r/nottheonion 2d ago

Headlights seem a lot brighter these days — because they are

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/headlights-led-driving-safety-night-1.7409099
4.2k Upvotes

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u/Arcania85 2d ago

It's nice to see everything in the dark but its not wise to blind the car going 80km an hour in your exact direction. Its called dim lights for a reason.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

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u/Absurdionne 2d ago

Teslas and Toyotas are the worst, I find.

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u/total_bullwhip 2d ago

Oh it’s absolutely across the board. These LED Dip beams are so fucking bright even my self tinting mirrors can’t negate the blinding intensity behind me.

I drive about an hour home and this winter when it’s dark has been brutal. It’s usually the newer crossovers and SUVs that are bad. The new trucks are also terrible.

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u/contactspring 2d ago

You're not in an area with the HUGE pick up trucks that are raised so that even on "low" the lights are at eye level.

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u/iShakeMyHeadAtYou 1d ago

I drive a civic in Alberta. I'm considering installing rear facing high beams to get some releif from those fuckers.

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u/mattm83 1d ago

Angle your side mirrors so they aim back towards them they will hit a spot where they shine back at them and they realise and either back away or overtake you to avoid it

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u/SunliMin 2d ago

New trucks are by far the worst, next are new SUVs, than new Sedans.

Idk if I've seen a trend with brands. They're all so bright now, that the only saving grace is not having it directly in your sight line.

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u/taizzle71 2d ago

Especially the raised Toyota trucks. I'm actually fine if you aim it down, but when you blasting that sun at me, it's like daring me to play chicken with you.

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u/Sebastianx21 1d ago

Toyota is definitely compensating for something.

I used to get all kinds of rentals for my work and by far the car with the worst headlights was a 2016 Corolla, I literally had to get out to check if all lights are working because that thing was straight up horrible.

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u/Miyelsh 2d ago

Luigi?

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u/suggestiveinnuendo 2d ago

ok I'm going to have to stop this right here and ask that we end this irrational and borderline toxic hype, there are so many hours in the day, one person just cannot be expected to fix everything that's wrong with society by themselves and maintain a healthy work life balance

I mean, seriously...

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u/Biggu5Dicku5 2d ago

one person just cannot be expected to fix everything that's wrong with society by themselves and maintain a healthy work life balance

Good point, so Luigi's (plural) then?

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u/UDarkLord 2d ago

That would be “Luigis”, the apostrophe is for the possessive, and I don’t think anyone owns all the responsibility.

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u/Daeths 2d ago

Or in Italian it would be Luigi iirc

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u/haminacup 2d ago

one Luigus, many Luigi

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u/Sebastianx21 1d ago

Had us in the first half, not gonna lie.

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u/NeverGetsTheNuke 1d ago

Even the dim lights are getting ridiculous. Several times on my commute, I've flashed my highs at people with headlights brighter than most high-beams, only to discover those were their dims when they flash me back with the pure blinding light of God almighty.

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u/Daren_I 1d ago

LED lights are good, but when they were promoted in the US before the legal change to allow them, they were shown as automatically turning off some of the LEDs for each car that was approaching; you could have your brights on and it would selectively dim for each oncoming car. Well, turns out that is a luxury feature only on some models, not the new standard for all vehicles. I was blinding people with my new 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee until I discovered it wasn't dimming for them.

Edit: Year and model added

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u/Ultrabarrel 1d ago

On Hyundai 2020 up it’s a setting!

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u/TJNel 23h ago

The low beams on all cars should not be allowed to have LEDs. Sure high beams can be bright as you use them when no other car is around but fuck everyone that has low beam LED lights.

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u/SaintShogun 2d ago

This story is about 5 years too late.

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u/general_sirhc 2d ago

More than 5 years.

My 2017 Subaru uses LED lights with flap that cuts the top of the beam off during low beam usage.

That means if I'm coming over a crest or the car ahead is in a dip, they see light the same brightness as my highbeams.

