Why is America stuck with bad headlights? • Hacker News Board

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#71

Post by ceejayoz » Mon, Aug 03, 2020, 8:32 PM UTC

detaro wrote: post #62

bstar77 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I lived in Canada we had to turn on the honk mode because there were too many people using devices that block remote vehicle locking. The honk is an obvious indicator that the car did, indeed, lock.

Too annoying to look at the car for the 2 seconds it takes to see the indicators flash, which seems to be the common alternative?

I like to use the honk to locate my car when I've forgotten where I parked it. Unfortunately, my 2016 Corolla makes a beep inaudible from more than a spot or two away. :-(

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#72

Post by a2tech » Mon, Aug 03, 2020, 8:32 PM UTC

serf wrote: post #14

groups like Audi/Porsche/BMW have trouble bringing their fancy LED setups to America due to laws pertaining to high / low beams -- meanwhile every Jack and Jill on the road has glaringly illegal aftermarket Xenon bulb setups in refractor headlight housings rather than proper projectors, blinding the hell out of everyone on the road, and the police seem to do nothing about it. I mean, hey -- i'm usually happy about au…

My parents live near Lake Michigan (although decidedly NOT on the lake) and I made the mistake of visiting them last weekend and driving home on Sunday night when everyone was migrating from their lake house back to the city.

I think I spent roughly half the drive back with stars in my eyes from people in Audis and BMWs blowing by me with their ridiculously bright headlights. If I made the mistake of checking my blindspot at the wrong moment of glancing in the side mirror when one of them was blowing by me I'd be left half blind.

I don't know whether they were driving with their high beams on accidentally on a crowded expressway or if their lights were just that bright but it was a damned menace. Give me shittier yellow old style bulbs any day over that.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#73

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Aug 03, 2020, 8:32 PM UTC

dominotw wrote: post #44

aaomidi wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what is with Americans and jumping up at just jailing people? jesus christ you don't need to jail people because they used bright lights.

shows basic lack of concern for other people's lives on the road, same as drunk driving. > because they used bright lights. Why are people doing this in the first place. I don't understand.

[deleted]

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#74

Post by adammunich » Mon, Aug 03, 2020, 8:34 PM UTC

acd wrote: post #69

Some European cars are sold with laser head lights as an optional extra. As a driver meeting usch a vehicle I ponder if that is safe for my eyesight? After recent scandals I don’t fully trust the car industry to self regulate as they have mislead consumers before for example Dieselgate. Thus I think it’s good that there is car safety regulations but that led lights probably should be allowed. I think too many consume…

Can you provide an example? Last I checked white light lasers were $16,000

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#75

Post by boring_twenties » Mon, Aug 03, 2020, 8:35 PM UTC

cbg0 wrote: post #15

A friend of mine has this type of headlights on his BMW, and while they are very cool at night with the adaptive beams that light the road without blinding other drivers, I can't say that I find them to be a must-have, and I'd be hard-pressed to pay the premium to get them on my car compared to my current xenon lights that can only corner as I turn the wheel. Unless you're frequently driving at night, you'll be just…

So I paid around $2k for mine. Most people thought I was crazy. But, living at the time in an area with a lot of dark, wooded roads as well as what seemed to me to be an extreme deer overpopulation, I don't regret it one bit.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#76

Post by sandworm101 » Mon, Aug 03, 2020, 8:39 PM UTC

a2tech wrote: post #72

serf wrote: post #14

groups like Audi/Porsche/BMW have trouble bringing their fancy LED setups to America due to laws pertaining to high / low beams -- meanwhile every Jack and Jill on the road has glaringly illegal aftermarket Xenon bulb setups in refractor headlight housings rather than proper projectors, blinding the hell out of everyone on the road, and the police seem to do nothing about it. I mean, hey -- i'm usually happy about au…

My parents live near Lake Michigan (although decidedly NOT on the lake) and I made the mistake of visiting them last weekend and driving home on Sunday night when everyone was migrating from their lake house back to the city. I think I spent roughly half the drive back with stars in my eyes from people in Audis and BMWs blowing by me with their ridiculously bright headlights. If I made the mistake of checking my blin…

Lake country + Sunday night = high beams.

When people improperly load vehicles, especially when towing things like boats, the headlights tip upwards. You were probably seeing overloaded vehicles, trailers with high tongue weights because they pushed everything to the front rather than center the cargo over the axle. That pushes the back of the truck down and the headlights up.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#77

Post by rootusrootus » Mon, Aug 03, 2020, 8:40 PM UTC

adammunich wrote: post #74

acd wrote: post #69

Some European cars are sold with laser head lights as an optional extra. As a driver meeting usch a vehicle I ponder if that is safe for my eyesight? After recent scandals I don’t fully trust the car industry to self regulate as they have mislead consumers before for example Dieselgate. Thus I think it’s good that there is car safety regulations but that led lights probably should be allowed. I think too many consume…

Can you provide an example? Last I checked white light lasers were $16,000

They don't use white lasers. They use blue lasers, which are focused by mirrors on a yellow phosphor lens to make white light.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#78

Post by notacoward » Mon, Aug 03, 2020, 8:42 PM UTC

serf wrote: post #14

groups like Audi/Porsche/BMW have trouble bringing their fancy LED setups to America due to laws pertaining to high / low beams -- meanwhile every Jack and Jill on the road has glaringly illegal aftermarket Xenon bulb setups in refractor headlight housings rather than proper projectors, blinding the hell out of everyone on the road, and the police seem to do nothing about it. I mean, hey -- i'm usually happy about au…

Even the came-with-the-car headlights are often dangerously bright, no need to assume they're aftermarket.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#79

Post by rootusrootus » Mon, Aug 03, 2020, 8:43 PM UTC

chrisseaton wrote: post #30

coding123 wrote: post #4

Even more idiotic is my truck. I put a camper on it. I can't drive it at night because the weight of the camper tilts the entire truck back just a bit so that the head lights are aimed right at driver's eyes even on the lowbeams. Everyone flashes me and gets pissed off. Hopefully Adaptive headlights account for things like this.

I would say there is almost certainly a little wheel somewhere on your dashboard to adjust them. My Land Rover has this.

Not if they are halogens. I've only seen manual adjustment on HID-equipped cars, and only older ones. Most anything modern is auto-leveling.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#80

Post by ChainOfFools » Mon, Aug 03, 2020, 8:43 PM UTC

vsareto wrote: post #70

decafninja wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

re: "aftermarket xenon bulb setups" Is this still a big problem? While I would have agreed with you, say, back in the 2000s when the whole "import tuner" craze was in full swing, I don't think this is popular anymore. The car mod scene seems to be close to extinct now, with whats left being a lot less crazy than those in the past.

You will see them far more often on large trucks in the USA these days. Especially true for midwest drives across long stretches at night where the brightness is much more annoying than in the middle of a city. If the truck is lifted, the brightest points of the light can hit you from further away, worsening the problem. It is also bad when someone is behind you with this setup, especially lifted trucks. Some cars ha…

I've started to see some of those lifted trucks (almost always white, for some reason) with LED strip arrays mounted into the front grill fascia at just the right height to glare directly at the eye level of passenger cars.