I know I’m not the only one who feels like I’m getting visually assaulted everytime I drive at night. It was bad 10 years ago but now, it seems like headlight manufacturers have a deal with insurance companies and optometrists to make the lights as bright as possible. Is this ever going to stop or is there some kind of race in the headlight industry to see who can reproduce the power of the sun first?
Because (particularly in the US) people have the attitude of “I know that it’s going to be shit for other people, but it makes me feel a little better about things, so I’m going to do it anyway”
That’s a very complex thought process. Let me unveil the real reason:
“whoah that’s cool”
That’s it. If someone made a pan-nuclear LED with the same brightness as the surface of an entire white dwarf, people would buy it. That’s where the thinking ends. Where the light ends up, other people, etc… Who cares?
“Other people exist?”
It’s fucking horrible even here in EU, where I would expect it to be better regulated. Can’t imagine how bad it’s in the US.
I’ve even seen multiple posts on local subreddits about people buying SUV/crossovers and one of the main reason was being blinded by other SUVs.
Fucking horrible it should be checked at every MOT, and it sometimes is, but the newer vehicles are exempt from yearly MOTs for some stupid reason.
I didn’t think about it a the time I bought might but that has been a plus to be fair my are stock. Only had a hand full of people putting on their brights back at me. What you going to do.
Adjust your lights to not blind other drivers?
Well that’s no fun at all!
“Only a handful of people indicate to me that I’m being an asshole when I know I’m being an asshole. What are you going to do? I am helpless in this situation.”
These comments make me glad I don’t have to drive at night often.
It pisses me off to no end, but what the fuck can I do about it lol
I’ve often considered making an adjustable mirror with a servo on it mounted to the back of the car, so they can blind themselves and feel stupid
I just turn on back fog lights. these are like high beams in a night without fog.
I’ve day dreamed of just wrapping my car in retroreflective vinyl.
There’s a strong temptation to wander my neighborhood with a thick piece of wood and “solve” my problem locally
For me it’s not the brightness, but the color temperature of the light that gets me. Why do we strictly regulate the color of turn signals and brake lights, but not headlights? Warm white should be mandated.
What can any of us do about anything? Everything sucks ass and I have no idea what to do. Should I talk to my literal neo nazi neighbors until I’ve somehow successfully re-educated them? That’s fucking stupid and not possible. The second they turn around from our conversation, they see a television, in their own house, in all the restaurants, in every waiting room in the country, blaring FOX News.
Going over to a Facebook market place pickup, and seeing a dude with Fox just playing in the afternoon on a weekend. I was just like “you really choose to do this in your free time?”. I felt nothing but genuine pity. And I got a pretty cool green enamel sink for free, so I wasn’t about to say anything.
I bought glasses for this very reason. “Night vision” glasses. While the lights are still bright your eyes recover quickly.
Do these work? I’m thinking of getting them.
I wear prescription glasses they need to fit with so trying them is a much bigger investment
Polarized lenses, but with a yellow tint instead of black. They work nicely in my experience.
I’ve seen them for sale at truck stops, some with extra-large frames so they’d fit over your prescription lenses.
In my experience they help, but they don’t totally fix the problem. I’d still rather have them than not, though. I use fitovers.
I’ll look for that brand. I haven’t had any luck with sunglasses that are supposed to “fit over”, but have been using magnetic clipons sized to fit
Oh, the brand on mine is “Solar Shield,” fitover is just a category. I’ve also used some of the “Cocoons,” but those are mostly orange sleep hygiene glasses. Solar Shield are cheaper but I don’t think they make orange ones. Clipons do also work for night driving, I have a pair of those too.
In the USA, the lack of proper technical inspections and adjustable headlight beams, is a problem with raised vehicles. WTF, riding a motorcycle against a raised POS Bro Dozer, with multiple light bars, is the closest thing to a blinding UFO encounter. One cannot see jack shit! In Europe, that pile of rolling bolts would not be allowed on the public roads.
This one time riding my motorcycle, the days adventures ran a little longer than anticipated. As night fell so did the temperatures. Coming down the mountain a 4Runner or Tacoma was behind me with their high beams on. The lights were so bright I could feel them on my back. I folded in my mirrors and accepted the free heat.
It’s all part of The Shittening
Nothing better than having to cover my eyes at night because my retinas are being fucking burned out of my head.
Don’t people who set the rules also drive? “Wow, I can’t see a damn thing. Maybe headlights are too bright?”
No, they get driven. The important people are driven around and everyone else can eat shit
I haven’t accepted it. Speak for yourself
It’s not just cars. Also super blinding lights on bicycles, aimed too high. And the worst of all: straight at your face aiming super blinding lights from fricking joggers on park roads that have public lighting!!
The majority of bike lights throw a circle/oval/flood pattern which means they have to be aimed high to be usable. It’s just a flashlight at that point. It’s easy to make a decent beam pattern but neither the manufacturers nor the buyers give a shit.
I point mine down so it illuminates the road in front of me, and slightly in the direction facing away from oncoming traffic. I also use the dimmest setting, and don’t have it in blink mode unless it’s foggy out.
That’s how it should be! Thanks
It’s on roads and paths with public lighting mostly! The bicycle front light is not for you to see things, it’s for you to be seen by others. Aimed downwards in front of your bicycle is were it should be… Not up into other people’s faces!
Nah SUV lights that automatically lower their lights waaaay to late are definitely the worst. Especially when they use their high beams in a 30 km/h zone like the one I live in. All just because idiot drivers couldn’t give a fuck and let their car do everything for them automatically.
The bicycles with nor just the headlights, but the flashing white lights to dazzle your vision. Genius. “Let me be seen by blinding you.” Right up there with motorcycles riding with their highbeam on. People cannot see you if you blind them.
The park is not an island. The rider risks his life elsewhere, and it’s a hassle to keep turning the headlight on and off every fave miutes.
Just like with a car, a cyclist ought to be able to aim their headlight to not blind others
If you’re blinding me as a pedestrian in the park, you’re also blinding oncoming drivers on the road, potentially endangering yourself
Given that we also accepted the switch from being “personnel” to being “human resources”, headlights seem like a fairly small detail.
Look up Audi’s Matrix projection headlights. I really want to see more cars incorporating this technology.
Bright lights are fine, just point them down. Although, you might have noticed that when you’re going downhill or uphill the lights are more blinding.
I’ve proposed a polarization system where you would be able to see thing illuminated but not the bright lights that illuminate. There are many ways to make this work.
Tell us your idea.
FYI you’re going to get absolutely shredded by technical responses about how light works.
So the basic premise is that LEDs on their own can make polarized light. So let’s say for example that we make all car manufacturers produce cars that have their LEDs horizontally polarized. So they shoot light that is horizontally polarized. Then we force them to make their windshields be vertically polarized. That way, no matter how much luminous power comes out of everyone’s car you won’t be able to see it. It should probably be the other way around with lights making vertical and windshields blocking horizontally.
Ok but now, how do you actually see things? Well light is funny. When you hit objects with light polarized in one direction you’ll get scattered light back which will contain some light that is correctly polarized to pass thru the windshield.
For this to work, you just need to standardized the polarization direction.
You could even wear polarized glasses if you’re a pedestrian. The house at the end of the Culdesac can have their windows polarized too and so they wouldn’t be blinded by every car coming thru.
