Halogen lights, too bright!

[Neil Adams]

anyone else with me on this,
blinding white light, even if you're not looking behind you, as it reflects of the mirrors, whats the point of them being so bright, its not like they need to light up the moon!

[Daimlerman]

Yes, I must admit that I find these new "super powerful" lights quite distracting. Especially in wet conditions when you suffer from reflections from the road surface as well.

I also suffer as my car (Jaguar XJS) is so low that even on dip beam the headlights of a car behind me shines right into my rear view mirror. Especially true of 4X4s.

Mind you some of the problem might be that I am more sensitive to light as I get older.

[Aysedasi]

Its the bloody bikes that sit just outside you, waiting to overtake so that their headlight(s) shine straight into your mirror and therefore your eyes - I hate that!

[spanner]

I swear the beam isnt actually pointing forwards but into the next lane, as i find i'm being blinded even when i'm not in the same lane. Its actually better if you move into there lane!

[Tim Falce]

I'm glad it's not only me that has noticed this. When I drive down the country lanes near my wife's stables I am constantly blinded and can never see beyond these new headlights.

[Dave Brand]

Originally Posted by spanner

I swear the beam isnt actually pointing forwards but into the next lane, as i find i'm being blinded even when i'm not in the same lane. Its actually better if you move into there lane!

If you look at the dipped beam on your own car you'll see that it is offset to the left. The reason for this is to illuminate the edge of the road on the side you're driving while minimising dazzle to oncoming traffic. Unfortunately it does mean that when a 'Red Arrows Syndrome' sufferer formates on you on a motorway you get the full benefit of the offset.

[Neil Adams]

phew thought it might have just been my eyes! they are definatley too bright, you cant see anything behind you except the white light, meaning you cant really change lane safely - there could be a bike there somewhere.

i've noticed it particularly with the new range rovers the full beams must be ridiclously bright,

had the same prob as daimlerman as well the other day, range rovers lights level with my back window, is very annoying as you have to squint to see even ahead of you due to the reflections, not good after 7 and a half hours staring at a pc screen

[Bluebottle]

I think the worst ones are xenon lights, offered as an option on many cars. Way too bright. I know that a car can fail the MOT test if the lights are too dim, is there a maximum allowed brightness?

[Dave Brand]

Originally Posted by Bluebottle

I know that a car can fail the MOT test if the lights are too dim, is there a maximum allowed brightness?

There must be some legislation on this. I know 100 watt halogen bulbs are illegal for road use; they certainly give a lot of light.....allegedly!

[bella]

those xenon ones are really annoying, they look like police blue lights...

[garcon]

These new lights are certainly very bright, but the headlights that bug me the most by far are those on clapped out sheds that are clearly not aligned properly and point straight at you as you pass. Oh, and the complete s who think it's a bright idea (bright, gerrit?!) to put their one functioning headlight on main beam to somehow make up for the fact they can't be arsed replacing the bulb in the other one.

There's alot to be said for a car with auto-dimming mirrors...

[GP Racer]

The Xenon lights were only put on cars for one reason, status.

If you see a car with those ridiculously bright lights coming at you, you can guarantee its a BMW, or a Mercedes. There's simply no other need that I can think of to have such bright lights on a road car.

Wait until they need replacement, whew! Are they expensive!

[coln72]

Obviously you guys havent had to drive at night in Australia. Too much light is never an issue if you are trying to dodge kangaroos etc. If you have seen the damage that skippy can do to a car then you wouldn't be complaining about how bright lights are on cars, you'd be complaining about the lack of brightness.

Currently I am running 80W low beam globes and 100W high beam. In addition to this I am also running 100W driving lights as well and I wish I had more light on occasions!

I agree it is a pain when someone is behind you but is it so hard to dip your rearview mirror..........

[Daimlerman]

Originally Posted by coln72

Obviously you guys havent had to drive at night in Australia. Too much light is never an issue if you are trying to dodge kangaroos etc. If you have seen the damage that skippy can do to a car then you wouldn't be complaining about how bright lights are on cars, you'd be complaining about the lack of brightness.

