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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

#731

Post by gblargg »

ash_091 wrote: post #560
pipes wrote: post #536

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I might just be getting old, but more and more I see people not using indicators and not understanding the rules of junctions. Tail gating also really annoying. I was in a mates car recently and it scared the hell out of me, he was tail gating for most of a 3 hour journey. Eventually we got to a bit with chevrons and he wasn't obeying the rule staying N chevrons away from the car in front. I told him and he replied "…

The recommended 3 second gap is a much bigger distance than most people recognise, especially at high speed. On another note- I feel sad that you could tell your mate "the way you're driving is making me uncomfortable" and be met with basically "your discomfort isn't valid because [technology] so I won't change my behaviour".

I was with a friend who was driving and he literally said that the car in front of him was driving fairly close to him. I have a funny bumper magnet that says "sorry for driving so close in front of you" that mocks this inversion of cause.

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#732

Post by verbify »

ponector wrote: post #512
bArray wrote: post #295

I think most vehicles are operating with their headlamps adjusted too high. I think the majority are now completely out of spec [1]. My normal lights are very respectably adjusted and are the older dimmer type, but my full beams are blinding - I rarely ever use them. A few times a driver comes towards me with full beams on, I flash mine and light up the entire night. The quality of driver is also decreasing. One of o…

Why do you think UK drivers test is better than foreign one?

I've done a brief Google, and the UK does have one of the hardest driving tests in the world. This matches with anecdotal comparisons with international friends. https://www.zuto.com/blog/driving-tests-around-the-world/

In the UK, driving is on the left, while in much of the world people drive on the right. Arguably it's not so much that the UK is better, but that people should take a test to validate that they can handle the switch. But this would also mean UK drivers should do the same in other countries where they drive on the right.

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#733

Post by gblargg »

MichaelBurjack wrote: post #659
alehlopeh wrote: post #652

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn’t all air shared?

Not in a way meaningful to assessing infectious risk, no. I consider outdoor air to be unshared, except in cases of large dense crowds (such as say outdoor festivals or sporting events). I consider risky shared air to be indoor air with one or more other individuals that are not known to be taking infection-prevention precautions. One can measure CO₂ as a proxy to rebreathed air fraction. For example, a CO₂ reading o…

> One can measure CO₂ as a proxy to rebreathed air fraction.

On this topic, I got a CO₂ meter fairly recently and was shocked how quickly it spikes with a couple of people in a car with the windows up and on recirculate. Easily over 2000 after a few minutes. I have to remind myself regularly when it's really hot or cold outside to keep the vent setting on fresh air.

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#734

Post by gblargg »

MichaelBurjack wrote: post #640
pipes wrote: post #619

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Genuine question (as in not a passive aggressive question!) why do you and your friends child mask?

Not sure why you'd ask me that vs. use Google, feels like cornering a random driver to defend "Why do you use seatbelts?". But I'll offer one reply at your word that it's genuine and not passive-aggressive. 1. I am currently dealing with the after-effects of a previous Covid infection that requires expensive, ongoing medical treatment. I'm not anxious to test what additional infections may cause. 2. Wearing an N95 re…

Thanks for sharing. I tend to think people wearing masks these days are a little loony, but these are solid reasons for specific cases and environments. I wouldn't shun someone because they're wearing a mask, though. It seems like a significant discomfort so I don't partake (and I get sick extremely rarely and stay home those few times).

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#735

Post by gblargg »

paradox460 wrote: post #567
pipes wrote: post #536

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I might just be getting old, but more and more I see people not using indicators and not understanding the rules of junctions. Tail gating also really annoying. I was in a mates car recently and it scared the hell out of me, he was tail gating for most of a 3 hour journey. Eventually we got to a bit with chevrons and he wasn't obeying the rule staying N chevrons away from the car in front. I told him and he replied "…

My favorite is that if you try to follow a safe distance, some jerk will immediately move to fill the space

I leave plenty of distance and don't have that problem. Occasionally people do fill the space, perhaps because I'm providing a safer place than people tailgating. This reduced risk benefits me too. I just slow a little bit to re-establish my following distance.

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#736

Post by gblargg »

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…

I actually made an LED sign for the rear of my van, with over a dozen messages, including some peaceful ones like yours (sorry, thanks). One was for headlights. I made it IR-controlled and used an older Android smartphone with IR blaster and an app that gave me labeled buttons to show the messages.

https://postimg.cc/06xZ7pP0

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#737

Post by hexbin010 »

mikestew wrote: post #292
delichon wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It does appear to be a UK thing. This is from the UK Highway Code. I'm not finding a US equivalent. 114 You MUST NOT use any lights in a way which would dazzle or cause discomfort to other road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders use front or rear fog lights unless visibility is seriously reduced. You MUST switch them off when visibility improves to avoid dazzling other road users (see Rule 226).…

In stationary queues of traffic, drivers should apply the parking brake and, once the following traffic has stopped, take their foot off the footbrake to deactivate the vehicle brake lights. I’m sure that might have been fine 30 years ago when cars had actual handbrakes. I doubt most folks these days can even find the little switch that activates it. Now it comes off as a bunch of monkey business.

They know where it is as they have to press it when first getting in their vehicles. They're just lazy and selfish

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#738

Post by hexbin010 »

creer wrote: post #470

Plus speed bumps. Even if most cars had their headlights pointed correctly, the million speed bumps littering my city means constantly blinded drivers.

Another reason why speed bumps are the laziest and most annoying solution to the problem

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#739

Post by userbinator »

The problem isn't only the eye-searing brightness, but the fact that there is a sharp cutoff, presumably also mandated by regulations, that creates a small very bright area immediately in front of your field of vision, and then a contrast of complete darkness beyond that. I suspect at least some drivers of newer cars are using the high beams constantly because it moves the cutoff farther out.

Older cars had dimmer lights, but also a much softer cutoff that lets the eyes more easily adapt to the darkened area beyond.

There's also the nearly-religious-war of SAE vs ECE standards, wherein the former is more suited to soft filament lamps, while the latter creates a much worse cutoff in the "brightness war".

Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

#740

Post by directevolve »

alistairSH wrote: post #42
Taek wrote: post #2

I feel the same way in America, I think there should be stricter regulations on how bright a car's headlights are allowed to be for it to be street legal. Wouldn't mind having a cap on blue-light levels in addition.

There are a two things contributing to "headlights too bright" in the US... First, SUVs are really tall... If you're in a sedan (or worse, a Miata) and get close enough to an oncoming SUV, even well-aimed, legal lights are going to feel bright because they're pointed down at you. Second, there's a decent sized market for cheap, unapproved HID/LED kits for older cars. They're often not aimed correctly.

This isn’t the whole story. I’ve been driving the same Prius compact since 2015, and only I the last few years have I suddenly started experiencing these insanely bright headlights. The giant cars have been around the whole time. The brightest lights seem like they are on specific brands of new cars, although I’m terrible at recognizing car brands and obviously only experience this issue at night when I’m being blinded by headlights, so it’s not easy to figure out exactly which brands cause the issue.
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