Hi all,

Right. Time for a rant here, I'm afraid.

I am very irritated by the number of drivers of varios cars (BMWs, Mercs and Audis among them - not sure about Skodas) who find it necessary to have these rediculously bright xenon / white headlights on their cars.

I do drive at night sometimes and when I am going along stretches of main road that have no streetlighting, I find that if someone comes in the opposite direction with these Xenon / bright white headlights then I can't see for a second or two because I get so dazzled by the lights. I am not someone who suffers reactions to any other lights.

Some of the excuses I have heard for these lights have included, from a friend of mine, that "I need to be able to see round the next corner" which is:

a) rubbish

and

physically impossible

My Dad's Ford Escort Estate does not have Xenon / bright white headlights and yet his headlights are perfectly adequate for night driving. On modern cars I tend to set the headlight brightness control to '3' which is also perfectly adequate.

My normal habbit with the bright-white headlights is that if someone comes the opposite way with them on then I take my right hand off the wheel and put it over my eyes but that is dangerous as you obscure your line of vision.

The ultimate reason for this rant however came tonight when I was driving my Dad's car along a 20-mph stretch of road and someone came towards me with their bright white headlights full-on (5 out of 5 on the brightness scale I guess) which blinded me so much I put the brakes on but didn't seee the corner comming up (because of the effect of those headlights) and put the car into a hedge although fortunately without causing any serious damage save for a few scratches on the paint work (just as well it wasn't a tree I hit) and a cracked - only for some of its length but not en ough to substantially obscure my vision - windscreen. I turned around and caught up with the driver who pulled in at my signal and had the nerve, upon seeing the damage and listening to my polite (no swearing) verabal rant to laugh and say "you should have looked where you were going, mate." and that attitude made him look a complete c***cheese.

I believe that Xenon / bright white headlights - which seem to come as standard on some cars these days:

a) are unnecessary

are dangerous

c) blind everyone else on the road

and

d) could be used as a bullying tactic

and should therefore be delcared illegal. I swear that if I ever end up with a car with Xenon / bright white headlights then I will get them changed.

But there is the question and I throw it open to you lot: should Xenon & bright-white hadlights be made illegal? If not then why not?

Thoughts and votes welcome.

Dave

My personal opinion as someone who has them fitted - they can be dazzling, so therefore should be adjusted correctly. Used correctly they are a massive improvement in visibility when driving at night. I personally have only ever been bothered by 4x4 xenons which have the light beam actually cutting above drivers eye sight in a normal car, these are dazzling. But properly adjusted xenons in cars I don't find any less problematic than normal halogen headlights.

My personal opinion.

They should be regulated in some way so they are not dazzling to other drivers - I voted yes.

Xenons are ace when you're in the car.

But I agree they must be properly adjusted not to dazzle other drivers.

Standard lights can be just as dazzling when on full beam or badly adjusted.

Hi all,

Right. Time for a rant here, I'm afraid.

I am very irritated by the number of drivers of varios cars (BMWs, Mercs and Audis among them - not sure about Skodas) who find it necessary to have these rediculously bright xenon / white headlights on their cars.

I do drive at night sometimes and when I am going along stretches of main road that have no streetlighting, I find that if someone comes in the opposite direction with these Xenon / bright white headlights then I can't see for a second or two because I get so dazzled by the lights. I am not someone who suffers reactions to any other lights.

Some of the excuses I have heard for these lights have included, from a friend of mine, that "I need to be able to see round the next corner" which is:

a) rubbish

and

physically impossible

My Dad's Ford Escort Estate does not have Xenon / bright white headlights and yet his headlights are perfectly adequate for night driving. On modern cars I tend to set the headlight brightness control to '3' which is also perfectly adequate.

My normal habbit with the bright-white headlights is that if someone comes the opposite way with them on then I take my right hand off the wheel and put it over my eyes but that is dangerous as you obscure your line of vision.