They're excellent headlights, but seeing how bright my lights are on other cars, I feel bad sometimes knowing I'm blinding an oncoming driver, but my lights are set up correctly as intended from the factory.

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u/Spr-Scuba 2d ago

They're excellent headlights

If they're blinding people as "low lights" then no they're not excellent. The whole point of a lumens limit is so that stuff like blinding people doesn't happen every damn time you drive.

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u/general_sirhc 2d ago

Maybe I should have clarified as the driver. They're excellent headlights.

They're entirely stock, correctly adjusted lights.

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u/Spr-Scuba 2d ago

I should clarify then as someone who gets blinded when you hit those bumps. They're not excellent headlights if they risk flashbanging other drivers.

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u/general_sirhc 2d ago

That was my point. It isn't my responsibility to define the legal requirements for car manufacturers.

Subaru is not the only brand that uses LED lights at this brightness. So, choosing another car isn't going to fix the issue either.

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u/ElSahuno 1d ago

Crop dusting me in an elevator is also totally in line with the manufacturers specifications, legal, and totally a dick move as well.

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u/general_sirhc 1d ago

So I should just drive with no lights?

What exactly do you want me to do?

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u/oldphonewhowasthat 2d ago

You like people swerving wildly as you go past?

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u/general_sirhc 2d ago edited 1d ago

I've never had that happen and the road situation where my car is angled up enough for the low beams to cover the oncoming car usually occurs no closer than 100-200m away with the exception of speed bumps.

Additionally it occurs for usually less than 3 seconds.

I can't just sell my car and buy a new one because mine, like most modern cars has bright low beam headlights.

I don't understand why you're making it sound like I'm actively and deliberately endangering people. I bought a car to move my family around, I didn't know I needed to consider such things when buying a car

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u/SaintShogun 2d ago

I feel you. People flash me, thinking I have my high beams on when I don't. At stops I try to veer slightly so my lights aren't aimed at the mirtors of the vehicle in front of me.

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u/Misternogo 2d ago

We called these asshole headlights where I'm from, when I was growing up. Now they're everywhere. It just also happens to coincide with the feeling that people are also more likely to be an asshole these days.

I straight up can't see at night if there's traffic, because I'm getting blinded coming and going and the oversized compensation trucks everyone drives around with their headlights directly at eye and mirror level makes it feel like I'm getting flashbanged.

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u/AdmiralYuki 2d ago

It's so bad, at stop signs I cant even see if there are pedestrians crossing. It doesnt help everyone wears dark clothes. Dark clothes and overerly bright headlights everywhere are like an invisiviblity cloak

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u/EvidenceOfDespair 2d ago

Dark clothes and no sense of safety. Like, I feel like I’m the crazy one for not believing that having the legal right of way creates a magical forcefield which prevents cars from hitting me.

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u/Misternogo 2d ago

Out in the public world, we're told pedestrians have right of way, and that's the end of it. In the labor trades, they don't tell you who has right of way in a fab shop. They tell you that the forklift will win every time.

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u/TjW0569 1d ago

Forklift has right-of-weight.

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u/EvidenceOfDespair 2d ago

Yeah, that’s pretty much how I was raised, growing up with a steelworker dad. Right of way is meaningless, that just makes it so that they go to prison if you go or the morgue.

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u/ForceOfAHorse 1d ago

That's because in fab shop the only thing that matters is profit. Nobody cares about worker's death or injury, as long as it doesn't reduce profits too much.

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u/colemon1991 1d ago

I look both ways on a one-way road before crossing. Just because I have right of way does not mean people drive the right way. Seen it happen more than once so I don't risk it.

And that's in daytime in a metro area. If I'm out at night in a rural place, I know I'm gonna be seen as easily as a deer.

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u/-tobi-kadachi- 1d ago

People don’t even look they just walk on out. Like it is your right but they don’t plow the roads and people are ass at driving and we live in the midwest so the chance of someone drunk driving is pretty high. You can be as right as you want but it won’t change physics, as at least look first.

