has anyone noticed how bright headlights are

[Dznypal]

its crazy lately-- cars coming at you seem to have there brights on
all 4 lights are on
and its the piercing bright lights
it just blinds you

usually things re tested umteen times
dont the manufactures test these lights to see how they shine in to on coming traffic

or there behind you at a red light and the lights are so bright its like having a spotlight on your car
just something Ive been noticing lately

 

[luvthatduke]

I saw an article recently about this.
It's apparently because of the LED bulbs now being used.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Do you live in a place without streetlights? Being in that sort of space makes the lights a bit of a shock to the eyes for me. Some people's eyes make them see starburst at night around lights, sometimes it is natural and sometimes a result of the LAZIK type procedures. if this is happening maybe there is something you can do.

When we got our Civic years ago I gad to replace the headlights within the week because they were way too low to see anything and were dangerous IMO, so I got the brightest they offered and swapped.

 

[kanerf]

I remember the auto-dimmer that Caddies used to have. Really need something like that again.

 

[tvguy]

Read many articles over the last decade or so. Seems people are getting used to them now but they are bright, but within legal limits. Apparently the other issue is the produce whiter light which our eyes "see" differently. Our 2020 Toyota has auto dimming, it turns on the high beams if there is no traffic coming, and off when it detects traffic, but we just drive with the low beams and leave that turned off.

 

[sam_gordon]

Read many articles over the last decade or so. Seems people are getting used to them now but they are bright, but within legal limits. Apparently the other issue is the produce whiter light which our eyes "see" differently. Our 2020 Toyota has auto dimming, it turns on the high beams if there is no traffic coming, and off when it detects traffic, but we just drive with the low beams and leave that turned off.

Why? I *LOVE* that feature on my Camry. High beams definitely increases the distance you can see, and the further you can see, the better at night.

 

[focusondisney]

its crazy lately-- cars coming at you seem to have there brights on
all 4 lights are on
and its the piercing bright lights
it just blinds you

usually things re tested umteen times
dont the manufactures test these lights to see how they shine in to on coming traffic

or there behind you at a red light and the lights are so bright its like having a spotlight on your car
just something Ive been noticing lately

I’ve had had complaints about the bright oncoming lights for a few years. Especially because I had a midsize sedan & so many other vehicles on the road are SUVs or trucks. That put their headlights pretty much directly at my eye level. We got an SUV in February & it isn’t quite as noticeable anymore.

 

[_19disnA]

Some drivers are clueless and seems once they put on the high bream/bright lights they never remember to turn them off. I always thought it would make sense to have them automatically shut off each time you turn off the engine. With all of the electronic controls in modern cars, would be easy for them to be programmed that way.

 

[sam_gordon]

Some drivers are clueless and seems once they put on the high bream/bright lights they never remember to turn them off. I always thought it would make sense to have them automatically shut off each time you turn off the engine. With all of the electronic controls in modern cars, would be easy for them to be programmed that way.

As tvguy said, some cars are now automatic on when they come on (sensor will see if there's a car ahead of you and keep them off). GREAT feature!

 

[kdonnel]

The US has set rules for matrix/ADB headlights that are currently either not achievable or at the very least cost prohibitive to implement.

The EU has had matrix/ADB headlights for some time. Many cars sold in the US have the EU capability but it is turned off.

With matrix headlights the light beam is made up of a million or more LED that can be individual controlled so that those that would be blinding to an oncoming car can be turned off. This means the driver still gets the best possible view while the oncoming traffic is not blinded.

Until automakes come up with a way to meet US rules we have to live with auto high beams.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/15/cars/headlights-tech-adaptable-high-beams-cars/index.html

 

[Dan Murphy]

The ones I hate the most are the ones I refer to as the 'pimp' lights' The so-called 'driving lights', 'off-the-road' lights, 'fog lights'. The clowns turn them on and keep them on. They do it because it is 'stylish', the thing to do, 'look how many bright lights MY car has'. When driving down a street, they are neither 'off-the-road' nor driving in the fog. If it is foggy, the idea is to drive with your regular lights off, to prevent light bounceback, and to have only your fog lights on, a lower level light beam, helping to prevent light bounceback off of the fog.

Many of my recent cars have had the auto dimming feature. However, I find that they often miss oncoming traffic at times, such as on hills, curves and the like. For that reason and knowing how irritating and dangerous others' bright lights are to me, I keep that feature off. I certainly do not need high beams in the city. When driving in more rural areas, I manually use my high beams.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

While part is the bulbs being used, I'd seen something a while back about how brightness adds points to a vehicle's overall safety rating. I've seen that the auto dimming feature is being phased out by some companies as it's a perceived safety issue.