The ultimate reason for this rant however came tonight when I was driving my Dad's car along a 20-mph stretch of road and someone came towards me with their bright white headlights full-on (5 out of 5 on the brightness scale I guess) which blinded me so much I put the brakes on but didn't seee the corner comming up (because of the effect of those headlights) and put the car into a hedge although fortunately without causing any serious damage save for a few scratches on the paint work (just as well it wasn't a tree I hit) and a cracked - only for some of its length but not en ough to substantially obscure my vision - windscreen. I turned around and caught up with the driver who pulled in at my signal and had the nerve, upon seeing the damage and listening to my polite (no swearing) verabal rant to laugh and say "you should have looked where you were going, mate." and that attitude made him look a complete c***cheese.

I believe that Xenon / bright white headlights - which seem to come as standard on some cars these days:

a) are unnecessary

are dangerous

c) blind everyone else on the road

and

d) could be used as a bullying tactic

and should therefore be delcared illegal. I swear that if I ever end up with a car with Xenon / bright white headlights then I will get them changed.

But there is the question and I throw it open to you lot: should Xenon & bright-white hadlights be made illegal? If not then why not?

Thoughts and votes welcome.

Dave

Hi Dave

I cant say a I have noticed any problems with them myself. Incorrectly sdjusted headlights of any kind are a problem though, as are people who insist on not dipping main beams and those that drive along with front fogs on in good visibitly.

If you are really finding it a problem, may I suggest getting your eyes checked out as it should not be that bad.

Chris

My sig shows that I have retro fitted Xenons to my car. I've had more problem with badly adjusted normal headlights than any xenon. Come to think of it, I don't think I've had a problem with any car with Xenonxs fitted.

I have more issues with badly adjusted non-xenon headlights: often one light will be totally out and can be blinding.

Cars with xenons seem to have their lights better adjusted that many older cars (+ they self adjust when loaded and need to have headlight cleaning systems - either jet type spray and/ or wipers).

I do agree that with bumpy roads, the xenons can cause an afwul glare - SUV type vehicles in particular.

I remember reading that each time the quality (read: brightness) of lights has been improved, people complain as they need time to adjust or re-calibrate to this.

Should we ban the high level brake lights too, as they are right in your line of sight and can blind too? (and we only adopted them because of the high succes rate from the US where their rear indicators and brake lights were both red and difficult to distinguish causing many accidents - this wasn't even an issue over in Europe anyway)

Just my 2pence....

Badly adjusted lights, be it height, angle or otherwise, should be something that gets addressed far more.

Factory-fit Xenons are supposed to have been adjusted & have auto-levellers. This unlike non-Xenons ones (or retrofit), where you get cars blinding the living cr*p out of you when the car is filled with passengers/shopping etc.

The 'brightness' setting you are referring to is no such thing, it is generally an adjustment of the height based on the number of people in the car, sometimes including the driver, sometimes excluding the driver. All it does it crudely adjust the lights down, unlike a proper self-level system which maintains the correct height regardless (within design limits).

Brighter but legal bulbs give vastly improved vision, and assuming the lights are adjusted properly, should not cause any problems at all.

Non-road-legal bulbs are a different matter as they may cause a different light dispersion pattern that could blind you.

That said, there is no way I would ever use OEM bulbs again after having had road-legal brigher bulbs fitted to every car I've owned & I've got factory-fit Xenons. I don't get flashed - EVER - because of the Xenons.

On a daily basis I however DO get blinded by those unable to turn off their high-beam pre-blinding oncoming traffic, those with their fog lights on, front and/or back.

Regarding what happened - I genuinely feel sorry for what happened to you/your car. However if there was a bend, this oncoming car might have been coming round it, so you would have seen the bend? This just does not make sense to me.

Either way, glad you were ok

Yeah I'd have to agree that the biggest problem is poorly adjusted lights and the only time Xenon's really dazzle me is when the car is coming up hill towards you and the lights are just adjusting themselves down.

I notice you were in a 20mph zone and braked but weren't able to stop for a corner? I'd be concerned about the state of the brakes!!!

