Current Events > Those in the U.S., have you noticed car headlights getting brighter?

(+) Yeah! (+)

John Oliver was going to do a segment on it but ran out of time. This has definitely led to a rise in car accidents.

Yes

I know someone who also has a new 2024 car and the headlights turn on whenever they want when it detects low light levels, even when set to off

Yeah, especially trucks

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/6/6cbbfa24.jpg

My car has automatic high beams if the light is poor enough, however they shut off if a brighter light source becomes available or a car is coming from the other direction.

Not just brighter but bluer. Even at the same brightness, blue lights hurts other people's night vision more than redder light.

yes, and it's obnoxious as hell

It's something like they aren't standardized, and they've been putting in these fucking LED headlights on all new cars. I'm guessing because they can get good prices for them or something. It's not needed in the suburbs with all the fucking street lamps. You don't need 8,000 damn lumens to drive in the damn suburbs.

wanderingshade posted...

It's something like they aren't standardized, and they've been putting in these fucking LED headlights on all new cars. I'm guessing because they can get good prices for them or something. It's not needed in the suburbs with all the fucking street lamps. You don't need 8,000 damn lumens to drive in the damn suburbs.

Yeah having a 2015 car, it feels like everything is bright ass LEDs now blinding me

I tried going back to regular bulbs is my truck but I can't see jack. It would be safer for me to drive with the upgraded LEDs. Other cars having them is not that bad I think. I just don't look at the lights directly. What's more distracting are the cars with the LED lights all over that look like a frickin carnival.

No, Gollum, you just need to spend more time out of your basement.

The same thing with new flashlights. You can't get anything with normal brightness anymore. They must think everyone is legally blind or something.

Those blueish LED lights are super bright but I noticed this years and years ago, nothing recent to make them even brighter. Thankfully most of my driving even in my isolated part of the Midwest has mostly converted over to 4 lane highways separated with a median in the middle. I don't personally have to do too much driving on older 2 lane roads where oncoming traffic is right in your face.

As for anyone behind me my rear view mirror auto dims down really really dark and eliminates it so that doesn't bother me like in the older days.

Yes, I have had to get yellow glasses to stop them and they barely help!

I wouldnt have chosen to buy an auto dimming rear view mirror but it came as a factory installed option on my car and its one of those things I never knew I wanted until I had it.

US, as usual has no set standards.

I've noticed this since the late 2000's.

LED headlights are brutally bright. It's like staring into the sun.

yeah those are fucking annoying. I shouldn't have to pull to the side of the road to let them pass ahead of me.

the worst is when youre going down a hill and someone is going up with bright lights. fucking blinding. and then if the ground is also wet from rain? oof, can barely see the lines to stay on the road

Ah acquaintance of mine has after market headlights that are bright enough to make it feel like the sun has descended on to the Earth and he legit never gets in trouble for them.

But generally, yes. And it's really aggravating.

ForsakenHermit posted...

I've noticed this since the late 2000's.

Yeah, but I feel like it got a lot worse around 2013-15. As others have mentioned, it's partly been the change from the yellow old school lights to the the new blue tinted LED ones. I could have sworn there used to be laws based on the brightness of headlights in relation to blinding other drivers.

ZEROWOLF posted...

I tried going back to regular bulbs is my truck but I can't see jack. It would be safer for me to drive with the upgraded LEDs. Other cars having them is not that bad I think. I just don't look at the lights directly. What's more distracting are the cars with the LED lights all over that look like a frickin carnival.

You're saying you need the brighter LED lights to drive? Like, is it a problem with your vision or your truck's visibility?

wanderingshade posted...

It's something like they aren't standardized, and they've been putting in these fucking LED headlights on all new cars. I'm guessing because they can get good prices for them or something. It's not needed in the suburbs with all the fucking street lamps. You don't need 8,000 damn lumens to drive in the damn suburbs.

ProfessorKukui posted...

US, as usual has no set standards.

American drivers have a blinding headlight problem. It could last for years.
https://www.businessinsider.com/american-drivers-have-a-blinding-headlight-problem-2023-2

- Drivers say they're routinely getting blinded by surrounding cars' headlights.
- This isn't because headlight regulations have changed regulations on brightness haven't been altered in decades.
- In reality, it's due to misaligned headlights, taller vehicles, and the changing hue of the lights.

ForsakenHermit posted...

I've noticed this since the late 2000's.

You can thank the Audi R8 for this.

It was the first car to have them, and now pretty much all new cars have them standard.

What I don't get is people that have like green headlights. I don't know how they're able to see shit.

it's bad enough that when they're in the oncoming lane i sometimes cannot fucking see
hate night driving at this point tbh, wasn't like this just a few years ago

the few times i've driven at night (ive only been driving in the USA for a few months) i thought i was gonna die because of all the headlights messing up my vision. i was starting to panic a bit

willythemailboy posted...

