Headlamp Glare

[presta]

For anyone who didn't sign the petition, there was a debate last Wednesday, even though it didn't get past 13,000 signatures. Nobody asked why headlamp brightness needed to go up from 3000lm to 6000lm in the first place.

 

[Drago]

The motor manufacturers love q good arms race.

 

[Dogtrousers]

For anyone who didn't sign the petition, there was a debate last Wednesday, even though it didn't get past 13,000 signatures. Nobody asked why headlamp brightness needed to go up from 3000lm to 6000lm in the first place.

Can you give us a bit of context please? What petition? What increase in brightness? Who does it apply to? Is it a minimum or maximum? What points were made in the debate? What's the likely outcome?

 

[presta]

Can you give us a bit of context please? What petition? What increase in brightness? Who does it apply to? Is it a minimum or maximum? What points were made in the debate? What's the likely outcome?

"The Government should launch a review into the problem of some headlights causing oncoming traffic drivers to be unable to see clearly and safely. The review should be conducted with car manufacturers to find solutions."

Car headlamp brightness has doubled (as above) leading to a lot of complaints that they're far too bright and dazzle people, so the petition was raised. Various comments were made about 'looking into it' etc, but nobody questions the needless increase in the first place. Nobody produced any evidence that brighter lights has led to an improvement in road safety, my guess is that it just led to faster driving.

More of the same old same old: someone invents a 'safety' device, and then everyone assumes it must be beneficial just because it's intended to be beneficial. Drugs aren't allowed to be marketed until trials have demonstrated that a) they provide the benefit intended, and b) the benefits outweigh the dis-benefits.

 

[Alex321]

"The Government should launch a review into the problem of some headlights causing oncoming traffic drivers to be unable to see clearly and safely. The review should be conducted with car manufacturers to find solutions."

Car headlamp brightness has doubled (as above) leading to a lot of complaints that they're far too bright and dazzle people, so the petition was raised. Various comments were made about 'looking into it' etc, but nobody questions the needless increase in the first place. Nobody produced any evidence that brighter lights has led to an improvement in road safety, my guess is that it just led to faster driving.

More of the same old same old: someone invents a 'safety' device, and then everyone assumes it must be beneficial just because it's intended to be beneficial. Drugs aren't allowed to be marketed until trials have demonstrated that a) they provide the benefit intended, and b) the benefits outweigh the dis-benefits.

I'm not sure the brighter lighhts were introduced as a safety feature, I think they were introduced mainly so that people could drive at closer tro daylight speeds.

But there certainly needs to be some control of angling and cutoffs so that they illuminate the road without dazzling oncoming traffic.

 

[PedallingNowhereSlowly]

I think the additional brightness of modern headlights is actually a safety problem and not just because of the glare caused by oncoming vehicles so equipped. I believe that brighter lights give a false sense of safety and lead to additional risk compensation.

We have two vehicles in the household. One with halogen lamps. One with LED lamps.

• The vehicle with halogen lamps - I can see more on the unlit sections of road
• The vehicle with the LED lamps - I can see less on the unlit sections of road

The halogen headlights are, to me, perfectly adequate and indeed preferable until someone with LED lights either tailgates or comes along in the opposite direction.

 

[lazybloke]

On a related note, bright oncoming headlamps are just as bad with my newest anti-dazzle specs.
No difference whatsoever!

 

[Dogtrousers]

I thought it was just my eyes getting worse that was making night driving worse.

Of course the fact that headlights are getting more dazzling doesn't mean my eyes aren't getting worse.

 

[presta]

• The vehicle with halogen lamps - I can see more on the unlit sections of road
• The vehicle with the LED lamps - I can see less on the unlit sections of road

Because the lamps have increased the contrast of the view, but not the dynamic range of your eye.

I've not driven any modern cars with these lights, but I've noticed them pointing at me, and even when they're dipped it's impossible to see the road detail in the blackness to the side of the oncoming car. On a narrow country lane you have no way of knowing whether you're wheels are about to drop off the edge of the tarmac into the rut. (Slip off the edge and you'll topple to the right, with your head under the wheels of the car, so my solution to that problem was to steer out into the middle of the road in front of them, and force them to slow right down.)

Calls to cut off the the peripheral illumination of the lamps more accurately/sharply will only exacerbate this problem.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

As a motorist I don't find the extra brightness too much of an issue in itself except when the headlamps are badly aimed (and there are a few of those about. As a cyclist I have an issue with automatic dipping headlights as my (unscientific) observations notice that many of them only dip when they detect twin lights ahead.

 

[Bristolian]

I have recently purchased a used car that has LED lights and compared to my previous car (same manufacturer, different model, halogen lights) the cut-off is far more noticeable and defined. My "new" car has adaptive headlights that don't actually dip when another vehicles comes the other way but the lamp unit moves to the left and down to prevent glare for the oncoming driver. This was a feature that helped me decide to buy the car. I do get dazzled by oncoming cars.

I wonder how much of the dazzle we are experiencing is caused by drivers replacing halogen bulbs with LED ones to get the whiter light/extra brightness? Putting LED bulbs into a head lamp unit designed for halogen will result in completely the wrong beam pattern.

 

[mjr]

I have recently purchased a used car that has LED lights and compared to my previous car (same manufacturer, different model, halogen lights) the cut-off is far more noticeable and defined. My "new" car has adaptive headlights that don't actually dip when another vehicles comes the other way but the lamp unit moves to the left and down to prevent glare for the oncoming driver. This was a feature that helped me decide to buy the car.

Does it do that for oncoming cyclists too? Walkers?

 

[Drago]

Does it do that for oncoming cyclists too? Walkers?

Mine will automatically dip for cyclists with lights, but not peds, thus it requires circumspection in its use.

Mine is a matrix LED, that cuts the light (supposedly) in the direction of other cars etc without dimming the light elsewhere in the beam. I still manually dip any way.

That aside, they seem to work fine. They're very good for seeing where I'm going, but I prefer it if I decide when to dip rather than letting the car decide. I suspect that is a large part of the problem.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I'll have to wait for my little Hyundai to fall to bits before I discover the wonders of all these automatic things. It's showing no signs of age yet - despite being over 10 years old it breezes through its MoT each year.

 

[Drago]

Hang on to it. Hyundai are reportedly about to intrude subscription model that BMW tried and then abandoned, if you want heated seats in a new Hyundai you'll have a to pay a monthly sub or they won't let you use the equipment you bought and which is fitted to your car. They will actively obstruct you from using equipment that you own.

Sorry, I get a bit ranty on that one!