5 ms·

I live in the woods in the northeast US, and also grew up in the 80s-90s in a very rural area and I've owned a number of cars when I was young, some with comica

I live in the woods in the northeast US, and also grew up in the 80s-90s in a very rural area and I've owned a number of cars when I was young, some with comically dim lights. You really don't need the bright lights. You never have. Slow down, look for movement, and use your brights intelligently.

lan321 11mo ago
Slow down is kind of the general tip, but I find it kinda BS. I can drive slowly focusing on the bushes on the way to/from work in bumfuck nowhere, or I can get some beacon of god aux LEDs for cheap and turn night into day.
- everdrive 11mo ago
  > or I can get some beacon of god aux LEDs for cheap and turn night into day. But only if you don't care about other drivers on the road. And of course, how many of those other drivers on the road care about who they're impacting? A lot of them have your attitude.
  - lan321 11mo ago
    My point is about bumfuck nowhere. Places where at night you may or may not see another car for the X km it takes you to get home. That with time people tend to forget they have their high beam bound to the beacon of god, with or without an extra switch, is a separate issue. The light itself makes sense. If there's a constant stream of vehicles I'm not really worried about visibility all that much. The suicidal wildlife is mostly culled, for potholes you can track the person in front...
- afavour 11mo ago
  "I can get some beacon of god aux LEDs for cheap and turn night into day" they said, in a topic entitled "Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright"
  - 867-5309 11mo ago
    don't forget "bumfuck"
- alt227 11mo ago
  > I can get some beacon of god aux LEDs for cheap and turn night into day. And piss all other drivers off around you. This is the whole point of the thread you are posting in, but then if people cant realise or even care when they are blinding people I dont expect them to have fully read or understood the thread article.
macNchz 11mo ago
Growing up in rural New England it seemed that people were constantly hitting deer with their cars—slowing down is obviously a good idea, but every additional foot of headlight distance certainly helps for spotting the glint of an eyeball on the side of the road.
- mrguyorama 11mo ago
  Yes, those people were driving too fast. >every additional foot of headlight distance certainly helps for spotting the glint of an eyeball on the side of the road. Only if you are paying attention in the first place. The reality is that most people hitting deer and moose just are not, or the animal ran out in front of them and there was nothing that could have been done. I dodged many a moose with half burned out incandescent bulbs in shitty sedans in the northest of rural new england. Meanwhile the silly folks who have duct taped ten massive LED lightbars to their fenders still seem to be hitting moose up north, so I just don't buy the "I need more light" argument. https://www.mainepublic.org/environment-and-outdoors/2018-09-24/data-moose-car-collisions-down-more-than-50-percent-in-last-decade-in-maine https://www.mainepublic.org/environment-and-outdoors/2018-09... Note how the DOT doesn't call out vehicle changes. Note also that despite the raw number being only a few thousand moose hits over a decade, you will consistently find that someone who has hit one moose is much more likely to have hit multiple moose. They just aren't attentive drivers. Every single person up north has almost hit a moose. Only some of them routinely keep hitting moose. They are being saved by moose population control.
4MOAisgoodenuf 11mo ago
In a densely wooded area, no. Your sight line is naturally blocked by trees, so a farther throw of light would be wasted In more open areas it can be quite helpful to have greater throw and flood illumination. In the American Midwest, being able to spot ice patches or deer on the interstate with your brights is quite helpful. Normal driving lights have no need for the intensity they have today though
technothrasher 11mo ago
I also live in the woods in the northeast US, also grew up in a very rural area (in the 70s-80s), and I still own a few 70s and 80s cars with comically dim lights. Yeah, they're not good. 1) They're very noticeably worse comparing them back to back to modern cars, and 2) my eyes are no longer young. Can I drive with them? Sure. Is it less safe? You bet.
delaminator 11mo ago
we're not talking about the northeast US and sure, you don't need to drive over 20mph on a 60mph limit road ...

lan321 11mo ago

Slow down is kind of the general tip, but I find it kinda BS. I can drive slowly focusing on the bushes on the way to/from work in bumfuck nowhere, or I can get some beacon of god aux LEDs for cheap and turn night into day.

everdrive 11mo ago
> or I can get some beacon of god aux LEDs for cheap and turn night into day. But only if you don't care about other drivers on the road. And of course, how many of those other drivers on the road care about who they're impacting? A lot of them have your attitude.
- lan321 11mo ago
  My point is about bumfuck nowhere. Places where at night you may or may not see another car for the X km it takes you to get home. That with time people tend to forget they have their high beam bound to the beacon of god, with or without an extra switch, is a separate issue. The light itself makes sense. If there's a constant stream of vehicles I'm not really worried about visibility all that much. The suicidal wildlife is mostly culled, for potholes you can track the person in front...
afavour 11mo ago
"I can get some beacon of god aux LEDs for cheap and turn night into day" they said, in a topic entitled "Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright"
- 867-5309 11mo ago
  don't forget "bumfuck"
alt227 11mo ago
> I can get some beacon of god aux LEDs for cheap and turn night into day. And piss all other drivers off around you. This is the whole point of the thread you are posting in, but then if people cant realise or even care when they are blinding people I dont expect them to have fully read or understood the thread article.

macNchz 11mo ago

Growing up in rural New England it seemed that people were constantly hitting deer with their cars—slowing down is obviously a good idea, but every additional foot of headlight distance certainly helps for spotting the glint of an eyeball on the side of the road.

mrguyorama 11mo ago
Yes, those people were driving too fast. >every additional foot of headlight distance certainly helps for spotting the glint of an eyeball on the side of the road. Only if you are paying attention in the first place. The reality is that most people hitting deer and moose just are not, or the animal ran out in front of them and there was nothing that could have been done. I dodged many a moose with half burned out incandescent bulbs in shitty sedans in the northest of rural new england. Meanwhile the silly folks who have duct taped ten massive LED lightbars to their fenders still seem to be hitting moose up north, so I just don't buy the "I need more light" argument. https://www.mainepublic.org/environment-and-outdoors/2018-09-24/data-moose-car-collisions-down-more-than-50-percent-in-last-decade-in-maine https://www.mainepublic.org/environment-and-outdoors/2018-09... Note how the DOT doesn't call out vehicle changes. Note also that despite the raw number being only a few thousand moose hits over a decade, you will consistently find that someone who has hit one moose is much more likely to have hit multiple moose. They just aren't attentive drivers. Every single person up north has almost hit a moose. Only some of them routinely keep hitting moose. They are being saved by moose population control.

4MOAisgoodenuf 11mo ago

In a densely wooded area, no. Your sight line is naturally blocked by trees, so a farther throw of light would be wasted In more open areas it can be quite helpful to have greater throw and flood illumination. In the American Midwest, being able to spot ice patches or deer on the interstate with your brights is quite helpful. Normal driving lights have no need for the intensity they have today though

technothrasher 11mo ago

I also live in the woods in the northeast US, also grew up in a very rural area (in the 70s-80s), and I still own a few 70s and 80s cars with comically dim lights. Yeah, they're not good. 1) They're very noticeably worse comparing them back to back to modern cars, and 2) my eyes are no longer young. Can I drive with them? Sure. Is it less safe? You bet.

delaminator 11mo ago

we're not talking about the northeast US and sure, you don't need to drive over 20mph on a 60mph limit road ...