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?
Its (like many things) mostly the us’s fault. A slide away from rules into vibe based everything.
I remember a long time ago when I was first getting my license you had to pass a headlight test where you parked in a spot and there where painted lines on a wall for both high and low beams. It was how you adjusted your lights and was common in Canada. Now no one even knows what I am talking about. The rules are still there but no one enforces them and most forgot they can even adjust their lights (not sure new cars and trucks can be anymore).
Manufacturers in North America are now putting their lights so high up on vehicles and use such bright piercing lights on everything that night driving has become a nightmare. The answer to getting blinded is now to out blind others, its madness.
I love that people are asking me if I have some kind of visual deficiency when the phenomenon of blinding lights is so common that it’s in the simpsons from 27 years ago lol
Its gotten to a point that seems impossible, just full clown world. Its gotten to the point that my favorite car to drive at night is my Fiero, because I am so low I am below most of the blinding lights.
And those are “only” halogen. It’s gotten much worse since then. Like you said, a sort of arms race.
It’s also common with European cars, which are much lower and yet have increasingly bright (and bluer?) lights.
The brightness is an issue, but the placement and angle are the bigger problem. Its the slippery slope of following american trends. Years ago Mercedes Benz (I think) put out a car that used IR light and a heads up screen (no visible headlights, just running lights) showing the driver the night landscape without needing to blind everyone. It was banned in the states, no real reason why but the idea went dead.
Was it banned in other countries too, or is there some other reason it isn’t used?
Not sure, but the tech is old and tested (almost all cold war era things used IR lights). The issue is I think they can sell the super terrible bright lights as “safety” features. And a lot of consumer trends are american based and just forced on the world.
A German auto company isn’t going to pull a safety feature from the EU, South American, and Asian markets just because it’s banned in the US.
No but they will not also pursue one that is not allowed in the us market as hard. But then again times are a changin.
I think you’re over estimating the amount of influence the US auto market has had.
Cost, probably
Mercedes put it in the S-Class, their flagship. They can afford fancy extras there.
Makes sense.
It was banned in the states
UV scare. They had to use UV lights to make it work. But they weren’t on the same wavelength as say a tanning bed but people made a noise about it anyways.
No IR not UV. Not the same wavelength UV and IR are on the opposite sides of the visual spectrum.
This is so cool…I wish this would have taken off. I had to find some videos to see what you were talking about in action so I’m sharing here:
https://youtube.com/shorts/pxUod6Sx5w8
https://youtube.com/shorts/sg0pG0V3JIE
This third one in rain is wild:
Without actual headlights I’m certain someone would pull out in front of you, people are dumb
capitalism ;)
There’s another way. Adaptive headlights can fix this: https://youtube.com/shorts/AgxVuXC0T44
You’re not wrong though. Even crappy headlights on taller vehicles seem much brighter to observers. My buddy’s 2005 RAM is proof. When we’re in it, I’d have better luck seeing with a flashlight, but when he’s driving behind my car, it’s like someone’s shining the bat signal into my rear window.
Also, don’t get me started on people who replace their bulbs with HID or LED bulbs but don’t spend the money on projector headlights. It’s infuriating.
Look up Audi’s Matrix projection headlights. I really want to see more cars incorporating this technology.
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
Nothing better than having to cover my eyes at night because my retinas are being fucking burned out of my head.
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.
“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.”
Adjust your lights to not blind other drivers?
Well that’s no fun at all!
I haven’t accepted it. Speak for yourself
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
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.
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.
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
There’s a strong temptation to wander my neighborhood with a thick piece of wood and “solve” my problem locally
See the thing is cars scare me and I don’t drive. Luckily my husband drives.
There’s been a few campaigns against this sort of thing: https://www.theringer.com/2024/12/03/tech/headlight-brightness-cars-accidents
Because it’s the sole responsibility of the owner to repair the car (and sometimes passengers) when it hits a wild animal, and brighter bulbs are an inexpensive preventative measure. And you really can’t replace people.
Other people complain about the bright lights, but they get real quiet when you say you hit a deer and now you have to pay hundreds you can’t afford to fix your car.
It’s the same with ad blockers. People say they cost websites money, but as soon as you get ransomware they say that’s on you, you should have used an ad blocker.
It’s a catch 22. Those who are proactive are painted as the problem by those who won’t help those who aren’t and wind up owing or paying more.
That’s what we gotta figure out. Otherwise we’ll all just keep talking past each other.
So basically what someone wrote above: “what’s important is that me and my family and property are safe”. Fantastic way to live in a society with other people.
