Headlight glare.

[@Lee]

"The RAC is calling on the Government to commission an independent study into the issue of headlight glare after new research found 85% of those affected believe the problem is getting worse."

 

IMO some are just silly bright now. Are the manufacturers having a war to develop the most blinding light to ever be created? 

 

https://media.rac.co.uk/pressreleases/a-glaring-problem-rac-calls-for-action-on-headlight-glare-as-eight-in-10-drivers-affected-say-problem-is-getting-worse-3296130

[Breezy_Pete]

Definitely getting worse.

Lots and lots of LED replacement 'bulbs' available and lots and lots of people too selfish and/or unintelligent to know they cause problems for everyone except themselves.

[Graham Butcher]

11 minutes ago, @Lee said:

"The RAC is calling on the Government to commission an independent study into the issue of headlight glare after new research found 85% of those affected believe the problem is getting worse."

 

IMO some are just silly bright now. Are the manufacturers having a war to develop the most blinding light to ever be created? 

 

https://media.rac.co.uk/pressreleases/a-glaring-problem-rac-calls-for-action-on-headlight-glare-as-eight-in-10-drivers-affected-say-problem-is-getting-worse-3296130

The trouble is not all LED bulbs have the incorrect beam pattern as they are fitted into headlamp reflectors designed for Halogen bulbs.

 

 

[Ootohere]

The LED,s might well be an issue, and MATRIX headlights also.

 

But then there are vehicles in the UK that have poorly set headlights from the factory, never checked at the PDI and maybe picked up after 3 years on the road at the first MOT. 

[Ootohere]

PS.

Lots and lots of people think the headlights self level and they do.  But then there can be a manual setting sometimes beside where the setting is for the brightness of the dash lights.

Many might never adjust this headlight height or do it in error moving the little wheel and think ' what does this do'.

 

On my MINI this is very low down out of sight and makes a big difference to the height of the beam.   Very very bright LED,s. I have them set low. 

 

(Worst headlights i see in town when driving in the dark (30 MPH area) in a low vehicle is the  Newest  Ford Pickups & Transit vans. far to bright, 

it used to be KIA lights.)

 

Mine is to the right near door and low on the dash, out of sight. 

 

 

 

 

Edited 11 January by Rooted

[Sad555]

Nothing wrong with good clear lighting as long as it doesn’t effect oncoming drivers,modern lighting systems are really great,only minor issue I experienced was with the Yeti zenon lights was when they hit large illuminated signs made them a bit too bright.

[PetrolDave]

For me the worst offenders are vehicles with headlights almost at head height for car drivers, so I'm referring to 4x4s, SUVs, vans, etc.

 

As they get closer to you when oncoming it becomes really difficult to see past them, especially if they are not properly setup.

[skomaz]

Noticed this last night on the drive up to Lancaster...   It mostly seemed to be high end cars with matrix lights that weren't spotting and adjusting for vehicles on the opposite carriageway 

[PetrolDave]

25 minutes ago, skomaz said:

 It mostly seemed to be high end cars with matrix lights that weren't spotting and adjusting for vehicles on the opposite carriageway 

Recent posts on the Octavia 4 forum suggest that not all Skoda dealers have the equipment to properly adjust matrix lights, maybe this applies not only to Skoda/VAG dealers but more widely?

[skomaz]

22 hours ago, Breezy_Pete said:

Definitely getting worse.

Lots and lots of LED replacement 'bulbs' available and lots and lots of people too selfish and/or unintelligent to know they cause problems for everyone except themselves.

 

Saw a prat in an old A4 today with crappy bluish LED drop ins.  Funny thing was he had one projector headlight that didn't glare but also wasn't putting much light on the road and one reflector which was horribly glary...   Both on the same car.

[robt100]

13 hours ago, Sad555 said:

Nothing wrong with good clear lighting as long as it doesn’t effect oncoming drivers,modern lighting systems are really great,only minor issue I experienced was with the Yeti zenon lights was when they hit large illuminated signs made them a bit too bright.

