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Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

caranddriver.com

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Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#121
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.

IDK, I’ve seen some very incredibly lights on what look to be modern, unmodified vehicles.

Since you don’t seem to have any statistics to go with your assertion that most of the bright lights are because of aftermarket installations, I have no reason to believe it over any of the alternatives such as:

- Lights being too bright from the factory (because some regulations don’t specific peak lumens). - Lights being misaligned from the factory (a small amount makes a big difference).

Or the most likely to me:

- People carrying a significant amount of weight in the back of the vehicle. This would be most commonly seen on trucks and SUVs, but could also be a smaller car with something heavy in the trunk.

Not sure on the authority of this resource, but they list the most common reason headlights would need to be adjusted as:

https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/how-to-adjust-your-head...

> In most cases, headlights simply slip out of adjustment over time. In fact, most headlights will need to be adjusted every few years. Here are a couple of reasons your headlights may be pointed at the sky: > > Reason 1: Too much weight. One of the most common reasons that headlights are not shining on the road or are blinding oncoming drivers is due to excess weight in the trunk or cargo area. This will push down the rear of the vehicle enough to tilt the front of it up, along with the light beams.

In a case like this a ticket or warning from a traffic cop would likely be sufficient for someone to adjust their headlamps, but you instead jump to jailing someone? That’s a bit extreme.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Indeed, my Bentley has this feature but my Ferrari and Lamborghini do not.

I'm not sure if you're trying to mock the fact that I said I had a Land Rover. That's not very kind.

I mean an old Land Rover Defender - a working vehicle that rattles and doesn't even have air bags. It still has a headlight adjustment wheel as it's a functional feature, not a luxury.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#123

This thread just made me realize that it's probably been almost six months since I have driven at night.

I also just avoid driving at night these days. Even on road trips I deliberately start at sunrise and end at sunset. Among the reasons is awful headlights. I don't drive at night unless I have to.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, my Bentley has this feature but my Ferrari and Lamborghini do not.

I'm not sure if you're trying to mock the fact that I said I had a Land Rover. That's not very kind. I mean an old Land Rover Defender - a working vehicle that rattles and doesn't even have air bags. It still has a headlight adjustment wheel as it's a functional feature, not a luxury.

Those are awesome. Yes, I was just teasing a bit. I hope someone got a chuckle out of it. Hope everyone has a great day. Stay safe!

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#126
post #57
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…

I challenge you on the assertion that this trend of illegal lighting is many times worse than obnoxiously loud exhaust. Life safety is certainly a bigger factor with the headlights, but all other aspects are orders of magnitude more disruptive on the acoustic side. Having bright-as-sun headlights driving around town at 3am is not going to cause a lot of trouble for most residents (as they would be indoors sleeping pe…

Let's see, what's worse? Being rudely awakened, or being maimed/killed by a driver who literally cannot see?

I suppose in terms of net impact to society, there's no way of deciding without knowing in advance if the hypothetical victim is Mother Theresa or Hitler, so it's kind of a wash.

But for me (and feel free to disagree), I'm going to err on the side of preventing a devastating impact to a small number, over a minor annoyance to many.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#127
post #28

Even more importantly: Why is America still stuck with cars that honk when they're locked and that have indicator lights flashing in the same color as the tail-lights? One is a nuisance, the other one a straight-up safety issue.

I have never been able to fathom why anyone thought that hazard lights and turn indicators should be mutually exclusive.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#129
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good LED headlights aren’t blinding. It’s often aftermarket nonsense that causes problems. As someone else mentioned, the culprits aren’t often LEDs; there are some crazy bulbs out there, and the people using them just don’t care if they’re blinding other drivers. It’s ridiculous.

There doesn't appear to be any dearth of traffic enforcement in general in the United States. They carry special devices with them just to measure your window tint, FFS. Is there some reason they can't be incentivized to enforce actual safety laws like this one, too (or instead)?

Oh, I know this one. Racism! Tint rules give plausible deniability for pulling someone over for driving while black. It's not about safety at all.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#130

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.

We also missed out on the yellow sodium headlight craze in Europe during the 80s or 90s. Headlights in the USA must be whitish in color. Anyone know why?

Yellow headlights used to be a legal requirement for driving in France and we had to put yellow film on when driving there until the EU standardized white headlights.

Apparently it was to reduce dazzle and glare: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_yellow

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