Other people complain about the bright lights, but they get real quiet when you say you hit a deer and now you have to pay hundreds you can’t afford to fix your car.
What are you saying? Why would other people get quiet about what’s bothering them because you have to repair your car? Why is that everybody else’s problem? You are aware that you could slow down at night to avoid hitting wildlife, right? Blinding other innocent people at night is not “being proactive”, and it’s in no way morally comparable to ad blockers. The people being subjected to this aren’t trying to harvest your data to make money on you.
This is why we’re in such a mess now. People have been trained that society sucks and it’s every man for themselves now.
So that’s what I’m saying. People are talking past each other, no one is accomplishing anything.
And yes, the lives of my partner and kids is worth more than your inconvenience. I’m sure your partner and kids are worth more than my inconvenience. That’s just how people are. Maybe you don’t have kids, maybe you have elderly parents you care for. Maybe you’re a lone wolf and you don’t have anybody, but surely you recognise that there are other people with people they love and value over the convenience of others, so the point stands.
I don’t like bright lights either. But I’m also not donating to some stranger’s GoFundMe because he hit a deer being a nice guy who put your convenience over his safety, and now he’s got a broken leg, smashed fender, thousands in hospital bills, and hundreds in auto repair bills. I’m a nice guy, but I got needs and I also got wants. Does that make me an arsehole? If so, then so be it. The question is, are you donating? You said “why is that everybody else’s problem” implying it isn’t yours. So you aren’t, either. You put the blame on the guy for not driving slower. You’re saying his safety is his problem. Okay, fine. Now you don’t get to judge how he fixes that problem.
But don’t get me wrong. It’s the Internet, you can say what you want. But talk is cheap. Or as we said in the 1980s, “money talks and bullshit walks.” All we’re doing is walking in circles. I’m not going to convince you and you’re not going to convince me. Therefore, the problem will not get solved, at least not between us. The silver lining there is that it is statistically unlikely that we will ever meet face to face, or on the road.
It is interesting, however, that you take the opposite position with ad blocking. True, they are not exactly the same thing, but it is a similar situation. And, like headlights, or slowing down, there are multiple solutions. But you passionately defend both sides of a similar argument when the subject changes. That should at least inform you that you are capable of reason, and that you can see that there are valid arguments on both sides. So, if nothing else, maybe you can at least appreciate that we will solve nothing by talking past each other. We’re tilting at windmills.
There was one moderately useful comment when I made mine: someone mentioned adaptive headlights. What they failed to mention, likely because it would undermine their point, is the cost of adaptive headlights. Ars Technica recently (week or two ago, I’m not gonna go dig for it) had an article about adaptive headlights. They sound great. They sound like they are the solution. In short, you get extremely bright light when you need it. When you have oncoming traffic, you still get stupidly bright light, but a smart array of LEDs makes sure none are pointing at the oncoming driver. Everything around them is lit up like high noon, but the other driver isn’t inconvenienced. That sounds awesome, but it’s also prohibitively expensive. The good thing is, cars will have this standard in a decade or so. Just like things like power windows and locks, power steering, and automatic transmissions became standard, so too will this. Then people will look back and call us savages.
the lives of my partner and kids is worth more than your inconvenience.
But not worth more than your inconvenience or you’d just slow down when you can’t see as well.
A huge number of people are unaware that headlights must be aimed. Some are not adjusted by the manufacturer or dealer before sale (Tesla, Toyota). Sometimes a large enough pothole or going over a speed bump too fast will knock alignment off.
Couple this with American police driving primarily SUV’s (higher up, less bothered) and no longer issuing “fix-it” tickets unless using headlights as an excuse to pull over minorities, and we wind up with tons of issues. Feed the prison system- Don’t waste time making the roads safer!
Lawmakers are increasingly separated from those they are elected or appointed to represent by heightened economic status, and are not affected by issues that plague everyday citizens. No longer are they accountable to their constituents- Money drives their political aims.
As a frequent night driver, I often see people late at night using only the decorative running lights (because they don’t understand the light controls?) or with one or both headlights aimed at the ground just a few feet ahead of their car from hitting a bump or a minor accident. Sometimes one or both headlights will be pointed too high. Other times, drivers have their brights on purposefully because their low beams are burned out, or perhaps for their own benefit.
It is a complex issue that I can see only getting worse in the future. Social consciousness needs to become a thing in America.
Because we decided we hated to have our vehicles inspected. If we still did that these people would get violations.
