Why do 9/10 cars seem to have ultra bright headlights?

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Aggravating-Coat-518@reddit

It's the manufacturers fault, not the drivers.

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theslowrunningexpert@reddit (OP)

So these people can’t tilt their lights down on newer cars?

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PetitPxl@reddit

they are tilted down aka dipped beam. if they weren't dipped they'd be even worse.

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theslowrunningexpert@reddit (OP)

No dipped beam and tilted are two different things. Dipped beam is when you don’t have full beans on. Tilting refers to how high up your lights are pointing- there’s a setting on your car thst allows you to change the angle of the bulb. The reason for this is so that if you have heavy loads in the back, making the front of the car rise, you can angle your lights down to what would be their normal position. This is completely seperate to whether you have full or dipped beams on. This is sn issue when people just angle the lights up as it means the lights point straight at oncoming cars- lights should only be pointed at the road. Please tell me you knew this? If not it might explain all these people driving around blinding others

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PetitPxl@reddit

ah yes - do we think that people have that set wrong (surely the default would be in 'not towing mode' - or that modern lights are just so bright that tilting only makes a small difference?

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StevieJax77@reddit

Having recently got one I’ve realised the light is very direct. My old motor the light softened: there would be a bright patch, but then it softened like a blurred dimming over a range. The new one goes bright straight into nothing. I’ve needed my full beam far more than in the old car, just for moderate distance in lowish light.

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theslowrunningexpert@reddit (OP)

In your new car can you tilt the lights?

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StevieJax77@reddit

You can, but it’s still the same issue at a different range. So you go full beam far earlier than you used to. It’s not 100% about knobheadery.

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theslowrunningexpert@reddit (OP)

Ahhh, I’m with you. So these posh ponces in their 70+ plate cars might actually not be at fault for this?

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StevieJax77@reddit

Ehhhhh….. it’s not 100% definitely all their fault. I’ll be honest I wasn’t expecting it. Twilight and I’m putting the beam on down country roads. Didn’t used to need it unless it was coal-shed black. Really surprised me.

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Aggravating-Coat-518@reddit

It appears not. At least not during the past 6 years or so.

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thecornflake21@reddit

Very little ruels on brightness plus manufacturers seeming to be in completion to have the brightest led lights possible. Scary fact - a 70 year old can take around 8 seconds to recover from being partially blinded by light glare (it's 1 second for an 18 year old) so some older drivers are literally having to pull over after being affected (when they can). Imagine the impact when this happens on a fast A road doing 60mph

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theslowrunningexpert@reddit (OP)

In fairness, 70 year olds don’t need to be driving

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brightdionysianeyes@reddit

Yes when you get to 65 you retire from work and then you've no business doing anything outside after that.

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theslowrunningexpert@reddit (OP)

65? Retirement age is 68 mate, will likely be 70+ by the time I’m there. I do get you though. Of course my comment is in jest- old people need freedom. Only thing I will say though is past 60 I think people should have a yearly driving check, too many old people are cutting around with the reaction time of Harvey Price combined with the visibility of Stevie Wonder. People decline with age, it’s natural, so driving needs to be monitored.

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thecornflake21@reddit

There are now 3 yearly checks and also licences are removed for certain heart conditions etc.

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brightdionysianeyes@reddit

Annual tests for people over 60 simply aren't possible. We currently have very long wait times for the 1.6 million driving tests in the UK each year. There are [6 million people over 70 with a drivers license ](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.driving.org/surge-in-senior-drivers-uk-sees-record-number-of-drivers-over-70/&ved=2ahUKEwi3_vLHrImRAxWDWUEAHeAhNakQFnoECBgQAQ&usg=AOvVaw13rpxU0TSO4BCMZLMYozw3). (there's no stats for over 60s) So a "yearly driving check" for people over 60 would mean we would need *5 times* the number of annual test slots that we currently have.

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YodasGoldfish@reddit

70 years old have as much need to drive as anyone else

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theslowrunningexpert@reddit (OP)

There are way too many old people who really shouldn’t be allowed to drive

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YodasGoldfish@reddit

Shouldn't be allowed to drive is different from don't need to drive.

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theslowrunningexpert@reddit (OP)

They get everything paid for anyway like bus tickets

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themadguru@reddit

Everything! 😂😂😂

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theslowrunningexpert@reddit (OP)

Yes, everything. Considering anyone over the age of 40 got to live when things were a lot cheaper, they’ve had better lives and now the older people are getting pensions and all the goodies you get once you retire.

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themadguru@reddit

You've mentioned bus tickets. That's one! What are the rest of these goodies that were can look forward to?

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theslowrunningexpert@reddit (OP)

No proper bills to pay- older people lived in a time when the wage to house price ratio was multiple times better so chances are most oldies will own their home (so no rent etc.). Government gives them money towards utilities. Pension. Council tax reduction. Free prescriptions. Free eye tests and dental treatment. Railcard. Do you want me to keep going?

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Ray_Snell@reddit

Checkout r/fuckyourheadlights

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KingKhram@reddit

It makes me so mad. Tonight I was in front of a new car on the road for about 4 miles and the car was on dipped beams and I had to keep ducking because of any change of angle, uphill or downhill turned it into a full beam. Cars made within the last 3 years have lights on steroids

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farmersboy70@reddit

It's the recent and increasing use of LED and Xenon bulbs, which are harsher and sharper than more traditional bulbs. You're not imagining it, they are brighter.

