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The US will finally allow adaptive beam headlights on new cars

arstechnica.com

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Re: The US will finally allow adaptive beam headlights on new cars

#221

Post by dont__panic »

albert180 wrote: post #17
vanilla_nut wrote: post #6

Does anybody know if these lights detect and "un-bright" for pedestrians and bicyclists? I know many cars automatically turn the brights off at low speeds where you're more likely to see peds and bikes... but as someone who frequently walks and cycles on or along 40+ MPH roads, I worry what will happen to me when these vehicles start to show up.

Yes, Matrix-LED carves out a little hole in the high beam for you so you won't get blinded but the rest is still bright. See this 8 year old video for explanation https://youtu.be/F4-iwuzAey4

That video doesn't even mention pedestrians or bicyclists? Just car headlights?

Re: The US will finally allow adaptive beam headlights on new cars

#222

Post by piaste »

cdash wrote: post #218
piaste wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

6. Sleep in your car I think it's important to add this one because it's free and doesn't even require previous planning, so it's very hard to argue that you couldn't do it instead of driving drunk. (Although keeping a blanket in your trunk makes it a much better experience.)

Which just results in you getting a DUI even though you chose not to drive.

Well, even so, getting a DUI while sleeping is strictly better than getting a DUI after a car crash.

Plus, I don't know how American cops work, but hopefully they're less likely to stop and breathalyze a dude sleeping in a parking lot than a guy on the road at 4 AM.

Also, now that I think about it, American cars are huge, if you put the seat all the way back is your body you going to be even visible from the road?

Re: The US will finally allow adaptive beam headlights on new cars

#223

Post by viridian »

piaste wrote: post #195
lotsofpulp wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>People drink and drive in America because they have no choice. You can’t walk him from a bar, and even if it’s available nobody is paying $40 for an Uber when they can drive their car. List of choices: 1. Not drink alcohol 2. Drink less alcohol, and switch to water at least 1 hour before driving. 3. Pay for a driver 4. Live where you can walk to an establishment that serves alcohol 5. Rent a hotel room nearby And so…

6. Sleep in your car I think it's important to add this one because it's free and doesn't even require previous planning, so it's very hard to argue that you couldn't do it instead of driving drunk. (Although keeping a blanket in your trunk makes it a much better experience.)

From an individual's perspective, this is strictly worse than driving drunk. Not only can you not sleep in your car legally, you also can be charged with drunk driving while sleeping in your car unless you go out of your way to dispossess the keys. You also certainly can't sleep in your car with the engine running, which is pretty important in the winter time.

There are better alternatives than drunk driving, but sleeping in your car isnt one of them.

Re: The US will finally allow adaptive beam headlights on new cars

#224

Post by ericmay »

piaste wrote: post #222
cdash wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which just results in you getting a DUI even though you chose not to drive.

Well, even so, getting a DUI while sleeping is strictly better than getting a DUI after a car crash. Plus, I don't know how American cops work, but hopefully they're less likely to stop and breathalyze a dude sleeping in a parking lot than a guy on the road at 4 AM. Also, now that I think about it, American cars are huge, if you put the seat all the way back is your body you going to be even visible from the road?

> body you going to be even visible from the road?

No but your car will be, which will probably be investigated. If you are on the side of the road you'll definitely be investigated and for sure get a DUI because they'll say you drove there and parked. (Also definitely a no-go on highways/freeways).

If you are in a parking lot cops will usually scope out a car, especially if you are parked away from other cars and then they'll wake up and tell you to move. Then you'll say "I'm drunk I can't drive" and then that's where all of the problems start. If you park near other cars (perhaps late night workers) they'll probably call the cops or call a towing company because you aren't allowed to park there and sleep overnight (another reason all these gigantic stupid surface parking lots are so useless).

There's just way too many problems with this strategy.

Re: The US will finally allow adaptive beam headlights on new cars

#225

Post by Ajedi32 »

danaris wrote: post #220
Ajedi32 wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The funny thing is I actually can't tell which party you're referring to. All of those accusations can and have been leveled against each party by the other. I think that actually says a lot about the real cause of the legislative gridlock you're referring to: when each side insists the other is a bunch of fascists that they simply can't work with, well... they won't work with them, and this is the result.

