Lights

[mik]

1. Whilst I agree that vehicles need to have front and rear lights on in the above scenario - that image is absolutely not "thick fog" and to describe it as such drives people to think that front fogs and high-intensity rear lights would be appropriate for these conditions. The former - fill your boots. The latter - no - you just dazzle other road users and make brake lights less obvious.

2. I can't fathom why some cars have DRLs on the front only - if the principle of being seen is applied, it should Shirley be to both front and rear lights (as many manufacturers do). I strongly disagree however that headlights should be on at all times : these are lights designed to illuminate the road ahead to allow the driver to see, as opposed to being lights designed to allow the vehicle to be seen by other road users. Whilst you're less likely to be annoyed by glare during the daytime (as your pupils will generally be less dilated) it does still occur, and it's unnecessary.

[Delphi]

I've been driving 35 years and the number of times fog has been thick enough to require fog lights is probably in single digits.

[Explosive Newt]

The general issues that driving standards totally stink these days and people have no discipline over their lights definitely stand, although I doubt I would turn them on in the above picture.

[Mito Man]

Fog lights? You mean rain lights? I think everyone here has been watching too much F1, as soon a it gets quite wet the rear fogs come on

[Brannen]

Slightly different, but I've found just driving in the dark a pain more and more recently. It feels like headlights becoming brighter and brighter and with larger vehicles like vans etc, they seem to just be at eye level.

Hadn't realised until recently that having an astigmatism impacts how you perceive light, but LED lights feel brutal on my eyes recently. Having fog lights on I'm sure would be equally annoying. I'm glad I don't go to the office that much these days and have to commute in the darkness.

[duncs500]

Slightly different, but I've found just driving in the dark a pain more and more recently. It feels like headlights becoming brighter and brighter and with larger vehicles like vans etc, they seem to just be at eye level.

Hadn't realised until recently that having an astigmatism impacts how you perceive light, but LED lights feel brutal on my eyes recently. Having fog lights on I'm sure would be equally annoying. I'm glad I don't go to the office that much these days and have to commute in the darkness.

I'm with you on this. Definitely got worse with the modern lights. I have found myself contemplating the incident graph of when the safety benefit to the driver of a vehicle with these dazzling lights is outweighed by the safety compromise to the oncoming vehicles.

People keep telling me they auto dip and do it all magically so they don't affect oncoming traffic, I call bollocks on that.

[mik]

People keep telling me they auto dip and do it all magically so they don't affect oncoming traffic, I call bollocks on that.

Mrs Mik's E-Tron has the Matrix LED lights that do the "make black hole around other cars" shizzle. Best headlights on any car I have ever driven.

They do occasionally get befuddled though and momentarily light up something (ie another car) that you didn't want lit up - and they are feckin bright - so you often then receive a return of their full beams.

(Not my) surprisingly boring video if you aren't familiar.

[duncs500]

People keep telling me they auto dip and do it all magically so they don't affect oncoming traffic, I call bollocks on that.

Mrs Mik's E-Tron has the Matrix LED lights that do the "make black hole around other cars" shizzle. Best headlights on any car I have ever driven.

They do occasionally get befuddled though and momentarily light up something (ie another car) that you didn't want lit up - and they are feckin bright - so you often then receive a return of their full beams.

Obviously you don't know what type of light each oncoming car has, but you can tell the newer cars due to the tone and brightness. I just think in general newer car lights are a lot harsher. They look great if your driving, but what about reflective surfaces and the befuddlement you mention. They need more work IMO.

[Jimmy Choo]

I've got a set of yellow tinted clip on glasses which seems to help but I do look like a total berk wearing them.

[Swervin_Mervin]

People keep telling me they auto dip and do it all magically so they don't affect oncoming traffic, I call bollocks on that.

Mrs Mik's E-Tron has the Matrix LED lights that do the "make black hole around other cars" shizzle. Best headlights on any car I have ever driven.

They do occasionally get befuddled though and momentarily light up something (ie another car) that you didn't want lit up - and they are feckin bright - so you often then receive a return of their full beams.

Obviously you don't know what type of light each oncoming car has, but you can tell the newer cars due to the tone and brightness. I just think in general newer car lights are a lot harsher. They look great if your driving, but what about reflective surfaces and the befuddlement you mention. They need more work IMO.

I'm with you on this Duncs. I now really struggle at night with oncoming traffic, but I have an astigmatic eye which maybe doesn't help. I read recently someone suggesting that the reason lights seem to be worse in most recent years is that the move to LED has resulted in a really sharp cut off at the edge of the beam - there's no softness around the edge. And that as a result maybe the human eye struggles to cope more with the sharp contrast. Makes some sense to me as I find that my vision is just completely whited out.

I need to find a solution really as there have been times recently when I've been effectively driving blind until the oncoming car has passed.

It all seems hugely unnecessary to me as well. Most journeys in built up areas don't need hugely bright dipped beams, even on unlit sections of motorway - there's a density of traffic that provides ample light to see. I don't see why dipped can't be reduced in brightness and leave the nightsun tech for full beam only.

