as bright as normal high beams. there have been a few times i’ve been mad at someone behind me with their high beams on, and then they flash their actual high beams because they’re mad at me for not also speeding while blind
god, driving at night used to be so fun, now it’s ruined
I don’t disagree. There are plenty of led upgrade kits that are way too bright regularly and also probably misaligned causing them to be double bad. Brighter than normal and aimed directly into your eyes.
I’m with you though, driving at night used to be a lot different and more enjoyable than it is today with all these extremely bright lights pointed at your eyes.
You seem to have no grasp of how car headlights work, because almost every single car that has ever been produced has high beams that are as bright as their low beams
I’ve noticed quite the influx of highbeams in recent years. I simply can’t understand why though. Stupids wanting to see better, by making other’s vision worse? Western Canada here, and I thought it was just me taking notice. Fuckn why??
I mean I guess I’m stupid but I straight up can’t see if there’s oncoming traffic and my brights aren’t on. Doesn’t go for every oncoming car (if its lights are reasonable then I have no issues) but the vast majority of cars have newer, hilariously bright headlights that shine in a way where my normal lights simply don’t seem to cut it.
Dude YES. 20 years ago driving in the country you see some high beams in the distance and people would go back to low beams as they get around a corner or crest a hill when they see other cars.
My commute is through a lot of schools and parks and pedestrian crossings and it’s somewhat poorly lit, so everyone has high beams on regardless of traffic but as a result I can’t see shit. If there’s oncoming cars stopped and a pedestrian tries to squeak through I literally wouldn’t be able to tell.
It’s gotten so bad, either people have their brights on all the time or they’re not adjusted properly. In either case headlights DONT HAVE TO BE SO BRIGHT.
Meanwhile I’m out here driving a 20 year old car with correspondingly dim headlights and need to have the highbeams on just to be able to see anything when there’s oncoming traffic. My normal headlights are fine when there’s nothing coming the other way, but that’s not really how that’s supposed to work lol. Kinda defeats the purpose of ever turning the brights off! I swear any newer car’s normal lights are brighter than my brights
I don’t see how running high beams held you see when there is oncoming cars with brighter lights. Maybe it has more to do with the fact that older cars are smaller and lower?
I am not disputing new cars have higher brightness on regular lights, that absolutely is true. Though running high beams throws light both forward and up toward the oncoming drivers eyes.
Unfortunately I don’t know the physics, maybe something to do with how lights scatters through the windshield? Idk, all I can tell you is my repeated experience: turning the brights on definitely helps with seeing through oncoming traffic. But you are right, my older car is both smaller and lower, so I’m sure even the modern cars with lights aimed downward are more likely to shine directly at me
Let me get this straight: you are turning on your brights when there is oncoming traffic?
My problem is that I drive a low car (Ford fiesta) and most other cars are taller, this makes them way more blinding.
Our problem is not that we drive small cars (I drive a Focus). It’s that newer vehicles are enormous, usually for no reason.
Nearly every time I get on the highway, I’m tailgated by someone in some newer massive SUV where the headlights are at the same height as my rear view mirror. I don’t understand why those vehicles are allowed to operate on the same roads as me. They aren’t safe. By default, stock, out of the factory, they blind the other drivers in reasonable cars. I can’t imagine what getting into a wreck with one would do to my car (and me in it).
Oh, there is a reason, and it’s the fucking NHTSA. Those absolute fuckrockets mandate proportionally stricter emissions standards on smaller cars than larger cars. They base it on the area of the rectangle formed by where the tires touch the pavement.
If your car can’t quite pass emission standards, just make it a little wider, a little longer, and you get a looser standard.
Repeat the process for a few model years, and now 2025 subcompacts are larger than 1995 sedans.
Fuck the NHTSA with a rusty bayonet.
Same, and they might even have properly adjusted headlights, but as soon as they tilt up (e.g. due to a speed bump), the flashing lights make it look like they are sending me a light signal. Usually takes a few seconds until I realise they just hit a speed bump.
My car’s headlights blind me sometimes when they reflect off road signs. I tried to find warmer replacements, but it seems like that’s just not a thing
Yeah, I guess that’s one part of the problem. It’s not like most people care that much. But if that’s the only replacement lights you can get… :/
The most annoying thing about bright LED headlights is that LEDs don’t have to be bright. Yet because so many are, people view LED headlights as the problem. You can get varying brightness LED bulbs for your home, why not your car?
What about overly bright LED signs? Like billboards or business signs? Those things also suck.
Or LED’s in modern electronics. I have a wine fridge that insists on telling me its temperature in the brightest possible blue segmented display. And apparently, I must be informed of the temperature at all times because I cant turn it off. Blue LED on the subwoofer brighter than the sun. I had to put a yoshi plushy infront of it to block the light. Wireless phone charger next to my bed… you bet that puppy needs a bright ass light to light up my sleeping area… FUCK! Electrical tape is my best friend today, I use it to cover up any of these stupid LEDs now.