Not just brighter but bluer. Even at the same brightness, blue lights hurts other people's night vision more than redder light.

I've learned that's the reason that police cars have/had the red light over the driver side.

I swear there are people that get brighter ones on purpose. Its always the assholes.

SkittyOnWailord posted...

The same thing with new flashlights. You can't get anything with normal brightness anymore. They must think everyone is legally blind or something.

Look man, with a flashlight, generally speaking unless I need a low light use, if I pull it out I want the brightness to be something like "high noon daylight in Arizona."

PrettyBoyFloyd posted...

I've learned that's the reason that police cars have/had the red light over the driver side.

Honestly, those lights are so fucking obnoxious now that they've crossed from safety feature into safety hazard.

Idc if they're behind me, it's oncoming that fucks me up.

One issue is the car bloat.

The headlights on an SUV are mounted so much higher than they used to be when people had normal cars.

I dont get why there hasnt been legislation yet

I'm sensitive to light anyway, so yeah I've definitely noticed and have been bitching about it for a while now.

My lights are bright as shit but they also automatically adjust vertically so they don't flashbang small cars in front of me

Crayon_Lover posted...

Yeah, especially trucks

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/6/6cbbfa24.jpg

drivers of oversized American pickup trucks have firmly dethroned Mustang and BMW drivers as the worst assholes on the road

yea.. i'm sick and tired of being blinded by these overly bright headlights.. especially when i'm taking a walk at night and some guy 4 blocks away is blinding me w/ those damned things

Idk I don't think it's that bad. But I did have a funny moment where I was driving at night on a two lane, and an omcoming car must have thought my brights were on because he turned his on as he got closer. I flashed my high beams on for a second and he immediately turned his back off lmao

yes, the high beams (brights) on my 2005 are less bright than most cars normal lights these days

Kamen_Rider_Blade posted...

American drivers have a blinding headlight problem. It could last for years.
https://www.businessinsider.com/american-drivers-have-a-blinding-headlight-problem-2023-2

- Drivers say they're routinely getting blinded by surrounding cars' headlights.
- This isn't because headlight regulations have changed regulations on brightness haven't been altered in decades.
- In reality, it's due to misaligned headlights, taller vehicles, and the changing hue of the lights.

Interesting...according to this, headlights aren't brighter, they're just misaligned, higher up on vehicles, and of different hues? I mean, I feel all of those are true but I swear some are definitely brighter--maybe some car companies are just skirting the regulations

This causes me issues when I'm driving to work because I have trouble seeing at night and the big bright light blinds me. I have to like stop and let the car drive by me

BlueKat posted...

- Drivers say they're routinely getting blinded by surrounding cars' headlights.
- This isn't because headlight regulations have changed regulations on brightness haven't been altered in decades.
- In reality, it's due to misaligned headlights, taller vehicles, and the changing hue of the lights.

Interesting...according to this, headlights aren't brighter, they're just misaligned, higher up on vehicles, and of different hues? I mean, I feel all of those are true but I swear some are definitely brighter--maybe some car companies are just skirting the regulations

The hue is the biggest reason they feel brighter, I think. Red at 500 lumens feels dimmer than blue at 500 lumens. It's something to do with how each wavelength interacts with the rods and cones in your eyes. LED headlights are by and large "cool" white, versus the warmer white you got with halogens. So I suppose the real solution would be to use warmer LEDs for headlights.

Crazyman93 posted...

The hue is the biggest reason they feel brighter, I think. Red at 500 lumens feels dimmer than blue at 500 lumens. It's something to do with how each wavelength interacts with the rods and cones in your eyes. LED headlights are by and large "cool" white, versus the warmer white you got with halogens. So I suppose the real solution would be to use warmer LEDs for headlights.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/c/cdff2e8f.png
The closer your hue selection gets to Blue/Violet, the more Photon Energy is in the WaveLength.

Red is the weakest one

When I'm on a two lane highway it anyways feels like I'm being blasted in the face with high beams

Kamen_Rider_Blade posted...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/c/cdff2e8f.png
The closer your hue selection gets to Blue/Violet, the more Photon Energy is in the WaveLength.

Red is the weakest one

It's more to do with human perception than actual photon energy, but yes the same number of lumens in blue light is perceived to be about 40% brighter than redder light.

There's a reason why we use red lights to preserve night vision.

I noticed this 25 years ago when I first started driving. -_-

Yes, and damn is it annoying.

It's usually the worst with trucks who'll tailgate you no matter how mast over you go. They're never fucking happy and always drive the worst too.

But aren't LEDs saving the environment?