9 ms·

Most people these days drive with their LED high beams on all the time.

by sjg007 5y ago

genewitch 5y ago
I don't understand how a car with detectors that dim mirrors can't also turn your high beams off when they detect another car in front of you. Easily 5/8ths or more of every vehicle I pass at night has their high beams on, and in areas without fog lines it gets old in a hurry - and dangerous.
- sgtnoodle 5y ago
  Our 2020 GMC Acadia and the equivalent Ford Explorer both automatically turn high beams on and off depending on nearby traffic. It's presumably based on a forward looking camera in front of the rear view mirror.
- wwalexander 5y ago
  This feature is present in at least a couple of Toyota’s newer models that I’ve had the chance to drive (specifically a Prius Prime and RAV4 Prime).
  - nereye 5y ago
    Ford Edge (US market) has this too when in 'automatic' mode for the lights. It seems to work reasonably well though it sometimes lags a bit so other drivers probably find it somewhat annoying.
- progman32 5y ago
  Where do y'all live? That doesn't seem to be the case here in the Seattle area. I've noticed modern cars' headlight look like high beams sometimes, even on the low beam setting.
- hadlock 5y ago
  This technology exists in Europe, it's not allowed in the US due to very specific wording about headlight laws here, but very recently regulations were changed to allow for it. Not sure if it was in the infrastructure bill that already passed, or the follow-up one they're currently trying to pass. Most BMW (and probably Mercedes, Audi etc) with adaptive LED lights built after ~2017 have the hardware for this for use in international markets, and could probably be retrofitted with a firmware update unlocking it for use in the US market.
  - kube-system 5y ago
    Auto high-beams is absolutely allowed in the US and common on new cars. I've had a couple cars with this feature.
    - hadlock 5y ago
      My current car has auto high beams. Beam shaping is different technology, rather than a boolean operation, it allows the computer to turn off specific LEDs that are pointed at oncoming traffic, leaving the road ahead of you fully illuminated without blinding oncomming traffic
      - kube-system 5y ago
        The GP specifically referred to a vehicle that would "turn your high beams off"
  - clort 5y ago
    This technology is not great on a windy[1] european road though. I rented a car recently and noticed that it was auto-dipping but the problem is it dips once it has detected the oncoming vehicle. That is fractionally too late as the driver has already been dazzled. Manually, I would dip the headlights just before the car came into view because I could see the headlights looming. [1] a road with lots of turns, not one where the wind is blowing
    - jagger27 5y ago
      “Winding road” is a nice way to disambiguate from gusty.
  - stronglikedan 5y ago
    > it's not allowed in the US My MDX does it, and they have had that capability since at least 2017.
    - sbradford26 5y ago
- hermitdev 5y ago
  > I don't understand how a car with detectors that dim mirrors can't also turn your high beams off when they detect another car in front of you. Some can, though I have no idea on how common it is. My 2013 Dodge can do this. Unfortunately, it's also pretty terrible at it, resulting in a lot of on, off, on again, not quite flashing. e.g., a slight bend in the road, it doesn't seen anyone if front, turns high beams on, only for the road to bend back and all of a sudden your brights are shining in someone's face as the road bends back again. Sometimes, I've seen even changing lanes be enough for it to turn brights back on again. It also doesn't seem to give as much consideration when following someone as leaves them on way too close for me. I live in an urban enough area with plenty of street lighting anyway, so I tend to use the auto high beam feature almost never (it can be toggled with a position of the turn signal lever). I do, however, use the auto-on lights in general, though. Nice to just not have to worry about turning lights on (or off). I've also been pulled over before for flashing my brights at a police officer. It was entirely unintentional, though. I was a relatively new and young driver (17 or 18 yrs old at the time) and I was driving an older vehicle that still had a foot operated switch for the high beams that tended to stick.
- t0mas88 5y ago
  BMW does "automatic high beams" in Europe, they turn on when there are no cars ahead or opposite and off when it detects a car through the cameras. I've had it since 2006, so it probably existed a few years before that.
ddingus 5y ago
A switch to low and back will still be seen as a flash. Edit: I do actually see this on the road all the time where I live. Just saying.
cryptonector 5y ago
I hate this. It's incredibly dangerous and annoying.
oxfeed65261 5y ago
I see the opposite problem more often (Bay Area): cars with always-on daytime running lights that don’t turn on their headlights (and the corresponding taillights) at night. I flash my lights at them but this rarely seems to help.
- wcunning 5y ago
  This is a huge problem here in Michigan, too. Many cars come with automatic headlights, but many do not, particularly of a certain age, and the LED DRLs seem to be bright enough that people do not realize that they don't have their full lights on. I find this particularly infuriating in ugly snowstorms and the part of the year where the sun sets before 5:00pm... sigh
  - kube-system 5y ago
    My theory is that these cars have multiple drivers. Driver A is used to vehicles with manual headlights and always turns their lights off when they get out. Driver B is used to "everything is automatic" and touches nothing when they get in.
    - wcunning 5y ago
      This is very possible -- I had this exact situation with my girlfriend until I managed to get her used to leaving it in automatic mode.
- kube-system 5y ago
  Cars have too many features. And I don't mean this in a, "I'm a luddite and wish cars were simple" type of way. I seriously think the number of controls on a vehicle (and burden of the owners manual) is so great that it is causing safety issues. My car has more controls for the lights alone than my first vehicle had for everything. Literally. "Automatic" features like headlights were supposed to make us safer, but I think that is backfiring as it is causing cognitive overload and making people complacent.
  - deleted 5y ago
foolfoolz 5y ago
in zanzibar they all have their brights on at night. everyone is blinded

Most people these days drive with their LED high beams on all the time.

by sjg007 5y ago

Most people these days drive with their LED high beams on all the time.

