[NA] 614 trillion lumen headlights

ArrowFlyer86

ArrowFlyer86

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The Little Arrow That Could
A minor Tuesday AM rant.

When I got my drivers license over 20 years ago, I think it was relatively new thing for people to have halogen headlight bulbs or whatever technology the brighter ones were. IIRC they were mainly on Euro imports, like Audis or Mercedes. To an onlooker it was obvious they definitely kicked off more lumens than the existing bulbs (incandescent?), but they were more distinctive than blinding. Kind of like a sterile, blue-ish hue that was a bit more illuminating. Looked cool.

Somehow since then, in our evolution of vehicles and headlights, we've decided that brighter, and brighter, and brighter is better. Not just on hi-beams, but low beams too.

And since winter produces a lot more dark hours of the day I've had a lot of time in traffic recently, like this morning, to sit and ponder why I'm frequently being blinded by 200 trillion lumen low-beam headlights. When did manufacturers or people in general conclude that extraordinarily bright lights is better for cars that are almost always in close proximity to one another? This isn't like getting a WAT aircraft landing light where there's some distance, we're often right next to eachother on the road. I'm wondering is there data to show brighter is actually safer or is this purely a style thing that sells better? Because I'm sure I'm not alone in suggesting that it's an awful nuisance and distraction when you have someone behind you or oncoming with these things.

There's times where I've had to deflect my mirrors b/c it's so bright, and in some of those cases I honestly wish I carried my West Marine 220,000 candela boat search light to point back at them.
Also... Anyone who needs lights that are this bright proooobbbably just shouldn't have a drivers license IMHO</rant>

Also, the fact that this is an advertisement from Mercedes colorfully illustrates the point.

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Which in turn, has made this meme as relevant as ever... Except now some of the low-beams can be pretty bad too!
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EDIT: 1 line.
 
I agree 100%. I’ve been driving old jeeps with old headlights. One is a 1996 Jeep Cherokee XJ. The lights are fine. But if a new car is behind me, it casts a shadow around me. And in the XJ community, it’s very popular to upgrade to LEDs. Not sure why when the original headlights are fine (I admit, sometimes you need to upgrade the old wires, because they get dim over time).

Last night, a new pick up truck was behind me at a stop light. The headlights were like search beams and right at my eye level. I had to turn all my mirrors away. I could have read a book inside my car with that brightness.

You would think there are some automotive safety standards that have to be met. A lot of aftermarket headlights won’t pass inspection unless they have “DOT Approved” stamped on them.
 
As a guy who drives a 1996 car, about the only modern car tech I envy is better headlights. I can tell a dramatic difference in forward illumination between my car and modern cars.

Unfortunately, there are no legit retrofit options for my car to step up to modern illumination options. What *is* available might be contributing to your observations: I can opt for aftermarket bulbs that claim to be "brighter" and/or "whiter/bluer". So instead of the OEM warm halogen beam, I can get something like this:
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I have not done so because I've read/watched tests that say these cause increased glare to oncoming drivers compared to the original warm-spectrum bulbs and that any perceived improvements to the driver's illumination are mostly in their imagination. But I think a *lot* of people replace their OEM bulbs with something like this.

It's also possible to buy completely new aftermarket headlight assemblies that completely change the beam throw of your headlights. I think a lot of these replacements are not well-designed and cause unnecessary glare for oncoming drivers. I don't know how many people do this, but there are a LOT of such aftermarket headlight replacements on the market for all sorts of cars, so somebody must be buying them.

Finally, I don't think most people think about proper headlight aim anymore. They either don't ever touch it, which means if it drifts high it never gets corrected, or else if they do touch it, it's because they don't think it's high enough so they increase it past where it should be.

How much of your complaint stems from poor aftermarket replacements or poor aiming vs. poor OEM design from the get-go, I'd be very curious to know, but it'll probably remain a mystery.
 
Jim_R said:
As a guy who drives a 1996 car, about the only modern car tech I envy is better headlights. I can tell a dramatic difference in forward illumination between my car and modern cars.

Unfortunately, there are no legit retrofit options for my car to step up to modern illumination options. What *is* available might be contributing to your observations: I can opt for aftermarket bulbs that claim to be "brighter" and/or "whiter/bluer". So instead of the OEM warm halogen beam, I can get something like this:
View attachment 138029

I have not done so because I've read/watched tests that say these cause increased glare to oncoming drivers compared to the original warm-spectrum bulbs and that any perceived improvements to the driver's illumination are mostly in their imagination. But I think a *lot* of people replace their OEM bulbs with something like this.

