3 ms·

Speak for yourself. When I'm out on the road, top down, if I'm going over 70 I can drive for days. Ideally light traffic, roads with curves, and clear bright

Speak for yourself. When I'm out on the road, top down, if I'm going over 70 I can drive for days. Ideally light traffic, roads with curves, and clear bright visibility. Figuring out how to pass the car in front of me is a puzzle that gives satisfaction when accomplished. Cut my speed down to under 35 in heavy traffic where I just have to trudge along with everyone else, where I have to shift between low gears a lot, or where I'm staring at headlights... man it just isn't fun. (Side note, what's with all the super bright headlights in the last 2-3 years? I see about 20% of new cars with these ridiculously bright lights that just shred my eyes at night -- is it a change in the law or a change in the tech that's allowing these to become so prevalent? Feels like these people are driving cars with their high-beams on... and I can't help but think that the drivers are assholes for doing it.)

saurik 10y ago
I really want to make a giant LED sign to put in my rear view window that says "adjust your headlights: they are blinding me :/" with a switch I can use to turn it on :(.
- r00fus 10y ago
  Just make it out of LEDs bright enough to get the point across.
- mantas 10y ago
  Auto-dimming rear view mirrors are awesome. There're aftermarket options too. They're not cheap but may be worth it if you spend a lot of time driving in the dark in heavy traffic.
  - GrinningFool 10y ago
    I can't stand my autodim mirror. It is always dimming too much and/or at the wrong time.
    - cardiffspaceman 10y ago
      For a brief shining period I had an autodimming mirror which was right on, and I didn't even realize it at first. The car that replaced that car does not have this, and just the mirror itself is a ton of money so I'm bearing life without. Y'all are using your high beams on your lifted SUV's too much (I don't mean, YOU, you know what I mean).
    - mantas 10y ago
      Put a tape on it's rear sensor and it will dim less.
cydonian_monk 10y ago
Re: super-bright lights. I've been wondering the same thing. I think part of it comes from misconfigured Automatic High-Beams [0] (the sensitivity settings for which are user selectable; mine defaulted to nearly always-on when new despite what the manufacturer copy claims), while the rest are just flat out brighter. Now it's just a race to see who can install daylight-bright artificial suns as their headlights first. I've never had the greatest night vision, so all the extra light is really bothersome. That, combined with my aging, computer-cooked eyes (that are slowly turning to ash), has led me to all but stop driving at night. The upside is I get to work a bit earlier. The downside: I now spend more time in traffic. 0: http://www.toyota-global.com/innovation/safety_technology/safety_technology/technology_file/active/ahb.html http://www.toyota-global.com/innovation/safety_technology/sa...
- dbg31415 10y ago
  AHB... thanks. Now I have a name for the thing I hate. This plus LED lights... man what a bad combination for everyone else on the road. I just assumed "the damn kids" were driving rude, didn't realize it was crappy tech that wasn't set to turn the high-beams off correctly the way a human would when they saw an oncoming car. I'm in the same boat as you man... I'm buying Visine by the gallon and just hoping that how dry my eyes get after seeing bright lights at night isn't some kind of warning sign I'll get eye cancer or need glasses soon... getting old is only slightly preferable to the alternative. (=
GrinningFool 10y ago
>. Cut my speed down to under 35 in heavy traffic where I just have to trudge along ... I found this became easier to handle when I considered it a different kind of puzzle : how do I navigate that traffic without stopping or even using my brakes. This usually involves increased following distance. Then I get to watch all the people who can't look past the gap in front of me rush in, realize this isn't helpful, punch their brakes , and switch back to a different lane. Endlessly entertaining! Added benefit is that people behind you will start hanging back as you do (those not rushing around and failing to get ahead anyway)... Part of the puzzle is seeing how much of a smoothing effect you have on the traffic behind you.
- dbg31415 10y ago
  I like where you're going trying to game it... but... I also like not relying on other people to make correct decisions when I drive. When I drive to pass them, I just have to work around them, that seems safe enough -- I'm not making them drive any different than they normally would. I can weave in and out of traffic, and they never have to hit their brakes or accelerate or change lanes to react to me. But... me trying to go as far as I can without using my brakes, that seems like it'd force others behind me to have to engage their brain and make more changes than they normally would... I don't really want to makes others have to think when driving. People are idiots. Duh, right? So me not wanting them to have to react to me is more for my safety than theirs. An example... I drive a manual and there's a long slow hill with a stoplight near my house. I don't need to tap my brakes, I can just coast up it and come to a stop by the time I hit the light... but inevitably some idiot see me slowing down a half-mile before the yellow light and doesn't get why (see your comment about them not looking past the car in front of them). Anyway one day I was out driving and this idiot teenager in a massive SUV ran into me with like a 30 MPH difference. Totaled my car, and jacked up my back. Her claim, "I didn't see your brake lights, so I didn't know you were slowing down." (The things people say after an injury accident are pretty astounding -- why you should always get witnesses contact details as well as call a cop.) Of course the whole thing was ruled her fault, but 12 months of PT and years later my back still hurts from time to time. Also... wrecked a perfectly good Honda S2000. So now I just go as fast as I can right up to the light, like all the other lemmings, and mash my brakes when I get there. (=
Grazester 10y ago
Do you drive a manual? To me there is nothing more satisfying than a spirited drive especially in a manual transmission car. And yes those new headlights are blinding. The fancier auto makers are making them self dimming to incoming traffic now thankfully.

