Extreme bright headlights

[crazyal]

I don't think the blue HID lights are legal in the states. I'm sure most police are only going to stop someone they want to stop and just need a reason with them but I bet you would be surprised how much success you would have if you complained to your states motor vehicle department. If enough people speak up they usually tell the police to start issuing tickets.

 

[flyingcow]

HID7S

these are what i run as moose lights.

 

[IXLR8]

Those Audi A8 lights are great, I understand they are illegal in the US due to the fact that they don't have a mechanical relay/switch controlling them, and that is something that US regulations require!!??
I do a lot of driving at night, and I am so tired of being blinded by folks putting HID bulbs in reflector lamps. There is a guy who put HID bulbs in his truck fog lights... blinding to the point of being painful.. if I ever get his license plate.. I am going to report him to the police. I have flashed my hi beams at him and he just ignores me, he is totally clueless.
I am also surprised by the number of HID lamps in cars like BMW/Audi, that folks have paid a premium for, that are pointed 15 feet in front of the car rendering them about useless, not that I am complaining.

 

[Scooby074]

Some background on why the Audi Matrix are banned.

Audi Matrix Beam Headlights: Why Are They Banned in the U.S.? - YouTube

 

[Whatswrong]

Yesterday after a funeral lunch I was followed up the street at 2 in the afternoon his lights were so bright that I couldn't stand to see them in the rear view mirror .I should have made a point to see whom it was but I was on a mission and wouldn't have made a production on the street anyway.

 

[cford36]

First, I completely agree with the problem of just changing bulbs and the problem it causes.

That said, I have a 2013 with factory HID's, stock height. None of the Ford truck's auto adjust the aim of their HID's to my knowledge. Most of the time I don't get a flash, but sometimes I do. My wife and daughter both have commented when I am behind them how bright the lights are. People flash because they think you have your high beams on. I wish people would realize that if you also see their fog lights on, (which I have on if my headlights are on) unless the vehicle was made before 1980, was modified or the fog lights are after-market, then you cannot have both on the same time. Fog lights on = no high beams, so don't bother flashing me because I am not turning my headlights off. I think this applies most of the time. And fog lights have no effect to oncoming traffic since they are aimed low and wide.

Also, the HID's are more irritating to your eyes not as much because of their brightness but because of where they fall in the light spectrum. More towards the blue end is more irritating.

I am not defending those that have changed their bulbs, I am speaking as an owner of a stock OEM vehicle with HID's. I bought the truck, I didn't design it. It gets irritating when I get flashed. HID's and LED's are the future, they are not going away. I don't flash my high beams unless someone is really persistent in trying to tell me, them they get a quick flash to let them know mine are not on.

And, auto aim systems should be mandatory. Which may help with some of the problem.

 

[dodge man]

cford36, I have noticed the headlights on the newest GM trucks are the worst. They are just to bright and too high. On most vehicles, the fog lights don't blind you, but I bet on your truck they do, and I'm sorry to say this, why do you have your fog lights on if its not foggy.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

I don't think I'm on the other side of this issue because i have seen the riceburners with the purple lights but I'll weigh in for 2 cents worth. I had a 2005 Ram 3500 and the headlights were terrible in it and I even tried the upgraded silverstar lights from NAPA. Then I found an aftermarket HID lighting company and I put in 55w HID lights at 5k and 55w foglights at 5k. That was the best $200 I had ever spent. I spent over 70% of my time on country roads and being able to see deer better was fantastic. I did get flashed a few times until I turned my lights down a couple turns with the adjustment screws and it really didn't affect my highbeams at all. If I ever get another truck with the lights as dim as that one, I'm going to get the kit again.

 

[aczlan]

Lastly, fine, so you can see idiot! Do you not worry about blinding me and that I just may hit you?

That is my issue with a lot of the new LED light bars on police cars, on a dark night, I couldn't see a cop if he stepped out from in front of his car due to being blinded by the lightbar...

I am not defending those that have changed their bulbs, I am speaking as an owner of a stock OEM vehicle with HID's. I bought the truck, I didn't design it. It gets irritating when I get flashed. HID's and LED's are the future, they are not going away. I don't flash my high beams unless someone is really persistent in trying to tell me, them they get a quick flash to let them know mine are not on.
And, auto aim systems should be mandatory. Which may help with some of the problem.

When I was in Argentina in 2004-2006, we were driving a 2003 Kia minivan and a 2002 Corolla Diesel. We had people flash their lights at us frequently because they were used to the cloudy/dull lights of the other (older) cars on the road and our low beams were brighter than their high beams.

Aaron Z

 

[dave1949]

That is my issue with a lot of the new LED light bars on police cars, on a dark night, I couldn't see a cop if he stepped out from in front of his car due to being blinded by the lightbar...

Aaron Z

So true. The lights are blinding and the flashing is preventing whatever adjustment your eyes are trying to make to the light level.

As someone else said, the height of the lights above the road is a big part of the problem. I can guarantee that any pickup, no matter how well aimed the lights are, is way to high for my Honda Civic from the front or back. If I'm out in my truck, I can't help but feel sorry for the people ahead of me if they are in small cars. I try to keep a distance that helps.

I don't know of any reason why light height cannot be standardized. The transport trucks in Germany have headlights the same height as autos, for example.

 

[cford36]

cford36, I have noticed the headlights on the newest GM trucks are the worst. They are just to bright and too high. On most vehicles, the fog lights don't blind you, but I bet on your truck they do, and I'm sorry to say this, why do you have your fog lights on if its not foggy.

I think the term "fog" lights is a poor term, and misleading. It may have applied in that terms more with the old yellow lights years ago, where the yellow cut thru the fog more than reflecting off of it. The current "fog" lights help considerably with the area directly in front of the vehicle. The HID's and current Halogen seem to leave the area directly in front of the dark. Like I said they are directed low and wide, they are not going to affect oncoming traffic.

Do you by chance have fog lights? You make me think you don't or have never used them because you would see the difference.

 

[cford36]

That is my issue with a lot of the new LED light bars on police cars, on a dark night, I couldn't see a cop if he stepped out from in front of his car due to being blinded by the lightbar...


When I was in Argentina in 2004-2006, we were driving a 2003 Kia minivan and a 2002 Corolla Diesel. We had people flash their lights at us frequently because they were used to the cloudy/dull lights of the other (older) cars on the road and our low beams were brighter than their high beams.

Aaron Z

I think that is still the issue here when it comes to factory HID's. They are brighter that what people are used to. It is going to take time. But here is the fact...they are not going away. What is going away are the useless old yellowish colored headlights.

 

[aczlan]

I think that is still the issue here when it comes to factory HID's. They are brighter that what people are used to. It is going to take time. But here is the fact...they are not going away. What is going away are the useless old yellowish colored headlights.

I am fine with those as they are generally not aimed at my eyes and they aren't blinking (unlike the lightbar on a police car).

Aaron Z

 

[cford36]

I am fine with those as they are generally not aimed at my eyes and they aren't blinking (unlike the lightbar on a police car).

Aaron Z

I agree, the NYS police have some extremely bright lights.

 

[edkemper]

Headlights are adjustable. As I remember things, at least in the past, all headlights had to be adjusted to the same height and left/right at a prescribed distance. If you're driving a 10' tall truck or a Porsche, they both had to hit the same mark.

If you're driving that 10' truck and pull up behind me at a stop light at night, you might end up being there for days. If I can't see because your lights are directly in my mirror, I can't see when the light turns green. Which means, we're both parked.

I drive a 2500HD so I'm not sitting on the ground. When it's endangering me, it's time to make it an issue.