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

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#451

Post by HeyLaughingBoy » Tue, Aug 04, 2020, 4:11 PM UTC

speeder wrote: post #393

saalweachter wrote: post #392

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1/8th mile = 1 furlong. Many short races, for feet or horses, that started way back when are some number of furlongs.

Now THAT is an interesting information, never heard of "furlongs" before!

A furlong, the approximate distance that an average draft horse can pull a single-bottom plow before needing a rest, is my favorite measurement because it sounds so grounded in reality. It's just how long the furrow is.

Right next to the parsec, but only because of the Star Wars references :-)

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#452

Post by bsimpson » Tue, Aug 04, 2020, 4:34 PM UTC

OJFord wrote: post #369

bsimpson wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For instance: payments. Europe and Asia got chip cards and tap-to-pay decades before we did, even though Mastercard and Visa took part in their invention. America had credit card infrastructure first, so our payment networks were stuck with it, while other countries could start off with better stuff. Without the consumer demand that Google/Apple Pay (and later coronavirus) created, we still probably wouldn't have wid…

The back of my card wasn't signed until I went to America. Then the 'clerk' 'rang me up' and asked me to sign the back of my card so that she could check it against the receipt I just signed. (Really!) I'm not old enough to have had to do that anywhere else - 'Chip & PIN' was required in the UK from 14 Feb 2006; I'm not sure how long before that it became available/widely used.

I was born in the US. It's very rare for clerks to look at the signature, and we all recognize the absurdity of making someone sign it on the spot.

Some places used to check IDs though.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#453

Post by WarOnPrivacy » Tue, Aug 04, 2020, 4:36 PM UTC

wastedhours wrote: post #416

WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also appropriate for the jackwads who compulsively & pointlessly slam on their high-beams, whenever their headlight field captures a pedestrian (who's on the sidewalk, way away from the road). The Astrolux MF01 was all but made for this. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32976932742.html

You say that, but I was once driving on a dark, national limit road through the forest one night - and had turned off my full beams because I'd just passed a run of cars coming the other way. I caught a glimpse of a pedestrian and instinctively turned them back on just to catch a glimpse of a (complete f'king moronic) person in full black pushing his bike (with no reflectors) in the road talking to the pedestrian. Af…

>as a pedestrian I'd rather have a full beam to the face than think a car might not have seen me, even if I'm safely on the pavement.

This sounds suspiciously like "There Are No Bad Safety Measures"

How are you at risk from a driver not seeing you, if you aren't anywhere near the road?

If a driver has to travel that far off the roadway to reach you, that driver's issue isn't low visibility.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#454

Post by WarOnPrivacy » Tue, Aug 04, 2020, 4:51 PM UTC

WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #453

wastedhours wrote: post #416

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You say that, but I was once driving on a dark, national limit road through the forest one night - and had turned off my full beams because I'd just passed a run of cars coming the other way. I caught a glimpse of a pedestrian and instinctively turned them back on just to catch a glimpse of a (complete f'king moronic) person in full black pushing his bike (with no reflectors) in the road talking to the pedestrian. Af…

>as a pedestrian I'd rather have a full beam to the face than think a car might not have seen me, even if I'm safely on the pavement. This sounds suspiciously like "There Are No Bad Safety Measures" How are you at risk from a driver not seeing you, if you aren't anywhere near the road? If a driver has to travel that far off the roadway to reach you, that driver's issue isn't low visibility.

PSA: A situation is what it is, not what it could be.

Another term for "What It Could Be" is "What It Isn't".

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#455

Post by nullc » Tue, Aug 04, 2020, 4:51 PM UTC

pandaman wrote: post #434

nullc wrote: post #359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, if you don't mind the driver having to watch via a HUD there is range-gated imaging which does exactly the thing you're assuming is impossible. :P

I assume you either don't understand what range-gated imaging is or how the headlights work.

My comment didn't have anything to do with the headlights except pointing out that the 'impossibility' of not illuminating the drops in the air isn't actually an impossibility with sufficiently crazy hardware. -- A fact I expected other readers to find interesting.