It's also possible to buy completely new aftermarket headlight assemblies that completely change the beam throw of your headlights. I think a lot of these replacements are not well-designed and cause unnecessary glare for oncoming drivers. I don't know how many people do this, but there are a LOT of such aftermarket headlight replacements on the market for all sorts of cars, so somebody must be buying them.

Finally, I don't think most people think about proper headlight aim anymore. They either don't ever touch it, which means if it drifts high it never gets corrected, or else if they do touch it, it's because they don't think it's high enough so they increase it past where it should be.

How much of your complaint stems from poor aftermarket replacements or poor aiming vs. poor OEM design from the get-go, I'd be very curious to know, but it'll probably remain a mystery.
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I certainly respect the conscientious decision to avoid retrofitting if it's going to be an optical disaster for others on the road!

And yeah... I'm not suggesting that dim headlights are great either (if that's what you have). Just... Normal modern lights seem good. Not the "holy **** am I looking at headlights or the surface of the sun?" kind.
 
Another factor is that some pickups have adjustable headlights. So if you have a heavy load in back, you can lower the headlights. The problem is, many owners of these trucks either don't know or don't care that they've been dialed up.

Personally, I can't wait until Adaptive Driving Beams are allowed here and become mandatory.
 
Adaptive headlights are fantastic. I rented a VW in Germany and fell in love with them. They shine bright everywhere except the oncoming drivers eyes, where they turn off in that exact spot as they pass by.

For now, there is an archaic rule in the US that says low and high beams aren’t allowed to work together, which prevents their use in this country.

Google search update to above:
  • The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) finalized regulations for adaptive headlights in 2022.

  • The regulations were part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
 
donjohnston said:
Another factor is that some pickups have adjustable headlights. So if you have a heavy load in back, you can lower the headlights. The problem is, many owners of these trucks either don't know or don't care that they've been dialed up.

Personally, I can't wait until Adaptive Driving Beams are allowed here and become mandatory.
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I know how to adjust my headlights on my truck. But it's not exactly trivial. Very manual and a pain. The Ford had an auto level, but it didn't work worth a damn, sometimes it would do the opposite and shine higher rather than lower. I really don't tow at night or long trips for the most part.
 
My 2022 Ford kicks into high beam when there’s no oncoming traffic. I noticed this driving back from the airport one night..CFO is out in the boonies for 5 miles until I get on the interstate. The ones I hate are the pickups that are in the left lane on the opposite side of the intersection, with halogens completely blinding me because the headlights are not pointing down but directly in my eyes. I’ve had to pull off the street at times to let my eyes recover.
 
Honestly, I think the most dangerous lights on the road are emergency vehicle flashers…especially the lights on top of the cop cars. I come up on an accident or somebody is pulled over and I either close my eyes or go blind for a few seconds just as I’m approaching the hazard.
 
MauleSkinner said:
Honestly, I think the most dangerous lights on the road are emergency vehicle flashers…especially the lights on top of the cop cars. I come up on an accident or somebody is pulled over and I either close my eyes or go blind for a few seconds just as I’m approaching the hazard.
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Definitely some truth to that in my experience. I understand first responders wanna make sure people clear a lane and can see them when they're stopped -- but some of the cop cars have more lights than a freakin' disco club.
 
Vehicles have also gotten taller. Unless you’re also in a truck or SUV headlights from other vehicles are much closer, if not above, eye level.
 
ArrowFlyer86 said:
Definitely some truth to that in my experience. I understand first responders wanna make sure people clear a lane and can see them when they're stopped -- but some of the cop cars have more lights than a freakin' disco club.
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It isn’t just the quantity, it is the blinding brightness.
 
MauleSkinner said:
Honestly, I think the most dangerous lights on the road are emergency vehicle flashers…especially the lights on top of the cop cars. I come up on an accident or somebody is pulled over and I either close my eyes or go blind for a few seconds just as I’m approaching the hazard.
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Absolutely. The LED light bars are too bright at night. I know of at least one brand of lightbar that has the option to switch to half brightness when the transmission is in Park. That should be done on all of them. Half brightness on an LED lightbar at night is still brighter than the old halogen rigs.

One of the good things with California law enforcement is that when we pull people over, once the car is stopped is we switch off the forward-facing flashing lights and just have one each steady-burning red and blue lights, and usually just use those lights to initiate the stop. It’s due to a quirk in state law mandating a steady-burning red light for emergency operation, but it winds up being a benefit to everyone driving toward a pulled-over vehicle. Other states, holy cow! All lights on all the way until after the stop is done, plus they have them set up for max flash rate with random patterns.
 
ateamer said:
Other states, holy cow! All lights on all the way until after the stop is done, plus they have them set up for max flash rate with random patterns.
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When you say it like that, it sounds like an epileptic seizure waiting to happen!
 
