7 ms·

If you're in the US, the situation of being blinded by low-beam headlights (I agree, it's a real problem) should hopefully be on its way to being addressed: ht

If you're in the US, the situation of being blinded by low-beam headlights (I agree, it's a real problem) should hopefully be on its way to being addressed: https://www.autonews.com/article/20181029/OEM03/181029812/nhtsa-s-proposed-rule-change-should-help-tame-headlights https://www.autonews.com/article/20181029/OEM03/181029812/nh...

FidelCashflow 8y ago
I'm in a rural area with literally zero street illumination. I cannot begin to describe my frustration with the blue tint, ultra bright lights, and off-road LED light bars. Install those on every other lifted truck (redneck's a plenty) and night time driving is hazardous. I don't care who installed the lights, whether it was the factory, the current or previous driver/owner. If I can't see because of your lights, they're too damn bright.
- seanmcdirmid 8y ago
  Lights should block out your night time vision no matter what, that is unavoidable. It is only a matter of how much goes. When driving in rural areas, I sometimes flip off the lights to see much more in my periphery than I could with the lights on. This is dangerous of course, as the lights are meant more to be seen than to see.
  - kbutler 8y ago
    > the lights are meant more to be seen than to see. That's definitely false for headlights, fog lights, and for the extra light bars (well, maybe those are often installed as stylistic choices rather than utility). Tail lights, running lights, turn signals are all more to be seen than to help the driver see.
    - seanmcdirmid 8y ago
      Try it, it actually works, especially when there is a full moon.
      - kbutler 8y ago
        I don't dispute that you can see more outside the beam of the light if the light is off. You can see a surprising amount even just by starlight - but I wouldn't want to drive that way, knowing how I've stumbled over things a flashlight would have shown me. Headlights are definitely to help the driver see (cloudy moonless nights, reflective road signs, etc.). Only at twilight or in fog would they be mostly to help you be seen. When it's really dark, running lights would be sufficient for that.
        seanmcdirmid 8y ago
        When you are traveling in the high desert, going without headlights is a great way to see and avoid deer. The deer aren’t going to be dazed by your headlights, and you can see them before they dash out in front of you on the road. But this isn’t recommended because if another car came along they wouldn’t immediately be able to see you! Light makes you much more visible, and it also allows you to better see a narrow part of the road (more if wide beams are used), but it hides a lot. Of course, being in the high desert in the middle of the night off a freeway, there aren’t many other cars around anyways, if any.
  - HeyLaughingBoy 8y ago
    I don't know what rural areas you're driving in, but on the roads to my house, flipping off the headlights would result in total darkness unless the moon's out. You won't see more in your periphery, you just won't see squat.
    - seanmcdirmid 8y ago
      The moon is usually out. I’m referring to eastern Washington scrub land. I’ve also done it when driving through the four corners in the middle of the night, and then it was because of deer.
      - kgwgk 8y ago
        > The moon is usually out. Is it? Do you think that the sun is usually out as well? And note that often the moon is out during the day...
        seanmcdirmid 8y ago
        For some definition of usually I guess. Whenever I tried this there was enough moon to make it work.
        kgwgk 8y ago
        Probably you noticed that sometimes it was too dark to try :-)
- gbrown 8y ago
  Add driving a compact, low-to-the-ground car in a world of giant SUVs and pickups to that.
NeedMoreTea 8y ago
Then you can be like Europe which already has legislation very like that proposal! Factory fitted lights will be fine when new, and dazzle as they get older, despite it supposedly on the MOT test list. But, half the daylight running LEDs now fitted are bright enough to dazzle from the second you roll it out of the showroom. The worst case won't be touched at all - that's the thousands who've bought illegally bright aftermarket kits, installed illegally without adaptation or self-levelling, probably in illegal cool colours too. Not a police priority so few will get pulled. Night driving is becoming ever more unpleasant as a result.
- kerbalspacepro 8y ago
  >Not a police priority so few will get pulled. The American reticence to road cameras is a sign that we all think we're doing something that's illegal (we are). The laws need to be fixed.
  - dsfyu404ed 8y ago
    >The laws need to be fixed. If by fixed you mean changed to reflect the behavior of average people so that the average person is not breaking them daily then I fully agree.
    - kerbalspacepro 8y ago
      Yeah, that's what I meant. Increase the speed limits and increase the punishments.
velcrovan 8y ago
Great, will just wait 35 years for this feature to become reliable and work its way down to the majority of the US auto fleet.
- RankingMember 8y ago
  I think it'll take more like 15-20 years, but yeah, it'll take a long time, and who knows how reliable the tech will be. These laser headlights, for example, are much brighter by default than standard headlights, but their safety for other drivers depends presumably on moving parts. When these parts wear out, what's the likelihood that drivers get them fixed versus just continuing to drive as-is, melting other drivers' eyeballs?