Chris

i agree with WW VRS about the headlamp adjustment , it should of been in position 1 , the highest setting , you would be able to see further down the road , it is only a manual way of adjusting the lamps for loading ,with xenons it does it electronically .

I have xenons so i am biased towards them sorry

I hate it when people have stupidly bright blinding lights.

It may not be the "right" thing to do but if I can't see because of them I usually put on my full beam and that, quite quickly, makes them switch to side lights until they pass me...

@moony1234 -

Surprised about that, I would imagine (based on experience ) that most people would just turn their high beam on instead, I've never, ever, seen anyone switch to sidelights because I flashed them.

Still agreeing with the stupidly bright blinding lights comment, but again, it tends to be due to bad adjustment, or incorrectly fitted uprated bulbs/after market Xenons.

i agree with WW VRS about the headlamp adjustment , it should of been in position 1 , the highest setting , you would be able to see further down the road , it is only a manual way of adjusting the lamps for loading ,with xenons it does it electronically .

I have xenons so i am biased towards them sorry

I agree, I've always upgraded the OEM bulbs to Osram SilverStars or had cars with Xenons and made sure that they are adjusted correctly. I've never had anyone flash me because of my lights.

Much worse are people with foglights on either front/back @ night or when it's raining:mad:

I have no issue with Xenon headlights. I find that due to their lack of glare they are actually more tolerable than traditional reflector headlights. Obviously when set up incorrectly they would be a nightmare but I rarely see poorly setup xenon lights on my 200mile round trip to work (in the dark). If you have problems to the extent that you are crashing into hedges when xenon-equipped cars come towards you then I think you have a problem which needs looking into.

REQUEST

Could you please buy a new polo next and spec it with Xenons. I will then swap you the ridiculously effective Xenons for the ridiculously in-effective standard halogen units on the Mrs's Polo.

Many thanks

Tony

Very kind offer of you there Tony

I voted yes, however this is only because so many of them around my neck of the woods are not set up, and are either pointing high or changing colour as they bounce all over the place.

Normal bulbs are awful if badly adjusted too, but not as blinding as the Xenons.

The 'Xenon gas' headlight bulbs you can buy are absolubtly fine and are true xenoons when the are adjusted correctly.

same as somebody else has said.....great when your driving along a road and no one is around:).....until somebody comes along the road and they have them too!!:(......i find because they glint blue at times my eyes are drawn to them!!....which is not fun!!!:(

Get some yellow tinted night driving glasses - removes any glare from headlights but doesn't impact ability to see.

Get some yellow tinted night driving glasses - removes any glare from headlights but doesn't impact ability to see.

Silly question, but are these available from opticians? When I last got some prescription glasses I asked about night driving and he just told me to go with the anti-reflective clear lenses (which is what I had originally and didn't help )

Chris

REQUEST

Could you please buy a new polo next and spec it with Xenons. I will then swap you the ridiculously effective Xenons for the ridiculously in-effective standard halogen units on the Mrs's Polo.

Many thanks

Tony

Just get a retrofit HID kit Tony? Latest HID and Xenon lighting products from HIDS4U Ltd, Leeds UK

Is it a current shape (9N3) Polo? If not and it's the earlier non-facelift twin headlight 9N, they never offered Xenons as an OEM option, so a swap wouldn't work anyway

Steve

Erm....a suggestion, get the highway code out and read it....that may seem like I am taking the P but it clearly states that 'if you are blinded by an oncoming driver you should slow down or stop until the hazard has passed'....not continue blinded and go through the nearest Hedge / Wall/ Child on path......delete as applicable, I think that your accident is purely down to your own bad driving and regardless of whether the other car had Xenons, it could well have had Halogen headlight that could dazzle you, I'm afraid its your own fault. It could well even ( as has been suggested by others in earlier threads) be down to your eyesight becoming slightly defective, it can creep up on you without you even knowing, go for an eyetest if you have not had one recently, it has been proven that an alarming number of drivers fail the basic roadside eyesight test!

Sorry,

But I have to agree with Daver,

I have Xenon Headlights on my Octy Tdi.