1. Not a popular opinion, but this needs some sort of regulation.
When I was a kid, I got pulled over for having a blackout kit on my mustang headlights.
They have rules about tint. This has gotten so bad, I think someone needs to step in.

2. I don't believe a lot of drivers give a damn.
The rollin coal, rebel flag flying lifted truck, truck nut guys (AKA North Texans) I assume are going out of their way to to have the biggest, brightest, most annoying vehicles on the road because they can't make a woman happy so the next best thing is to use dad's money to **** everyone else off.

It has gotten to be really bad. I am teaching my daughter to drive right now and at night 4-5 times and especially at stop lights, I go "Let's just wait until passes and we will turn".

This crap is everywhere:
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To further illustrate my point that they think its funny, google "Rear facing High Beams"

If you see this, you should legally be allowed to shoot them out.
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Yes, I drove a loud AF 65 musting too fast through the neighborhood, blaring Slayer on 11, and audibly going through more rear tires then I could afford.
But I am the old guy now and old dudes then new I was a pompous prick disrupting their daily life but at least I was cool. These kids today... Buncha arseholes
 
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The brodozer idiots are here in Florida, too. Their IQ is inversely proportional to the quantity and candlepower of their accessory lights. And you can make a sure-money bet that they’ll also tailgate within arm’s reach, pass over the double yellows with oncoming traffic and drive 30 over the limit on narrow two-lane roads.
 
Some of the difficulty people are experiencing with bright headlights is caused by the fact we (I include me in this group) are getting older and our ability to adjust/recover from bright lights is degraded. I'm not saying it's all age-related, just some of it.
 
You can buy aftermarket LED bulbs that replace halogen bulbs in the original reflector. They range from "standard" brightness (whatever that is) to absurd. The problem is, the light emits from a different shaped surface (multiple discrete LEDS instead of a filament) and that doesn't play well with the reflector designed for halogen bulbs.

My 2023 Jeep came with halogens, which are pretty lame even by old car standards (the fancier models come with LEDs). Based on recommendations on a Jeep forum, I recently replaced the bulbs with the Silverstars mentioned above. Haven't driven at night yet since, though.
 
Dana said:
My 2023 Jeep came with halogens, which are pretty lame even by old car standards (the fancier models come with LEDs).
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We have a 2022 base model Wrangler Sport with the halogens, they’re horrible. I think a Bic lighter puts out more lumens. I’d upgrade to LED, but they’re spendy and I can be a cheap bastid.
 
I was just complaining about this. Maybe age or my astigmatism is showing, but I literally have to squint or close my eyes with some of these headlights in oncoming traffic.

When I owned a truck, I felt guilty about my factory headlights at stoplights. I'd turn down to just parking lights until we started moving. I don't understand the need to burn holes in peoples' retinas.
 
For me, the LED or HID headlights - on low beam - are more comfortable to have coming toward me than halogens. Halogens have a ton of yellow and seem to be more scattered, while the modern lights are more sharply defined.
 
I live in a very dark area so when driving, my pupils are already huge.
Along comes a 614 trillion headlight truck (often pulling a trailer or a heavy load in the bed) and those stupid lasers are now sizzling my retinas.
It's been one of my pet peeves for years, I'm wicha there.

I think the NTSHA was asleep at the wheel when this all started and shoulders 99% of the blame for not controlling it and/or thinking more light is better :mad:
That, and the lack of mud flaps - which has resulted in monthly stone chips on my windows - again, NTSHA.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
The rollin coal, rebel flag flying lifted truck, truck nut guys (AKA North Texans) I assume are going out of their way to to have the biggest, brightest, most annoying vehicles on the road because they can't make a woman happy so the next best thing is to use dad's money to **** everyone else off.
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Sad part is most guys that are putting these accessories on their trucks do it for attention from other men as most women don't really care about such stuff ... :eek:
 
I think modern headlights are a much better match for the speeds we travel on highways/turnpikes these days. Running 80mph+ at night means I want as much light down the road as possible, and the halogen bulbs just don't do it. The Xenon (HID) lights were the first to really change that in the 90's, which by their name High-Intensity Discharge, tell you that the output can be pretty extreme. I think one of the things that cause them to appear even brighter in output is the distinct cutoff. Old halogen and sealed-beam headlights just threw light roughly evenly in all directions. HID and modern LED have housings which have a flat/stepped cut-off which goes from full intensity to ZERO light very suddenly, so when oncoming drivers cross that cutoff threshold it is a sudden burst of intensity rather than gradual.

