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.

Please accept my apologies for irritating you with my headlights:D

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.

Seriously, get your eyes tested, you should not be suffering from dazzled eyes so much.

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"

Why should we have to make excuses for something you have a problem with due to your own failings? (again, get your eyes tested)

I like my Xenons, I'm not changing them, I dont need to make excuses.

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.

Whilst normal headlights may be perfectly adequate, Xenons are better! also at your 'brightness control' theres no such thing (other than side, dipped or main beam) your talking about the headlight level switch which is intended to be left at the highest setting unless you have passengers or heavy luggage in the rear of your vehicle. all they do is lower the beam slightly. (cars with factory xenons do not have this switch as they do it automatically and are therefore less likely to blind you as most people never use the switch anyway)

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.

Perhaps if you'd had your headlights adjusted properly (I.E. not adjusted fully down on setting 3) you might have seen where you were going and gone round the corner?

I'd have probably laughed at you too, not that I'd have pulled over in the first place!

I'll agree that they shouldn't dazzel him that much, I won't get involved in the argument about fault, and i'll point out that Wardy's suggestion of installing a HID conversion kit might not be strictly legal as Xenon lights are only allowed through a type approval scheme due to EU regs.

That means that non-Xenon lights should be fitted to all cars, but if xenon lights have been fitted at the factory and passed the EU type approval test they are ok in all EU states. (Eg the UK)

Fitting retro fit xenon light kits isn't technically legal as you can never type approve, and these certainly are excessively bright. This may well be because many of them are fitted by a muppet, but the point remains they can't ever get type approved so are not legal.

Having had both of the Silverstars in my car blow within about 5 minutes of each other and having to buy new bulbs in a hurry, I can certainly agree that there is a lot more light out of the things and that they improve visibility for the driver massively. I didn't get flashed with the silverstars in either (except when i left them on full beam by mistake ).

As long as the factory fit xenon lights are all adjusting and correctly working then they are fine and the same goes for the xenon gas versions of standard bulbs, eg H1/H4/H7, but not the HID conversions. I personally think it is time MOT centres got tough on these, (and light adjustment in general) as badly adjusted lights are incredibly dangerous on the road.

Get's my vote that cheezemonkhai

Also I wish there was a legal way of shooting out fog lights during no-fog-but-rain conditions, or even during a nice sunny day (in particular when stuck in traffic jams behind such a fine driver, and mainly referring to the rear fogs)

I've no problem with xenon equipped cars.. biased mainly cause I own one

Apart from the problem of badly adjusted headlights.. what about the amount of cars with bulbs out!!

On my 6 mile trip across town to and from work I will see at least 10 cars with either a front or rear bulb out per journey... :(

Is a problem anywhere else in the UK.. or is Hull just 'special'?

I've no problem with xenon equipped cars.. biased mainly cause I own one

Apart from the problem of badly adjusted headlights.. what about the amount of cars with bulbs out!!

On my 6 mile trip across town to and from work I will see at least 10 cars with either a front or rear bulb out per journey... :(

Is a problem anywhere else in the UK.. or is Hull just 'special'?

Nope, its a common problem here too. Made worse by the fact that the one remaining headlight is normally so far off it blinds everyone.

Rear fog lights still being on in a definate issue as they are right in your eyes and when you factor in the high level brake lights , front fogs have never bothered me though.

My car was serviced and MOT'd by Skoda on Monday with the retrofit Xenons and it passed with only a slight adjustment to the headlights, the fault, they were too low! I had to have the two front indicator bulbs changed though cause they were not 'orange' enough :confused: even though they are the original bulbs.

I had to have the two front indicator bulbs changed though cause they were not 'orange' enough :confused: even though they are the original bulbs.

The rear indicators on my Fabia failed the MOT for this reason too!

Chris

The orange coating on the bulbs dries up and flakes off after a while, resulting in the whiter indicator flashes, probably due to some EU reglation on what is allowed in the orange paint, they never used to do this!!

