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Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

bbc.com

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Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#221

Post by mnw21cam »

sanex wrote: post #82
macintux wrote: post #6

Meanwhile, brake lights and running lights are frequently too dim because of an aesthetic obsession with "blacking out" tail lights.

Honestly I'm seeing the opposite. Some new cars, I THINK Camry's, have taillights so bright it's blinding to wait behind one at a stoplight. They don't need to shine just glow so you can see them.

I have never understood why everyone seems to immediately forget everything in their driving lessons as soon as they pass their test. When you're waiting at a red light, you're meant to have the hand brake on (which does not illuminate the brake lights), not your foot on the brake, unless you know that the light is going to turn green very soon, or you're trying to catch the attention of someone coming up behind who looks like they haven't seen that you have stopped.

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#222

Post by mingus88 »

delaminator wrote: post #80
everdrive wrote: post #10

I understand that currently this is sort of a collective action problem, but I'm a bit baffled why people ever thought they needed brighter headlights in the first place. In the city, it's so bright that you don't even need headlights to see whatsoever. When cars started automatically dimming the dash via a light sensor, there was actually a period of time where I totally forgot to turn on my headlights because thing…

> Out in the country, you still don't really need brighter headlights. I guess you don't actually drive at night in the countryside then. You need lights to see where the road is, not where pedestrians might be - on none existent footpaths

All cars in the U.S. used the same headlights up until the early 80s. You could literally walk into the auto parts store and buy a headlight to replace yours, regardless of make and model

Somehow we all did ok back then with standard high/low beams from lights which are very dim and warm compared to the harsh white LED lights of today

It seems to me that this is just another example of the arms race of modern cars. You need a big SUV to feel safe on a road full of SUVs and trucks. You need an array of dazzling LEDs to compete with every other car out there. And we all lose.

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#223

Post by greenavocado »

whalesalad wrote: post #160

Related: I moved to rural Michigan and the number of people who will be riding my ass on a late night with their high beams on is astounding. Or people who turn their high beams on in the snow/fog.

That's why you need 300 watts of rear facing flood lights on a switch.

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#224

Post by everdrive »

Aurornis wrote: post #185
everdrive wrote: post #10

I understand that currently this is sort of a collective action problem, but I'm a bit baffled why people ever thought they needed brighter headlights in the first place. In the city, it's so bright that you don't even need headlights to see whatsoever. When cars started automatically dimming the dash via a light sensor, there was actually a period of time where I totally forgot to turn on my headlights because thing…

> The road lines are actually reflective, so it's not as if you'll struggle to see the road lines. And generally speaking out in the country, there won't be pedestrian foot traffic, so it's not as if you need the bright lights for them. Reading these comments is a reminder that a lot of people aren’t familiar with the diversity of roads and environments across the country and around the world. Painted reflective road…

>However, downplaying the challenges of country road driving is weird.

This is a total non sequitur, but we live in the country, and we had a few friends who had only ever lived in the city. A few of them independently expressed anxiety about visiting us due to needing to drive on "curvy country roads." I'm not making a broader point here, but I'd never heard this concern expressed before and was really surprised that it was a big obstacle for some people.

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#225

Post by globular-toast »

lan321 wrote: post #89
oldjim798 wrote: post #35

Desperately we need to reign in car "style" choices like this. Beyond headlights being too bright, lift kits should be banned and tint regulations should be enforced. Same with sound regulations. Public roads are not race tracks; they are for people.

What bothers you about tints? I've never bothered to get one since it's illegal where I'm at but the new ones seem pretty cool for cave dwellers who fear the light. They tint well during the day but you can still see at night from what I've seen on friends cars.

I could talk about eye contact and how using the road only works if we cooperate but, more than anything, I just find a heavily tinted windscreen to be antisocial. It's like the ultimate form of bullying. Driving around in a killing machine without your victims even being able to see you.

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#226

Post by vegancap »

I was at a junction the other day, there was some new Audi EV at the other side of the junction and I couldn't see a damn thing. I've got perfect 20/20 vision, never had any form of eye problem ever in my life, and I was completely blinded. I'm convinced if they'd turned the full beams on, I'd have disintegrated.

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#227

Post by arethuza »

everdrive wrote: post #10

I understand that currently this is sort of a collective action problem, but I'm a bit baffled why people ever thought they needed brighter headlights in the first place. In the city, it's so bright that you don't even need headlights to see whatsoever. When cars started automatically dimming the dash via a light sensor, there was actually a period of time where I totally forgot to turn on my headlights because thing…

I live in rural Scotland - a lot of minor roads round here have no markings?

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#228

Post by globular-toast »

alias_neo wrote: post #218
lonelyasacloud wrote: post #189

Empirically on UK roads it's as much about the car industry getting away with selling vehicles that are too large for our roads i.e. oversized SUV's and trucks, as anything else. The combination of driver's side closer to crown, and higher mounting, mean the light's from these behemoths tend to cast more of their beams into the eye line of anyone coming the other way, particularly in smaller, lower to the ground vehi…

> tend to cast more of their beams into the eye line of anyone coming the other way, particularly in smaller, lower to the ground vehicles I don't think this is the main issue. I drive a compact SUV, it has perfectly reasonable headlights, pointed downwards like you'd expect, with more of a dip towards oncoming traffic, like headlights have been for decades. Despite being in a somewhat high-ish vehicle, I'm constantl…

> I drive a compact SUV, it has perfectly reasonable headlights

How would you know?

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#229

Post by rafale »

vegancap wrote: post #226

I was at a junction the other day, there was some new Audi EV at the other side of the junction and I couldn't see a damn thing. I've got perfect 20/20 vision, never had any form of eye problem ever in my life, and I was completely blinded. I'm convinced if they'd turned the full beams on, I'd have disintegrated.

Maybe they were on a slight up slope. If the headlights were auto leveling it will fix many of the issues people complain about.
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