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u/MattyLlama 1d ago

Once, exactly once, I was waiting at a light and the truck behind me was one of your aforementioned "Brodozers", as I like to call them, brights right in my eyes through the side mirror. I held my hand up to it to block it, and God bless this man, but he actually had the wherewithal to turn off his lights briefly until we all made it through the light. I'll never forget him.

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u/mossti 2d ago

Obligatory link to r/fuckyourheadlights if you want more info on this issue.

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u/elcheapodeluxe 2d ago

So many reasons. Lifted trucks? Check. Aftermarket bulbs rather than a full reflector and lens mechanism designed to aim the light? Check. New car manufacturers rewarded by buyers for lights that feel brighter with no consequences for blinding other drivers? Check.

The last one is finally starting to change. IIHS is testing glare now and makers won't get top marks if they continue to blind other drivers.

FWIW - a surprising number of the "it feels like that person has their high beams on" incidents around me seem to be recent Subarus. I think they just have really crappy headlight design that feels bright to the driver and blinds everyone else.

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u/jolhar 1d ago

I reckon a lot of cars seem to have darker tint on the windows these days, especially the windscreen.

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u/DahWhang 2d ago

Maybe me (in my smol Ford Ranger) Shouldn't have the uber lifted truck riding my ass in the dark with their bright headlights blinding me from all three of my mirrors simultaneously.

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u/Delanorix 2d ago

Imagine being in a 20 year old sedan lol

Im.just happy when they don't run me over.

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u/Icariiiiiiii 2d ago

2003-2006 Camry Gang? We will never rise up, we will just continue running.

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u/pichael289 2d ago

08 for me, nearing 250k and the Chech engine light has never come on. It's only issues have been normal wear and tear and then things that I caused.

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u/TheBadBanter 2d ago

Now thats a fun typo

E: me and my non-english self though it was Czech

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u/Delanorix 2d ago

Nah, actually an 09 Altima lol

15 years not 20.

But my car is definitely smaller than new sedans

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u/Icariiiiiiii 2d ago

Lmao, fair. Personally, so long as I don't have to keep paying for maintenance, idc what I got. My dream car is "keeps running".

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u/reelfilmgeek 2d ago

My 99 Miata gets blinded by everyone. I feel like Luke skywalks turning off his targeting system when I flip down the rearview mirror

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u/tristen620 2d ago

Lol I feel this, 2005 Honda Civic, even the new Honda civics are high enough to blast me.

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u/Agitated_Eggplant757 2d ago

I drive a Mini Cooper. My windows are blacked out for just that reason. I still can't see shit when they're driving towards me.

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u/Equivalent-Bet-8771 2d ago

the uber lifted truck

How fucking dare you? I get groceries in that truck it's never touched mud you peasant!

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u/jsho574 2d ago

If a truck has never touched mud, then that person wasted 20-30k just to have a truck.

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u/Garconanokin 2d ago

Let him know how bright his headlights are by adjusting your rearview mirror so it reflects toward the driver of that car.

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u/Corries_Roy_Cropper3 2d ago

Lol in your *full size truck.

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u/Ung-Tik 2d ago

Some nights I almost consider turning mine off, like shit I got the fucking sun behind me anyway. 

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u/nofun-ebeeznest 9h ago

I'm driving along one night recently, with someone's headlights brightly shining in my rearview mirrors, so bright, I couldn't even see in front of me (go figure). I have a smaller SUV (so yeah, bigger than some cars, but smaller than other SUVs), so I'm thinking it's some dumb big ass truck sitting above my vehicle. I pulled over to the side of the road to let them pass, and I see that it was a Mustang, so shorter than mine. So, brights on, or headlights tilted upward?

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u/Oubastet 2d ago

Not to minimize the problem, I have a GTI and trucks will blind me as well, but it seems your side mirrors might be adjusted improperly if you're getting blinded by those. They're pointed too far back and are more like rear views, which defeats their purpose.