I do alot of driving at night (well more Early Hours driving to work). I find that driving with Xenon's has mad driving more enjoyable as you can see clearer IMO.

If you can not drive with people on the road with Xenon lights, you shouldn't be on the road. again IMO.

I know my Xenon headlights are auto adjusted, and thought that alot that were on cars were also the same.

I am sure that people will come back and let me know whether I am right or wrong.

But again, if you couldn't stop for the corner at 20MPH, then please, do all of us drivers a favour, and stay off the road.

Well at night anyway.

But if you are saying about peoples ligts not being adjusted correctly, its not just Xenon/white lights. All lights would blind you if they are not correctly adjusted.

Rant over.

Chris

Hi all,

Right. Time for a rant here, I'm afraid.

I am very irritated by the number of drivers of varios cars (BMWs, Mercs and Audis among them - not sure about Skodas) who find it necessary to have these rediculously bright xenon / white headlights on their cars.

I do drive at night sometimes and when I am going along stretches of main road that have no streetlighting, I find that if someone comes in the opposite direction with these Xenon / bright white headlights then I can't see for a second or two because I get so dazzled by the lights. I am not someone who suffers reactions to any other lights.

Some of the excuses I have heard for these lights have included, from a friend of mine, that "I need to be able to see round the next corner" which is:

a) rubbish

and

physically impossible

My Dad's Ford Escort Estate does not have Xenon / bright white headlights and yet his headlights are perfectly adequate for night driving. On modern cars I tend to set the headlight brightness control to '3' which is also perfectly adequate.

My normal habbit with the bright-white headlights is that if someone comes the opposite way with them on then I take my right hand off the wheel and put it over my eyes but that is dangerous as you obscure your line of vision.

The ultimate reason for this rant however came tonight when I was driving my Dad's car along a 20-mph stretch of road and someone came towards me with their bright white headlights full-on (5 out of 5 on the brightness scale I guess) which blinded me so much I put the brakes on but didn't seee the corner comming up (because of the effect of those headlights) and put the car into a hedge although fortunately without causing any serious damage save for a few scratches on the paint work (just as well it wasn't a tree I hit) and a cracked - only for some of its length but not en ough to substantially obscure my vision - windscreen. I turned around and caught up with the driver who pulled in at my signal and had the nerve, upon seeing the damage and listening to my polite (no swearing) verabal rant to laugh and say "you should have looked where you were going, mate." and that attitude made him look a complete c***cheese.

I believe that Xenon / bright white headlights - which seem to come as standard on some cars these days:

a) are unnecessary

are dangerous

c) blind everyone else on the road

and

d) could be used as a bullying tactic

and should therefore be delcared illegal. I swear that if I ever end up with a car with Xenon / bright white headlights then I will get them changed.

But there is the question and I throw it open to you lot: should Xenon & bright-white hadlights be made illegal? If not then why not?

Thoughts and votes welcome.

Dave

Well Dave

I have read your post and the replies and I tend to agree with most of them "its not the lights that caused the accident" its your driving.

So I think we will have a post to get bad drivers off the roads

What do you think lads and lasses ?

Radiotwo

he's already off the roadmode off>

In seriousness I must admit it is rather worrying, I spoke to SWMBO about it and even she agreed with me on this (normally she thinks I'm just plain mean :P )

Her comments were: well if the car came round the bend even with high beam on you would know there was a corner, dipped beam wouldn't have blinded me and even if it had I would have gone round towards where the corner was & slowed down.

PS She only just passed her test a few weeks ago, wears glasses & has no tinted windscreen or anything fancy like that.

Still glad no-one was hurt, and I reckon as you stayed polite & had had an accident, you didn't get told where to go by the other driver (or worse).

I would have called in the police to report the accident at the very least, it would be interested to hear the opinion (be it personal or 'job') on this of some of our resident police-employed members - if nothing else I'd like to know whether this kinda thing happens a lot + what would be the consequence had the person not hit the hedge but instead say the oncoming car?