Are modern headlights too bright?
Poll: Are modern headlights too bright?
Total Members Polled: 878
Discussion
Dr Doofenshmirtz said:
You know how when you were 4 you were told not to look directly at the sun?
Well the same applies to car headlights. You need to learn to look past the on coming headlights.
Once you have taught yourself to do this, rather than stare directly into the light you won't have any more problems.
You don't actually need to. The brightness of the light will affect the perception of contrast. The brighter the lightsource is, the darker everything around it will look and, in this instance, we're talking about the opposing driver's view of the road ahead. People perceive that contrast differently, some worse than others, but everyone will suffer it to some degree.Well the same applies to car headlights. You need to learn to look past the on coming headlights.
Once you have taught yourself to do this, rather than stare directly into the light you won't have any more problems.
I just don't understand why anyone needs such w
er lights. Do people actually need to drive that fast? Even with them, a deer can still get you! 
The advantage of sensitive eyes is that you can see perfectly well with halogens, if it wasn't for the HID tossers coming the other way!
As has been pointed out, the maximum wattage law in this country was to create an even playing field. Now the eu's fed it up!
er lights. Do people actually need to drive that fast? Even with them, a deer can still get you! The advantage of sensitive eyes is that you can see perfectly well with halogens, if it wasn't for the HID tossers coming the other way!
As has been pointed out, the maximum wattage law in this country was to create an even playing field. Now the eu's f
ed it up!My sister passed her test last year, there were 4 of us in her car, I asked if she'd adjusted the headlights for the number of passengers. She had no idea what this meant, that it was possible, or how you would go about doing it.
I suspect this is the potential reason for 'overly bright' headlights.
I suspect this is the potential reason for 'overly bright' headlights.
Until brands fit auto-dipping / dimming lights to ALL their new cars, the newer HID lights will ps off loads of people.
The simple fact is although they are bright, they can be seen more clearly in a range of weather conditions, making driving in general safer.
LED running lights are the way forward for now in my opinion, as they still catch your attention, without being overly distracting.
s off loads of people. The simple fact is although they are bright, they can be seen more clearly in a range of weather conditions, making driving in general safer.
LED running lights are the way forward for now in my opinion, as they still catch your attention, without being overly distracting.
MarkRSi said:
Cyder said:
Apparently the customer wants that sharp cut off of light though, so don't expect to see it change any time soon.
Really? Since when? 
It could be 'smoothed' to create a gradual drop off instead but they don't like that I believe.
It's a distraction on normal roads but worse on tight roads where you can't see fk all in terms of where the edge of their car is especially if it's a 4x4 (ie a wall of light), so I just slow down and take a guess, letting the other driver make adjustments as he's the only one that can see. 
k all in terms of where the edge of their car is especially if it's a 4x4 (ie a wall of light), so I just slow down and take a guess, letting the other driver make adjustments as he's the only one that can see. Cyder said:
MarkRSi said:
Cyder said:
Apparently the customer wants that sharp cut off of light though, so don't expect to see it change any time soon.
Really? Since when? It could be 'smoothed' to create a gradual drop off instead but they don't like that I believe.
Brighter lights mean you can see further, they're fundamentally a good thing for drivers.
The only down side is having them shine in the eyes of oncoming drivers, which I can't see being a problem that technology shouldn't be able to resolve - i.e. it's not bright lights that are the problem, but poor configuration / auto-levelling / whatever.
The only down side is having them shine in the eyes of oncoming drivers, which I can't see being a problem that technology shouldn't be able to resolve - i.e. it's not bright lights that are the problem, but poor configuration / auto-levelling / whatever.
If every road user maintained their vehicle correctly and drove with reasonable consideration for other road users the modern ultra bright lights would be less of a nuisance.
Fact is many motorists are not considerate and do not maintain their cars.
In the reality of the way life is these lights are therefore a damned nuisance.
Fact is many motorists are not considerate and do not maintain their cars.
In the reality of the way life is these lights are therefore a damned nuisance.
sharpfocus said:
kambites said:
You don't want auto-levelling, you want road tracking so the headlight beam cut-off tracks the road fifty feet (or whatever) in front of the car.
Agreed.bicycleshorts said:
My sister passed her test last year, there were 4 of us in her car, I asked if she'd adjusted the headlights for the number of passengers. She had no idea what this meant, that it was possible, or how you would go about doing it.
I suspect this is the potential reason for 'overly bright' headlights.
the reason for a few, I'm sure. Stupidity is the reason for many of life's irritations, after all, especially on the roads.I suspect this is the potential reason for 'overly bright' headlights.
It's not really a problem on my car, the beam and cut off are both fine. But a few weeks ago I was driving at night, with a friends car in front of me. They could recognise my car around the other car headlights because the beams from my car were meeting at a point at the end of the beam pattern instead of being two parallel beams. Does this really matter and is it something that can get sorted at a garage or somewhere like Demon Tweeks? (local to me)
Herman Toothrot said:
Thats because they drive people carriers or big off roaders not low sports cars. Anyone who drives anything low like an Elise etc will have issue with the super bright lights.
I sometimes struggle in the Elise. Not a problem in the barge, I suspect because I'm higher.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff