Led headlights. (Rant alert)

Jim Case

Jim Case

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AceDolphinFlyer
these need to be banned. I'm a 21 year old, and hardly have the tired worn out eyes of a 60 year old. I still feel worried about the damage these selfish jerks are causing me when they pop on there high beams right in my face using these damn lights. The lights alone are probably detrimental to people's vision, but it's being used as a harassment Tatic by idiot drivers on top of that. I'm not going 65 through a snowy intersection in my run down Plymouth so some jackass pulls up 2 feet behind me and blares his high beam led lights in my mirrors, now I literally can't see anything. I'm tired of these, they are definitely causing damage to people's eyes and should Be outlawed, im worried about my vision, and others who get in the crossfire of the people who use these. OUTLAW THEM!
 
When LED headlights are outlawed, only outlaws will have LED headlights.

Seriously, it all comes down to responsible use, and I'm not sure that's covered in Driver's Ed.
 
I'll ignore the crack about tired worn out eyes; what you need are even brighter lights. Don't get mad, get even!
 
kyleb said:
When LED headlights are outlawed, only outlaws will have LED headlights.

Seriously, it all comes down to responsible use, and I'm not sure that's covered in Driver's Ed.
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Yeah, I suppose you are correct to some degree about Proper use, I don't agree and I think that Just having them on is painful and dangerous to others But i respect the way you think about it.
 
With my old worn out eyes,can only wait untill your one of us.
 
paflyer said:
I'll ignore the crack about tired worn out eyes; what you need are even brighter lights. Don't get mad, get even!
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I am seriously concerned about people getting vision damage or causing an accident. I'm didn't mean for it to be a "crack".
 
frfly172 said:
With my old worn out eyes,can only wait untill your one of us.
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I didn't mean to jab at anybody's vision issues, i really am conceded for older folks like my dad, who can't handle the drastic contrast between pitch black and those blinding lights.
 
I started laughing at "I'm a 21 year old." Oh, to be only twice your age again :)

I do agree that excessive illumination is sometimes as dangerous as excessive speed.
 
Is it really the LED lights, or are you thinking of the Xenon headlight bulbs fitted to halogen housings? The latter poorly control light scatter and are the gross offenders. LED lighting in a properly designed housing has very defined cut-offs. But that said, I do agree that the obscene amount of un-directed light is annoying.
 
Ravioli said:
I started laughing at "I'm a 21 year old." Oh, to be only twice your age again :)

I do agree that excessive illumination is sometimes as dangerous as excessive speed.
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IMG_1180.JPG I really do care about the older folks that have to get places, they shouldn't have to be subjected to somthing like this when the older non-blinding lights worked Just fine.
 
rtk11 said:
Is it really the LED lights, or are you thinking of the Xenon headlight bulbs fitted to halogen housings? The latter poorly control light scatter and are the gross offenders. LED lighting in a properly designed housing has very defined cut-offs. But that said, I do agree that the obscene amount of un-directed light is annoying.
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I've never heard of this Xenon headlight bulbs. It may be what I am referring to, the Bright blue shaded lights that span a mile and blind everyone in the oncoming lane, whatever those are :)
 
I have some high output LED backup lights on my jeep, they come on in reverse, but I also have a switch for them, it is a jeep after all, my rear facing lights > your economy / euro cars high beams.

Normally we don't get flashing folks up here anyways.




Side note, they can be annoying, but damaging your eyes, not so much
 
James331 said:
I have some high output LED backup lights on my jeep, they come on in reverse, but I also have a switch for them, it is a jeep after all, my rear facing lights > your economy / euro cars high beams.

Normally we don't get flashing folks up here anyways.




Side note, they can be annoying, but damaging your eyes, not so much
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Fair enough point of veiw. I respect what you are saying.
 
Led and HID headlights are about the same brightness. I love mine, they're great for moving people over who are poking along in the passing lane. Doubt they would damage your eyes unless you stare at them, but they are bright.
 
I live in an area where car on deer collisions are probably the most common type of accident so I try to have all the light I can get.
 
Jim Case said:
I've never heard of this Xenon headlight bulbs. It may be what I am referring to, the Bright blue shaded lights that span a mile and blind everyone in the oncoming lane, whatever those are :)
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Xenon is a type of HID (high intensity discharge). I believe the DOT regulates overall intensity, so I believe it's really the blue-ish color and the scatter pattern that bothers you. Modern LED bulbs are whiter, so it's probably the older HID's that you are ranting against. I don't think older blue-er LED's were ever used in cars all that often.
 
Jim Case said:
these need to be banned. I'm a 21 year old, and hardly have the tired worn out eyes of a 60 year old. I still feel worried about the damage these selfish jerks are causing me when they pop on there high beams right in my face using these damn lights. The lights alone are probably detrimental to people's vision, but it's being used as a harassment Tatic by idiot drivers on top of that. I'm not going 65 through a snowy intersection in my run down Plymouth so some jackass pulls up 2 feet behind me and blares his high beam led lights in my mirrors, now I literally can't see anything. I'm tired of these, they are definitely causing damage to people's eyes and should Be outlawed, im worried about my vision, and others who get in the crossfire of the people who use these. OUTLAW THEM!
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Unless. . .you're in lane one of a multi-lane, and being a self-righteous dweeble, as in "I'm doing the speed limit, so I shouldn't have to keep right" - oblivious to the traffic passing on the right of you, and that very effective funnel you and the slower traffic in the right-most lane are creating. It's like turning a four-lane road into a two-lane, with the added thrill of passing traffic merging from right and left, into eac other. Also, in some states, the rules of the road call for using headlights for a driver behind to indicate he would would like you to move the efff over to a slower lane.
 
I have no problems with them. I do not think they are any brighter than halogen lights. Just a whiter and more easily focused light.

What does annoy me is when people lift their trucks and don't re-aim the headlights
 
Try driving a little British sports car at night where your head is about 40" off the ground. Then everyone who pulls up behind you at lights is a real pain in the rear, LED or not.
 
LED lights aren't inherently brighter than other types of lights. But, like the Xenon bulbs mentioned above, one can buy much brighter bulbs that are legal for "off road use only", and boy, are they bright! The real problem (other than the idiots who refuse to dim their lights) are the young dweebs who install brighter-than-legal bulbs, and then fail to aim them properly.
 
slam on your brakes and crush those lights with your rear bumper!
 
In the days of round headlamps I had two 100 watt landing lights in place of the high beams. I was courteous enough to turn them off for oncoming traffic.
 
It sounds like the real rant is about poor quality retrofit HID lights, which as stated require their own specially designed reflectors (or projectors.) That aside, people that drive around with their high beams on all the time are REALLY annoying. As a motorcyclist, I'm shamed to say some riders are particularly bad about this.
 
I just automatically assume all other drivers on the road are idiots and drive accordingly. Less stressful that way:

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The HID headlights in my cars have built in shutters that are connected to a system to keep the light from getting too high due to car loading. It works quite well. Of course when you turn on the high beams all bets are off.
 
I frequently drive in a two-lane, and when someone is coming in the opposite direction with bright lights, I have learned to look at the shoulder. I don't need to stare at the lights to know where the other vehicle is. As far as vehicles coming from behind, any car I've ever owned had a flip setting on the rear view mirror so the lights didn't seem as bright. My current vehicle does it automatically.
 
Everskyward said:
any car I've ever owned had a flip setting on the rear view mirror so the lights didn't seem as bright. My current vehicle does it automatically.
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What I need is a setting that re-adjusts the rear view mirror to reflect the bright lights back at the offender. One that does all 3 mirrors would be even better.
 
This has been going on since the dinosaur days. When I was a wee lad, ( and I'm older than dirt) my job on cross country trips was to hold a mirror up to the rear window on my Dad's command.
 
Cap'n Jack said:
I suppose it is OK to look at the sun? An arc welder? A strong laser? I'm glad photic retinopathy was just a myth. :)
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Where do you buy your headlights? I'll have what he's having!
 
Well Sundog, I guess we will agree that you have a strange understanding of the traffic laws.
 
Norman said:
In the days of round headlamps I had two 100 watt landing lights in place of the high beams. I was courteous enough to turn them off for oncoming traffic.
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Me too, Norm!....... '61 Chevy convertible! :) My dad had one for the spotlight in his squad car, also.

Jim
 
champ driver said:
Try driving a little British sports car at night where your head is about 40" off the ground. Then everyone who pulls up behind you at lights is a real pain in the rear, LED or not.
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The roof of my fun car is 46" off the ground, when it is up. Most any headlights behind me are annoying. And if I slam on the brakes, most modern numbers will hit the trunk just after their front tires hit my bumper . . . But boy, is it fun to drive!
 
Dr. O said:
Well Sundog, I guess we will agree that you have a strange understanding of the traffic laws.
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Like slower traffic keep right? I doubt you'd get all the agreement you anticipate. . .the laws vary from state to state, though some good rules of thimb might be universal, like slower traffic keep right; or drive to be invisible, as in, nothing you do should cause someone else to change what they are doing.

I haven't had my speedometer calibrated, so my 65 may be someone elses 62. Some common sense here - if lot's of cars are passing you on the right, move the eff over, until they aren't. . .
 
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