FidelCashflow 8y ago

I'm in a rural area with literally zero street illumination. I cannot begin to describe my frustration with the blue tint, ultra bright lights, and off-road LED light bars. Install those on every other lifted truck (redneck's a plenty) and night time driving is hazardous. I don't care who installed the lights, whether it was the factory, the current or previous driver/owner. If I can't see because of your lights, they're too damn bright.

seanmcdirmid 8y ago
Lights should block out your night time vision no matter what, that is unavoidable. It is only a matter of how much goes. When driving in rural areas, I sometimes flip off the lights to see much more in my periphery than I could with the lights on. This is dangerous of course, as the lights are meant more to be seen than to see.
- kbutler 8y ago
  > the lights are meant more to be seen than to see. That's definitely false for headlights, fog lights, and for the extra light bars (well, maybe those are often installed as stylistic choices rather than utility). Tail lights, running lights, turn signals are all more to be seen than to help the driver see.
  - seanmcdirmid 8y ago
    Try it, it actually works, especially when there is a full moon.
    - kbutler 8y ago
      I don't dispute that you can see more outside the beam of the light if the light is off. You can see a surprising amount even just by starlight - but I wouldn't want to drive that way, knowing how I've stumbled over things a flashlight would have shown me. Headlights are definitely to help the driver see (cloudy moonless nights, reflective road signs, etc.). Only at twilight or in fog would they be mostly to help you be seen. When it's really dark, running lights would be sufficient for that.
      - seanmcdirmid 8y ago
        When you are traveling in the high desert, going without headlights is a great way to see and avoid deer. The deer aren’t going to be dazed by your headlights, and you can see them before they dash out in front of you on the road. But this isn’t recommended because if another car came along they wouldn’t immediately be able to see you! Light makes you much more visible, and it also allows you to better see a narrow part of the road (more if wide beams are used), but it hides a lot. Of course, being in the high desert in the middle of the night off a freeway, there aren’t many other cars around anyways, if any.
- HeyLaughingBoy 8y ago
  I don't know what rural areas you're driving in, but on the roads to my house, flipping off the headlights would result in total darkness unless the moon's out. You won't see more in your periphery, you just won't see squat.
  - seanmcdirmid 8y ago
    The moon is usually out. I’m referring to eastern Washington scrub land. I’ve also done it when driving through the four corners in the middle of the night, and then it was because of deer.
    - kgwgk 8y ago
      > The moon is usually out. Is it? Do you think that the sun is usually out as well? And note that often the moon is out during the day...
      - seanmcdirmid 8y ago
        For some definition of usually I guess. Whenever I tried this there was enough moon to make it work.
        kgwgk 8y ago
        Probably you noticed that sometimes it was too dark to try :-)
gbrown 8y ago
Add driving a compact, low-to-the-ground car in a world of giant SUVs and pickups to that.

NeedMoreTea 8y ago

Then you can be like Europe which already has legislation very like that proposal! Factory fitted lights will be fine when new, and dazzle as they get older, despite it supposedly on the MOT test list. But, half the daylight running LEDs now fitted are bright enough to dazzle from the second you roll it out of the showroom. The worst case won't be touched at all - that's the thousands who've bought illegally bright aftermarket kits, installed illegally without adaptation or self-levelling, probably in illegal cool colours too. Not a police priority so few will get pulled. Night driving is becoming ever more unpleasant as a result.

kerbalspacepro 8y ago
>Not a police priority so few will get pulled. The American reticence to road cameras is a sign that we all think we're doing something that's illegal (we are). The laws need to be fixed.
- dsfyu404ed 8y ago
  >The laws need to be fixed. If by fixed you mean changed to reflect the behavior of average people so that the average person is not breaking them daily then I fully agree.
  - kerbalspacepro 8y ago
    Yeah, that's what I meant. Increase the speed limits and increase the punishments.

velcrovan 8y ago

Great, will just wait 35 years for this feature to become reliable and work its way down to the majority of the US auto fleet.

RankingMember 8y ago
I think it'll take more like 15-20 years, but yeah, it'll take a long time, and who knows how reliable the tech will be. These laser headlights, for example, are much brighter by default than standard headlights, but their safety for other drivers depends presumably on moving parts. When these parts wear out, what's the likelihood that drivers get them fixed versus just continuing to drive as-is, melting other drivers' eyeballs?