‘Automatic headlights’ don’t work in fog?

[u/clynchy97]

About 40-50% of the cars we passed on the road today had no headlights on or only had the dim side lights. Do automatic lights not work in fog for these modern cars? Seems super sketchy

[u/b-raddit]

These guys are idiots. Flash them to alert them , and they keep driving. Serious npc energy

[u/SkeletorsAlt → u/b-raddit]

Yeah, this has been a thing for the entire 25+ years I’ve had a driver’s license.

Something about driving an anonymous grey or silver crossover fills these people with a desire to emerge silently from the mist like the Flying Fucking Dutchman of dropping the kids off at school.

I’ve been flashing my headlights at them for over two decades and I’ve always had a <50% success rate. Oh well.

[u/AtTheMercyOfThePast → u/SkeletorsAlt]

I drive your average early 2000s silver compact car, and instead of flashing my brights, I turn off my lights entirely and pulse them on/off.

It sends the message when I literally disappear and reappear.

I will continue doing so till some unhinged driver kills me, but I'll die happy.

[u/SkeletorsAlt → u/AtTheMercyOfThePast]

Yeah, that’s what I do. Around here in rural central Ohio flashing your high beams means “cop/hazard ahead” so I try to avoid doing that unnecessarily.

[u/HanzG → u/SkeletorsAlt]

That's pretty standard all throughout North America. Same rule up here in Ontario. Cop or heavy traffic ahead, either way slow down.

[u/0ut0fBoundsException → u/HanzG]

Or deer. Or turn your GD high beams off

[u/clantontann → u/0ut0fBoundsException]

Seriously. I moved to the FL panhandle and I've never seen so many drivers that regularly commute with high beams on. You flash yours at them and they seem oblivious to it. But with the new LED headlamps, they're so damn bright I'm apprehensive about flashing mine because they could just be their standard low beams. They probably get as pissed at getting flashed by others that I get being driven toward with high beams on.

[u/Material-Kick-9753 → u/clantontann]

Those new ones are brutal. Believe they are the new HID lights; High Intensity Discharge. Brighter than leds.

[u/clantontann → u/Material-Kick-9753]

My wife's 2018 Acura MDX has LEDs. The ones where there's like 4 or 5 lenses in each headlamp. Super bright but they're aimed lower than my 2017 Armada that is HID. I know many of the newer Camrys, Mazdas, Acuras, and a few others are just crazy bright now.

[u/AdA4b5gof4st3r → u/clantontann]

Fuck em. If I can’t see then they can’t either. We’ll see who’s a better blind driver.

[u/clantontann → u/AdA4b5gof4st3r]

Like jousting with headlamps.

[u/AdA4b5gof4st3r → u/clantontann]

exactly.

[u/notlitnez2000 → u/clantontann]

In vehicles that use dim high beams as DRL, if the high beams have been refitted with LEDs, then yes. LEDs are either ON or OFF: no half-voltage midway. Thats why some LED retrofits flicker in DRL mode. Illegal in many jurisdictions.

[u/clantontann → u/notlitnez2000]

Didn't know that. Thanks for the info! Explains why my buddy's Nitro headlamps flicker and I always think his charging system is going out. He replaced the factory incandescents with Amazon LED bulbs.

[u/notlitnez2000 → u/clantontann]

Many cars with high-beam half-bright DRLs are made dim by a quick pulsing of power. Milliseconds. I have had good results with Auxito LEDs and Sealight LED headlights. I retrofitted a 2008 Honda Fit (combo high-low bulbs) with an early generation of cheap LEDs. The result was “see great and blind everyone else”. The incandescent reflectors in the assembly, and the badly placed lighting elements were the cause. The high beams were electrically separate, but barely discernible. One of the lights failed because the bulb’s cooling fan jammed with road gunk. The replacements were fanless and had better placed elements that coordinated better with the incandescent reflectors. High vs low beams were visibly different. In my vehicles with separate low and high beam, I have left the DRLs stock incandescent, and will remain so until technology overcomes the problem. If you look and make note, 2020+ vehicles are separating DRL from any forward lighting. The low cost Amazon LEDs may be older, less sophisticated technology.

[u/T-MO19 → u/clantontann]

I get flashed all the time with just my lows on in my MK 7.5 GTI

[u/clantontann → u/T-MO19]

I feel for you. I'm guilty of flashing many cars with the new lights and then I feel terrible for it. You can't really tell they're low beams until you're right up on them

[u/T-MO19 → u/clantontann]

Heard that, same reason I don’t flash cars I’m almost certain are blinding me. I’ve also been guilty of forgetting my high beams are on (like anyone else) and feeling horribly bad after it’s too late and I’ve fried their vision for the next couple minutes. But yeah with most cars having brighter blueish lights nowadays it’s a bit harder than when I got my license in 2015 (18yo). Also quite a bit harder to tell if a cop is behind you with the amount of Fords on the road 😂

[u/LightlySaltedPeanuts → u/0ut0fBoundsException]

I’ve started high beaming any car that has those obnoxiously bright new headlights. If I can’t see then neither should they. Car manufacturers should have to recall all of those.