As for cars driving with only one headlight, I used to get stopped by the police and told to fix it, alas this was in the days before Police officers were replaced by multi purpose policing machines, AKA speed cameras! I'm forever getting pulled over by those for having bulbs out, no seatbelt, dangerous driving etc:rolleyes: Isn't it amazing how much safer they've made our roads:confused:

Made Illegal ??? Come off it !

I think that the issue should be about morons who drive with crappy halogen lights that are NEVER adjusted. (as previously mentioned).

Most people who complain about Xenons have thier Fog lamps (sorry, sporty spot lamps) on in the day & night regardless of the conditions.

Xenons are sometimes dazzling when adjusting themselves but hey, try them yourself, they are fantastic and the amount of glare (which is minimal) far outweighs the fact they are 'bright'. Shouldn't driving around with your fogs on or 1 headlight be addressed instead of moaning about perfectly legal headlights such as Xenons & H.I.D ?

One things for sure, you'll always see the Xenon equipped car before the '1 headlight halogen, can't be ar$ed to check my lights fool' driving the other way.

P.S - I have Xenons and they're SUPER bright.

Look forward to SEEING YOU Nice to SEE YOU, to SEE YOU, nice.

H.I.D. conversions are not technically legal in the UK as they should cause the car to fail the MOT.

I do agree about "it's always foggy brigade" mind.

H.I.D. conversions are not technically legal in the UK as they should cause the car to fail the MOT.

I do agree about "it's always foggy brigade" mind.

I've been wondering about that. What does the legistlation say, if it says headlamps then technically they are legal because my headlamps are halogen headlamps, only I have HID bulbs instead. If it says Xenon lights then the whole automatic adjustment etc. would, I guess, make the HID Kits illegal.

Don't Xenon HEADLAMPS operate on a difference principle, more like a projector than a reflector system?

There is a big difference between 'proper' Xenons and Xenon-like bulbs. The Xenon-filled alike bulbs are 'Xenon' in that they use the gas, but they don't run at the high voltages a 'proper' kit uses.

The after-market ones tend to be high-voltage but get fitted in the standard bulb location (or the whole light unit is swapped out). In that case you may not get the appropriate pattern ==> could blind people.

Xenons tend to have a very sharp cutoff at the top of the light bundle, unlike retro-fit or uprated bulbs. Therefore super-bright bulbs may bleed out more and thus blind people a bit more likely. Proper adjustment will sort that too though

Just a last thought ! If Dave Harries was troubled by a Zenon lights then what would he do with the Low winter Sun ??

Do we try and ban that as well !!

Radiotwo

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

Internet is best place for them... however many opticians advise against them. I don't have them myself, but have anti reflective lenses in glasses which did make a huge difference (and dent in pocket) compared to last set. Best thing is to watch the line down the left of the road and not look at lights like a bunny, having made sure windscreen and glasses are crystal clear. Probably can't advise getting them with the number of people advising against them

"Nearly every reliable source in the eye-care industry warns strongly against the wearing of sunglasses for night driving. The Sunglass Association of America (http://www.sunglassassociation.com/), states: "So-called night-driving glasses are generally amber-tinted eyewear meant to reduce the glare of oncoming headlights. While they may make the driver feel more comfortable, they also reduce the wearer's visibility...." Many studies have shown that "night-driving lenses" do not improve night-vision, and some have suggested that such lenses actually impair visual performance and make it more difficult for the eyes to compensate for glare."

I have Xenons on the TT and I find them to be much better than the standard headlights on the old vRS - even with Silverstars fitted. Factory fit Xenons must have self-levelling by law to avoid dazzling other drivers, along with headlamp washers, as the beam can diffuse when the glass gets dirty - that's probably how you're getting dazzled.

I must say though I've never found Xenons particularly dazzling when coming towards me, more often the case that it's somebody with badly adjusted normal headlights. Interestingly I used to get flashed quite often by oncoming vehicles when I had the (road legal) Silverstars on the Octy. Never been flashed in the TT.

Glad you're okay after the crash, but a bit worried about your eyesight, might be worth getting a check up. And slightly confused by your reference to the "headlight brightness control" - do you mean the beam adjuster ? On position "3" this reduces the length of the beam by changing the angle of the light, as if you had a heavy load in the boot, that might be your problem.

