Blinded by the Light, Headlights that is !

[flipper35]

But when they turn off, other drivers can actually see the turn signal working.

[Deschodt]

It's not just headlights.... the tail lights of the last few generations cars are like a thousand suns...
Prius in particular (mounted high) are super annoying for me to follow before 6AM when it's nice and dark... There ought to be a law on max power there.

[rick-l]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

It's not just headlights.... the tail lights of the last few generations cars are like a thousand suns...

That and the fact they are Pulse Width Modulated (LEDs instant on / off) so as your eye scans across you see flicker.

[scottmandue]

Ok, so it is not just me... I feared I was suffering from old man syndrome...

I commute in/out of Lost Angeles and when the sun goes down it is downright painful to drive.

FWIW when I had my Miata I converted it to H4's and never got flashed.

I have to agree with a lot of what is being said here... yeah the new LED headlights are a bit much... but the trucks, aftermarket yahoos, safety freaks who run high beams 24/7 (I use my high beams out in the country but come on, on a 4 lane lit freeway bumper to bumper at 20-30 MPH?).

[WPOZZZ]

We have a lot of Yahoos here with Tacomas, Frontiers and Titans with aftermarket HIDs. Those things are blinding! I think a lot has to do with what YOU are driving as well. In a low sports car or a sedan, lights from oncoming trucks and SUVs would be really bright as they are higher than you. In my Porsche, I notice the bright lights. In the SUV, I notice it, but not as much.

[VINMAN]

Cracks me up how some of you are up in arms over p/u's and suv's having bright lights.

I guess regular cars with blinding lights are ok and get a free pass? I see just as many, if not more of them around here, then I see "murderous trucks and suvs".


.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

They’re ALL bad. Hell, even the emergency vehicles are out of control now. The whole point of having accessory lighting on cop cars, ambulances, etc. is to ensure that people see them and increase safety for responders and motorists approaching or passing an incident scene. They’re now having the opposite effect - the lights are SO bright and obnoxious as to be distracting and to make it impossible to safely approach those vehicles. If a person is walking near one (like a cop, EMT or whomever) there’s NO WAY they’re going to be seen against the visually chaotic backdrop of flashing, hella bright, multicolored lights.

My original comment was about the underlying mindset of ALL people with these things - “screw everyone else, it’s all about me”. That’s what it has become - total self-centeredness and disregard for others. The craze towards every nimrod in a Honda to tow truck driving schlub to minivan jockey having a gazillion lumens of retina-scorching eye destruction aimed at penetrating theough to the back of every oncoming driver’s skull is crazy and unsafe. It’s (like so many other things regarding vehicles) totally unenforced too - yet the popo can make time to sit on their collective asses on the side of the road (at $100 an hour plus bennies) watching road crews lean on shovels or harass commuters for daring to drive 10 mph over the (arbitrary and deliberately low) “speed limit” during rush hour. It’s gotten to the point of total absurdity. There is seemingly NO concern whatsoever about public safety when it comes to vehicle law enforcement - none. It’s certainly not evident. “Inspections” are just fishing expeditions for unscrupulous mechanics to recommend unneeded repairs rather than bona fide safety checks. “For off road use only” accessories are deliberately overlooked and ignored even when it’s obvious they’re used routinely ON road... It’s all a joke.

The lighting craze is one manifestation of this “me first, to hell with you” mentality. The “arms race” that’s been touched off since the mid-2000s with regards to bigger, heavier, higher-profile vehicles is another. In order to “feel safe” in a sea of 4,000-pound SUVs with bumper heights at exactly the window of most “unworthy” regular cars, people feel a need to go out and buy a 5,000-pound SUV with an even HIGHER profile... and on and on it goes to the point of complete craziness. This isn’t by accident - the vehicle manufacturers are quite happily capitalizing on the insecurity of every (rightly!) paranoid driver and targeting ad campaigns for bigger, heavier vehicles at them by touting how macho, how tough and how supposedly safe they are. Hell, why stop there, just sell armored track vehicles and be done with it!

I’m sorry but when people start feeding into this mindset that “I have to ‘protect’ myself by deliberately endangering others”, something is seriously wrong and it’s time to start cracking down on it.

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by VINMAN

Cracks me up how some of you are up in arms over p/u's and suv's having bright lights.

I guess regular cars with blinding lights are ok and get a free pass? I see just as many, if not more of them around here, then I see "murderous trucks and suvs".


.

In my sports car, when they are stopped behind me at a light, another sports car goes into the metal of the trunk. A truck SUV is filling my window.

It is a matter of angle and location.

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

It's not just headlights.... the tail lights of the last few generations cars are like a thousand suns...
Prius in particular (mounted high) are super annoying for me to follow before 6AM when it's nice and dark... There ought to be a law on max power there.

What you are seeing, is a result of regulation based on other sources.

There is a minimum requirement on power that must be met. The new LED's have smaller sources. To meet that power, the smaller sources must be brighter. This means equal power of light appears brighter to your eye as its coming from smaller points. The same power is getting focused tighter, and from smaller pin points.