I agree it is a pain when someone is behind you but is it so hard to dip your rearview mirror..........

Don't see that many skippies wandering around our roads here in the UK

No it's not that hard to dip the rearview mirror, but the wing mirrors are another matter!

[Bluebottle]

Originally Posted by coln72

Obviously you guys havent had to drive at night in Australia. Too much light is never an issue if you are trying to dodge kangaroos etc. If you have seen the damage that skippy can do to a car then you wouldn't be complaining about how bright lights are on cars, you'd be complaining about the lack of brightness.

Currently I am running 80W low beam globes and 100W high beam. In addition to this I am also running 100W driving lights as well and I wish I had more light on occasions!

I agree it is a pain when someone is behind you but is it so hard to dip your rearview mirror..........

There are dark roads and large animals in other countries too. We're not talking about main beam brightness here, were taking about dipped beam, i.e. what you use in lit areas and when traffic is coming towards you. Dipping the rear view mirror is easy but there's also the wing/door mirrors to think about. It takes much less time and effort for the person behind you or coming towards you to dip their lights, it's not rocket science.

[johnh875]

And quite frankly coln72, super bright low beams like your 80W's are an absolute pain in the rear for other drivers too. Try driving in front of them through hilly country over crests where you get them shining in the rear window.

[ASCII Man]

And these types of headlights seem to be mainly used by Mercedes cars with drivers that are well known world wide for their arrogance in traffic...

I think it's a conspiracy from Mercedes to take over the world with these arrogant *******s who are solely there to take out the competition by not using indicators and hugging the tail of another car by 5 cm on a motorway, not to mention leaving and entering parking lots with absolutely no regard to oncoming traffic...

All the pieces fit together perfectly, there can't be another explanation for this IMO!

[Bluebottle]

I think you're loosing the plot ASCII Man!


Although you may be right...

[garcon]

It's Mercedes that have lost the plot. Big drop in market share, poor quality interiors that self destruct and dealers that apparently couldn't give a .

Back to the headlights - I honestly haven't had much problem with the new bi-xenon / gas discharge jobbies. They can be rather bright approaching over a brow and such, but nothing like they are on full beam (unless the clueless forgets to dip ). One thing that probably helps is that I wear glasses for driving that have a clear anti-glare coating - perhaps takes the edge off without the danger of wearing reactalites at night...

One game I always used to enjoy with my old Impreza was the one where the (usually old fuddy duddy) driver coming the other way thinks you have main beam on when you haven't. Whereupon I'd say to myself, "that's not mainbeam, this is mainbeam!" and give them a nice friendly flash with my PIAA 100 watt rally lights.

(And hopefully there are one or two drivers out there who couldn't be arsed dipping their lights that now have permanent blackspots in front of their eyes... )

My mate's got a couple of KC "Daylighters" on the front of his Rangie. Not sure what wattage they are, but they do exactly what it says on the box...

[Bluebottle]

Originally Posted by garcon

without the danger of wearing reactalites at night...

Reactalites only react to sunlight, I have mine on right now and they're not dark

I used to have a problem with drivers not dipping their lights on unlit country roads. For seven years I cycled to and from work down the aforementioned unlit roads and this was before cyclists could get decent lights with a main and dipped beam and suitably large battery pack. Most drivers dipped their lights for me (on being blinded by their own light bouncing off my reflective gear!) but for the odd occassion when a driver didn't dip lights I was contemplating fitting a camera flash to my handlebars!!

[garcon]

Originally Posted by Bluebottle

Reactalites only react to sunlight, I have mine on right now and they're not dark

Ah. Good point!

[Dave Brand]

Originally Posted by Bluebottle

Reactalites only react to sunlight, I have mine on right now and they're not dark

As they react to ultraviolet light, they also don't work in cars, as car window glass blocks most of the UV.

[Bluebottle]

Originally Posted by Dave Brand

As they react to ultraviolet light, they also don't work in cars, as car window glass blocks most of the UV.

Simple solution- drive an open car (don't forget your sunblock!)

[Woolley]

Why, is it waterproof too?