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theslowrunningexpert@reddit (OP)

Ahhh I’m with you. I do wonder how the fuck they’re allowed, I’ve been struggling

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farmersboy70@reddit

I've just changed cars in the last couple of days (a Jag XF) with xenon bulbs, and I'm still struggling. Better than the Mondeo's, even after I'd uprated the bulbs, but still...

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YetAnotherInterneter@reddit

I’ve heard an excuse that “apparently they are not any brighter than regular headlights, they are just a different colour temperature which makes it appear brighter” I’m not sure that I buy this argument. And even if it’s true, it shouldn’t matter if they’re not *technically* brighter. They are enough to dazzle other drivers which makes them dangerous.

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Riquende@reddit

I see a lot of complaints about this, but I never seem to have a problem with oncoming LED lights myself. Is that possibly because I drive wearing glasses with an anti-glare coating?

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theslowrunningexpert@reddit (OP)

My glasses have anti-glare too

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DrHydeous@reddit

Manufacturers seem to have forgotten what lights are for. They think that they are fitted so that their driver can see a long way and drive fast at night. They are not. They are fitted so that other drivers can see where you are and avoid running in to you, and you don't need super bright lights for that.

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Ok-Personality-6630@reddit

Wrong. Get in a car with weak LEDs that are on all the time. At night highly visible to other road users. Then sit in the car, vision in cities with streetlights is fine. Then go into the countryside and turn headlamps off - if there isn't much moonlight you aren't seeing shit, and even with moonlight you can't see well enough to travel anything over 20mph.

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BrotoriousNIG@reddit

It’s an angle problem rather than a specific technology like LED or Xenon. Those have been around for a while but it’s only in the last few years that oncoming cars have been getting more blinding. My 2018 car has LEDs and they’re fine even at angle 0, but I’ve seen newer model years of the same model blinding me oncoming. Certain manufacturers seem to be worse for it: Tesla, Mini, Range Rover are what I’ve noticed. I think there’s also on issue with LED replacements for incandescent fitments. I don’t think they match the projector pattern correctly even with the same type number and cause this problem with older cars. I see a lot of older cars with one blinding headlight and one normal.

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querythoughtss@reddit

The government will be reviewing the headlights on vehicles are they are getting out of hand. Took them long enough to be honest. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn971jlpvvro.amp

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Ok-Personality-6630@reddit

Good. It's a problem when I go on eBay to replace headlamp bulbs and have to go 4 pages till I find older yellow ones. The rest are bragging about how they have the lumens of Alpha Centurai

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jeminar@reddit

Absolutely agree. And it's quite recent. You can buy +200% brighter LEDs for next to nothing, probably shipped from a country that drives on the other side so points the wrong way. Ignorant selfish twats, 9/10 times

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jibbetygibbet@reddit

I very much doubt that people buying and fitting aftermarket headlights is at all widespread. They’re just fitted that way from the factory these days, and usually with auto main beam so people are not actually controlling them manually. A lot of new cars also have matrix LEDs that are supposed to stay in auto mode, which is effectively main beam at night that but shaped around other cars etc - so they don’t dip completely, they dynamically dim those specific LEDs. But it doesn’t always work perfectly.

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Cam_Sco@reddit

As someone with astigmatism, yes. I bloody hate it. Also as a dog owner, going out in the winter with tons of traffic it is an actual issue. Also hate the cars with full lines of lights between the headlights, and you can barely see indicators nowadays.

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theslowrunningexpert@reddit (OP)

I also have astigmatism, plus blue eyes (lighter eyes absorb more light). Half tempted to drive in sunglasses at night at this point.

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Ok-Personality-6630@reddit

Not sure car regs but if you had a tinted motorcycle visor down on helmet at night you can get a ticket for it. I would expect the same for sun glasses.

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Cam_Sco@reddit

Blue eyes also. Very short sighted on top. I’ve actually never learned to drive at 47 yrs old. Couldn’t deal with the old yellow street lights. Now can’t deal with the bright LEDs 🤷‍♂️

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sjsosowne@reddit

Funny, I was literally saying to my wife the other day that it felt like we needed sunglasses on while we were driving at night.

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dayus9@reddit

I rarely notice much of a problem and I drive for a living in the evenings quite a lot. Maybe more people have eyesight issues and need to be checked out.

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jjgill27@reddit

I think one key issue is that lots of cars now have adaptive headlights- they are supposed to auto dim and adjust and illuminate road dynamically, but sometimes they are slow to react or don’t sense bikes or pedestrians. But they aren’t easy to override unfortunately.

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Remote-Interview-521@reddit

Add in rain at night, potholes, missing road markings and I'm surprised there aren't a lot more crashes.

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External-Piccolo-626@reddit

Unfortunately 9/10 come like that that’s it. Some have units and the bulb can’t be changed even if you wanted to. And like it or not the visibility they give is far far superior to normal halogens.

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theslowrunningexpert@reddit (OP)

The visibility they give won’t be much help when they blind me and I veer into them

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OrangeLemonLime8@reddit

It worries me because I live out in the country and it’s dangerous as fuck driving home. I genuinely can’t see the road

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Knighty5679@reddit

I used to enjoy driving at night, now I’m just constantly blinded by some a@&£hole up my a@&e, blinding me with his led’s

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ducksoupmilliband@reddit

Yep it's a problem, not just you. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn971jlpvvro

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Dedward5@reddit

Here we go again.

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Material-Bee-907@reddit

My retinas are burning

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AverageSlight3334@reddit

people want to be the BLINDER not the BLINDEE

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