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Well, the worst drivers are those that just keep their brights on, because they have no fucking clue you're supposed to lower them when another car is approaching. Fucking idiots.
> they have no fucking clue you're supposed to lower them when another car is approaching You know it's also true if you are approaching another car (eg. from behind). And if there are people in front of your lights in general it's a pain for them too
I tried complaining to my (Australian) state road authority about this 10 or so years ago. Got no response. Glare is a massive hazard, as is loss of night vision and bright spots in your field of view. It's significantly worse for some people e.g. radial scars from eye surgery.
In other related bad Australian driving condition news .. road signs in the past decade or so have gotten waaaay too reflective. Driving at night in the country is something myself and others have done for decades, it's a common complaint that "regular old non LED headlights" are now reflected back at cars at night so well that they ruin night vision for several seconds and blind the driver to any dangers (kangaroos,…
The entire headlights issue is definitely frustrating.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
But it's also brightness: legal limits for brightness above the horizon were set in an age when light designers weren't able to do very detailed control of light distribution and the dimmed area was always a mix of some bright spots and on a much darker average. The legal brightness limits were selected under the assumption that the highest allowed was an exceptional peak that would only occasionally hit an observer…
because for the driver behind the wheel it's certainly awesome I disagree --- I have been in a newer car with bright LED headlights, and while visibility in the bright area is certainly great, it makes it much harder to see anything beyond that, because the eyes are adapted to that brightness. The effect of having things "pop" into view as they cross that threshold was actually quite disconcerting.
Considering the move to SUVs and crossovers and the like, I’ll just say this: these headlights are hell for you if you’re driving a car that’s lower to the ground because they hit you directly at eye level now. The entire headlights issue is definitely frustrating.
So for that reason alone some vehicles are not fit for use in residential areas, and likely to be improved or forced out by law.
Headlights on trailer trucks are not even that bad/high.
I think UK drivers also agree. It’s like lots of people are driving around with their high beams on. They aren’t because if they were you’d wouldn’t be able to look at them at all. They are 20% too bright and all too cold.
I can't say I noticed many blinding LED headlights but general headlight alignment and high beam discipline is infinitely better than in the US.
Then there are also the cars standing on the pavement with those headlights on blinding the pedestrians going in the opposite direction, because the driver inside can’t be bothered to turn them off and feels like sitting in a car in the dark and being an asshole to everyone around for whatever reason.