Are we OK with how bright headlights are getting?

[Oaktree]

LED headlights are great if you're driving, for oncoming drivers not so much.
LED (and to a lesser extent HID) lamps DO cause a lot more glare, especially when road surfaces are wet.

My gripe with new car lighting is that the dash lights are always on. This results in countless idiots driving around at night with their headlights off.

Don't most modern vehicles have automatic headlights? GM vehicles have had them for decades now.

The lamps can’t be legal as some pierce the rear view even when dim

Bingo! Most, if not all aftermarket replacement headlight bulbs have never been DOT approved, and as such are not legal. You can kinda, sorta get away with them in projector headlamps if properly adjusted. Don't even consider it with reflector headlamps.

 

[2manyrocks]

FWIW, somewhere I remember reading some advice to look at the white line and not the headlights, but agree that the newer lights help light up the road, but are also more blinding.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Add to the bright lights are the butt heads using driving lights/fog lights or worse yet, an off road light bar in conditions where the extra lighting is not needed.

 

[ruffdog]

I just adjusted my low beams because I was getting flashed all the time (not the good kind of flashed either). We'll see if it helps.

It is so easy to do too.

 

[ponytug]

It's a double edge sward for me. I'm getting to where I don't see as well at night, so I appreciate the bright headlights on my vehicle. But I drive a truck 99% of the time so I'm sitting high enough that most of the time I don't experience the negative side. However, I have had instances where I have blinded people with mine and could not help it. My truck does still have the old fashioned bulbs but they are mounted quite high. Lots of times when I pull a trailer they point too high, but are correct when I'm driving without a trailer. There is no provision for me to be able to easily adjust them based on load. I feel bad about it but nothing I can do really. Also, when I'm driving around town at night and end up at a light with a short car in front of me, or in a drive through I'm blinding them through their mirrors. Used to I would cut off my lights and just use my parking lights until I got out of that situation. Now with the auto lights it's hard to do that. I've had my truck a year and still can't figure out how to do that. The headlights are on at night, and if i turn them off the daytime running lights are on, and guess what, IT'S THE SAME DANG LIGHTS!

I agree that it is a double edged sword. On the one hand, older lights never enabled me to see things "two seconds" out for a timely stop, and while the newer lights are great for seeing that deer lurking by the edge of the road in time, some headlights have a lot (ok, too much) overshoot. I have read that some cars come with auto leveling headlights to minimize the issue, but if the terrain isn't pancake flat, it is not much help.

To your trailering headlight issue: There are devices for load leveling your truck when trailering, e.g. air suspension bags, and weight distributing hitches for bumper pull trailers. I've driven both, and personally, I prefer the latter as they typically come with antisway features as well, and for me that makes trailering safer, though I know a lot depends on the tow vehicle and trailer.

All the best,

Peter

 

[ruffdog]

Don't most modern vehicles have automatic headlights? GM vehicles have had them for decades now.

What we really need is adaptive (ADB) headlights. The US is dragging their feet on this advancement and it would be a game changer.

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

 

[Jstpssng]

FWIW, somewhere I remember reading some advice to look at the white line and not the headlights, but agree that the newer lights help light up the road, but are also more blinding.

I have done this for years; mostly because I am afraid there might be a pedestrian there.

 

[Jstpssng]

Add to the bright lights are the butt heads using driving lights/fog lights or worse yet, an off road light bar in conditions where the extra lighting is not needed.

Many if not most of those are sold for "off road use" as they don't meet DOT specs.
Then there was the time I flashed my high beams at somebody to get them to shut their fog lights off; and they flashed their blues at me. Oops!

 

[bridge4]

What we really need is adaptive (ADB) headlights. The US is dragging their feet on this advancement and it would be a game changer.

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

This is really what needs to happen. Hopefully thats implemented soon, then in 20 years it will trickle down and benefit us as the average car is 12 years old I think the real high end cars are doing this or something like it now.

The look at the white line doesn't work on me. I'm basically a bug and can't help but stare at the cars and try to figure out what car is coming at me based on the headlights/outline shown.

The only real fix is don't drive at night. Easy in the summer, near impossible in the Winter.

 

[Carl_NH]

We have LED auto headlights in the 2018 Tundra that also has a leveling knob for changing the height for a load etc.

When I run with "auto high beams" (back roads) the sensors are pretty fast to dim - less than a second, and sensitivity - lights on a driveway will dim them too.

The only case where they don't shine is if the opposing vehicle is cresting a hill or around a turn, then yes, they can be very bright for a second, and I attempt to dim manually in these cases when I see them.

I also have poorer night vision than I used to, and really like these new lights, but agree, the opposing lights are very bright too, and I have flashed my HB in these cases too when running low beams.