My apologies if it sounded to you as something I was saying could realistically be done with projector headlights.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#456

Post by wastedhours » Tue, Aug 04, 2020, 4:54 PM UTC

WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #453

wastedhours wrote: post #416

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You say that, but I was once driving on a dark, national limit road through the forest one night - and had turned off my full beams because I'd just passed a run of cars coming the other way. I caught a glimpse of a pedestrian and instinctively turned them back on just to catch a glimpse of a (complete f'king moronic) person in full black pushing his bike (with no reflectors) in the road talking to the pedestrian. Af…

>as a pedestrian I'd rather have a full beam to the face than think a car might not have seen me, even if I'm safely on the pavement. This sounds suspiciously like "There Are No Bad Safety Measures" How are you at risk from a driver not seeing you, if you aren't anywhere near the road? If a driver has to travel that far off the roadway to reach you, that driver's issue isn't low visibility.

I misworded my point on that bit, I more meant I'd rather take a full-beam to the face when I'm on the pavement if it means the driver is aware of the hazards around them.

Occasionally (and in my experience it is only a handful of poor actors compared with the number of cars on the road), I'd take getting intense glare as a pedestrian if it works in everyone's safety.

Appreciate it's a different call for cyclists etc, but as a pedestrian I'd welcome the trade off more than drivers not using their full beams when they deem it neccessary.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#457

Post by WarOnPrivacy » Tue, Aug 04, 2020, 4:56 PM UTC

usrusr wrote: post #293

ARandomerDude wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sure temporarily blinding someone coming toward you in a vehicle is a wise tantrum to throw?

Yes. A four-wheeler will just go on straight ahead in a stable and predictable manner when I stop giving control input. But a two wheeler will quickly come off course when I lose visual feedback because it's a dynamic balance that requires continuous recalibration. It's a very good idea to signal that you are getting blinded.

These are very good points.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#458

Post by wastedhours » Tue, Aug 04, 2020, 4:58 PM UTC

WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #454

WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #453

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>as a pedestrian I'd rather have a full beam to the face than think a car might not have seen me, even if I'm safely on the pavement. This sounds suspiciously like "There Are No Bad Safety Measures" How are you at risk from a driver not seeing you, if you aren't anywhere near the road? If a driver has to travel that far off the roadway to reach you, that driver's issue isn't low visibility.

PSA: A situation is what it is, not what it could be. Another term for "What It Could Be" is "What It Isn't".

We have a number of tools at our disposal as drivers to minimise bad situations. Personally I think overuse of high-beams is more valid than under-use in quite a number of circumstances (and exceptionally bad in others).

Your comment implied that drivers who instinctively switch on their high beams to get a sense of a situation where they need more visual input are "jackwads" which I tried to highlight isn't the reason they're doing it.

Wanting to see more when you're driving a massive piece of machinery at decent speeds isn't something that makes you an outright asshole.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#459

Post by Nursie » Tue, Aug 04, 2020, 5:12 PM UTC

bsimpson wrote: post #253

gautamcgoel wrote: post #238

So, basically the same reason we have bad everything . Our institutions and regulations are outdated relative to the rest of the world, so we get stuck with shitty stuff.

For instance: payments. Europe and Asia got chip cards and tap-to-pay decades before we did, even though Mastercard and Visa took part in their invention. America had credit card infrastructure first, so our payment networks were stuck with it, while other countries could start off with better stuff. Without the consumer demand that Google/Apple Pay (and later coronavirus) created, we still probably wouldn't have wid…

> America had credit card infrastructure first, so our payment networks were stuck with it

The UK had well developed credit card infrastructure before Chip and Pin too. This is not the reason.

The US market was just massively more resistant to change, and was able to put a stop to the banks' liability shift tactics.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#460

Post by Nursie » Tue, Aug 04, 2020, 5:15 PM UTC

nemo44x wrote: post #380

bsimpson wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For instance: payments. Europe and Asia got chip cards and tap-to-pay decades before we did, even though Mastercard and Visa took part in their invention. America had credit card infrastructure first, so our payment networks were stuck with it, while other countries could start off with better stuff. Without the consumer demand that Google/Apple Pay (and later coronavirus) created, we still probably wouldn't have wid…

Yeah that’s mainly correct I believe. The USA had an earlier electronic system well established by the time chip and pin was available. The costs to switch would have been greater than the amount of fraud prevented. We see this in other systems like NYC’s metrocard VS London’s Oyster. Metrocard was an early system that works reasonably well. Now the MTA is deploying a new modern system as metro gets near its planned…

>The USA had an earlier electronic system well established by the time chip and pin was available.

So did many other places.

> I think the USA has been far more innovative with credit cards that give rewards.

US credit card schemes charge merchants massively more, so yes, these fees can then be used to give "rewards". EU cards have lower rewards because the fees are limited by law.

It's not something to be proud of. You're paying higher prices as a result.