6 ms·

Double edged sword - less annoying during the day but now they’re harder to see at night.

by binarymax 4y ago

z3c0 4y ago
Hopefully the lights mounted on every side of the car will combat that.
echlebek 4y ago
Every visible angle of a car has multiple lights on it so I don't think that's actually a double edged sword???
- yamtaddle 4y ago
  Plus tons of reflectors that manage to work well at night without also blinding people during the day.
- rob74 4y ago
  Multiple lights that can all be turned off - except for the so called "daytime driving light", but that's also a double edged sword: many drivers seem to think that if they have these they can get away with leaving the "real" headlights off for longer, but forget that there is no daytime light at the rear of the car. So yeah, a murky-matte-gray car in murky gray weather at twilight is the worst situation for visibility I can think of too...
  - HPsquared 4y ago
    Cars are also festooned with retro-reflectors in case the lights are off, including the license plate.
    - randcraw 4y ago
      Reflectors glow only when somebody else lights them up. Background-colored cars makes it a lot easier for two unlit fools to connect. Head on. Black suffers from this somewhat, but less since backgrounds on the road are rarely black until the hour when headlights become essential. Muted grays are a handicap all day long in any form of suboptimal weather.
    - wiredfool 4y ago
      The ones that are also blacked out?
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
  - jessechahal 4y ago
    I only really see this issue on old vehicles. Most vehicles have lights set to automatically turned on when it gets dark. I very rarely see a new vehicle that doesn't have this enabled and/or daytime running lights. Even newer Honda civics have a feature to automatically turn on high beams when no oncoming traffic at night
    - macintux 4y ago
      That’s not the only setting. I’ve seen many modern cars running around after dark with only DRLs. In my case, I frequently bump the light knob with my knee as I’m entering or exiting.
- ehnto 4y ago
  That's not accurate, so many designs of cars are hard to see the side profile of even with lights. Even if it were, it's not bourne out in studies of paint colour and crash risk. Grey/silver represents an increased crash risk, especially at night. Something I think hinders visibility is also that cars are often amongst dozens of other lights, especially at intersections where it matters most.
  - jabl 4y ago
    Actually the Australian study you quoted earlier showed that the difference in crash risk was largest during daylight hours, as in Australia many people drive with their lights off during daylight. But yes, I suspect if you were to redo that study in a country where people always have the lights on (perhaps due to local law if nothing else), you'd see the biggest difference in poor lightning conditions.
waboremo 4y ago
Don't worry, everyone is using massive high beams as soon as the sun sets now so you'll spot them a mile away.
- mrexroad 4y ago
  Daytime too curiously enough. Though I suspect some of it may be the proliferation of cheap LED replacement “bulbs” being put into housing meant for halogen bulbs and never being aligned/aimed to mimic the factory cutoff.
  - SV_BubbleTime 4y ago
    For the most part, the cutoff is in the reflector. However, you can be really obnoxious with bulbs that are too bright.
    - mrexroad 4y ago
      In most the the aftermarket LED bulbs that I’ve seen, the location of the diode(s) causes light to emit from different point(s) that it would from a halogen bulb, thus reflecting differently than intended. https://ledlightinginfo.com/led-headlights-in-reflector-housing https://ledlightinginfo.com/led-headlights-in-reflector-hous... > “To put it simply, yes. LEDs can be used in reflector headlights BUT (and it’s a big but) if you’re upgrading the bulb, you also need to upgrade the reflector bowl. Failure to do so can blind or dazzle other people. You see, no two reflectors are the same. Each reflector headlight design is meticulously crafted based on the precise specifications of the halogen bulb it intends to use. This ensures there’s a good throw and spread of light. Replacing a halogen bulb with an LED, therefore, throws the reflector off balance. Even minute changes will alter where the light hits the reflector and gets projected out to. Essentially, the light will end up in places it was not intended to. This is exacerbated by the fact that LEDs are a directional light source, whereas halogens are omnidirectional. Unlike halogens, an LED will not illuminate the reflector surface evenly. This has two consequences: Firstly, by shining light only at the reflector’s sides, there’s likely to be blank, hollow, or hot spots in the light beam. Secondly, by failing to illuminate the upper portion of the reflector, the headlight will have reduced distance projection. Instead, the light will scatter above the cut-off point and blind other drivers.“
P5fRxh5kUvp2th 4y ago
I swear to god, this is such a prototypical comment for HN. There is no angle in which you cannot see the headlights of a vehicle. If the vehicle is parked, there is no angle you should be using that wouldn't illuminate the vehicle. driving without your lights on after dark is illegal and black colored vehicles have existed for years without these problems.

