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lisa_williams_wgbh t1_jdcf8de wrote

I often wonder if folks are using their high beams or if newer cars just have headlights that are really way too bright. Cars that are very high up off the ground tend to shine a light right into my rearview too.

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NoMoLerking t1_jdcjxpw wrote

It’s just the headlights natural state. My wife’s car came with blinding headlights. I even lowered their angle a little but I still get people flashing their brights at me when I drive her car.

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lisa_williams_wgbh t1_jddednj wrote

Yeah, I flashed my lights at someone who I thought had their high beams on and forgot they were on...THEN they put their high beams on. I nearly ended up in some hedges 😂

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pigeononapear t1_jdczd8r wrote

Yeah, my car’s a 2019 model and I constantly have people flashing at me because they think my brights are on. They’re not. They’re my regular lights, sorry if they’re brighter than normal, but I’m not driving in the dim/dark with no lights because that’s also a problem!

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anubus72 t1_jddi499 wrote

Are they angled too high? Even if they’re bright, if they’re angled properly it won’t usually bother people

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pigeononapear t1_jddjz4n wrote

Could be, they’re angled however the manufacturer angles them. Is that something that can be adjusted? (Genuinely asking, my knowledge of cars is…not robust.)

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anubus72 t1_jddkcew wrote

It might be something you can do, depends on the car. The yearly state inspection is supposed to cover that but idk if every inspection place actually bothers

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pigeononapear t1_jddxoyy wrote

I actually just got the car inspected yesterday and they didn’t raise any concerns about the headlights. If I bring it in for service in the future I’ll try to remember to ask if there’s a concern there.

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Bostonosaurus t1_jddqmy0 wrote

Don't fuck with your headlights because someone on Reddit told you to.

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pigeononapear t1_jddx11s wrote

Honestly not something I would attempt myself no matter how much advice I got anywhere, so no worries there.

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datheffguy t1_jde766p wrote

Don’t blind everyone on the road because you’re too dumb to adjust your headlights.

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FourAM t1_jdg1ras wrote

Literally a thread about headlights being too bright and people are downvoting proper car maintenance. I swear some of you should have your licenses taken away.

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datheffguy t1_jdh4m80 wrote

Im assuming the downvotes are from people who feel dumb because they didn’t realize you could adjust them. In the vast majority of cars it takes no effort, the housing is easily accessible.

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Wise-Dark4 t1_jdghe4h wrote

If they're adjustable your owners manual will tell you how. I've had to do it with mine before.

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Mo_Dice t1_jdhakwd wrote

Have you considered maybe fixing them so you're no longer a road hazard?

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sarcasticlhath t1_jdchwwl wrote

Is it the LED lights that are causing issues? I know they mess with peoples eyes.

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redtech42 t1_jdcuwon wrote

I'd argue it's not LED lights, but dealers taking advantage of gullible people, or people not knowing any better.

I have ridiculously bright headlights, but I have my lights pointed down. I forget where I read that the beam must fall 2.5" over 20', but on the highway, I can see new Corollas with their low beam pattern aimed up several degrees. I can already imagine a scummy salesman claiming "Look how bright our headlights are! Better visibility for your safety!”

Of course, there are trucks with their headlight lenses a whole 5 feet off the ground. Screw them, because even with properly aimed headlight beams, my rearview mirror is still in the path, so my entire cabin looks like it's daytime...

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BikerHikerHorse t1_jddntia wrote

There really need to be better regulation and enforcement on this. Was driving home last night shortly after dark, already a very tricky time for night time vision and movement perception for most people, and just kept getting blinded by one car with insanely bright or incorrectly aimed beams or another one of those dumbass 6 foot tall "IM bIg BoY!" trucks that are in vogue right now after another. I was essentially blind on the road for a good chunk of it and if a kid ran out in front of me or something I am not certain I'd be able to stop or evade in time. It's ridiculous and there's seemingly nothing I can do about it other than buying a fucking lifted hummer.

Maybe my eyes are getting old, or I just didn't notice or care before but this seems like a thing that got way worse in the last 2-5 years.

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redtech42 t1_jddogwp wrote

It's almost like the only way to avoid the problem is to be the problem...

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SXTY82 t1_jdeqagn wrote

Kind of? It is with overly bright tail lights. The standard for how bright a light should be is stated in watts. That was fine for incandescent lights but watt is a description of power, not brightness. So when more efficient led lights came out they still needed to be a certain wattage and are too bright for purpose. Example my led lights in the house are 850 luminaries. They are approx equivalent to a 40w bulb. They only draw 8 watts.

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tacknosaddle t1_jdcvoyv wrote

There are also people who get aftermarket lights for their cars but don't adjust the aim correctly so it has the same effect as brights on 24/7 when from the driver's seat they think it is just normal headlights. This is exponentially more likely in cars that have been modded with fancy rims, a spoiler, soda can muffler or anything associated with drifting.

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AchillesDev t1_jdd0mj7 wrote

That's a super small minority that has been shrinking since the 00s. Most headlights aren't aimed high because they're adjusted as part of the yearly inspection.

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pr0grammer t1_jdetwhd wrote

HIDs and LEDs in reflector housings are still pretty common as far as I can tell. I get blinded by old Civics with clearly-aftermarket bulbs pretty regularly.

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dudebrobossman t1_jddcavy wrote

It's about 50-50. On some older cars it's easy to tell that the high beams are on as a separate set of lights inside of the normal lights.

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mmmsoap t1_jdeamha wrote

There are a lot of SUVs that have badly focused lights that are pointed too high.

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snoogins355 t1_jddkaml wrote

My truck had auto high beams. They could detect other cars' headlights and turn off. Turned that shit off immediately

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beeinabearcostume t1_jdfpyii wrote

Same. The auto function is particularly dangerous on winding roads with hills where they don’t detect an oncoming car until they’re right in front of you.

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Doortofreeside t1_jde9m3l wrote

Tbh I've started using my brights specifically because other cars' headlights blind me and I need every bit of clarity I can get and brights help me with that.

It sucks but when the majority of cars either have blinding lights or are pickups/sun's which also have blinding lights. I'm pretty certain that brights are substantially less bright than those two groups anyway

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