I'm driving for 18 years now, regularly long distances over night, on the German Autobahn. LED lights are a massive problem and made night driving much more tiring in the last 12 or so years. Also, fuck your matrix smart lights, they move away after blinding me at worst case or the light source is too bright even if not directed at me anyway. I have them in my 2020 Audi and don't use them because other drives flash at me and I understand precisely why.
America's Drivers Agree: LED Headlights Are Just Too Bright
81–90 of 98 posts
Re: America's Drivers Agree: LED Headlights Are Just Too Bright
#82I wonder if super bright reflectors might be a solution to this. Entirely passive, and makes your problem with their lights their problem.
Re: America's Drivers Agree: LED Headlights Are Just Too Bright
#83Earlier quoted context omitted.
No they are not and explicitly banned in some country. The strobing light is way more blinding for any other user of the road. It also makes it hard for you eyes to adjust. This means that you struggle to understand how fast the bicycle is moving, and exactly how its moving (and therefor anticipate their movement correctly), but you also get blinded which might prevent you from seeing other user of the road (especial…
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you could provide one for your statement as well
Re: America's Drivers Agree: LED Headlights Are Just Too Bright
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
> but are banned in the USA. No, they've been allowed for 2 years now, pursuant to a law passed November 2021. https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/nhtsa-allow-adaptive-dr...
What's allowed is not implemented by any cars yet because the us standard is far more demanding than the European standard https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/15/cars/headlights-tech-adaptabl...
Some Ford F-150s have them. They can be enabled with a software tool. They are amazing!
Re: America's Drivers Agree: LED Headlights Are Just Too Bright
#85Please, just invent eyeglasses that dynamically subdue oncoming headlights (of any type) already. Incredibly, this golden goose has not yet been plucked AFAICS (the tinted co-called "night-driving-glasses" don't work - or did I just not find the right brand yet?).
Wouldn't this make it harder to see everything, since it would also cut the light transmission of your own headlights as well?
Re: America's Drivers Agree: LED Headlights Are Just Too Bright
#86I through it would be a nice idea to have lights polarised vertically and screens polarized horizontally... scattered light gets de-polarized so object illuminated by the lights would still be visible through screen, but direct light from other people's headlights would get blocked. Don't know how that would look practically (how bright can one really make a polaralized light source that is cost-effective / how expen…
The main problem with this is that a polarizing filter blocks overall light by about a half, so wouldn't be usable in the dark.
Re: America's Drivers Agree: LED Headlights Are Just Too Bright
#87Please, just invent eyeglasses that dynamically subdue oncoming headlights (of any type) already. Incredibly, this golden goose has not yet been plucked AFAICS (the tinted co-called "night-driving-glasses" don't work - or did I just not find the right brand yet?).
Wouldn't this make it harder to see everything, since it would also cut the light transmission of your own headlights as well?
I'm thinking a blot on the glasses that only cuts out the headlights, nothing else. [0] It could also possibly be a blot the size of the lamps on the windshield that tracks where the eyes are in relation to the oncoming headlights at any moment. I'm not saying it would be easy, but the tech is conceivable at least.
I have been told this problem is something that gets worse with age, but in my case; if there is oncoming traffic in the dark, in many if not most cases I largely lose perception of the lightless events in my own lane. There could be a deer (or someone) standing there and I wouldn't know.
I have been wondering how many accidents that might be caused by this.
[0] Edit: The dynamic "blot" could perhaps just affect the left half of the glasses (in countries with righthand traffic) , with a small twist of the head one would not be blinded in that case. I just hope this might give someone ideas.
Re: America's Drivers Agree: LED Headlights Are Just Too Bright
#88Probably regulation is needed. In the UK were I live
>..retrofitted LED headlights are not road legal in the UK, and will fail an MOT. This has been the case since 2021, when the MOT inspection manual was updated https://www.passmefast.co.uk/resources/rules-of-the-road/dri...
Re: America's Drivers Agree: LED Headlights Are Just Too Bright
#89The real problem is that in america public ilumination sucks and is almost inexistent. Its really hard to see anything on the road, of course drivers are going to want more powerful lights
Re: America's Drivers Agree: LED Headlights Are Just Too Bright
#90Did the US at least get round to fixing their laws around sharp cut-off and auto-levelling?