I do think the increased number of lifted/leveled trucks and SUVs compounds the issue, especially because they rarely adjust their headlights afterwards. I also know there are a lot of people who toss HID bulbs and LED bulbs into factory halogen reflectors which are not designed to properly focus the light and end up dazzling oncoming drivers. I actually did an HID projector retrofit into stock housings on my Excursion to do it "the right way" so that it has a proper cutoff and focused like an OEM design would be. I also have really bright LED aux lights which output about as much as my headlights do, but I only have them on when I'm on unlit rural roads. I get flashed every now and then with just my headlights on, but it's usually from a sedan/coupe that is just sitting low enough to be in the sweet spot.

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In Virginia they used to check brightness at annual inspection…did that change?

Decades ago the cops would ticket for improper after market headlights in the dc area

I guess I’ll wear sunglasses at night lol
 
Seems like Ford trucks are the worst offenders. Without auto dimming rear view mirrors, it’s pretty annoying.
 
Oncoming brights are a great enhancement for oncoming texting while driving too. It can't just be my own observation during the day how many drivers are drifting toward and over the yellow line as they close in for the kill. At least you can see it in daylight and move over.
 
Jim_R said:
Finally, I don't think most people think about proper headlight aim anymore. They either don't ever touch it, which means if it drifts high it never gets corrected, or else if they do touch it, it's because they don't think it's high enough so they increase it past where it should be.
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Yes. I installed LED bulbs in both my vehicles, but had to adjust the beams downward. They have a sharp cutoff that can change with bulbs that are just a little different. I don't get oncoming drivers flashing their high beams at me. There are a lot of deer in this country and it's nice to be able to spot them at night in time to avoid them.
donjohnston said:
Another factor is that some pickups have adjustable headlights. So if you have a heavy load in back, you can lower the headlights. The problem is, many owners of these trucks either don't know or don't care that they've been dialed up.
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Did not know that. That explains a lot. But there are guys that lift their trucks and so anyone in front of them is getting sunburned.
 
Randomskylane said:
In Virginia they used to check brightness at annual inspection…did that change?

Decades ago the cops would ticket for improper after market headlights in the dc area

I guess I’ll wear sunglasses at night lol
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OK doesn't do inspections of any sort, so no luck there, lol. Pretty sure TX got rid of most of theirs, too.
 
Randomskylane said:
In Virginia they used to check brightness at annual inspection…did that change?
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I'm in southern VA, I've never had them check for brightness, just that the bright lights function. But, I've only been a VA resident for 8 years.

I wish my lights were brighter, for deer. My truck is in the body shop for $10k worth of damage from a deer strike.
 
SoonerAviator said:
I think modern headlights are a much better match for the speeds we travel on highways/turnpikes these days. Running 80mph+ at night means I want as much light down the road as possible, and the halogen bulbs just don't do it.
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here's a thought... don't outdrive your headlights.
 
Part of the problem is the $#!t US headlight regulations. Back when everyone else in the world had nice, multi-element optics, the US DOT was still requiring all vehicles to have the old and crappy sealed beam lights. And the rules haven't really gotten any better.
If you drive in Europe you'll notice headlights are not as blinding as they are in the US. The rules there mandate a certain beam pattern, regardless of the height of the light above the ground. Also, they check that stuff at your annual inspection. Here, a truck that is 10 feet tall with headlights 8 feet off the ground will send light straight into your eyes. Same with most SUV's if you happen to drive a sedan, they send that concenrated beam right in your eyes.
 
Bob Noel said:
here's a thought... don't outdrive your headlights.
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OK . . . so manufacturers came up with better headlights to match speeds. So now we can drive 80-85mph and not outdrive the headlights. No national 55mph speed limit any more, so the headlight tech has adapted.

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A huge part of the problem would instantly disappear if drivers would realize they actually have a Hi/Lo beam control in their vehicles.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
A huge part of the problem would instantly disappear if drivers would realize they actually have a Hi/Lo beam control in their vehicles.
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A huge part of the problem would disappear if people in the front left seat of a car realized they actually had some responsibility for proper operation.
 
With the new headlights, and with my dim 2007 headlights, I kid you not, when a car pulls up behind me, my car casts a shadow in my own headlight beam!
 
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