Lights that are too bright?

[Tomtint]

I'm watching our local news tonight and another cop was hit on the side of the road while he had another car pulled over. I see this more and more often these days. I'm convinced that the LED lights the cruisers have whaling on top of them are to blame for many of the accidents. I think they cause a "moth effect" and blind oncoming traffic, and thus people are drawn into the lights. Has this ever been studied in any other state ?

 

[dusty3030]

I don't know about the moth effect if I buy that, but their lights are ridiculous - especially if its more than one patrol car.
I have a hard time seeing at night anyway with the glare they make it where I can't see anything. I slow down and ease through it, but unless they have a flashlight in their hand the blue strobes wash out any reflective gear they are wearing and I can't see them at all.

 

[Jstpssng]

I think the bright lights probably have a lot to do with it; also, many people are in too much of a hurry to slow down when they come upon an emergency situation or construction site.

 

[DrRod]

I hate to hear of a cop being struck like that. We had a real tragedy of that sort here where a highly regarded, well-liked young officer was killed. I often wonder why they don't make the driver pull over a bit further once stopped. Yeah, he might use that as the opportunity to run [I watch "Cops"] but it would be relatively rare and might save some lives in the long run.

 

[KennyG]

I'll put the blame on drivers who are numb. If you can't slow down enough to see clearly and drive safely when you see emergency lights you shouldn't be on the road.

 

[Tomtint]

I'll put the blame on drivers who are numb. If you can't slow down enough to see clearly and drive safely when you see emergency lights you shouldn't be on the road.

More than a few times, drivers have slowed down, only to be rear ended because the guy behind them was blinded by the lights and did not see the car in front of them .02

 

[Jstpssng]

More than a few times, drivers have slowed down, only to be rear ended because the guy behind them was blinded by the lights and did not see the car in front of them .02

Some people simply don't believe in slowing down for anything. Here it's a law; if you can't change lanes you're supposed to slow to to a safe speed.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I agree. Emergency vehicle lights are a safety hazard.

 

[SPIKER]

I agree. Emergency vehicle lights are a safety hazard.

Count me in for that with these super bright LED HID & "Flash" bulbs going off 10 times a sec...

Worse when they are BEHIND ME lol.

 

[oosik]

I guess out here in the toolies we aren't quite so hi tech. Drove past some kind of accident on the freeway( I-90) the other night and all the flashing, strobing & blinking didn't seem too bad. I HATE driving at night - headlights are way to bright. I'll only drive at night if I absolutley have to.

 

[bigtiller]

Some people simply don't believe in slowing down for anything. Here it's a law; if you can't change lanes you're supposed to slow to to a safe speed.

We have that law in Iowa also, but there are a few drivers that don't have the time to spare.

 

[OrangeToys]

Even if it not a law, would you still be driving that fast if you had a loved one walking down the road? Why risk hitting sombody just to save a minute getting to your destination.

 

[dusty3030]

1. People don't care.
2. Drive time = texting time - they aren't watching.
3. The issue of the lights though is valid. The Arkansas state trooper cars strobes are so bright and fast you literally are blinded at night. I came up on an accident scene on a 2 lane where there were two of the ASP cars - both with lights full flashing at night that I came to a complete stop because I could not see at all. I had to shield my eyes with my hand and creep through. I could see the troopers flashlight / wand but not him and it appeared to be waving me though, but but I could not see over the strobes.

 

[LD1]

Count me in also as one who thinks they are just WAY too bright at night.

They are okay for daytime, but you dont need a super bright light flashing to be visible at night. I dont care how slow you go, When you cannot see, you cannot see. So whats the options, come to a complete stop til the officer finishes his stop and moves on??? OR go pretty darn slow and hope he sees you and doesnt step in front of you?

those light bars already have a TON of settings. Different strobe patterns, differnt broadcast directions, different colors, etc. Why cant they have a day and a night setting. with night only being about half as bright? Currently you can see them strobes from 5 miles away, would it make a difference if they were dimmed so you could only see them from 2.5 miles away?

 

[Mike68]

I agree with several other posters. The lights are much too bright at night. So much so that it is difficult to see anything else, including someone standing in the road in front of the car.

I always slow down and move over yet I am still worried i am going to hit something because i can't see.

I wish the NTSB would do a study and make recommendations on proper use of emergency lights. Brighter is not necessarily safer. Maybe angle the strobes so that they are bright but not blinding. Bright lights are OK as long as they don't shine directly into your eyes so that all you can see is spots afterwards.

 

[dave1949]

I'm in the too bright group. Some of it has to do with reduced night vision that is common with ageing.

As others said, speed is immaterial if you are blinded.

 

[coobie]

I'm watching our local news tonight and another cop was hit on the side of the road while he had another car pulled over. I see this more and more often these days. I'm convinced that the LED lights the cruisers have whaling on top of them are to blame for many of the accidents. I think they cause a "moth effect" and blind oncoming traffic, and thus people are drawn into the lights. Has this ever been studied in any other state ?

I blame the idoit drivers that feel the need NOT to slow down and respect emergency vechiles..

 

[Fidler4]

Many years ago CHP in California stopped using their strobes on the side of the freeway during traffic stops. I bet it was because of safety to keep drunk drivers from having the moth effect.

 

[coobie]

More than a few times, drivers have slowed down, only to be rear ended because the guy behind them was blinded by the lights and did not see the car in front of them .02

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.

 

[Jstpssng]

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.

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."