This is why I have a lot of black electrical tape covering a lot of petty lights throughout my house.
Also noises. A lot of household machines like a microwave are unnecessarily obnoxious with noises, with little to no options or choices for it.
Gaffer’s tape is better, it doesn’t dissolve into a sticky mess.
The real stuff (the kind that doesn’t leave residue) can get expensive as hell though.
My samsung microwave has the need to beep 10 fucking times. Shut the fuck up already. God damn it. Instead of giving us the options to turn off these noises and lights, we are given other functions we never use.
I know this website seems sketchy/scammy AF, but I found that these actually do a good job dimming the LEDs to reasonable levels, but keeping them visible.
https://www.lightdims.com/store.htm
I imagine (mostly because of all the “patent pending” bs) that this is a film you just just buy from somewhere else way cheaper, I just don’t know what it is.
And we drive all LED elements at 100% of their rated value, no matter what. there used to be a Youtuber that rewired electronic things and dimmed all the lights as he was going through them, it’s been ages since I’ve see him tho.
Can we vent about loud motorcycles too?
No. Loud = safe for motorcyclists. Its the only way they can be noticed inside sound proof cars by people on their phones.
I dont ride anymore because bad drivers killed every motorcyclist i used to ride with.
My man, I watched an accident yesterday in a grocery store parking lot. A raised up truck was backing out and a car was behind it. The car honked. Laid on that horn. It was a loud horn. Truck didn’t even flinch. Backed right into it.
I’ve been passed by “loud” motorcycles many times. I saw them in my mirrors. I have a tiny blind spot, but I tracked them the entire way. What I didn’t do is hear them. Especially at highway speed, they’re undetectable.
Your argument is the equivalent of, “I saw someone get stabbed to death so you shouldnt wear your motorcycle helmet.”
I have no doubt you did see these things but that doesnt mean loud pipes dont add a bit of safety at the expense of noise comfort. Every bit of safety adds up and can save your life. There is no one thing that will do it but if you do enough it can have an effect. Maybe you didnt hear those pipes but a few hours later someone else did and didnt see them and they were saved.
As a fellow motorcyclist I hate this myth. https://www.spauldinginjurylaw.com/blogs/5758/loud-pipes-saves-lives-myth
I only know that for me, driving with windows up, radio quiet, I don’t hear most loud pipes until too late. It’s probably not a good idea to startle drivers just as you’re passing them
As someone who didnt have an excessively loud bike. … I’ve almost been killed so many times by people who didnt see or hear me and who switched lanes or pulled out in front of me.
Loud pipes do save lives and no amount of bullshit research about one particular scenario that doesnt factor in everything else will change that.
If you think you cant hear loud pipes if you are in front of or beside a motercycle then your an idiot who probably doesnt even ride.
No amount of anything will prevent headons .
But i dont ride anymore and if you do and you want to cruise quietly then you do you.
This lawyer doesn’t post the actual study referenced anywhere in that blog. After looking for the study, it seems to be referencing a quite limited series of tests in a YouTube video made by the Association for the Development of Motorcycling in Romania.
https://youtu.be/v9QTPyMJGgo
While we’re at it, let’s also vent about cars and trucks with loud modified exhausts.
Argh, hate them!
I recently had a high beam tailgating me. I moved my side and rearview mirrors to reflect it back and he passed me on a double yellow line with him in front of me I just turned on my own high beams. He turned off soon after but I hope it made his day a little more frustrating ¯_(ツ)_/¯
perhaps there could be an automatic mirror to handle this for you. that’d be a good project
Hah I’ve thought of this maybe I can look into it, I’m an amateur Arduino enthusiast but it might even be more simple than that.
I’ve thought about turning my entire rear window into a mirror, but I imagine there is a law against it, so I haven’t looked into it.
The same crossed my mind but that would be hell for everyone around you on a sunny day. Sometimes even just a car with a lot of chrome is annoying 😔
deleted by creator
The brightness is one thing but also the alignment. These people install new headlights or the manufacturers just do not adjust the lights alignment correctly at all.
I installed entire new headlight assemblies in my car upgrading from weak stock crap bulbs to LEDs with running lights, but I FUCKING ADJUSTED THEM afterwards.
If I am ~50 feet from a wall there is a hard line where the top of my lights do not shine. That line is purposely placed so it won’t shine until cars in front of me unless I am every far away from them or there is an elevation difference. Sitting behind a car at the lights my lights will cut off generally right below the top of the trunk of most sedan models.
I have never seen a headlight that could not be adjusted up and down with a little screw. Maybe the newest cars need an app or something stupid but I would be willing to bet they can also be adjusted.
It’s also the height of install. If you drive a subcompact a lot of vehicles will just have lights so high up to you that what’s a reasonable angle for them is directly in your mirror
This is another issue. The ride of the front of certain vehicles. Namely large trucks. I’m 5’11" and there are many trucks sold now that have headlights at my shoulder level. It’s ridiculous.