Just FYI, if your lights are lighting up the large signs (you know, the ones well above any head height when driving) then they probably aren't 'really great' for anyone within 800yards of you, especially if it makes them too bright

Edited 11 January by robt100

[kodiaqsportline]

I don't get some of the above responses.   You can have lights perfectly setup so they do not blind oncoming traffic. If however that car goes over a speed bump, or is travelling along a patchwork road repair or potholes. or one of you is on the brow or bottom of an incline, then there is absolutely nothing you can do to avoid the bright LED light blinding you - especially on wet roads.

 

Any anti-dazzle implementation can only works when both cars approach each other at the same level. I've been saying this ever since LED's became popular.

 

Another thing I keep saying is rear LEDs. Car sit with their brake lights on in traffic. They don't dazzle me !   If I sit in traffic and look directly into the rear light, yes they dazzle, but why would I look directly in to the LED light? I have no need to.  When it's oncoming traffic however, the fact that I'm travelling at speed means I've no option but to look directly at the road in front of me. It's the headlights that have always blinded me, never once rear brake lights.

 

Something else that really annoys me, and I say this as a cyclist myself...  Cyclist lights. Some of them have way too powerful lights directed ahead with some cyclists additionally having a high beam LED mounted on their helmet - ( normally the lycra brigade ) I'd ban those lights for road use altogether. Those lights make no difference to what a cyclist can see, and I can see them even with an old syle lamp from the 1970's !   There absolutely no need for them. As I say, I'm saying this as a cyclist myself.

 

Maybe we should return to what France used to do and have yellow lights.

Edited 12 January by kodiaqsportline

[Ootohere]

^^^ Maybe a few years to go before there is a change in your eyes and then a line of vehicles sitting in your lane and the other lanes all with Rear & Brake lights on might be more of an issue.

The New Nissan Navara Pick up rear lights were the best a spotted in the 45 minutes it took me to go 10 miles through Glasgow the other morning.

The Porsche's with the Light line across the back where fine with brakes on. It is some of the Kia or Hyundai EV's that are way over the top now. 

.................

I worry about cyclists or pedestrians i might not see, not those i see off in the distance because of a light or lights and slow and pay more attention untill i know what it is. Same as when i see hazards or a flashing beacon.

 

Cyclists really bright lights on roads in towns and even out of town are to be seen by the vehicles / drivers that are likely to kill or maim them by not seeing them.

*If they annoy you they worked, and really someone that has no dazzle / annoyance with Rear Brake Lights should be OK with a cyclists head torch / very bright light.*

They are competing with the other traffics LED,s and DRL,s and even Additional lights on cars and especially on HGV.s.

 

Cyclists really do need very bright lights, flashing lights and a few lights front and rear and hi-viz items on them and on the bike.

Simply because there are so many bright lit cars, vans, lorry lights that can mean the cyclist is lost in the lights.

 

It is one thing a casual cyclist maybe being less well lit, but the cyclists with all the gear and out riding / training on roads day or night that have no hi-viz and maybe the very best of gear in dark colours or black is just stupidity.  They are all around much of the time, riding fast, head down and near invisible. 

 

At least a Hi-Viz Vest or just a Stapy harness should be worn and causes no issue to their 'Look i am a racer / competitor in training or a serious cyclist look.

 

Amazing how even when all daygloyed up there are muppets that do not see you and pull out in front of you, or coming in the other direction overtake and come straight at you.

Edited 12 January by Rooted

[cheezemonkhai]

The most glaring lights for me are police/emergency service blues in LED form. Fine in the day, but when it starts getting dark, they’re blinding to the point you can’t see.
 

All they need to do is fit an ambient light sensor that enables/disables a dimming circuit or just run them at half brightness all the time. They’re so much brighter than older systems.

 

Number of other vehicles have very bright lights, but again this could be improved by changing the light colour. Far too many high K lights, very blue in colour light out there. If they removed some blue and added some yellow (warm white not cool white) that would help. Personally I’m happy with pure yellow too, but I used to use them in winter so am used to them.

 

Saying that self levelling was required for  Xenon lights, but not for all LED. That’s something I would change too and also I’d probably ban the sale of LED bulbs in Halogen sizes.

 

 

[skomaz]

On the cyclist subject the ones that are an issue round here are the commuters in dayglo orange and reflectives that then gave an high lumen off road conical beam LED flashing light on thier bike pointed straight out horizontally instead of angled down.