You shouldn't be able to see your car in your side mirrors without leaning. That's where blind spots come from with most vehicles. Check out this article from Car and Driver Magazine

There are a bunch of YouTube videos on it as well. I learned from a retired NASCAR driver how to set my mirrors in the 90s. Basically, the side mirrors should be out far enough that you can't see your car without leaning left or right and you should be able to track a car coming up from behind you in your rear view all the way to the side view until it's next to you. This way there is no blind spot or very little. Try it! Takes some getting used to but I've converted all of my friends. :)

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u/doom32x 2d ago

Man, as a 09 Ranger driver, I feel ya

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u/mick_ward 2d ago

There was a time when you got a brake inspection and the lights could be and would be adjusted so that they wouldn't shine in the eyes of an approaching driver.

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u/xdeltax97 2d ago

It’s gotten annoying to the point that ITS THE FULL CONCENTRATED LIGHT OF THE SUN LOCALIZED ENTIRELY BEHIND MY CAR

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u/Recentstranger 2d ago

Adjust your rear view mirror to blind them right back

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u/Kinda_Constipated 2d ago

Holy shit. I wanna chrome my whole car now.

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u/Just_Campaign_9833 2d ago

Just buy highly reflective tape...

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u/Kinda_Constipated 2d ago

I want them to suffer

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u/noodleexchange 2d ago

This is why I pack a 1000 lumen strobe on my bike. For no other reason.

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u/Yobanyyo 2d ago

I was sitting on my bike the other day at a light in traffic, it was daylight still at 430 pm, a jeep sitting behind me is blinding me through my tinted visor. Any recommendations on a revenge light?

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u/noodleexchange 2d ago edited 2d ago

Anything that can pump out enough lumens to make the statement. They know, it’s just you sticking up a luminous middle finder.

They will NEVER switch to ‘low beam’ running lights, because they don’t care about other people, but may try to dominate you (which is what this whole tragedy is about) with a HIGH beam, so don’t look.

I tend to keep the strobe on, angled down at the pavement. Flip up as needed. Quite visible, no one knows what the hell is going on, so they give you more room when passing.

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u/Much_Program576 2d ago

Just buy a 10million candlewatt spotlight and shine it in their face. Guarantee it'll stop

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u/JusticeUmmmmm 2d ago

Candlewatt?

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u/Spr-Scuba 2d ago

Chrome license plate borders, chrome stripe on the back bumper. Make it miserable for people who have excessively bright lights.

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u/Redleg171 2d ago

My truck has the chrome package, which isn't as common anymore. I don't have LED headlights (just LED taillights). I prefer halogens since I don't have to replace the entire headlight if the headlight fails. I know they last a long time, but damn those things are expensive.

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u/TheAserghui 2d ago edited 2d ago

You could get a cybertruck and buff the metal to a very reflective state

https://youtube.com/shorts/hpq7xgbv0vQ?si=e2oHGKpAuK91_OZD

Edit: u/Youbanyyo thanks, I thought it was a hilarious modification to the cybertruck. And by no means should anyone take my expensive suggestion seriously. I detest cybertrucks

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u/CrazyGunnerr 2d ago

I'm not in the habit of buying a killing machine. And I'm not talking about the buffing part.

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u/Yobanyyo 2d ago

Hmm......a bright flashlight or light bar that may cost at most $500 or a base model of a shit can that starts at $80,000. Thank God everyone is rich.

Edit: although I did like the yt short.

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u/_Rand_ 2d ago

Guy around here has a mostly black wrapped cybertruck. The gate has cybertruck written in red death metal style font.

It does not improve the looks.

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u/nocolon 2d ago

I once saw a dude in a (very regular looking) Toyota truck on the highway at night being followed by a sedan with its highbeams on. Dude was in the middle lane so it’s not even like he was trying to pass. He slowed down a few times, the car didn’t seem to get it, and then the truck turned on extremely bright rear-facing floodlights that pointed directly into the windshield of the car. It was a strip mounted above the rear windshield that I didn’t even noticed until he flicked it on.