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

:iagree:

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...

My dipped beam lights are adjusted correctly as per MOT standards. You do that to me and you will be able to see sod all for the next 5 minutes as I will put my main lights on too - highly illegal 130w ones, all 4 of them. Flash me and I'll ignore you, put them on full and I will do the same. :haha:

As to whether xenons should be banned, no. They are an advance in road safety as they give a light closer to normal daylight in colour. Personally I prefer normal bulbs as I can uprate them. I've noticed xenons have a much sharper cut off and that peripheral lighting isn't very good but the area illuminated is much clearer.

I've noticed xenons have a much sharper cut off and that peripheral lighting isn't very good but the area illuminated is much clearer.

Agree. Although I think the peripheral light is better than it actually appears because the main lit area is so bright.

Along a similar line, road signs work on the 'light spill' away from the light lenses on headlamps. Projector lens headlights' sharp cut off means that less light gets to the signs and so they're dimmer. This is something that is seemingly escaping car manufacturers.

Seems that Mr Harries has gone very quiet now, maybe we should all keep a look out in hedges when we are driving around :eek: :P

I think my Xenons I purchased as an option on my furby VRS are great. I can see the road so much clearer. I think without them I may have ran over a black dog a few months ago that nicely jumped into the road.

I do find that 4x4 with xenons are a big problem too as pointed out by others, as the light is alot higher up.

I do find that my xenons are too low and will asked them to be raised. As of now I have had 0 people flash me due to my headlights, maybe this will increase when I have then raised a bit. They will be set to just below the legal limit. I will se what affect this has on flashers

Mine passed the MOT test perfectly (new car still needs MOT as it's a taxi) but people flash me all the time, sometimes I flash them back if they are particularly agressive, but I shall ask the garage to check the levelers are working correctly when it goes for its first service!

If it's all good then it's tough for everyone else!

Along a similar line, road signs work on the 'light spill' away from the light lenses on headlamps. Projector lens headlights' sharp cut off means that less light gets to the signs and so they're dimmer. This is something that is seemingly escaping car manufacturers.

I've found the total oposite of this... My last 2 HID equipped cars have illuminated road signs that are WAY further away than the sharp cutoff of the visibly bright area, even illuminating signs that are many car lengths in front (I've tested this on a couple of occasions by switching to side lights for an instant and the sign becomes far less illuminated, even with something like 5 cars in front of me all with their lights on).

My HID's are calibrated correctly too, so it's not that they're pointing to the sky or anything.

I get flashed maybe once a month at night, usually when driving uphill... I always flash back, to let the driver know that I've not got my full beam on.

I drive towards LOTS of cars equipped with HID's per week (in the dark) and I've never had a problem with being dazzled or blinded by them. I actually much prefer them to most modern non HID's (bright halogen lights with super efficiant reflectors). I suggest to the OP that he gets his eyes checked, turns the headlight level adjuster back to Zero and gets the brakes checked on the Escort!!

Also a tip I gave to my younger brother when he first started driving... Don't look at the oncoming car's lights, but instead look towards the curb or white line by the curb so you don't get distracted.

mental note to self...... when driving always look at the road ahead not car headlights coming towards you!

mental note to self.... when a sunny day, don't lok at the sun it will dazzle you!

simple yet effective rules

I agree with many of the posts on here but recently I got my OE xenons adjusted again. There is no set height for the xenons to be set a. Instead there are two black lines that is the normal setting, then two red lines to show the very upper and lower limits the lights can be legally set to. My xenons have been set to just uer the highest red line, so they will pass an MOT, but as a result they are very bright to oncoming traffic.

One more thing, I find that with aftermarket suspension and the load sensor ont he rear axle altered slightly to accomodate the Milltek, the xenons do not adjust themselves as much as they did when the car was completely standard.

I think there needs to be a set agreed height which xenons should be set to and this should be consistent in all cars fitted with them.

I agree with many of the posts on here but recently I got my OE xenons adjusted again. QUOTE]

Mines now in for a headlight adjustment Hope they set it high enough. No where near as good as the clio's none xenon or the Octavia II's xenons.