 

Get one of those coming at you or behind you with the light hitting your rear view and door mirrors and you know about it and have temporary blindness and colours in front of your eyes for a while after.  Thats not good for the safety of anyone...

[Ootohere]

Yesterday 11th January was the anniversary of me losing my leg when i was 17 years old.

5.05 PM and heading into Broughty Ferry from Monifieth. 30 MPH limit at the border Barnhill to B/F and no traffic my way just a bus behind a bit and traffic nose to tail coming towards me.  Snow piles still at the side of the road from the past weeks.

 

I see an indicator flash 'White', it was a Ford faded indicator.  (I was able to give the statement 10 days  later about the indicator and the car that hit me, a company car.)

He cut across out of the traffic to go down the road to my left and hit the crash bar on the bike and that took my leg off below the knee.

It went over a wall and hit a ladies front door.  She was a nurse.  A dentist got out of a car and put a tourniquet on using his tie.

The police were very near, they were right there. Seemingly observing traffic. Then one was being sick at the side of the Post Office / Off Licence.

Later their note books went missing, but i found witnesses.  Like the one that was crossing to the post office and knew 2 police officers were there.

She and another had been asked for statements and gave them the night of the accident. These statements were lost.

 

The car that i supposedly hit on his own side of the road did not stay there blocking traffic, he drove down the side street & parked.

The person stopped at the top of that road indicating right then moved and went and parked on the main road facing to Monifieth.   

REALLY. That was so strange.

Both the driver that i supposedly hit on his side of the road not across into the side i was on moved,

and the one that was waiting for a break in traffic to get on the main road / bus route.

 

As it was traffic was not moving as my motorbike was up the road a bit at a bus stop. 

They were in there cars seeing what was going on. 

The Ambulance was there in minutes and i was taken to DRI / Dundee with a police escort through the rush hour traffic fully conscious and with the leg in a blanket on the other side of the ambulance.  2 years later i had my leg amputated above the knee. 

 

I am very vary aware of oncoming vehicles and what the might or might not do, and cars with faulty lights, especially drivers side lights out. 

Edited 12 January by Rooted

[skomaz]

10 hours ago, robt100 said:

Just FYI, if your lights are lighting up the large signs (you know, the ones well above any head height when driving) then they probably aren't 'really great' for anyone within 800yards of you, especially if it makes them too bright

 

This is true but you need to be careful when checking that any lighting up of signs is direct lighting and not just the latest retro reflective sign faces doing Thier job as recent changes to specifications has increased the performance of the latter.

 

I know my Kodiaq headlights are aligned as I've checked them, as has a garage but the new sign materials still reflect back very brightly 

[Gaz]

3 hours ago, skomaz said:

.... pointed straight out horizontally instead of angled down.

 

I've been on two wheels since the late 1960's when bike lights had HP2 batteries and the light reached the road if you were lucky.  I now have five lights on my bike (three rear, two front) and according to where I am, I might use a head torch as well.  The front one for seeing with, is as good as a car headlight (and better than some), and it's no trouble to have it angled down so it doesn't blind anyone, and up on unlit cycle paths.  It's just common courtesy.

Both my car and Mrs Gaz's are all LED.  The Polo's seem more intense than my Golf's, but they're both adjusted as they should be and cause no issues that I'm aware of.  I've only been flashed once and that was my mistake for leaving my main beam up, when they should've been dipped.

George's anniversary and recollection of his bike accident is a good reminder about bikes.  I do worry about my Daughter as her home to work is on some unlit roads.  But she's got really good lights (LED), has good protective clothing, and a bike that's powerful enough to get her out of trouble.  I like that I can see where she is, and where her bike is, whenever I want (she likes the reassurance too - she can see where I am as well).  She'd be mortified if she were to experience the light output on my 1978 Honda Camino! 🕯️

 

Gaz

 

[Ootohere]

Sadly a young motorcyclist in South Ayrshire was discovered dead sometime after his accident.  (9 hours)

Having a device that can alert Emergency Services in the event of an accident seems just like common sense, as long as it works with the emergency services.

Maybe it is the UK that is behind other countries with SOS calls from vehicles.   I really know nothing about what my car does as far as the system on it if i press the SOS, or it gets activated.  I know when with the SOS in my Corsa i had was pushed a few times by the grand children and nothing happened & i was only told later they had done it.   (The Matrix headlights were very good, the Full Beam was very very bright and lit up some big road signs off in the distance far too brightly.)

