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Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

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Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#671

Post by arccy »

martijnvds wrote: post #538
crazygringo wrote: post #515

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, the flashing on bicycles is intentional, precisely to make sure you are aware of them, since they're so much smaller and vulnerable, and the light itself is so much smaller than the rear light on a vehicle. It's not just on rentals, it's a standard feature of bicycle rear lights that is there for safety.

In the Netherlands, bike lights _must not_ flash. The law very explicitly states that they need to be "always on" (in the dark). The main reason seems to be that it's hard for others to to gauge your speed when your lights are flashing.

but also there are so many bikes there already that they didn't need to raise general awareness that much

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#672

Post by gopher2000 »

cogman10 wrote: post #551
LTL_FTC wrote: post #463

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely. People just crank up the brightness on the inside lights because "blinky lights" but I have also noticed that, modern cars typically include fog lights which used to be a luxury or premium option, many people just drive around with these lights on as well. Fog lights are illuminating the area closer to the vehicle and therefore inhibit one's visibility further down the road. So now we get super bright veh…

Trucks are the absolute worst vehicles on the road. Their giant ass lights blind anyone near their vehicles. A number of truck owners, especially the ones that lift their vehicles, will additionally add light bars to the exterior which are so incredibly dangerous. We don't just need DOTs to set regulations on these things, we need cops to actually write tickets for this behavior and for judges to get confirmation tha…

Have a truck with a light bar. But it's for offroad use only. I'd never drive with it on regular roads with traffic around me.

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#673

Post by gopher2000 »

eldaisfish wrote: post #320
_fat_santa wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Part of the problem I've identified are SUV's and Trucks. Back home I drive a 4runner so I never noticed this but on vacation one week and we rented a Corolla. While the lights from other cars never bothered me in the 4runner, it was so apparent in the smaller Corolla. I would see light behind me and go "why do they have high beams on" but then looking ahead it didn't look like they had their high beams on, I was jus…

you weren't in a short car, you were in a normal car. Society really needs legislation around auto obesity. Cars are too big, too high, too heavy, all at despite being less practical than a station wagon from twenty years back.

> you weren't in a short car, you were in a normal car

What's normal can change. Today, 37% of used registrations in the US are sedans and about 18% of new registrations.

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#674

Post by boogieknite »

LeifCarrotson wrote: post #442
0xfeba wrote: post #380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Lately, I see a lot of drivers who turn on their brights and just leave them on and this includes cars with the older halogen and even incandescents. This is a change in behavior. This is one of my pet peeves. I've categorized it into what I believe are the main causes: 1. People just don't know as well today that the blue indicator means you're blinding people 2. People with newer cars which will automatically tur…

My other pet peeve is the opposite - they've got LED daytime running lights, and use those instead of headlights. They're driving around at 11pm with no taillights and abysmal forward lighting, but there's enough of a glow from the DRLs that they assume their lights are on. Or worse, they're accustomed to "automatic" lights and don't even know where the switch is, so they're driving around at dusk or in fog, rain, or…

if you ever visit Portland make one up reading YOU HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY. drivers keep it weird here by ignoring the rules of the road for some kind of "no no i insist, after you" as if theyre giving some gift, but instead just confuse everyone

if im biking and waiting at a stop sign: without fail, the last car in a long line of cars will slam on the breaks and insist i go when they have no stop sign. it would have been faster for everyone if they just kept driving and i cross after they pass, like the rules of the road prescribe

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#675

Post by [deleted] »

jackvalentine wrote: post #621
BrenBarn wrote: post #586

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say just in general people have become way more cavalier and oblivious as drivers. I frequently see people doing wild stuff like driving at night with no headlights, or driving for several blocks in a bike lane. Every single yellow light is pushed to the limit, with often at least one (and sometimes multiple) drivers running the red light as well. I feel like a lot of is connected to a more general post-COVID dec…

I’ve noticed the same, and also people’s behaviour generally everywhere has bottomed out and not recovered. I was speaking to an ED nurse who said people have just forgotten how to relate and violence is through the roof every night in the hospital. Did we all get subtle brain damage?