[u/Outside-Drag-3031 → u/HanzG]

Yep, few quick flashes says "slow down, hazard ahead." Flicker lights out says "turn on your lights" and I hold my high beams on in succession, like "o" in Morse code: - - -, to signify "turn off your high beams."

[u/Fuzzywink → u/SkeletorsAlt]

Similar sentiment around here in MO. Broadly speaking, most people see turning lights on/off as a friendly acknowledgement or "hey turn your lights on." Flashing your brights (or in my case big LED light bar) is specifically reserved for "fuck you turn off your high beams" or "hey pay attention before you get yourself or me killed."

[u/notlitnez2000 → u/SkeletorsAlt]

Sometimes the highway patrol sees you flashing the warning— even after you have passed, and cite you with a local law.

[u/SkeletorsAlt → u/notlitnez2000]

There is some federal precedent that says that’s free speech. https://www.aclu-mo.org/en/node/479

Your mileage may vary on that if you’re anywhere other than Missouri though.

[u/daniell61 → u/AtTheMercyOfThePast]

I used to do this until someone tried to run me off the road because they thought I was insulting them (still not sure how that one worked when explained to the sheriffs)

Foglights work as well and are less "painful" from what I've seen

[u/moondog__ → u/AtTheMercyOfThePast]

I do exactly this. AND my car has auto headlights.

[u/No-Canary-9845 → u/SkeletorsAlt]

Long will it continue, flashed the Fuck out of some donut in their grey Quashqai last year only for the helmet to think I was just doing it for fun lmao

Overtook and the ding dong thought it was game time and just flashed us for the next four miles

These people are clowns and the sooner they T-bone an artic that hasn’t seen them at a junction and take themselves out, the better

[u/UnboundedCord42 → u/SkeletorsAlt]

Flashing my light bar has a 98% success rate lol unbelievable how many people don’t turn their lights on though seen some extremely dangerous weather and people just chillin probably barely seeing too without lights. Daylight running lights are shit for this too cause I’ve seen people think they are their actual lights.

[u/LightlySaltedPeanuts → u/UnboundedCord42]

Yup they just have DRLs on which is only very dim headlights and no taillights. Especially when its a black car. I’ve done the ‘turn my lights on and off’ to get their attention and like they said above, maybe 50% get the clue. The crazy thing is with their lights off their gauge cluster must be bright as hell in daytime mode, making it even harder for them to see. But they just keep going on their merry NPC way

[u/notlitnez2000 → u/LightlySaltedPeanuts]

Aye, the stupefying of America is only 50%? I’d estimate closer to 85%.

[u/[deleted] → u/SkeletorsAlt]

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[u/I_hate_being_alone → u/b-raddit]

Sad thing is that most of these idiots don’t know there even is a light switch.

[u/lilBalzac → u/I_hate_being_alone]

Honestly the controls in most new cars are terrible for lights. I got a rental recently and the headlight controls made zero sense.

[u/Real-Entrepreneur-31 → u/lilBalzac]

Most cars have headlights controls on the left stick (the blinker stick). At least my old 2007 Toyota and 2021 Kia.

[u/Daedalus_304 → u/Real-Entrepreneur-31]

Most European cars I’ve been in have the headlights as a dial on the dash itself, my bmw has it to the right of the steering wheel

[u/Real-Entrepreneur-31 → u/Daedalus_304]

Yeah true. Forgot about my work van VW with a dial.

[u/b-raddit → u/I_hate_being_alone]

Supremely dangerous and frustrating!

[u/Melodic-Picture48 → u/I_hate_being_alone]

It's even worse at night, not turning the headlights on ass drivers

[u/elmwoodblues → u/I_hate_being_alone]

sees DRLs on:

"I'm good."

[u/notlitnez2000 → u/I_hate_being_alone]

Again supporting the “Stupefying of America”

[u/sugarfreeeyecandy → u/b-raddit]

It may take people quite a while to realize that their instrument cluster being lit up brightly does not mean their headlights are off. Some cars, but not all, have an icon that means the lights are on.

[u/notlitnez2000 → u/sugarfreeeyecandy]

The Stupefying of America responds “wuts that little light fer?”

[u/avenged06x → u/b-raddit]

Flint MI energy

[u/i_suckatjavascript → u/b-raddit]

A hamster is driving that car

[u/gramtin → u/b-raddit]

'Huh, mustve been the wind'

[u/midnightsmith → u/b-raddit]

Nah, if they're this dumb, they'll not understand there is fog lights and just blind everyone, arguably worse

[u/notlitnez2000 → u/b-raddit]

Yep. The stupefying of America.

[u/DildoBanginz → u/b-raddit]

“My lights are on bro” -them

[u/karmeezys → u/b-raddit]

I had to explain to people how to turn on their lights manually

[u/Geaux13Saints → u/b-raddit]

I’ve never ever had success in flashing my lights at someone to get them to turn their lights on