i’m not normally in support of taking control away from owners, but automating headlights seems like a big one. make radar and/or lidar, along with LED headlights, a requirement on new vehicles and have them automatically reduce brightness when a vehicle approaches. my old mazda would at least automatically turn the high beams off if a vehicle was a certain distance away from me.
Seriously… I hate my own damn headlights! People flash their high beams at me as if I have mine on, but they’re just the stock headlights… I’ve been seriously considering going to a mechanic to have dimmer lights installed lol
A lot of vehicles have a beam dip adjuster in the cab. Mine pops out when I press the center of the light control selector.
Officially, they are to correct for a heavy load in the back. Unofficially, if you tweak them, you can flip between longer range, and polite as required.
If you watch your lights, there should be a fairly sharp cut-off at the top of their coverage. If that line ever hits a window or mirror, it will look like you are flashing them. If it’s too high, either fix it yourself (generally quite easy) or get it fixed.
Aim them yourself. You’ll spent more time finding a good spot to aim them then actually doing it.
If they’re LEDs or HIDs they’re probably just a screw you turn to aim them. If they dont then it’s basically the same thing, but in a less convenient spot. Look up the proper aiming procedure for your car, or just wing it by finding a car in a parking lot.
I know the feeling. I had a rental car once for two weeks and I was more than once road-raged because of the lights. Everyone thought I was high-beaming it, but nope.
My cars low to the ground and only has halogen lamps, so if I’m ever flashing high beams at an SUV with overly bright lights, it’s only so I can continue to see the road. LEDs are insane and the governments too busy facilitating record defense contractor earnings to do anything about it.
That’s what sealed-beam headlights used to be before composite housings which are proprietary to a given vehicle were legalized.
In fact, sealed-beams are still widely used in commercial vehicles because of their standardization to a point where they can be picked up anywhere and they’re just gonna work.
OMG, light pollution in general has become my current “white whale,” and the gods awful headlights on these ridiculous cars makes the most of it!
We should be able to see the stars at night, I don’t think we have to sacrifice a dark night for the sake of “safety,” maybe use a different color of street lamps, or get the lights on the walkway with just enough to find your way around
On my car I have matrix headlights. I think every car should have them it’s honestly awesome technology and it’s a lot safer than normal lights. Hard to explain how they work just go look up a video and see for yourself
No; personally i find those annoying as hell when a car with those is behind me. Having partial high beams on either side from behind, that also come on and of with oncoming traffic, is really distracting. Never mind the “less good” implementations, that blind you through your side mirrors.
Not well at all when it comes to avoid blinding bicyclists, that’s for sure.
Just another tech developed by the car industry pretending there are only cars in the road.
Headlights that don’t blind oncoming vehicles
The headlights themselves should be mounted at a standard height. Taller vehicle? Mount the lights lower on body.
No second headlights on trucks either
i’m not normally in support of taking control away from owners, but automating headlights seems like a big one. make radar and/or lidar, along with LED headlights, a requirement on new vehicles and have them automatically reduce brightness when a vehicle approaches. my old mazda would at least automatically turn the high beams off if a vehicle was a certain distance away from me.
Seriously… I hate my own damn headlights! People flash their high beams at me as if I have mine on, but they’re just the stock headlights… I’ve been seriously considering going to a mechanic to have dimmer lights installed lol
Your headlight level adjuster might be stuck or broken. Have your mechanic check that it works.
A lot of vehicles have a beam dip adjuster in the cab. Mine pops out when I press the center of the light control selector.
Officially, they are to correct for a heavy load in the back. Unofficially, if you tweak them, you can flip between longer range, and polite as required.
If you watch your lights, there should be a fairly sharp cut-off at the top of their coverage. If that line ever hits a window or mirror, it will look like you are flashing them. If it’s too high, either fix it yourself (generally quite easy) or get it fixed.
If people regularly flash their lights at you over it, you probably should.
Aim them yourself. You’ll spent more time finding a good spot to aim them then actually doing it.
If they’re LEDs or HIDs they’re probably just a screw you turn to aim them. If they dont then it’s basically the same thing, but in a less convenient spot. Look up the proper aiming procedure for your car, or just wing it by finding a car in a parking lot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDudMM4J-ZE
I know the feeling. I had a rental car once for two weeks and I was more than once road-raged because of the lights. Everyone thought I was high-beaming it, but nope.
My cars low to the ground and only has halogen lamps, so if I’m ever flashing high beams at an SUV with overly bright lights, it’s only so I can continue to see the road. LEDs are insane and the governments too busy facilitating record defense contractor earnings to do anything about it.
If you’re in Canada, they’re developing standards and they’re asking for feedback. There’s a survey to fill out on the Transport Canada site.
They won’t do shit unless the US does it first. Government loves to consult and ignore.
https://tc.canada.ca/en/corporate-services/consultations/canadian-experience-vehicle-headlights-glare-night
That’s what sealed-beam headlights used to be before composite housings which are proprietary to a given vehicle were legalized.
In fact, sealed-beams are still widely used in commercial vehicles because of their standardization to a point where they can be picked up anywhere and they’re just gonna work.
OMG, light pollution in general has become my current “white whale,” and the gods awful headlights on these ridiculous cars makes the most of it!
We should be able to see the stars at night, I don’t think we have to sacrifice a dark night for the sake of “safety,” maybe use a different color of street lamps, or get the lights on the walkway with just enough to find your way around
Please, I don’t want to lose the Night!
On my car I have matrix headlights. I think every car should have them it’s honestly awesome technology and it’s a lot safer than normal lights. Hard to explain how they work just go look up a video and see for yourself
No; personally i find those annoying as hell when a car with those is behind me. Having partial high beams on either side from behind, that also come on and of with oncoming traffic, is really distracting. Never mind the “less good” implementations, that blind you through your side mirrors.
Not well at all when it comes to avoid blinding bicyclists, that’s for sure.
Just another tech developed by the car industry pretending there are only cars in the road.
Reminds me of the Simpsons episode, where they design the “perfect” family vehicle - and it costs too much for a middle class family to afford.
Meanwhile, it’s impossible to find and affordable car with manual transmission, locks and windows.
Just don’t make headlights stupid bright.