Too bright and too high.
Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright
821–830 of 900 posts
Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright
#822Earlier quoted context omitted.
What are you talking about? Did you mean to reply to a different comment? Bicycle lights aren't blinding anybody. At least none I've ever seen. They're powered by little batteries usually. The subject at hand was whether they flash or not. Not their brightness, which I've never heard anybody complain about.
You definitely don't ride around here if you have not been blinded by a bike headlight. They can blow away your vision from half a mile away easily. I can't even see the trail in front of me without putting my hand up to block the light. I call it the nighttime salute. They are much worse if they flash. That blinds and disorients. Even after they pass you won't be able to see anything for some time.
True, I'm referring to places where there are already car headlights. The bike lamps are so dim by comparison, there's nothing to complain about.
If you're somewhere without any other lighting and your eyes have adjusted to the darkness, then I can understand how they might seem bright. But I'm not really sure what you think the solution is. They're already vastly dimmer than cars, but make them any dimmer and the cyclist won't be able to see the ground and it won't be safe.
Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright
#823Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Street lighting is consistent enough to be used to define built up areas for speed limits in the UK. I thought we were talking about the country, where things are not built up. > which is not relevant to a discussion about car headlights in the UK Nothing about your original comment suggested anything about being specific to the UK. While the original article is about the UK, it seems very clear that the HN discuss…
> I thought we were talking about the country, where things are not built up. Where there are houses its a built up area. Even a hamlet. If its nota built up area there are virtually no kids playing in "front yards". There will be the odd isolated house, of course, not to many. > While the original article is about the UK, it seems very clear that the HN discussion is about car headlights everywhere Nothing in the th…
> If its nota built up area there are virtually no kids playing in "front yards".
I guess the UK is different then. Here in the US, there are lots of houses in the country that are not part of any "built-up area", that have big front yards, and where there is no street lighting.
So yes, "we" know better because we drive too. And this is a global conversation, not a UK one. You were the one trying to making claims about how there's virtually nothing meaningful to collide with on country roads, and we're saying that's just false.
Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright
#824Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright
#825Earlier quoted context omitted.
You bought a car which had them, that was a choice. I have never bought a car with extreme bright headlights, and I never will.
My car does not have extremelty bright headlights But the choice of headlight is probably one of the lowest factors when deciding on which car to buy, you just live with what the car manufacturers are shoving on us.
...or you choose to buy from a manufacturer who aligns more with your personal morals and opinions.
Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright
#826I need the brights at night for deer (in N. America) and kangaroos (in Oz). Steering them away automagically from oncoming traffic is a better solution than abandoning them altogether. (And yes, I do have cataracts. So oncoming lights _are_ a problem for me.)
Steering them away to where? Into the eyes of the deer and kangaroos?
Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright
#827actually, this is on my list of signs that our civilization is fscked...
It certainly is a sign that people are note very considerate of others.
Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright
#828I 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…
Can't comment on quality - but I think it's more nuanced than adjusted too high. Was getting a lift from a friend in a less than 1 year old Yaris cross. Noticed many cars flashing us on a short flat drive home - assumed it was headlights adjusted wrong. But no - headlight were in the lowest position. Driver had asked the garage twice to check the headlight adjustment. Went out the front and headlight looked normal -…
Good point, it could be that our existing legislation is just dangerously out of date. Bulbs vs LEDs is night and day.
Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright
#829Earlier quoted context omitted.
My parents' new Chevy Bolt automatically turns off the brights when appropriate. At first I was doing it manually but then I started trusting it, it just works, it does it at exactly the moment I would do it (actually it's better at it than me.) I'm surprised Teslas don't do it.
> I'm surprised Teslas don't do it. They do. Also, the ones with matrix LEDs (most newer Models other than the Cybertruck) automatically create a circle of darkness around anything they detect to be another vehicle.
Yup it is amazing, it also focuses illumination on signs and maintains that focus as you drive towards them.
Re: Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright
#830Earlier 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.
I dunno man, I'm a cyclist, and I live in a big city full of cyclists. I've also used and seen a lot of bike lights in my time. Flashing is often an option, but the default is usually "always on".
Also flashing is really fucking annoying, and I my own experience is that it does notale cyclista more visible or safe. I don't use flashing lights myself, even though I can't see the rear one and eould probably rather be annoying than dead.