Double edged sword - less annoying during the day but now they’re harder to see at night.

z3c0 4y ago

Hopefully the lights mounted on every side of the car will combat that.

echlebek 4y ago

Every visible angle of a car has multiple lights on it so I don't think that's actually a double edged sword???

yamtaddle 4y ago
Plus tons of reflectors that manage to work well at night without also blinding people during the day.
rob74 4y ago
Multiple lights that can all be turned off - except for the so called "daytime driving light", but that's also a double edged sword: many drivers seem to think that if they have these they can get away with leaving the "real" headlights off for longer, but forget that there is no daytime light at the rear of the car. So yeah, a murky-matte-gray car in murky gray weather at twilight is the worst situation for visibility I can think of too...
- HPsquared 4y ago
  Cars are also festooned with retro-reflectors in case the lights are off, including the license plate.
  - randcraw 4y ago
    Reflectors glow only when somebody else lights them up. Background-colored cars makes it a lot easier for two unlit fools to connect. Head on. Black suffers from this somewhat, but less since backgrounds on the road are rarely black until the hour when headlights become essential. Muted grays are a handicap all day long in any form of suboptimal weather.
  - wiredfool 4y ago
    The ones that are also blacked out?
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
- jessechahal 4y ago
  I only really see this issue on old vehicles. Most vehicles have lights set to automatically turned on when it gets dark. I very rarely see a new vehicle that doesn't have this enabled and/or daytime running lights. Even newer Honda civics have a feature to automatically turn on high beams when no oncoming traffic at night
  - macintux 4y ago
    That’s not the only setting. I’ve seen many modern cars running around after dark with only DRLs. In my case, I frequently bump the light knob with my knee as I’m entering or exiting.
ehnto 4y ago
That's not accurate, so many designs of cars are hard to see the side profile of even with lights. Even if it were, it's not bourne out in studies of paint colour and crash risk. Grey/silver represents an increased crash risk, especially at night. Something I think hinders visibility is also that cars are often amongst dozens of other lights, especially at intersections where it matters most.
- jabl 4y ago
  Actually the Australian study you quoted earlier showed that the difference in crash risk was largest during daylight hours, as in Australia many people drive with their lights off during daylight. But yes, I suspect if you were to redo that study in a country where people always have the lights on (perhaps due to local law if nothing else), you'd see the biggest difference in poor lightning conditions.

waboremo 4y ago

Don't worry, everyone is using massive high beams as soon as the sun sets now so you'll spot them a mile away.

mrexroad 4y ago
Daytime too curiously enough. Though I suspect some of it may be the proliferation of cheap LED replacement “bulbs” being put into housing meant for halogen bulbs and never being aligned/aimed to mimic the factory cutoff.
- SV_BubbleTime 4y ago
  For the most part, the cutoff is in the reflector. However, you can be really obnoxious with bulbs that are too bright.
  - mrexroad 4y ago
    In most the the aftermarket LED bulbs that I’ve seen, the location of the diode(s) causes light to emit from different point(s) that it would from a halogen bulb, thus reflecting differently than intended. https://ledlightinginfo.com/led-headlights-in-reflector-housing https://ledlightinginfo.com/led-headlights-in-reflector-hous... > “To put it simply, yes. LEDs can be used in reflector headlights BUT (and it’s a big but) if you’re upgrading the bulb, you also need to upgrade the reflector bowl. Failure to do so can blind or dazzle other people. You see, no two reflectors are the same. Each reflector headlight design is meticulously crafted based on the precise specifications of the halogen bulb it intends to use. This ensures there’s a good throw and spread of light. Replacing a halogen bulb with an LED, therefore, throws the reflector off balance. Even minute changes will alter where the light hits the reflector and gets projected out to. Essentially, the light will end up in places it was not intended to. This is exacerbated by the fact that LEDs are a directional light source, whereas halogens are omnidirectional. Unlike halogens, an LED will not illuminate the reflector surface evenly. This has two consequences: Firstly, by shining light only at the reflector’s sides, there’s likely to be blank, hollow, or hot spots in the light beam. Secondly, by failing to illuminate the upper portion of the reflector, the headlight will have reduced distance projection. Instead, the light will scatter above the cut-off point and blind other drivers.“

P5fRxh5kUvp2th 4y ago

I swear to god, this is such a prototypical comment for HN. There is no angle in which you cannot see the headlights of a vehicle. If the vehicle is parked, there is no angle you should be using that wouldn't illuminate the vehicle. driving without your lights on after dark is illegal and black colored vehicles have existed for years without these problems.