It needs a new way of regulation from incandescent, and I expect institutes will get on it.

I definitely put the ones with taillights/brakelights that annoy my eyes behind me ASAP.

So what is causing the issue is not a lack of regulation on max power, but rather a regulation on minimum power. Instead of regulating power, it should be looking at peak intensity.

[DanielDudley]

I was taught many years ago to look down and away, and to focus on the white line on the edge of the road. I was also taught to use the lights of the cars behind the upcoming car to see if they highlight objects in the distance by back lighting them. Look at the wash of light in the road, not the headlamps.

Look forward, around, and then down and to the side. Focus on what you can see, and avoid looking at what is blinding you anyway. Never look directly at the approaching headlamps. You should already know what is in the road in front of you anyway, from scanning ahead. Looking at the white line keeps you from looking in the direction of the other drivers lights directly, which is what really screws things up.

Seems to work.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by 74-911

.............. maybe it is just me ?

No, not just you.

Like you suspect it's a combination of your aging eyes, imperfect technology, non-standardized lighting, and height of SUV's/Trucks.

Every headlight system is different and unique these days, and there are slew of lawsuits ranging from too dim to too bright as a result. I suspect many engineering staffs would rather overcompensate than come up short, it's what engineers naturally do without any encouragement.

The Big Problem With LED Headlights

[Bugsinrugs]

Add a wet road to night driving and I'm really blinded. I clipped a road construction sign yesterday around 6 am after a mild rain. I must be getting cataracts.

[Dantilla]

Originally Posted by T77911S

I think they should just stop putting HB's on cars. really no need.

Apparently, you do not live in a rural area.
The road to my house has very sparse traffic, and we see deer about 50% of the time. High beams allow more reaction time when deer are about to cross the road, as they are seen much sooner.

[Dantilla]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

So true... another manifestation of the "it's all about me and fk everyone else" phenomenon. As if 6,000-pound SUVs and pickups intentionally designed to kill other drivers in accidents didn't do that enough already.

...and here all this time I thought my old F250 was designed to haul heavy cargo and tow the trailer.
I max out the 8-foot bed on a regular basis.

But then again, it only weighs about 5000, so I must be okay.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by VINMAN

Cracks me up how some of you are up in arms over p/u's and suv's having bright lights.

I guess regular cars with blinding lights are ok and get a free pass? I see just as many, if not more of them around here, then I see "murderous trucks and suvs".


.

I have friends who off road in the trucks/jeeps... but they don't run the off road lights on the freeway... it is not the "murderous trucks" syndrome but the "insensitive jerk" syndrome of the guy in the lifted truck who runs high beams that shoot right into the back window of an ordinary car.

Frankly I'm more afraid of the soccer mom in a suburban than a guy in his tricked out truck/SUV.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

You obviously missed the point.

There are a lot of people that buy these vehicles due to insecurity (don’t want to be in something smaller if they’re hit by one - the “arms race” phenomenon) or due to marketing hype preying on it. That’s where the misguided mentality lies, not with people that use them for other; more legitimate reasons (although they’re still a potential hazard to others...)

[Dantilla]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

You obviously missed the point.

Didn't miss it, but don't you think your statement: "intentionally designed to kill other drivers" is a bit over the top?
The auto manufacturers offer a whole lineup of different vehicles for different purposes. Trucks are intentionally designed to haul loads, not intentionally designed to kill. Their large size is simply a byproduct of fulfilling their design requirements.

I can't imagine GM/Ford/Chrysler engineers sitting around the table discussing: "How do we kill? We need to reduce our customer base and be sued out of existence."

[Baz]

Timely thread.

It's bad....so bad that I actually wore my sunglasses last night - take them off if I'm on a less frequently traveled road but if I see those blinding lamps headed my way back on they go.

Also......those signs that have lights....people are putting LED's on them and automatically they generate so much collateral light beam....they are actually so distracting to the point of being a hazard to motorists.

I had my dash cam going the other night as I went by the local hospital and there were 4 signs with blinding lights on them. I looked at my video footage when I got home and it's clearly illustrated. There was some F bombs on that footage so I'm going back one night and refilm (sans F bombs) and upload to You Tube and then share with local code enforcement.

[72doug2,2S]

Originally Posted by SiberianDVM

Yes, it's bad.

I bought some yellow tinted prescription driving glasses and they help a lot.

Yes, go with yellow night driving sunglasses. They definitely reduce glare and eye fatigue due to bright lights.

[74-911]

Originally Posted by DanielDudley

I was taught many years ago to look down and away, and to focus on the white line on the edge of the road. I was also taught .......

Daniel,
I think we were all taught that but when I said semi-rural I'm talking narrow roads and some of them have no white lines period, not on the side or middle and if you drop a wheel off the right shoulder you may well end up in a bar ditch you can't get out of.
When you meet one of these blinders you just hope he is paying attention and stays on his side of the road cause you don't really have any place to go if they don't.