This subject has come up before but I can’t find it at the moment so I will just reiterate on my opinions. Beam shaping headlights are just a bandaid on a very simple problem; headlight placement...
This subject has come up before but I can’t find it at the moment so I will just reiterate on my opinions. Beam shaping headlights are just a bandaid on a very simple problem; headlight placement is not well regulated. People get their cars lifted or replace the headlights with aftermarket options and there is effectively no punishment for them when they aren’t properly aligned and blind people. In addition, cars keep getting taller so when they drive close to you, there is no reasonable angle they can be statically set to avoid blinding the driver in front.
Beyond that, these headlights have a number of minor annoyances that get to me. Number one is that they must be relying on some sort of CV system to tell what level the headlight should be in, which means that it’s not perfectly reliable and will be blinding people accidentally for at least a short period of time when it can’t identify what a car is. It is also a luxury feature, which means that it is going to bring the cost of cars up even more, and when something fails it will be more expensive to replace.
I definitely agree that headlight placement is the bigger problem here. I recently bought a sports car that isn't particularly low but every single SUV and crossover that comes up behind me has...
I definitely agree that headlight placement is the bigger problem here. I recently bought a sports car that isn't particularly low but every single SUV and crossover that comes up behind me has their headlights directly behind my rear view mirror so I just get blinded in the evenings and nights.
I've had the same experience in my hatchback. Somehow, with the height my eyes are at when I sit down and how my mirrors line up, it feels like every single SUV and truck has their lights at the...
I've had the same experience in my hatchback. Somehow, with the height my eyes are at when I sit down and how my mirrors line up, it feels like every single SUV and truck has their lights at the perfect height to reflect in all of my mirrors and perpetually blind me. That combined with a bad case of astigmatism has made me absolutely hate driving at night.
Bumpers too. I read that in the US bumper heights were regulated and bumpers were bumpers. Cars could bump, minimally, without creating revenue for body shops.
headlight placement is not well regulated.
Bumpers too. I read that in the US bumper heights were regulated and bumpers were bumpers. Cars could bump, minimally, without creating revenue for body shops.
Can we also call out how frustrating how other cars are often the only focus of regulation, if there is any regulation at all. The new "auto dim" feature drives the living shit out of me. When I'm...
Can we also call out how frustrating how other cars are often the only focus of regulation, if there is any regulation at all. The new "auto dim" feature drives the living shit out of me. When I'm walking or biking down the road in our sleepy little town and someone is drives through with their headlights on full blast because their auto dimmer doesn't recognize me because I'm not another set of obnoxiously bright lights. I get needing them to see for driving, but it feels like they are getting brighter and brighter, and prioritizing high beams, way more than is necessary.
The halogen lamp was invented in the '50s. Seriously, though—while, as /u/Akir points out, lamp positioning and aiming are very problematic, I think the biggest cause of issues is that modern...
The halogen lamp was invented in the '50s.
Seriously, though—while, as /u/Akir points out, lamp positioning and aiming are very problematic, I think the biggest cause of issues is that modern headlights are too goddamn bright. There's no good reason for them to be that bright; too much illumination wipes the driver's night vision, leaving them unable to see anything that falls outside the range of the lights.
IIRC the brightness is regulated in the US, but the color temperature is not. Newer LED lamps can sometimes have very low temperature white light, which appears to be brighter than the warm light...
IIRC the brightness is regulated in the US, but the color temperature is not. Newer LED lamps can sometimes have very low temperature white light, which appears to be brighter than the warm light of older halogen bulbs. But the regulations get ignored for aftermarket upgrade parts.
I drove for an hour at night on the highway recently. It seemed like not only were headlights a problem, but also how people used them. Oncoming cars turned their brights off way too close, and...