I don't understand how a car with detectors that dim mirrors can't also turn your high beams off when they detect another car in front of you. Easily 5/8ths or more of every vehicle I pass at night has their high beams on, and in areas without fog lines it gets old in a hurry - and dangerous.

sgtnoodle 5y ago
Our 2020 GMC Acadia and the equivalent Ford Explorer both automatically turn high beams on and off depending on nearby traffic. It's presumably based on a forward looking camera in front of the rear view mirror.
wwalexander 5y ago
This feature is present in at least a couple of Toyota’s newer models that I’ve had the chance to drive (specifically a Prius Prime and RAV4 Prime).
- nereye 5y ago
  Ford Edge (US market) has this too when in 'automatic' mode for the lights. It seems to work reasonably well though it sometimes lags a bit so other drivers probably find it somewhat annoying.
progman32 5y ago
Where do y'all live? That doesn't seem to be the case here in the Seattle area. I've noticed modern cars' headlight look like high beams sometimes, even on the low beam setting.
hadlock 5y ago
This technology exists in Europe, it's not allowed in the US due to very specific wording about headlight laws here, but very recently regulations were changed to allow for it. Not sure if it was in the infrastructure bill that already passed, or the follow-up one they're currently trying to pass. Most BMW (and probably Mercedes, Audi etc) with adaptive LED lights built after ~2017 have the hardware for this for use in international markets, and could probably be retrofitted with a firmware update unlocking it for use in the US market.
- kube-system 5y ago
  Auto high-beams is absolutely allowed in the US and common on new cars. I've had a couple cars with this feature.
  - hadlock 5y ago
    My current car has auto high beams. Beam shaping is different technology, rather than a boolean operation, it allows the computer to turn off specific LEDs that are pointed at oncoming traffic, leaving the road ahead of you fully illuminated without blinding oncomming traffic
    - kube-system 5y ago
      The GP specifically referred to a vehicle that would "turn your high beams off"
- clort 5y ago
  This technology is not great on a windy[1] european road though. I rented a car recently and noticed that it was auto-dipping but the problem is it dips once it has detected the oncoming vehicle. That is fractionally too late as the driver has already been dazzled. Manually, I would dip the headlights just before the car came into view because I could see the headlights looming. [1] a road with lots of turns, not one where the wind is blowing
  - jagger27 5y ago
    “Winding road” is a nice way to disambiguate from gusty.
- stronglikedan 5y ago
  > it's not allowed in the US My MDX does it, and they have had that capability since at least 2017.
  - sbradford26 5y ago
hermitdev 5y ago
> I don't understand how a car with detectors that dim mirrors can't also turn your high beams off when they detect another car in front of you. Some can, though I have no idea on how common it is. My 2013 Dodge can do this. Unfortunately, it's also pretty terrible at it, resulting in a lot of on, off, on again, not quite flashing. e.g., a slight bend in the road, it doesn't seen anyone if front, turns high beams on, only for the road to bend back and all of a sudden your brights are shining in someone's face as the road bends back again. Sometimes, I've seen even changing lanes be enough for it to turn brights back on again. It also doesn't seem to give as much consideration when following someone as leaves them on way too close for me. I live in an urban enough area with plenty of street lighting anyway, so I tend to use the auto high beam feature almost never (it can be toggled with a position of the turn signal lever). I do, however, use the auto-on lights in general, though. Nice to just not have to worry about turning lights on (or off). I've also been pulled over before for flashing my brights at a police officer. It was entirely unintentional, though. I was a relatively new and young driver (17 or 18 yrs old at the time) and I was driving an older vehicle that still had a foot operated switch for the high beams that tended to stick.
t0mas88 5y ago
BMW does "automatic high beams" in Europe, they turn on when there are no cars ahead or opposite and off when it detects a car through the cameras. I've had it since 2006, so it probably existed a few years before that.

ddingus 5y ago

A switch to low and back will still be seen as a flash. Edit: I do actually see this on the road all the time where I live. Just saying.

cryptonector 5y ago

I hate this. It's incredibly dangerous and annoying.

oxfeed65261 5y ago

I see the opposite problem more often (Bay Area): cars with always-on daytime running lights that don’t turn on their headlights (and the corresponding taillights) at night. I flash my lights at them but this rarely seems to help.

wcunning 5y ago
This is a huge problem here in Michigan, too. Many cars come with automatic headlights, but many do not, particularly of a certain age, and the LED DRLs seem to be bright enough that people do not realize that they don't have their full lights on. I find this particularly infuriating in ugly snowstorms and the part of the year where the sun sets before 5:00pm... sigh
- kube-system 5y ago
  My theory is that these cars have multiple drivers. Driver A is used to vehicles with manual headlights and always turns their lights off when they get out. Driver B is used to "everything is automatic" and touches nothing when they get in.
  - wcunning 5y ago
    This is very possible -- I had this exact situation with my girlfriend until I managed to get her used to leaving it in automatic mode.
kube-system 5y ago
Cars have too many features. And I don't mean this in a, "I'm a luddite and wish cars were simple" type of way. I seriously think the number of controls on a vehicle (and burden of the owners manual) is so great that it is causing safety issues. My car has more controls for the lights alone than my first vehicle had for everything. Literally. "Automatic" features like headlights were supposed to make us safer, but I think that is backfiring as it is causing cognitive overload and making people complacent.
- deleted 5y ago

foolfoolz 5y ago

in zanzibar they all have their brights on at night. everyone is blinded