The car turned off its highbeams.

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u/enolaholmes23 2d ago

I want those rear lights

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u/Prophayne_ 2d ago

It may have been the work lights hunters and fishermen use off the back. I see a lot of shenanigans with them in my hometown, my brothers truck has one with 3 settings.

"Need to find all the groceries that have been sliding around"

"Gutting and cleaning fish"

And finally "God said we have have daytime at home".

That third option is for the people riding his ass while he has his kids in the truck with him.

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u/AITAadminsTA 2d ago

I just keep a disposable camera in my car, they're like $2 now and the flash will long outlive the film inside. Plus if you ever do develop them you'll have a record of ugly blind faces.

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u/GodforgeMinis 2d ago

Ive wondered how illegal it would be to stick an arduino, camera and reflective panel in my back window to do exactly this
If your headlights are over a certain brightness, triangulate the two headlights to resolve the drivers approximate location and distance, servo aims mirror.

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u/TjW0569 2d ago

Two mirrors at a 90 degree angle will return a light beam to its source.
The following driver's eyes aren't exactly at the source, but given the spread of headlight beams, that probably wouldn't matter.

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u/GodforgeMinis 2d ago

That would work great if every vehicle was exactly the same width and you were always lined up in exactly the same way

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u/JusticeUmmmmm 2d ago

That's the point of that set up. It doesn't matter where they are the light returns to the source.

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u/Equivalent-Bet-8771 2d ago

I don't think it's illegal to have a shiny car.

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u/goughm 2d ago

Just figured this out the other day, now most cars keep their distance

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u/Delanorix 2d ago

Please teach me your ways.

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u/Shooppow 2d ago

When I used to drive, I did this shit every time. 9/10 times, the asshole would turn down his high-beams. The other 1/10 seemed like they were masochists and enjoyed the punishment.

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u/Recentstranger 2d ago

That 1/10 will get so close to you they're practically in your backseat

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u/Shooppow 2d ago

I had a sticker on my back window that said, “If you’re gonna ride my ass, at least pull my hair!” I make it a habit to go the bare minimum I can get away with legally when they do that (usually 20 under.)

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u/KudosOfTheFroond 2d ago

🎶And objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are🎶

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u/oxero 2d ago

I've been practicing this, ngl. I hate this shit so much.

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u/noodleexchange 2d ago

The geometry doesn’t work

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u/libginger73 2d ago

It's not that people have their brights on. It's a new light led or something that does this. The light seems to scatter or widen out more that trad lights. It glares my windshield and glasses...it's effing annoying as hell!!

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u/WLH7M 2d ago

The cheap blueish LED bulbs people get at AutoZone are basically like the flashlight on your phone. Bright as hell to look at, but don't really put out that much useful light outside of pitch black conditions.

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u/pichael289 2d ago

Those lights all say "not for road use" on them as well.

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u/goatman0079 2d ago

Honestly, we should make red bulbs standard.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

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u/grandusbufo 2d ago

Well, you should get a truck then. Real patriots/men/women/consumers/people drive suburbatanks. /s

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u/TjW0569 2d ago

There are generally height specifications in state traffic laws.
In California, for example, they need to be between 22 and 54 inches.

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u/SMLLR 2d ago

The LED lights are also much whiter than older bulbs, which is a lot harsher on the eyes.

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u/severed13 2d ago

It's because people need to angle them shits down

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u/necrosythe 2d ago

No, they are brighter across the board and more super high off the ground cars are out there than ever before.

A tiny fraction of cars are non stock lifted. Only those need adjustments, if they weren't already done.