Then you haven't been paying attention. The Democratic Party has advanced actual legislative agendas, tried to govern, and supports democracy. The Republican Party has openly stated their goal to "make Obama a one-term president", frustrate Democratic legislation simply because it is Democratic legislation , and is actively working to subvert democracy and both prevent and overthrow the results of free and fair elect…

No post body was provided.

Re: The US will finally allow adaptive beam headlights on new cars

#226

Post by Maursault »

fallingknife wrote: post #186
Maursault wrote: post #35

I'd be happy if local and state police just started issuing citations in earnest for misaligned headlights on pickup trucks. 99% of the pickups I come across at night have their low beams pointing straight instead of down at the road. It's so common that it can't be a coincidence that nearly every pickup truck has an illegal headlight configuration. And it isn't due to higher ground clearance, that's just their lame…

Quite a claim with no source. Are you claiming that the manufacturers are making trucks with illegal headlights? Because that seems pretty far fetched. Or that drivers are modifying them? Because that is very rare.

> Quite a claim with no source.

I am the source. Anyone that gets blinded at night by oncoming traffic is the source, because this should not happen with properly aligned headlights. Regardless of ground clearance, low beam headlights should angle down towards the road to focus on the road approximately 125ft from the front tires. The higher the ground clearance, the steeper the angle.

> Are you claiming that the manufacturers are making trucks with illegal headlights? Because that seems pretty far fetched. Or that drivers are modifying them? Because that is very rare.

It's either the dealers or the owners, or both.

Re: The US will finally allow adaptive beam headlights on new cars

#227

Post by cjdoc »

synaesthesisx wrote: post #72

Side note - anyone know how to disable the annoying auto high beams on their vehicle? A recent software update appears to automatically toggle high beams (which do turn off when oncoming traffic is detected however it's still annoying). It appears that this is necessary for autopilot to function - so I can't just disable it entirely :/

You can turn it off by hitting the lever forwards (I think). Unfortunately, you need to do this each time you engage Autopilot, so it's not a complete solution.

Re: The US will finally allow adaptive beam headlights on new cars

#228

Post by sgtnoodle »

Retric wrote: post #219
fastball wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why in the world would you count in 5 second intervals? If the measure is accidents per hour you don't then divide it by 5s. Reliability with 1 accident per 2k hours would be 99.95%. Reliability for 1 accident per 20k hours is 99.995%.

Five seconds seems roughly how long it would take for really bad choices to cause an accident. In heavy traffic you can cause an accident by steering into a car in under a second. I am sure someone has had two independent accidents in under a minute. An hour on the other hand is completely arbitrary, why not a day or a minute?

Any fixed timespan chosen to analyze risk is arbitrary, and you can convert between timespans using probability math. I'd say it's typical to choose the average "mission" length, because that's the most relevant to the purpose. For a self driving car, an hour would make sense. For the first stage of a rocket, 5 minutes. You don't ride in a car appreciating every 5 seconds that you haven't crashed yet, do you? Maybe if it's a taxi ride in Los Angeles!

For a system that isn't "mission" oriented, you would probably think more in terms of mean time between failure.

Re: The US will finally allow adaptive beam headlights on new cars

#229

Post by albert180 »

Schroedingersat wrote: post #108
albert180 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, Matrix-LED carves out a little hole in the high beam for you so you won't get blinded but the rest is still bright. See this 8 year old video for explanation https://youtu.be/F4-iwuzAey4

None of that even acknowledged the existence of non-car road users, let alone provided any confidence that they'd be reliable in a world where teslas regularly try to swerve into cyclists or onto railways.

Well guess what, It's an technology that's available for 16 years in Europe. Unlike Tesla we don't dump unsafe beta shit on the road... Here from another article "Audi's digital matrix LED headlight design can do that too. It recognizes vehicles and pedestrians in front of the car and adjusts the headlight beam as needed.

Read More: https://www.slashgear.com/audi-digital-matrix-led-headlights..."

Re: The US will finally allow adaptive beam headlights on new cars

#230

Post by albert180 »

dont__panic wrote: post #221
albert180 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, Matrix-LED carves out a little hole in the high beam for you so you won't get blinded but the rest is still bright. See this 8 year old video for explanation https://youtu.be/F4-iwuzAey4

That video doesn't even mention pedestrians or bicyclists? Just car headlights?

It shows how the technology works. It does shadow out pedestrians or cyclists. Otherwise it wouldn't get approved here.
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