They need to lower the front hoods of all these vehicles. It’s dangerous for pedestrians and just general road safety but it also would help alleviate some of the headlight woes others experience.
Where do you get those? Or is it just for a few models?
My car has nice LED projectors but my old car that my kids are driving has older xenon bulbs that were bright when new but insufficient in the face of modern glare. I’m tempted to get the glaring ones because then at least my kids could see but if I had a way to upgrade the right way I would
If you want OEM look I would recommend: https://www.genera.com/Headlight.html
If you want different styling I would go with: https://www.carid.com/headlights.html
You haven’t bought eBay replacement headlights before then! I have never been able to get them adjusted properly to the point where they match even close to the factory pattern. I usually end up pointing them away to low just to be kind to anyone in front of them. The only saving grace is a love in the city and want didn’t need to rely on them for proper lighting.
You would be correct. I buy replacement lights from reputable brands with quality parts and adjustability lol
My dad bought some replacement lights for his car recently and he was so angry about the way they were pointed he apparently sent them a super angry letter. I then showed him I could adjust the beams down with my hands and he went back inside to send them another email apologizing hahahahah
As a cyclist, please.
I’m just glad the Xenon fad is practically over
I recently rented a car from SIXT, a BMW SUV - it was one of their rideshare cars, it was nearest to me, just so you know it was not my choice.
It auto-aligned lights to just slightly blind everyone in front of me. It also had tinted rear windows, wonder why. As a cherry on top, the navigation software made it impossible to anticipate off-ramps, so it had you switch multiple lanes at the last moment.
I think I understand a bit more about why BMW drivers suck.
Built in GPS always sucks, except for Stellantis who at least licenses software, maps from TomTom og Volvo who has built in Google. VWs are a dumpster fire.
Yes ! I hate these as well!
The hell of it is, its even stock vehicles now. So many new models have these crazy bright headlights. I know it can be done right, so how about we start having the safety bodies dealing with this bullshit at the manufacturer level?
I personally think headlight brightness peaked just before LED became mainstream. Through the mid teens companies were installing projector headlights. I had a 2014 Corolla with projector headlights so bright that I got non-stop flashes from opposing drivers.
Newer LED headlights are often matrix headlights. See the entire road like you’ve got high beams on, except the oncoming car’s area is dark. Best of both worlds if implemented well enough. You can still turn off the high beams so that if the system stops malfunctioning, you have something equivalent to normal LED low beams.
My car has standard bulbs but with lenses that pivot to achieve the same effect, but I’m dreading the day that one of the servos breaks and my car starts looking like Forest Whitaker
Found the euro …. Is that even approved in the US yet?
That’s the kind of freedom I love not to have in Europe (it’s regulated).
For the ones wanting proof (fair):
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2011/48(2)/oj/eng
One such regulation. It’s not perfect.
For me mainly bicycle lights are sometimes brighter than cars but mostly far too high and some on the back blinking too (illegal here, but still seeing it often).
Regulations not being enforced is another issue…
Regulated? In the Netherlands I can’t tell.
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2011/48(2)/oj/eng
Not saying it’s perfect.
I’m from Europe and headlights suck here too! It’s spectrum of LEDs and tall cars and probably bad regulations too.
What?
Seems heavily country v dependent then.
But there def is regulation (even candles at different distances) & technically a car isn’t road worthy if its blinding oncoming traffic.
I haven’t seen it much enforced by the cops, just by the mandatory scheduled road-worthiness checkups.
Also, how tf is automatic headlight leveling not standard equipment? It has been on the market for like 20 years now (& I think we need it bcs of people, not bcs that lil 1-5 scroll switch of the olden days wasn’t sufficient … do people not see their own lights shining in peoples faces?).
However I do wish cops would regularly stop & fine people (foreigners :)) with misaligned headlights (the needed equipment is ez & smol, tho level ground is needed) … or those fuckers cruising with fog lights “bcs it looks sporty” or whatever.
Some cars now even have break lights that shine brighter than the light of a thousand suns. I don’t get it, there ought to be some regulation for this. This is Germany speaking.
Yes, some specific cars and lights are surprisingly bad, but in general it’s not comparable to the US. Maybe also depends on the specific country, too, of course.
It technically is in the US as well, but this is a corrupt, late stage Capitalist shithole, so, no one with power cares.
I drive a van, so I could easily be the culprit. I therefore make a habit of adjusting my beam dip appropriately. Apparently that is unusual enough for them to note they had been adjusted in the service. There’s literally a dial on the dashboard. You’re SUPPOSED to adjust them to the vehicle and road conditions! Apparently not having them set to max is now considered a “fault” to fix!
If you normally drive the van with a load on the rear axle and it went for a service with nothing in the back, that could explain why they adjusted it higher.
The load varies, though I’ve found the suspension is hard enough that it doesn’t shift for a normal load up. I mostly do it because I’ve noticed that, when I hit a bump, my lights can sweep up over the windows of cars in front.
Also, I don’t mind them readjusting it. It’s calling it a fault that bugged me.