Those cases are the rare exception not the main problem

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u/severed13 2d ago

And they need to point them down, and half the problems I have wouldn't be a thing if people fucking knew to do that one simple thing

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

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u/Somepotato 2d ago

No it's just people who love to lift their trucks don't ever get their headlights adjusted after because they're the only people who matter in their world

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u/severed13 2d ago

Thing is that it isn't designed for any specific purpose like that, it's just quite literally at its most neutral angle, and it needs to be done at the dealership because it's situationally dependent on where you live. These lazy fucks don't do it, and nobody knows any better, seriously there are people who don't even know you can aim these things.

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u/spacestationkru 2d ago

It's also a lot of people have their brights on though

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u/biskino 2d ago

I want to understand the level of obliviousness in folks who pull up behind you at a light and see the interior of your vehicle lit up like it’s a sunny summer day.

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u/portable_wall 1d ago

Their lights drown out my own lights in front of me. It's even worse when it's raining at night and you can't see the road lines.

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u/clandestineVexation 1d ago

r/fuckyourheadlights i mean this without an ounce of humor or sarcasm, go to your local government and representatives and annoy them into dealing with this bullshit.

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u/Skamanda42 2d ago

Bright lights are one thing, but what's with the trend of people driving around with their high beams on? Normal headlights don't tend to have 4 bulbs lit, including the innermost bright one. I've seen dozens of cars driving around like that lately...

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u/Jim3001 2d ago

As an Uber driver, I sadly discovered that most are not high beams. That's just normal lights now.

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u/darksoft125 2d ago

If the fog lights are lit, those are actually their low beams.

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u/overusedandunfunny 2d ago

Headlight brightness needs more regulation in the states

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u/Idoubtyourememberme 2d ago

Not just in the states; it has to be done everywhere

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u/mstr_of_domain 2d ago

All these people talking about the car or truck behind you. Shit, I'm surrounded by 2 lanes with no highway lights. The cars coming AT me, 4 ft away, is like Russian Roulette every time. I'm literally staring at the white line every time I drive at night.

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u/face_611 2d ago

I'm a commercial vehicle inspector. Rarely see those fucking HID lights swapped in to incandescent housings on trucks. Finally had one a few days ago and it did not leave with those bulbs. Fuck I hate those things. Too bad all the new cars with stupid bright LEDs that are poorly aimed can't simply be changed out and not blind people. Regulations need to change, they have not kept up with technology.

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u/Fluffydonkeys 2d ago

I'm really surprised that Tesla headlights are even legal. That shit is so dangerous.

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u/EvidenceOfDespair 2d ago

That would require regulating corporations.

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u/Fluffydonkeys 1d ago

They already have to adhere to a whole lot of regulations to have their models allowed to be sold

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u/Slylok 2d ago

I like when one of these get behind me causing my car to cast a shadow making my headlights useless.

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u/UsernameStolenbyyou 2d ago

Why has nothing been done about this in terms of regulation?

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u/Derric_the_Derp 2d ago

And turn your fucking brights off in the daytime!!  It's noon and we shouldn't be getting blinded by spotlights.

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u/CrawlerSiegfriend 2d ago

I hate those blue beam headlights.

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u/AbsoluteIridium 2d ago

not even a driver but as a pedestrian ive almost had migraines from how bright headlamps are

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u/Kinda_Constipated 2d ago

Also seems like people forgot/ aren't taught the driving etiquette of turning your high beams off while passing an on coming car. 

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u/SchwiftyGameOnPoint 2d ago edited 2d ago

I think part of the problem with that too is newer cars with "sensors".

My ex had a car that you'd basically leave the high beams on at all times and when it "detected" another car it would automatically switch to the low beams.

I HATED using that feature and would still do it manually because it wouldn't change until the car was well within the range where I knew I would be annoyed by it if I was them.

Also, if you're taking a corner at night, you can see the lights of someone about to come around. The car wouldn't. So if I didn't manually switch to low beams, the car would just basically turn and blind the person before it quickly turned the the high beams off then back on because we passed them already.

My ex would always use this feature and basically set her high beams and forget to ever deal with it.

