I’d almost accept the brightness of LED headlights if there would be a solution to the high beams. I don’t know if there’s auto high beams that don’t work as designed, or people are idiots and just leave the lights in high all the time, or what. But when I have to avoid the light in my autodimming mirrors because it’s still too bright, and the glare from THEIR lights is making the road signs in front of me hard to look at…
Light usage in general on cars these days is ridiculous. No one thinks about the other drivers, even when they see someone else doing the same thing they are. And no headlights in the dark? Are they insane?
A literally large issue that adds to the problem, especially in the USA, are the ridiculously large and tall trucks out there now. Even low beams on those can and will easily blind drivers of smaller vehicles, both from in front and even behind.
Exactly. You have to consider the angles when your lights are 6 feet in the air. In order to not blind the car in front of you, you have to point them down. But then that also impairs your forward visibility. So fuck the person in front of you.
IMO part of the problem is unlit freeways: technically, people ought to be using their high beams on those roads because the speed limits are too high to have time to react with the short reach of regular beams, but they can’t do so in practice because of blinding the other drivers around them. The only good solutions are lowering speed limits or pulling a Belgium and lighting the entire road network.
East coast? Plenty of light, mostly, because it is lit, and so many other cars you can easily see them.
I70, anywhere, same thing - so busy you’re never alone.
I’ve rarely had this concern, and I’ve driven all over the country. I’ve occasionally thrown my high beams on, but modern headlights are already so much better than good old incandescents that it’s a minor thing.
Plus, to quote one of my favorite characters “Honey, I never drive faster than I can see”.
or people are idiots and just leave the lights in high all the time, or what.
It’s that one. Partially, anyway.
I’ll quote James May, in context for once:
The local attitude to headlights seems to be full beams, or off.
I went to the hardware store after dusk the other night (Hey, Lowes closes at 10:00 PM) and on a short ~2 mile drive I counted nine oncoming cars coming at traffic with their high beams on. Nine. I flashed all of them and only one of them comprehended and turned them off. People are absolutely clueless, and that’s not even counting the morons who have one low beam bulb burned out so they deliberately drive around with their brights on all the time rather than replace that bulb, so they “don’t get a ticket.” News flash, dummy: If a cop notices you actually two tickets. Even if you pay Autozone prices, a bulb is cheaper…
So yes, much of it is a people problem. Another people problem is that a lot of twerps just buy the cheapest LED retrofit modules from Amazon which don’t provide the correct beam pattern from the reflector headlight assemblies in whatever their clapped out hoopty is. Versions totally do exist that work properly, but they cost $10 more so nobody buys them. Except me, apparently. (Except except, I deliberately have flagrantly illegal unaimed, high powered modules in my high beam sockets expressly for the purposes of lightly crisping anyone who deserves it. I really don’t have occasion to use my high beams otherwise.)
I see a lot of people in my area with no lights on at all after dark, and it definitely is an increasing number compared to previous years. This isn’t just a crotchety old man thing, either. People’s driving habits got really bad during COVID and never rebounded back to even their previous level of general incompetence (already a low bar) afterwards.
I’d almost accept the brightness of LED headlights if there would be a solution to the high beams. I don’t know if there’s auto high beams that don’t work as designed, or people are idiots and just leave the lights in high all the time, or what. But when I have to avoid the light in my autodimming mirrors because it’s still too bright, and the glare from THEIR lights is making the road signs in front of me hard to look at…
Light usage in general on cars these days is ridiculous. No one thinks about the other drivers, even when they see someone else doing the same thing they are. And no headlights in the dark? Are they insane?
A literally large issue that adds to the problem, especially in the USA, are the ridiculously large and tall trucks out there now. Even low beams on those can and will easily blind drivers of smaller vehicles, both from in front and even behind.
Exactly. You have to consider the angles when your lights are 6 feet in the air. In order to not blind the car in front of you, you have to point them down. But then that also impairs your forward visibility. So fuck the person in front of you.
IMO part of the problem is unlit freeways: technically, people ought to be using their high beams on those roads because the speed limits are too high to have time to react with the short reach of regular beams, but they can’t do so in practice because of blinding the other drivers around them. The only good solutions are lowering speed limits or pulling a Belgium and lighting the entire road network.
Depends on where you are.
East coast? Plenty of light, mostly, because it is lit, and so many other cars you can easily see them.
I70, anywhere, same thing - so busy you’re never alone.
I’ve rarely had this concern, and I’ve driven all over the country. I’ve occasionally thrown my high beams on, but modern headlights are already so much better than good old incandescents that it’s a minor thing.
Plus, to quote one of my favorite characters “Honey, I never drive faster than I can see”.
deleted by creator
It’s that one. Partially, anyway.
I’ll quote James May, in context for once:
I went to the hardware store after dusk the other night (Hey, Lowes closes at 10:00 PM) and on a short ~2 mile drive I counted nine oncoming cars coming at traffic with their high beams on. Nine. I flashed all of them and only one of them comprehended and turned them off. People are absolutely clueless, and that’s not even counting the morons who have one low beam bulb burned out so they deliberately drive around with their brights on all the time rather than replace that bulb, so they “don’t get a ticket.” News flash, dummy: If a cop notices you actually two tickets. Even if you pay Autozone prices, a bulb is cheaper…
So yes, much of it is a people problem. Another people problem is that a lot of twerps just buy the cheapest LED retrofit modules from Amazon which don’t provide the correct beam pattern from the reflector headlight assemblies in whatever their clapped out hoopty is. Versions totally do exist that work properly, but they cost $10 more so nobody buys them. Except me, apparently. (Except except, I deliberately have flagrantly illegal unaimed, high powered modules in my high beam sockets expressly for the purposes of lightly crisping anyone who deserves it. I really don’t have occasion to use my high beams otherwise.)
I see a lot of people in my area with no lights on at all after dark, and it definitely is an increasing number compared to previous years. This isn’t just a crotchety old man thing, either. People’s driving habits got really bad during COVID and never rebounded back to even their previous level of general incompetence (already a low bar) afterwards.