saurik 10y ago

I really want to make a giant LED sign to put in my rear view window that says "adjust your headlights: they are blinding me :/" with a switch I can use to turn it on :(.

r00fus 10y ago
Just make it out of LEDs bright enough to get the point across.
mantas 10y ago
Auto-dimming rear view mirrors are awesome. There're aftermarket options too. They're not cheap but may be worth it if you spend a lot of time driving in the dark in heavy traffic.
- GrinningFool 10y ago
  I can't stand my autodim mirror. It is always dimming too much and/or at the wrong time.
  - cardiffspaceman 10y ago
    For a brief shining period I had an autodimming mirror which was right on, and I didn't even realize it at first. The car that replaced that car does not have this, and just the mirror itself is a ton of money so I'm bearing life without. Y'all are using your high beams on your lifted SUV's too much (I don't mean, YOU, you know what I mean).
  - mantas 10y ago
    Put a tape on it's rear sensor and it will dim less.

cydonian_monk 10y ago

Re: super-bright lights. I've been wondering the same thing. I think part of it comes from misconfigured Automatic High-Beams [0] (the sensitivity settings for which are user selectable; mine defaulted to nearly always-on when new despite what the manufacturer copy claims), while the rest are just flat out brighter. Now it's just a race to see who can install daylight-bright artificial suns as their headlights first. I've never had the greatest night vision, so all the extra light is really bothersome. That, combined with my aging, computer-cooked eyes (that are slowly turning to ash), has led me to all but stop driving at night. The upside is I get to work a bit earlier. The downside: I now spend more time in traffic. 0: http://www.toyota-global.com/innovation/safety_technology/safety_technology/technology_file/active/ahb.html http://www.toyota-global.com/innovation/safety_technology/sa...

dbg31415 10y ago
AHB... thanks. Now I have a name for the thing I hate. This plus LED lights... man what a bad combination for everyone else on the road. I just assumed "the damn kids" were driving rude, didn't realize it was crappy tech that wasn't set to turn the high-beams off correctly the way a human would when they saw an oncoming car. I'm in the same boat as you man... I'm buying Visine by the gallon and just hoping that how dry my eyes get after seeing bright lights at night isn't some kind of warning sign I'll get eye cancer or need glasses soon... getting old is only slightly preferable to the alternative. (=

GrinningFool 10y ago

>. Cut my speed down to under 35 in heavy traffic where I just have to trudge along ... I found this became easier to handle when I considered it a different kind of puzzle : how do I navigate that traffic without stopping or even using my brakes. This usually involves increased following distance. Then I get to watch all the people who can't look past the gap in front of me rush in, realize this isn't helpful, punch their brakes , and switch back to a different lane. Endlessly entertaining! Added benefit is that people behind you will start hanging back as you do (those not rushing around and failing to get ahead anyway)... Part of the puzzle is seeing how much of a smoothing effect you have on the traffic behind you.

dbg31415 10y ago
I like where you're going trying to game it... but... I also like not relying on other people to make correct decisions when I drive. When I drive to pass them, I just have to work around them, that seems safe enough -- I'm not making them drive any different than they normally would. I can weave in and out of traffic, and they never have to hit their brakes or accelerate or change lanes to react to me. But... me trying to go as far as I can without using my brakes, that seems like it'd force others behind me to have to engage their brain and make more changes than they normally would... I don't really want to makes others have to think when driving. People are idiots. Duh, right? So me not wanting them to have to react to me is more for my safety than theirs. An example... I drive a manual and there's a long slow hill with a stoplight near my house. I don't need to tap my brakes, I can just coast up it and come to a stop by the time I hit the light... but inevitably some idiot see me slowing down a half-mile before the yellow light and doesn't get why (see your comment about them not looking past the car in front of them). Anyway one day I was out driving and this idiot teenager in a massive SUV ran into me with like a 30 MPH difference. Totaled my car, and jacked up my back. Her claim, "I didn't see your brake lights, so I didn't know you were slowing down." (The things people say after an injury accident are pretty astounding -- why you should always get witnesses contact details as well as call a cop.) Of course the whole thing was ruled her fault, but 12 months of PT and years later my back still hurts from time to time. Also... wrecked a perfectly good Honda S2000. So now I just go as fast as I can right up to the light, like all the other lemmings, and mash my brakes when I get there. (=

Grazester 10y ago

Do you drive a manual? To me there is nothing more satisfying than a spirited drive especially in a manual transmission car. And yes those new headlights are blinding. The fancier auto makers are making them self dimming to incoming traffic now thankfully.