 

http://bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-67390020

 

Edited 12 January by Rooted

[Graham Butcher]

Do they still fit these SOS buttons anymore? I remember having one in a loan car many years ago but I don't recall having seen one recently. 

[Ootohere]

Indeed they do still fit them. 

As many with a MK4 Octavia & other newish vehicles know when they are back and fore to dealers trying to get the issues with them resolved. 

Edited 12 January by Rooted

[mac11irl]

ohhh.... lights....

ohhh.. what a subject.

i spend a fair chunk of my time driving at night for work, so i get to experience all the fun!

personally ive spent a number of yrs with "higher output" / "extra bright" halogen bulbs in my current and last 2 cars. the Philips extremes, Osram Night breakers etc. and, given i currently have standard Osrams back in Donkey and see 0 appreciable difference from the "Night breaker Laser" bulbs they replaced (after a very short life, disappointing on its own) i now see again they are all BS.

LED lights on new cars are definitely more blinding. i wonder if, similar to what Root has said, they are coming ex factory set up as LHD focus and not being adjusted when they are delivered in RHD markets until they fail an MOT/NCT?  or just badly set in factory and never checked/ adjusted. 

i cant help notice the people saying they dont see much issues all have usernames alluding to their vehicles being SUVs... thus higher up so, ya know, above the headlight level, of course its going to be less of an issue. but conversely all those SUV and Crossovers (inc missus Mac 's Arona) obviously have higher bulbs shining in us hatchback and saloon drivers' eyes and mirrors.

Kias have been horrendous for bad/ too high focus for a few yrs now, imo, and BMW are pretty annoying too. 

i could be wrong but i also think the sensor for the autodimming Rearview mirrors struggle to adapt to LED/Matrix light sources hitting it at night.

 

but a factor that has to considered is also people's reliance on new driver aids like auto lights and self levelling that dont react properly or too slow is a problem.

 

ban H series LED replacements though, they are just awful...

[mac11irl]

other things ive noticed with the newer light systems are that they over power older lights.

so, the light from , say an Octy 2's H7 halogens just gets eradicated by the higher energy photons from oncoming leds so you lose the visual range of even tracking along the verge for a line and spotting pedestrians and cyclists at the road edge, but also the number of times I have passed new vehicles with Xenon or matrix headlights that then even when dimmed are so bright (and highly aimed) that im driving along with their lights casting a shadow of my car in front of me because they just totally swamp the halogens in blue toned light until i get on down the road and open a bit of space is getting more frequent.

Though, tbh even led street lights overpower halogens in lots of places i drive through and definitely reduce the ar eas my lights are illuminating for my sight line - the shadows are wrong for where im looking if that makes sense? 

 

ultimately factory LED and Xenon are much better for "the driver using them" but a bit 5hit for everyone else around them, while Halogens are just 5hit for everyone. manufacturers just need to work on finding a better balance on the led and xenon systems.

led retrofits H series are tempting if like me you spend a lot time in the dark and know the Halogens are crap and want better, but i wont get them because i know their crap for everybody else.

[skomaz]

35 minutes ago, mac11irl said:

Halogens are crap and want better, but i wont get them because i know their crap for everybody else.

 

I know what you mean I just wonder whether things are starting to get better as I've seen a few reviews now of the  ewer compact H7 Led drop-ins that seem to suggest the beam pattern is very close to Halogens.  There is also the Osram Nightbreaker LED that is street legal in most EU countries as a retrofit for a lot of vehicles. 

[wiilydog]

29 minutes ago, skomaz said:

 

I know what you mean I just wonder whether things are starting to get better as I've seen a few reviews now of the  ewer compact H7 Led drop-ins that seem to suggest the beam pattern is very close to Halogens.  There is also the Osram Nightbreaker LED that is street legal in most EU countries as a retrofit for a lot of vehicles. 

The technology is already out there to retrofit LED bulbs that don't dazzle on coming traffic as Philips also produce a Street legal LED bulb for the the EU market

 

https://www.philips.com/c-e/au/road-legal-led-headlights/ultinon-pro6000-led.html