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This is worth considering in the context of driving at night. I used to get terrible eye strain, causing fatigue and sleepiness. Obviously not good. Then I bo

This is worth considering in the context of driving at night. I used to get terrible eye strain, causing fatigue and sleepiness. Obviously not good. Then I bought a Saab 900. It had a 'night mode' that disabled all dials except the speedo. The lights went off and the dial went down. (It came back on if it needed to alert you of something, say low fuel.) [0] This made a radical difference, and led me to the dash-brightness dial that nobody ever touches. Turns out if you turn that way down, reducing the contrast between you and the road, it's actually enough to get you 90% there. Because you probably don't drive a 1992 Saab (more's the pity). [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIfzUqYEkiw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIfzUqYEkiw

deleted 2y ago
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iforgot22 2y ago
My Crown Vic can be pretty dark on the inside. The problem with this is the outside light sources like other headlights, especially with certain cars like Teslas that are super bright and aim high. If anything, I feel less eye strain with more lights inside. But either way, I get a headache any time I drive for >2hr at night, haven't found any solution.
Sohcahtoa82 2y ago
Are there any cars that DON'T have a way to adjust the brightness of the dash lighting? Every car I've ever owned (86 Chrysler, 2000 Suzuki, 2016 Subaru, 2019 Tesla) had a dial to adjust the brightness of the dashboard lighting, or in the case of the Tesla, adjust the brightness of the screen. Sure, I couldn't completely shut anything off like your Saab, but I could easily turn the brightness down pretty dim.
- plun9 2y ago
  It seems if you turn the dial all the way to the left on the Toyota Camry (and maybe other Toyotas and Lexuses), everything will disappear except for the gear position.
smileysteve 2y ago
Related, the color of your dash matters, the modern backlit screens (both dash and entertainment) emit much white and blue light. Mazda and Bmw (traditionally, less the last 5 years) seem to consider human ux more than others - hence orange lighting. Modern ambient (orange or green) can be nice.
- imp0cat 2y ago
  You can usually turn the infotainment screen off completely at night. However, for some manufacturers, this means the screen displays black, but is still powered, ie. the backlight is on, which can be annoing.
  - smileysteve 2y ago
    There is a big difference between "can turn off" and "doesn't emit white or blue light in the cabin at night by default" when it comes to infotainment. Maybe the oleds will allow manufacturers become more conscious of this in the future, but as far as I can see, BMW, Ford (Cadillac), Mb group, and Kia Hyundai, Honda are not consciously limiting their lighting colors.

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iforgot22 2y ago

My Crown Vic can be pretty dark on the inside. The problem with this is the outside light sources like other headlights, especially with certain cars like Teslas that are super bright and aim high. If anything, I feel less eye strain with more lights inside. But either way, I get a headache any time I drive for >2hr at night, haven't found any solution.

Sohcahtoa82 2y ago

Are there any cars that DON'T have a way to adjust the brightness of the dash lighting? Every car I've ever owned (86 Chrysler, 2000 Suzuki, 2016 Subaru, 2019 Tesla) had a dial to adjust the brightness of the dashboard lighting, or in the case of the Tesla, adjust the brightness of the screen. Sure, I couldn't completely shut anything off like your Saab, but I could easily turn the brightness down pretty dim.

plun9 2y ago
It seems if you turn the dial all the way to the left on the Toyota Camry (and maybe other Toyotas and Lexuses), everything will disappear except for the gear position.

smileysteve 2y ago

Related, the color of your dash matters, the modern backlit screens (both dash and entertainment) emit much white and blue light. Mazda and Bmw (traditionally, less the last 5 years) seem to consider human ux more than others - hence orange lighting. Modern ambient (orange or green) can be nice.

imp0cat 2y ago
You can usually turn the infotainment screen off completely at night. However, for some manufacturers, this means the screen displays black, but is still powered, ie. the backlight is on, which can be annoing.
- smileysteve 2y ago
  There is a big difference between "can turn off" and "doesn't emit white or blue light in the cabin at night by default" when it comes to infotainment. Maybe the oleds will allow manufacturers become more conscious of this in the future, but as far as I can see, BMW, Ford (Cadillac), Mb group, and Kia Hyundai, Honda are not consciously limiting their lighting colors.