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Car headlights don't have to be this blinding

107 points by pavel_lishin

by calmbonsai

7 subcomments

This is largely poor regulation. The assumption that "more bright = more safe" and the lack of enough real-world testing.
The only other product analogy that comes to mind is "thicker = better" for hiking socks. When they got too thick, they applied too much pressure to the heal and also provided additional moment distance making it far easier to roll an ankle.

by 0x59

2 subcomments

Blindzone Glare Elimination Method can help address some of this
https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/blindzoneglaremi...
It doesn't help at all with head on traffic, but glare via my side mirrors has been reduced greatly since I implemented this.

by njarboe

5 subcomments

A big problem is bright screens and displays inside of cars at night. Your night vision never kicks in so you need extra bright lights to see, thus these bright lights that only light up a small section of the road. The more dispersed and even lighting of the old lights is so much better.

by mdp2021

6 subcomments

Same in europe, since a few years.
It should be illegal, but there you are.
There is the possibility (as said by an apologetic driver) that it sometimes may be a badly functioning automation ("Too high? Oh but it's automatic").

by synergy7

1 subcomments

If you think this is bad, try walking alongside a small road after dark. Some of the oncoming lights are blinding even from a few blocks away.

by yboris

2 subcomments

I heard in Germany when a vehicle is being inspected (yearly?) the headlights' angles are checked to not be beaming into oncoming traffic. Feels like useful regulation to include in every country.
I have blue eyes, it hurts to drive at night.

by ptaffs

3 subcomments

Was discussing at home (USA) this same idea that vehicle lights are brighter and drivers are less inclined to be bothered to dip. I rented a car in the UK several years ago which auto-dimmed the beam and was fascinated by the technology which would allow it to differentiate light sources and identify oncoming vehicles.

by mylittlebrain

0 subcomment

And to make it worse, there are so many large vans and pickup trucks (empty too) speeding, that also have very bright and eye level cornea melting LED lights.

by tyjen

2 subcomments

The worst offenders are people buying aftermarket extra bright headlights, then incorrectly installing them at an angle that blinds oncoming traffic.

by m463

0 subcomment

a few things
- glare for older people might be due to deposits in their lens, which can be corrected by cataract surgery. The deposits make oncoming headlights like a dirty windshield at sunset. (disability glare)
- glare for people with good vision is all the light focused at the same point on your retina and is sort of painful. (discomfort glare)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glare_(vision)
some cars have matrix/adaptive headlights now:
https://www.notateslaapp.com/news/2059/tesla-matrix-headligh...

by oregano

0 subcomment

I also complain about this but it’s obviously not ever going to change.
I always have blue blockers (yellow and also dark orange lenses) in my car and wearing them totally prevents pain and fatigue for my eyes.

by incanus77

0 subcomment

This scourge is so bad.
I drive a 40 year old vehicle and a friend created an aftermarket adjustable headlight frame allowing it to move from all-in-one rectangular headlight/high beam sealed units to modern LED bulbs and then an accessory of choice on the inner spaces left over. I chose a classic-looking LED that does regular, high beam, DRL, and amber turn signal all in one and then put off-road fog lights on the inner spaces. But I would not leave the house after night with the vehicle until I adjusted them to DOT spec. Because they are so much brighter and sharped-edged than factory, I can see that they don’t go above oncoming windshields and are aligned properly horizontally.
The excellent guide that I used to align my lights:
https://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html

by jerlam

0 subcomment

There's an interesting trend of some cars having their daytime running lights and their low beams in completely separate positions, with the car design only emphasizing the former. This effectively reduces the height of the headlight even if the car is taller. Here's an example:
https://youtu.be/KGhycuensJw?si=ZCycH7l5hQDktqqK&t=54
Surprisingly the Cybertruck also has this layout.

by remyp

1 subcomments

This is so much worse now that crossovers are the default car in the US. I seem to be the last person in America driving a car that isn't a tank and have never understood why everyone loves those massive machines so much.

by ptaffs

0 subcomment

https://archive.is/20260610124844/https://www.theatlantic.co...

by teeray

2 subcomments

EU folks: are ADBs the panacea that all these articles always make them out to be? I’ve seen mixed reports.

by borski

0 subcomment

https://archive.is/I4K0L

by keane

0 subcomment

Key posts from the subreddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/fuckyourheadlights/wiki/index/misin... https://www.reddit.com/r/fuckyourheadlights/comments/18lrf3d... https://www.reddit.com/r/fuckyourheadlights/comments/1akn0ku...

by post_break

1 subcomments

As someone who has retrofitted headlights with proper HID projectors, deal with RHD to LHD conversions, on some vehicles you can make your headlights look absolutely amazing, with no glare or harm to oncoming traffic. Some of these OEM headlight designs are atrocious. 2015ish F250's are some of the worst headlights when it comes to this.
What really pisses me off? LED bulbs only available in 6000k or higher. I had to import some Osram H4 bulbs from the netherlands because they are a warmer factory 3000K temperature. We really need regulation on glare, because right now it's the wild west.

by supertroop

0 subcomment

Straight pipes on Harleys are illegal. But when cops are the ones driving the Harleys who is going to enforce it? This is the problem with certain types of regulations. Like sheriffs who ignore gun regulation in their county.

by tristor

0 subcomment

I like having bright LED headlights, however I also made sure my headlights are correctly aimed and that my auto-leveling is working correctly. My car also auto-dims high beams and has ADB/turning lights. So, in short, I understand why people like bright lights and I'm also conscientious so my vehicle is not the problem.
I drive a normal height hatchback. I live in Texas. The /vast/ majority of vehicles on the road are trucks and SUVs, and many of them have aftermarket lift kits which further exacerbates the problem. The main problem is vehicle height and improperly aimed headlights. There's no real enforcement or regulation for headlight aiming, and worse we have no effective vehicle height restrictions. Not only do these insecure little men blind you at night, their cattle guard/reinforced bumper mounted to the frame will decapitate you if they hit you because of the bumper height difference from the 6+ inch Chinese lift kit they added to their truck to stroke their ego and allow them to "bully" drivers on the road by intentionally tailgating and driving aggressively in their oversized vehicle.
The problem is epidemic in America, and it's a problem of both regulation and culture. As long as the typical American driver is somebody who enters the road ignorant of basic driving dynamics, with a selfish attitude, inattentively barreling down the road in their massive fuck-off symbol of insecurity, we are not going to fix this.

by dude187

0 subcomment

Outside of the decades long trend of overly bright headlights, I've noticed a more recent uptick of drivers seemingly deliberately leaving their high beams on full time. Not sure if it's "keeping up with the Joneses" or just people with older headlights that can't see them over the bright ones, but I'm blinded by at least one car with clear brights on every night drive recently
I will say, while there's now more overly bright headlights of varying degrees of blinding, it's better then when every truck started buying HID headlights and putting them in normal headlight housings. Felt like there was a period of time where headlights were either the normal tone, or a super bright light hitting you from all directions

by Melatonic

0 subcomment

[dead]

by eigenhombre

2 subcomments

This is a pet peeve of mine, so when a headlight went out a few weeks ago I asked my mechanic about bulb options. He said he had no other choices for me, so now I am part of the problem too.
Seems like a classic Tragedy of the Commons situation / use case for regulation....

by 7e

7 subcomments

Tesla is a big part of this. They ship their headlights misaligned from the factory, so they point right into the drivers eyes. Tesla has no quality culture at all. A bunch of wankers.