Lights that are too bright?

[MarkF48]

Perhaps not a "moth" effect, but when struck with bright light the pupils get smaller and lessens what you can see that is darker, so in effect you are somewhat blinded. The strobe effect of the light will leave a residual image in the eye that fades quickly, but could be disorienting with continual bursts from strobes. The strobes are electronic and could easily be designed to automatically switch to a reduced power when it's dark.
I've often thought a rear facing bright white strobe in the back window would be a good deterrent to a night time tailgater.

 

[coobie]

That's sad, but doesn't change the fact that the strobes are too bright. At night I'm still blinded AFTER I'm past them. If you can't see, it's hard to drive; yet one can't just stop in the middle of the road.

I also get tired of the standard "texting" comments... the way some people talk you'd think there was never an auto accident before 1990. In at least some cases I believe people gripe about it to draw attention from their own bad habits, i.e. being in such a hurry that anything in front of them is an "obstacle."

You don,t have to stop in the middle of the road JUST SLOW DOWN and move over.

 

[aczlan]

Have you ever worked out on a public road for a living or carried your best friends casket?I have in fact my co-worker/great friend was killed 3 years ago by a dumbchit driver who would not slow down,our led beacons were flashing in broad daylight.Now the after affect,I sat down with his (wife married for 38 years)and 4 kids/2 grandkids and try to explain what had happened.You talk about gut sick?Try that sometime.I have NO sympathy for the idiot drivers on the road who text message use the cell phone and by god just got to get there no matter what the expense.The most saddest thing my co-worker was set to retire in sept and got killed in june..The bright led lights were put on emergency vechiles because the idiot drivers were not slowing down for the older type revolving beacon lights.

True, but when the lights are bright enough that you CANNOT SEE THE COP once you get past the light bar because your eyes got "adjusted" to a light that is almost as bright as a set of headlights, it is too bright.
I have (slowly, ~10MPH) gone past a cop who had someone pulled over and if he/she had walked out in the road in front of me, I COULD NOT HAVE SEEN THEM because they had a full LED light bar flashing very fast, plus lights in the back window, plus strobes in the reverse lights (was a NY Trooper in a Tahoe).

Also on my "idiots with strobes" list is one of the local towns has ~10 amber oval grommet mount strobes on the back of their dump trucks that plow snow. You cant follow them at less than half a mile (at night) without sunglasses.
The state trucks by comparison have a pair of big (8"?) amber lights that flash SLOOOOOLY and aren't as hard on the eyes.

IMO, a SLOWER strobe pattern (even with the same amount of light) would be much better because your eyes could adjust to it better than the 5 million flashes per minute that they seem to prefer.
If you put out enough light/glare to put people into the disabled range (vs just discomforted range) you have reduced safety because people cannot see the people who are supposed to be "protected" by the lights.

Aaron Z

 

[aczlan]

You don,t have to stop in the middle of the road JUST SLOW DOWN and move over.

When I am the only car on the road (other than the cop and the person they have pulled over) and I have to slow down to 5MPH because I have been blinded by the strobes and even then, it is 50/50 if I could see if the cop was flagging me down, the lights are too bright.

Aaron Z

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Also think they are too bright. Has nothing to do with the speed people are going.

I almost hit a cop one dark rainy night. The car was in the medium of a multilane divided highway, with the bright lights flashing. I'm in the right lane, slowed down, couldn't see anything going on, and suddenly I see a little red light right in front of me. The cop had walked out in front of me, wearing a black raincoat on a dark rainy night, and holding a little red flashlight. He was just stopping cars and asking to see license and registration, which I believe is an unreasonable stop. If I hadn't slowed way down he would have been toast.

Had a cop hit yesterday afternoon while on a traffic stop. The person who ran into the cop car, cop, and the stopped car works for the State Police.

 

[coobie]

When I am the only car on the road (other than the cop and the person they have pulled over) and I have to slow down to 5MPH because I have been blinded by the strobes and even then, it is 50/50 if I could see if the cop was flagging me down, the lights are too bright.

Aaron Z

Well I have a question what should we do to change this?I am all ears..More regulation,more government senate hearings?

 

[Jstpssng]

Well I have a question what should we do to change this?I am all ears..More regulation,more government senate hearings?

How about more common sense? The strobes are causing temporarily blind drivers; so use something less bright.The complaints expressed here aren't unique; I was behind two tractor trailers last winter and they were complaining about being not being able to see when they got past the trooper.
(Thankfully I wasn't in front of them.)

 

[coobie]

How about more common sense? The strobes are causing temporarily blind drivers; so use something less bright.The complaints expressed here aren't unique; I was behind two tractor trailers last winter and they were complaining about being not being able to see when they got past the trooper.
(Thankfully I wasn't in front of them.)

Sad thing most people don,t have common sense,now what?

 

[Mike68]

Well I have a question what should we do to change this?I am all ears..More regulation,more government senate hearings?

I agree with the post we need more common sense. Probably some idiotic politician that mandated the too bright strobes to begin with. Many do not understand, or believe in, the "law of unintended consequences"

 

[aczlan]

Well I have a question what should we do to change this?I am all ears..More regulation,more government senate hearings?

Slow down the flash pattern, dim the lights at night, make the rear lights a "chase pattern" (so it goes from one side to the other using 2 lights at a time), run a amber "showme" bar in the back window (or as a 2nd color in the main bar) and light up a set of the front/side lights as "scene lights" so the area in front of and around the vehicle is well enough lit to see the officer.
Also, do training so they see what the lights look like to someone who is driving by.

I agree with the post we need more common sense. Probably some idiotic politician that mandated the too bright strobes to begin with. Many do not understand, or believe in, the "law of unintended consequences"

Pretty sure its just a lack of limits (or enforcement) on whats allowed for light output, so departments are saying "brighter is better" and running the brightest, fastest flashing pattern available.

Aaron Z