RE: PH Origins: Auto-dipping headlights

[fatboy b]

Ares said:

Conscript said:

Ares said:

Conscript said:

Ares said:

As for only dipping headlights when you can see the lights coming the other way....Isn't that how eyes work? And the automatic reaction time is likely to be better than human?

He means these systems only work when you have a direct line of sight to the oncoming vehicle. Most people dip their headlights before then.

Only if they are using them needlessly? When I've had manual control, and chosen to put beams on main, its because they're needed. I'll wait until the last minute to remove that required illumination!

Which is just before you have a line of sight with the incoming vehicle, I would hope. But these systems work when they "see" the headlights themselves don't they? Which means the oncoming driver is already exposed to your own full beam, if only momentarily.

No. Not from personal experience. I'd say they cut of the (nano)second the driver would be blinded - optimum performance in my book, and removes the idiot who forgets to dip (or drives round with main beams on all the time)

I find the BMW leds the slowest to react and then they vary the beam as you go past so you get intermittently dazzled. Utter crap. Automation taken too far. As said, they only work through line of sight. That’s too late, so about time they gave up trying to make it better as they won’t.

[aaron_2000]

Didn't realise how much GM pioneered

[Jellinek]

aaron_2000 said:

Didn't realise how much GM pioneered

On a slight tangent but an opportunity to share a story... when dip beams became compulsory, my father told me his dad mounted both headlights of his van on a single, pivoting bar and ran a rod back into the cab which was activated by a lever rising up from the floor! Presumably it was cheaper to DIY it rather than pay for new headlamps. Makes me smile to this day☺️

[D.no]

Auto-main/dip headlamps still don't work well enough to be offered as a feature in my view. It takes a very distinct and narrow set of circumstances for them to work satisfactorily rather than being "confused" by road sign reflections (for example), or getting caught up in system latency at just the wrong frequency to the breaks in the oncoming traffic. The constant main/dip switching means It's like driving along in a mobile disco at times. It's embarrassing, not to mention dangerous for the unfortunate oncoming traffic. Besides, it's not exactly difficult to use ones eyes and judgement, and to operate the fingers of ones left hand anyway is it?

The only slight advantage of this feature that I can foresee is if it allows the main beams of uninterested ignorant dawdlers to become illuminated on the odd occasion. Just as long as I'm not approaching them at a moment which is inconsistent with the system algorithms.

[RichardR]

I've never driven a car with auto-main-beams so I'm intrigued to know how [well] they work at dipping the beams when you catch up with a car in front on an otherwise empty road.