[mik]

I've got a set of yellow tinted clip on glasses which seems to help but I do look like a total berk wearing them.

viewtopic.php?p=175462

As stated on that thread - I don't find them beneficial in full darkness as any reduction in glare is offset by a reduction in overall brightness.... which I don't want at night.

[mik]

I read recently someone suggesting that the reason lights seem to be worse in most recent years is that the move to LED has resulted in a really sharp cut off at the edge of the beam - there's no softness around the edge.

Ja. HID's have a crisper cut-off than halogens, and LED's are sharper still (I think). So yes - a tiny movement takes you from no-glare to full-glare.

[Explosive Newt]

Mrs Mik's E-Tron has the Matrix LED lights that do the "make black hole around other cars" shizzle. Best headlights on any car I have ever driven.

They do occasionally get befuddled though and momentarily light up something (ie another car) that you didn't want lit up - and they are feckin bright - so you often then receive a return of their full beams.

Obviously you don't know what type of light each oncoming car has, but you can tell the newer cars due to the tone and brightness. I just think in general newer car lights are a lot harsher. They look great if your driving, but what about reflective surfaces and the befuddlement you mention. They need more work IMO.

I'm with you on this Duncs. I now really struggle at night with oncoming traffic, but I have an astigmatic eye which maybe doesn't help. I read recently someone suggesting that the reason lights seem to be worse in most recent years is that the move to LED has resulted in a really sharp cut off at the edge of the beam - there's no softness around the edge. And that as a result maybe the human eye struggles to cope more with the sharp contrast. Makes some sense to me as I find that my vision is just completely whited out.

I need to find a solution really as there have been times recently when I've been effectively driving blind until the oncoming car has passed.

It all seems hugely unnecessary to me as well. Most journeys in built up areas don't need hugely bright dipped beams, even on unlit sections of motorway - there's a density of traffic that provides ample light to see. I don't see why dipped can't be reduced in brightness and leave the nightsun tech for full beam only.

Same on the astigmatism front, although a new set of lenses in my glasses with glare reduction definitely helped.

I also think this has increased the rate at which older people decline to drive at night, which can’t be good for freedom.

[Matty]

My dad can't drive at night now - he's got glaucoma, as most have. He's fine with older car bulb lights, but modern lights blind him.

As mentioned above, it means that for my parents they need to be home before it's dark, and it's a massive limitation on their social life especially in winter.

[V8Granite]

I’ve stopped flashing to say your aim is too high now, they just flash main beam like it’s what I mean. The world is far more retarded than it should be.

Dave!

[Jobbo]

Teslas seem to have too high an aim for their dipped beams from the factory. I often see RRs/RRSs/Velars with the funky lights shining at me from a funny angle, so they don't cut off as well as they should.

Audi's front foglights have been described as 'all weather lights' in the previous and current A6 at least so I often put them on when driving at night. They light up the sides of the road much better and don't seem to cause anyone to flash me. They're not separate lights, just in the main cluster, so I doubt anyone can tell I have pressed an extra button. The standard Macan headlights (LEDs which bend their beams but don't do masking) are better than the A6's though, but either is great compared to the Jimny

[Beany]

My pet hate at the moment - and has been for a while - is if you let someone through on a narrow street, and they give you a polite flash.

Fine on halogens, but retina searing with modern LEDs.

I had a bloody Hyundai soft-roader do that to me a few weeks ago and they gave three, second long flashes of their SUNBURST LEDS as they passed. I had to park up for a minute as I literally couldn't see.

It'd probably not have been as bad with halogens - but inadequate etiquette/knowledge is the problem I guess. If you're always five feet up in your soft roader, how often do you get dazzled, and thus remember to not do that to other people if you can help it?

Fucking annoying. Less of a problem on the open road but an embuggerance in town.

[Mito Man]

Sometimes you need a 52" 100,000 lumen LED lightbar mounted to the roof of your car for those occasions to give an extra big thank you back. Having had it on and walked around the outside of the car to view it, I can say it's a bit like reading those accounts of the soldiers who had the nuclear bombs tested on them and they could see through their shut eyes.

[Carlos]

A new one for me is automatic dipping main beam

Out on a country road in my wifes Kia Sportage main beam on, car comes over a blind crest and before i can dip them the tech has done it. Proceeds to turn main beam back on milliseconds after car passes!

[Swervin_Mervin]

A new one for me is automatic dipping main beam

Out on a country road in my wifes Kia Sportage main beam on, car comes over a blind crest and before i can dip them the tech has done it. Proceeds to turn main beam back on milliseconds after car passes!

That's been around years!

Our 2012 1-series had it and was very good - as quick if not quicker than I would switch. Our Superb has it and it's not very good It takes ages to eventually wake up to the fact it's set to automatic and the lag in switching is too slow - I resort to manual use now.