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BMW's Laser Headlights

wot.motortrend.com

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Re: BMW's Laser Headlights

#51

Post by zaroth »

pasbesoin wrote: post #30
christoph wrote: post #2

It might just be me, mainly because I drive an "old" car that doesn't dim/adjust my rear view mirror based on others drivers lights, but I find the uber brightness of other drivers lights to be a real pain these days. Often on the motorway I struggle to see ANYTHING as i'm being constantly blinded by other drivers high power lights behind me and when oncoming. I get its meant to be a safety feature, but for a lot of…

My latest complaint is LED brake lights . Many models seem to be making them very bright -- to the point where they blind me when I am behind such a car. At stops, I sometimes find I have to look away from the car in front of me and the road, both due to discomfort and to having my night vision -- despite their being largely "red" -- destroyed. I thought there were regulations for such things -- for headlights, as we…

LED brake lights definitely seem too bright on some cars.

And there's a new trend... super-bright LED daytime running lights, actually bright enough to be distracting at high noon, and configured so that just one side switches off when the blinker turns on (giving this absurd half-lit or winking effect).

I was behind a car today where the middle "third" brake light would actually blink, so weird and distracting -- hopefully an illegal after-market mod.

Definitely one place I would have thought regulation would have stopped design from impacting safety. Next auto makers will decide brake lights don't even have to be red, because who cares about night vision if you have freakin laser beams in your headlights, right?!

Re: BMW's Laser Headlights

#52

Post by StavrosK »

streetnigga wrote: post #46
StavrosK wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My car also self-levels its xenon lights, and they are never at the other drivers' level. I never see anyone being bothered by them at all.

They are bothersome, you see this comment saying they are bothersome.

Yes, but I don't see anyone flashing at me to turn them down...

Re: BMW's Laser Headlights

#53

Post by StavrosK »

auctiontheory wrote: post #36
StavrosK wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My car also self-levels its xenon lights, and they are never at the other drivers' level. I never see anyone being bothered by them at all.

I never see anyone being bothered by them at all. WTF. How on earth would you know whether drivers going in the opposite direction were being blinded by your lights?!

If only there were some sort of signal other drivers could make to indicate my beams were too high!

Re: BMW's Laser Headlights

#54

Post by StavrosK »

JohnTHaller wrote: post #34
christoph wrote: post #2

It might just be me, mainly because I drive an "old" car that doesn't dim/adjust my rear view mirror based on others drivers lights, but I find the uber brightness of other drivers lights to be a real pain these days. Often on the motorway I struggle to see ANYTHING as i'm being constantly blinded by other drivers high power lights behind me and when oncoming. I get its meant to be a safety feature, but for a lot of…

It isn't the HID lights themselves. All proper HID lights on new cars come with auto-leveling systems which will keep them from throwing light at your rear view mirror. You actually wind up with less light in your rear view than with traditional headlights. When you look at them, they'll look like projector lights and you can see them move up and down as a car goes over a hill, for instance. The problem is that after…

This is the correct answer. When my car starts up, my lights lower and then rise again to adjust, although I didn't know this also happens when driving over a hill.

Re: BMW's Laser Headlights

#55

Post by dognotdog »

StavrosK wrote: post #54
JohnTHaller wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It isn't the HID lights themselves. All proper HID lights on new cars come with auto-leveling systems which will keep them from throwing light at your rear view mirror. You actually wind up with less light in your rear view than with traditional headlights. When you look at them, they'll look like projector lights and you can see them move up and down as a car goes over a hill, for instance. The problem is that after…

This is the correct answer. When my car starts up, my lights lower and then rise again to adjust, although I didn't know this also happens when driving over a hill.

It does not happen when driving over a hill. There are two different levelling functions. What you describe is the "homing" procedure for the stepper motors (typically) that do the levelling.

Static levelling is mandatory for HID headlamps, and that adjusts the headlamp level according to load, etc, for example based on suspension level sensors. As the name says, it is static, so it doesn't do anything while the vehicle is moving.

Dynamic levelling compensates for driver braking and acceleration, but I have not seen a production system that works for hills (how could it without information about where the crest is?). Typically, the systems work to ONLY react to the driver doing something, not road features like speed bumps or inclines.

Neither levelling procedure works to actively reduce glare for other drivers when in turns or going over a hill.