[deleted]

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#676

Post by smcleod »

This is a really big problem in Australia as well. I know many people (myself included) that find it far more dangerous driving at night due to being blinded by bright headlights than they were 10-15 years ago.

I thought it was a problem with my eyes and went to an ophthalmologist who told me there's nothing wrong with them - but that she hears this from people all the time these days and believe headlights to be dangerously bright.

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#677

Post by BLKNSLVR »

smcleod wrote: post #676

This is a really big problem in Australia as well. I know many people (myself included) that find it far more dangerous driving at night due to being blinded by bright headlights than they were 10-15 years ago. I thought it was a problem with my eyes and went to an ophthalmologist who told me there's nothing wrong with them - but that she hears this from people all the time these days and believe headlights to be dan…

+1 from fellow Aussie.

Normal headlights seem to be gradually closing the gap to the equivalent of high beams. I wonder if high beams have also increased their intensity? Would potentially cause sight damage if so.

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#678

Post by randerson »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #590
LeifCarrotson wrote: post #442

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My other pet peeve is the opposite - they've got LED daytime running lights, and use those instead of headlights. They're driving around at 11pm with no taillights and abysmal forward lighting, but there's enough of a glow from the DRLs that they assume their lights are on. Or worse, they're accustomed to "automatic" lights and don't even know where the switch is, so they're driving around at dusk or in fog, rain, or…

#3 sounds like you're either nitpicking or maybe having an eye issue? #7 You're either doing something good or something very bad, so I hope it's the former. If you're trying to pace the lane next to you, then it sounds like it's at least an honest attempt to get things zipper merging. If you're telling yourself that cars need to be in both lanes to zipper merge, while zooming to the end and then hoping maybe a zippe…

#3 Plenty of drivers have difficulty spotting a gray/silver/black car under low or high-contrast lighting. Highly visible colors (yellow, orange, white) have a 7-12% lower chance of getting into an accident during the day and up to 47% lower at dusk.[0] Keeping your headlights on at all times reduces this risk.

#7 In many states (e.g. [1]) if two lanes are merging you're expected to merge at the last possible point. This allows more cars to fit on the road to reduce congestion, and it reduces sudden stops.

[0] https://www.monash.edu/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/216475/An...

[1] https://wsdot.wa.gov/travel/traffic-safety-methods/work-zone...

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#679

Post by toast0 »

potato3732842 wrote: post #666
toast0 wrote: post #656

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the install guide [1] under "Installation Instructions, General", step 5 is: > Cut the positive wire to the third brake light and strip the insulation from both ends of the cut. That's altering the factory wiring harness. That's an extra junction the factory didn't authorize and when it fails, the factory warranty won't cover it, because the wiring harness modification lead to the failure. All so the dealer can…

They literally make drop in bulbs https://www.ebay.com/itm/184234748289

That'd be fine, I guess. But these guys [1] have more dealer sales outreach and they sell a module which you hack up the wiring to add.

[1] https://pulseprotects.com/

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#680

Post by RandallBrown »

crazygringo wrote: post #515
Y_Y wrote: post #284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Add to that rental bikes that have always-on flashing lights. My neurospice is relatively mild, but flashing lights and animations in my field of view really fuck up my ability to focus on other things. I can't be the only one with this issue, but it doesn't seem to garner much sympathy. I still drive when I have to, but I had to give up watching soccer on tv when they added animated ads to all the pitches. I'm hones…

To be fair, the flashing on bicycles is intentional, precisely to make sure you are aware of them, since they're so much smaller and vulnerable, and the light itself is so much smaller than the rear light on a vehicle. It's not just on rentals, it's a standard feature of bicycle rear lights that is there for safety.

Flashing lights on bicycles are illegal in a lot of places.

If bikes didn't move, a blinking light would be fine. But they do move and it makes it really hard to tell where the bike is in the dark.

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