Are we OK with how bright headlights are getting?

[Richard]

I used to resent (I think it's the Ford 150) drivers where they have a "C" shaped light....over and under.

The rudeness of them driving with their brights. I happen to drive a Honda Accord so I'm closer to hugging the road than they are.

Flashed my lights before...nothing. Now I'm convinced at their superior rudeness.... (I often leave at 5:00 A.M. so it's dark and then get home after dark)

Driving in the middle of nowhere once.... here comes that over/under blinding sunshine so I turned my brights on (which are bright on their own accord (no pun intended))

Then the sun was unleashed on me. Guy brights me back. As it turned out, that was my lesson that the full wrap of light comes on whereas, I thought lower/low, lower AND upper together would therefore be brights.

Ooops.

I have however, decided that if I ever went to buy a truck, I might stop by the Ford dealer....and now, accidently realize this truck has those lights.... "Can this be defeated or are they ALWAYS on like that??"

If answer is they can be defeated, fine. If not, then just walk away. I think that is the rudest design of lights of all vehicles I've seen. Whomever designed that, needs their engineer card revoked!!

 

[steve tym]

Yes, the Ford lights can be turned off. I.E., you can set the four light setup to only have 2 on in low beam. It is a weird setup. Four lights, and all four are on in low beam.

 

[ning]

I'd love to say they're all aimed badly, but I kinda doubt it just because of their prevalence.

A few years back my '97 F350's headlights were heavily yellow and sanded, and then finally leaked and filled with water so it was time to replace. I went with new clear housings + LED... so bright! I no longer tire when driving at night, because I can see so well.

I almost never get flashed, though. Maybe because it's a "big truck" but I doubt it; I think it's because I did a great job adjusting the lights. Mind you though, these headlights aren't LEDs through an almost-pinhole projector; these are the big reflectors just like came with the truck. I think this makes a lot of difference because the worst case face full of headlight you get is from a much larger area, less concentrated.

(The truck has a small "factory lift" from the original "off-road package", plus bigger tires for pumpkin clearance, so it rides higher than stock - as a result if I pull up behind a car at a stoplight, I know my lights are going right over their trunk and I turn off the headlamps, leaving parking lights on until they pull out. I can see this being a huge problem otherwise...)

I've definitely gone to the "stare at the white line" too. For whatever reason I grew up looking at headlights - probably because in my younger years I could ID potential cop cars from far off by their headlight shape, but that was still a bad habit to have. As it is now, I focus on driving on the white line whenever there's oncoming traffic, though being rural I hug the middle line to have a couple extra feet to avoid animals, so I'm bouncing around the lane depending on what's going on. I think it's a really good thing to get used to, being able to drive on the white line, regardless of a right or left turn or straight. So many head-on collisions could be avoided just by being a foot further away... and that goes double at night when some people shouldn't be driving, and visibility is worse.

 

[5030]

I finally replace the headlights on my 97 F360 Ford because they yellowed to the point where sanding them did no good, so I replaced them. My Focus RS, the headlights never got yellow. Must have changed the plastic formulation or something.

 

[ultrarunner]

Often wondered why so many cars have light covers made of plastic that ages?

My cars with sealed beams and those antique have glass that always cleans up.

The Range Rover has excellent factory lamps behind glass covers so I know glass is legal because the Rover came that way new…

 

[ning]

Often wondered why so many cars have light covers made of plastic that ages?

My cars with sealed beams and those antique have glass that always cleans up.

The Range Rover has excellent factory lamps behind glass covers so I know glass is legal because the Rover came that way new…

The plastic is less likely to fracture from road rocks, but a better reason is that the plastic ones are molded - curved - to flow with the shape of the car, while the old sealed beams were pretty standardized shapes.

 

[bigtiller]

When I go in for supper, I stay inside. It works out great, especially in the winter because mom said to come home when the street lights come on.

I seldom get a chance to drive after dark. But sometimes I have to, and when I meet an oncoming car on a 2 lane road with bright lights, I slow way-down (40-ish) and follow the white line.

I'm not taking any chances.

 

[Hay Dude]

I finally replace the headlights on my 97 F360 Ford because they yellowed to the point where sanding them did no good, so I replaced them. My Focus RS, the headlights never got yellow. Must have changed the plastic formulation or something.

F-360, huh?
What’s that, some kinda special edition truck for rich hobby farmers?

 

[bdhsfz6]

In some cases, I think the industry is over compensating for bright headlight complaints. The OEM low beam LED lights on my 2023 Buick Enclave are so dim, I sometimes think I forgot to turn them on. Most of the time, I ride around with the high beams on and I get no "flashing" from on coming traffic. At first, I thought they were out of alignment but the dealer says the adjustment is correct. I'm thinking of getting a pair of those super bright LED bulbs to compensate.

My 2021 GMC Sierra 1500 is just the opposite. I frequently get "flashed" with just the low beams on. Again, the dealer says the alignment is correct. I adjusted the beams downward myself to keep from blinding others. The problem with that is, it fails inspection and the dealer adjusts them back.

Another issue I have with these focused beam LED's on oncoming vehicles is, when they go over bumps in the road, I think they are flashing me. I then flash mine to let them know I have the low beams on. This starts the "flash war" until we pass each other.

None of this was a problem with those old round yellowish incandescent headlights. Yeah, you couldn't see much, but at least you didn't blind other drivers with them. You could also replace them yourself for a couple of bucks and 10 minutes of your time. Some of these new LED's cost $100 or more and that's just the bulbs! The labor can also get pricey, especially when you have to dismantle half the front end to replace them!

 

[5030]

F-360, huh?
What’s that, some kinda special edition truck for rich hobby farmers?

Here we go again...So I fat fingered the keyboard and you knew what I meant but just had to post a disparaging comment anyway. I keep forgetting you are perfect and never make a posting mistake on here... right. 'Kinda' isn't a word btw.