I own a vehicle with extremely bright headlights. I get flashed all the time to turn off my high beams. Depending on my mood (and distance), I will flash the person to show them that these are my normal headlights. A lot of newer vehicles also have an automatic high beam feature. I use mine all the time since our neighborhood has some really dark patches and some of the country highways for regional softball aren't as well lit as main roads. They do a phenomenal job of turning off and back on with oncoming traffic and area lighting conditions.

 

[focusondisney]

I own a vehicle with extremely bright headlights. I get flashed all the time to turn off my high beams.

If this is happening that frequently, maybe that vehicles lights are too bright. Nothing you can do about it of course, but certainly seems to be a safety issue for oncoming drivers.

 

[tony67]

Two other issues around this are

1) people adding after market headlight that are brighter or whiter or whatever - legal or not - that are blinding

2) many more "big" vehicles with newer brighter headlights - so the headlight are basically at the level of your back window and blind you at stop lights - this is getting more and more common IMO

 

[sam_gordon]

Do newer headlights still allow the driver "aiming" adjustments? I seem to remember being able to adjust a set screw to move the aim point of the lights higher/lower or left/right. Of course, I'm old and maybe that's gone the way of the dodo.

I do think PP mentioned a key difference... SUV/Truck headlights will be higher on the frame, which could cause issues if they're not directed correctly.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

If this is happening that frequently, maybe that vehicles lights are too bright. Nothing you can do about it of course, but certainly seems to be a safety issue for oncoming drivers.

It's just one of the vehicles known to have bright standard headlights. I believe the OEM headlights (low beams) are around 1,800 lumens/candelas. 3,000 is the max, so it's still well within legal limits. Safety ratings are tied to the vehicle occupants, so as long as the brightness is within legal limits, that remains their focus. I can say that it makes a significant difference with driving. I've gotten so used to the expanded field of view that it's hard driving a vehicle with lesser lighting. If you Google "Hyundai Palisade or Kia Telluride bright headlights," you should find a number of forums with people discussing how they get flashed by other drivers that mistakenly think we're driving with our high beams on.

It's also not just Hyundai and Kia. This 2023 article notes a vehicles by class with the brightest lights. https://www.evoindia.com/blog/the-most-powerful-headlights-on-modern-production-cars

I know a lot of people who have purchased night driving glasses to combat the increased glare from the industry trend towards brighter headlights. My prescription glasses have a similar feature because my gut says that everything is going to start skewing to the brighter side as older vehicles with lower lumens lights are replaced by more modern ones trying to get better safety ratings.

 

[tvguy]

Why? I *LOVE* that feature on my Camry. High beams definitely increases the distance you can see, and the further you can see, the better at night.

We drive mostly in town where the low beams are bright enough. I did turn it on when we were in Yosemite at night on the twisty roads with little traffic, watching out for bears in the road. My neighbor has a Tundra and he also turned off all the Toyota Safety Sense stuff, adaptive cruise control, lane departure and emergency braking because he found them annoying. I have to admit the adaptive cruise control takes some getting used to, and then when I get in my Flex which does not have it, you have to remember you don't have it.

 

[sam_gordon]

We drive mostly in town where the low beams are bright enough. I did turn it on when we were in Yosemite at night on the twisty roads with little traffic, watching out for bears in the road. My neighbor has a Tundra and he also turned off all the Toyota Safety Sense stuff, adaptive cruise control, lane departure and emergency braking because he found them annoying. I have to admit the adaptive cruise control takes some getting used to, and then when I get in my Flex which does not have it, you have to remember you don't have it.

LOVE adaptive cruise control. When I have a rental that doesn't have it, or I'm driving DW's van, I need to consciously remind myself I don't have it. DS and DW will turn off lane departure because they don't like the annoying beeps (on curvy roads), but I leave it on 95%+ of the time.

 

[NotUrsula]

I wish. I've got a 2019 Outback with the wimpiest lights on the planet; DH keeps telling me to turn my lights on when they are already on. I've asked about upgrading them but have been told it's not possible.

(Otherwise I love the car, and it's paid for and the mileage remains low, so I'm not interested in changing vehicles right now.)

 

[BayouQueen]

Being sensitive to certain kinds of light, I rarely drive at night anymore. I feel really sorry for truck drivers.