Re: BMW's Laser Headlights

#56

Post by drblast »

christoph wrote: post #2

It might just be me, mainly because I drive an "old" car that doesn't dim/adjust my rear view mirror based on others drivers lights, but I find the uber brightness of other drivers lights to be a real pain these days. Often on the motorway I struggle to see ANYTHING as i'm being constantly blinded by other drivers high power lights behind me and when oncoming. I get its meant to be a safety feature, but for a lot of…

It's not just you, lights on most cars are just too damn bright and severely affect other drivers' night vision. I have no idea why they are considered "safe."

However, BMW's new ultra bright lights will surely fail to gain traction, because BMW tends to attract a class of ultra-considerate driver that puts the safety of other drivers first and foremost, and surely BMW drivers would never stand for something like this.

Re: BMW's Laser Headlights

#57

Post by lovemenot »

masklinn wrote: post #48
retrogradeorbit wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not the obscuration of pedestrians from the driver with the bright lights, it's the obscuration of the pedestrian from the other driver being blinded by the super bright headlights. In the brightness the pupil closes and the driver looses any night vision. If you were approaching this situation from the other direction it could be extremely difficult to see the reverse-spot lighted pedestrians.

Also the obscuration of everything from the pedestrian. When walking, if you have a car coming upfront it's there for a long while (since it might be fast but you're always slow), and at night your night vision goes away for a very, very long time. Having to stop, close your eyes and turn around every time you hear a car closing in does not make for efficient or fun walking about.

That may explain the deer in the headlights phenomenon, if real. They could be waiting for their eyes to readjust. Agree that this feature would be undesirable for pedestrians (and cyclists, if also targeted). And I suspect the spotlight is unlikely to avert any more than a small number of accidents. However, it seems quite a strong sales feature for BMW - enhancing the driver/owner's sense of control.

Re: BMW's Laser Headlights

#58

Post by rogerbinns »

drblast wrote: post #56
christoph wrote: post #2

It might just be me, mainly because I drive an "old" car that doesn't dim/adjust my rear view mirror based on others drivers lights, but I find the uber brightness of other drivers lights to be a real pain these days. Often on the motorway I struggle to see ANYTHING as i'm being constantly blinded by other drivers high power lights behind me and when oncoming. I get its meant to be a safety feature, but for a lot of…

It's not just you, lights on most cars are just too damn bright and severely affect other drivers' night vision. I have no idea why they are considered "safe." However, BMW's new ultra bright lights will surely fail to gain traction, because BMW tends to attract a class of ultra-considerate driver that puts the safety of other drivers first and foremost, and surely BMW drivers would never stand for something like thi…

BMW also need to work on their indicator fluid systems. So many of their cars seem to have run out, which leads to other drivers being unable to see the indicators the BMW drivers so conscientiously use.

Re: BMW's Laser Headlights

#59

Post by thaumasiotes »

lovemenot wrote: post #57
masklinn wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also the obscuration of everything from the pedestrian. When walking, if you have a car coming upfront it's there for a long while (since it might be fast but you're always slow), and at night your night vision goes away for a very, very long time. Having to stop, close your eyes and turn around every time you hear a car closing in does not make for efficient or fun walking about.

That may explain the deer in the headlights phenomenon, if real. They could be waiting for their eyes to readjust. Agree that this feature would be undesirable for pedestrians (and cyclists, if also targeted). And I suspect the spotlight is unlikely to avert any more than a small number of accidents. However, it seems quite a strong sales feature for BMW - enhancing the driver/owner's sense of control.

I was under the impression that deer freeze whenever they feel threatened by anything. Freezing when spotlighted is just a particular case of how deer always react to threats.

Re: BMW's Laser Headlights

#60

Post by userbinator »

zaroth wrote: post #51
pasbesoin wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My latest complaint is LED brake lights . Many models seem to be making them very bright -- to the point where they blind me when I am behind such a car. At stops, I sometimes find I have to look away from the car in front of me and the road, both due to discomfort and to having my night vision -- despite their being largely "red" -- destroyed. I thought there were regulations for such things -- for headlights, as we…

LED brake lights definitely seem too bright on some cars. And there's a new trend... super-bright LED daytime running lights, actually bright enough to be distracting at high noon, and configured so that just one side switches off when the blinker turns on (giving this absurd half-lit or winking effect). I was behind a car today where the middle "third" brake light would actually blink, so weird and distracting -- ho…

The point of the flashing brake light is to get your attention, apparently it's legal at least in the EU.
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