When the lights are too bright
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Asleep at the Wheel in the Headlight Brightness Wars
The crusade against bright headlights has picked up speed in recent years, in large part due to a couple of Reddit nerds. Could they know what’s best for the auto industry better than the auto industry itself?
And about the effects of LEDs vs incandescent or halogen...
https://theringer.com/2024/12/03/tech/headlight-brightness-cars-accidents?
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This is a subject about which my wife is passionate. Between cataract surgery and treatments for wet macular degeneration, she is very concerned about the ability to see. The glare of oncoming headlights and sometimes also following headlights is very disturbing to her.
Some partial solutions may exist and are mentioned in the article. Failing to use low beams when approaching or following another vehicle is the simplest change but also the hardest to enforce. I think it's symptomatic of the entitlement or ignorance some drivers display in many ways on the roads. Automatic dimming might help somewhat with this.
It's clear that banning LED replacements for cars not originally designed for them could help, but with the phaseout of older sources like incandescent or halogen, that possibility becomes harder to require.
The ADB control that directs light preferentially away from oncoming vehicles in the opposite direction is a technical change and potential improvement that has IMHO real merit.
Lowering the mounting height could also help, but with the rise in popularity of large SUVs and trucks could be hard to require. Such vehicles introduce hazards to other drivers and pedestrians that are hard to regulate effectively.
I'm glad someone is at least trying to publicize the issue.
Big Al
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@ShiroKuro said in When the lights are too bright:
He has a cat whom he just calls “Cat.”
Just like Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s!
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Great article, thanks @wtg !
We really hate those super bright lights. Our car has a low profile, so that makes us more susceptible to the SUVs and trucks as well.
On the topic of safety... Americans drive too fast and the speed limits are too high. Given how fast everyone is driving, I totally get the desire for "down-road punch." If everyone slowed down, maybe that would be mitigated somewhat....
And to the other point in the article, yes, I'm afraid there is an increase in selfishness... as well as just a lack of awareness of, or interest in, one's impact on others.