I drove for an hour at night on the highway recently. It seemed like not only were headlights a problem, but also how people used them. Oncoming cars turned their brights off way too close, and cars approaching from behind don't turn their brights off until they're right behind you. I also had one guy turn his brights off to pass me, but turn them back on immediately when his front bumper passed my rear bumper, flashbanging my side mirror for a few seconds until he got all the way past me. Even closing one eye and looking to the edge of the road didn't help much until that guy made it past me.
Part of the issue is brighter lights inside the cabin. Digital gauges and infotainment blind drivers and make it difficult to see the road outside the vehicle. We need to mandate OLED screens and...
Part of the issue is brighter lights inside the cabin. Digital gauges and infotainment blind drivers and make it difficult to see the road outside the vehicle. We need to mandate OLED screens and automatic dark modes when headlights are on.
This subject has come up before but I can’t find it at the moment so I will just reiterate on my opinions. Beam shaping headlights are just a bandaid on a very simple problem; headlight placement is not well regulated. People get their cars lifted or replace the headlights with aftermarket options and there is effectively no punishment for them when they aren’t properly aligned and blind people. In addition, cars keep getting taller so when they drive close to you, there is no reasonable angle they can be statically set to avoid blinding the driver in front.
Beyond that, these headlights have a number of minor annoyances that get to me. Number one is that they must be relying on some sort of CV system to tell what level the headlight should be in, which means that it’s not perfectly reliable and will be blinding people accidentally for at least a short period of time when it can’t identify what a car is. It is also a luxury feature, which means that it is going to bring the cost of cars up even more, and when something fails it will be more expensive to replace.
I definitely agree that headlight placement is the bigger problem here. I recently bought a sports car that isn't particularly low but every single SUV and crossover that comes up behind me has their headlights directly behind my rear view mirror so I just get blinded in the evenings and nights.
Jeeps are the absolute worst for this. So many of them blind me when they are behind me.
I've had the same experience in my hatchback. Somehow, with the height my eyes are at when I sit down and how my mirrors line up, it feels like every single SUV and truck has their lights at the perfect height to reflect in all of my mirrors and perpetually blind me. That combined with a bad case of astigmatism has made me absolutely hate driving at night.
Bumpers too. I read that in the US bumper heights were regulated and bumpers were bumpers. Cars could bump, minimally, without creating revenue for body shops.
Can we also call out how frustrating how other cars are often the only focus of regulation, if there is any regulation at all. The new "auto dim" feature drives the living shit out of me. When I'm walking or biking down the road in our sleepy little town and someone is drives through with their headlights on full blast because their auto dimmer doesn't recognize me because I'm not another set of obnoxiously bright lights. I get needing them to see for driving, but it feels like they are getting brighter and brighter, and prioritizing high beams, way more than is necessary.
The halogen lamp was invented in the '50s.
Seriously, though—while, as /u/Akir points out, lamp positioning and aiming are very problematic, I think the biggest cause of issues is that modern headlights are too goddamn bright. There's no good reason for them to be that bright; too much illumination wipes the driver's night vision, leaving them unable to see anything that falls outside the range of the lights.
IIRC the brightness is regulated in the US, but the color temperature is not. Newer LED lamps can sometimes have very low temperature white light, which appears to be brighter than the warm light of older halogen bulbs. But the regulations get ignored for aftermarket upgrade parts.
Don't forget blinding cars in front of you by shining light into their mirrors.
I drove for an hour at night on the highway recently. It seemed like not only were headlights a problem, but also how people used them. Oncoming cars turned their brights off way too close, and cars approaching from behind don't turn their brights off until they're right behind you. I also had one guy turn his brights off to pass me, but turn them back on immediately when his front bumper passed my rear bumper, flashbanging my side mirror for a few seconds until he got all the way past me. Even closing one eye and looking to the edge of the road didn't help much until that guy made it past me.
Part of the issue is brighter lights inside the cabin. Digital gauges and infotainment blind drivers and make it difficult to see the road outside the vehicle. We need to mandate OLED screens and automatic dark modes when headlights are on.