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Headlight-leveling mechanisms have been around forever, and anyone who has been blinded by an oncoming, loaded pickup truck knows why. Headlights that either m

Headlight-leveling mechanisms have been around forever, and anyone who has been blinded by an oncoming, loaded pickup truck knows why. Headlights that either mechanically or electronically (as found in some motorcycles) point into a turn are a potentially massive safety increase. A headlight-leveling servo can last the lifetime of the vehicle. Not everything is a Chrysler.

SoftTalker 2y ago
I am routinely blinded by the LED headlights on modern cars. They are too white, too bright, and too small (forming a pinpoint bright light which creates terrible glare). They also don't seem to be aimed at the road but straight ahead. You can tell at a glance which cars are older and still have halogen bulb headlights because they are a bit yellow in color and don't create nearly as much glare. I don't know how these newer headlight systems were permitted. They are probably great for the driver but not for any oncoming traffic.
- mdaniel 2y ago
  John Oliver claimed that they ran out of time one season but were going to do an episode on those headlights. I'm still sad they didn't get to it, or at least just dump their source material because I also think it's become terrible
- snozolli 2y ago
  They also don't seem to be aimed at the road but straight ahead. In my opinion, DOT standards allow too much light above the cutoff. It's great for illuminating overhead signs, but with modern HID and LED systems it's just too much. There is still the problem of vehicles approaching each other while cresting a small hill. You'll always be under each other's beam cutoff. Your best hope is adaptive headlights that simply don't illuminate areas where oncoming road users are. Jump up 1:14 in this video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CBUYm5AghVI https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CBUYm5AghVI
Hizonner 2y ago
> A headlight-leveling servo can last the lifetime of the vehicle. Not everything is a Chrysler. Everything can last the life of the vehicle. If you have 10,000 parts, each of which can last the life of the vehicle, there is epsilon chance that all of them will last the life of the vehicle.
- kazinator 2y ago
  If at any point in time t all the parts of the car have lasted so far, that point t is not yet the end of the life of the vehicle. The end of life occurs when a certain subset of the parts have failed, such that it's not economic to replace or repair those parts (except for a retro fanatic who does that because they love that car, which may even be valuable as a collector's item). It's worth mentioning that a gasoline car made with perpetual, indestructible parts will be end-of-lifed when the infrastructure disappears: it cannot be gassed up anywhere. We can regard gasoline as a part that's always requiring periodic replacement. If that's not available, the car is toast.

SoftTalker 2y ago

I am routinely blinded by the LED headlights on modern cars. They are too white, too bright, and too small (forming a pinpoint bright light which creates terrible glare). They also don't seem to be aimed at the road but straight ahead. You can tell at a glance which cars are older and still have halogen bulb headlights because they are a bit yellow in color and don't create nearly as much glare. I don't know how these newer headlight systems were permitted. They are probably great for the driver but not for any oncoming traffic.

mdaniel 2y ago
John Oliver claimed that they ran out of time one season but were going to do an episode on those headlights. I'm still sad they didn't get to it, or at least just dump their source material because I also think it's become terrible
snozolli 2y ago
They also don't seem to be aimed at the road but straight ahead. In my opinion, DOT standards allow too much light above the cutoff. It's great for illuminating overhead signs, but with modern HID and LED systems it's just too much. There is still the problem of vehicles approaching each other while cresting a small hill. You'll always be under each other's beam cutoff. Your best hope is adaptive headlights that simply don't illuminate areas where oncoming road users are. Jump up 1:14 in this video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CBUYm5AghVI https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CBUYm5AghVI

Hizonner 2y ago

> A headlight-leveling servo can last the lifetime of the vehicle. Not everything is a Chrysler. Everything can last the life of the vehicle. If you have 10,000 parts, each of which can last the life of the vehicle, there is epsilon chance that all of them will last the life of the vehicle.

kazinator 2y ago
If at any point in time t all the parts of the car have lasted so far, that point t is not yet the end of the life of the vehicle. The end of life occurs when a certain subset of the parts have failed, such that it's not economic to replace or repair those parts (except for a retro fanatic who does that because they love that car, which may even be valuable as a collector's item). It's worth mentioning that a gasoline car made with perpetual, indestructible parts will be end-of-lifed when the infrastructure disappears: it cannot be gassed up anywhere. We can regard gasoline as a part that's always requiring periodic replacement. If that's not available, the car is toast.