If that's a feature put in more cars these days, then it makes even more sense why a lot of people have become more lazy or inconsiderate with it.

------

Edit: "Newer" may have been a bad choice of words since the vehicle I was talking about was a 2014 and I am just realizing it's 10 years later. I certainly hope actual newer vehicles have improved on this feature in the last decade.

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u/elcheapodeluxe 2d ago

I have been on a quest to turn this feature off in every rental car I use. It is on by default in a surprisingly large number. I also go find the settings to turn the horn on lock to off and reset the equalizer so it is not bass and treble both turned all the way up.

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u/SchwiftyGameOnPoint 2d ago

Not all heroes wear capes

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u/Waescheklammer 2d ago

Which idiot designed this? Why would you choose high beams to be the default??? It's supposed to be the other way around. So if it doesn't detect a car, you drive with high beams through the city?

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u/Maiyku 2d ago

It’s not, you have to choose to put them in “auto-bright” mode the same way you would put on your high beams.

Low beams are still the default, it’s just an extra setting.

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u/Mental-Blueberry_666 2d ago

Hmmm. It might be the implementation of it.

I have that feature in my vehicle and it is extremely aggressive about cutting the high beams.

Like I didn't have to get used to the feature because it cuts the beams the second it sees something that could be a vehicle.

Particularly shiny mailbox? Cut the high beams

Solar powered garden lights? Cut the high beams

House light in the distance? Cut the high beams

Honestly some roads I turn the feature off because it's so aggressive about it.

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u/SchwiftyGameOnPoint 2d ago

Yeah, I think this might be somewhat my time blindness here. I just responded to someone else's comment.

I realize I said "newer" cars. My ex's car was a 2014. It is now 2024. So I guess 10 years ago isn't exactly new.

I would imagine there are still a lot of cars out there with older versions of this feature but I hope that gradually they have improved over time since then and maybe it will cease to be a problem in the near future as less and less of those cars are on the road. 🤞

Yours sounds annoying in its own way though. More so for you than anything else.

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u/kirsion 2d ago

The new audi has matrix led headlights that automatically point down when there is an incoming car

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u/Rhywden 2d ago

My car has those sensors. It also has a matrix of LEDs and simply cuts out any car in front of me out of the beam. Works faster and more reliably than I could, actually.

The only situation where that doesn't work is on a highway with dividers between the two directions because then it can't reliably detect the cars and trucks to the left. Not a problem for the cars as those are usually behind the divider but trucks do get blinded.

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u/Somepotato 2d ago

Some cars will use these matrices for angling into a turn too

4

u/Frubanoid 2d ago

I wish we had matrix lights in the US. At least the auto high beams on mine work quickly enough. I think Euro versions of the EV6 and Ioniq 5/6 have it.

-1

u/Maiyku 2d ago

My car has these sensors and they honestly work against your argument, not for it.

They’re incredibly sensitive. Like, the car always dips my high beams before I’m able to. The only time it’s weird about it are hills (where I can see the light shining over the hill from the oncoming car but the light doesn’t hit my sensors yet).

They’re so sensitive my high beams aren’t on enough because things like garage lights, stop lights, business lights, and street lights all activate the sensors too. Not just other cars. It’s even great about picking up taillights of people in front of me.

For reference, my car is newer, but not fancy. It’s. 2024 Kia Forte. So new, but the cheapest car there is and it has these features. The auto-lights were less sensitive in my 2020 Optima, so they’re making adjustments to the system for sure.

3

u/SchwiftyGameOnPoint 2d ago

Well, it is entirely possible that newer cars have improved.

Probably my time blindness here having said "newer" cars when my ex's car was a 2014, so that's about 10 years behind yours. 😂
I would hope they are better now than they were then.

However, since most people can't afford new new cars, I'd assume more cars are on the road that are slightly older but maybe (hopefully) it will slowly become less and less of a problem.

1

u/Maiyku 2d ago

Lmao, Yeah, can’t really say “newer” when “decade old” is closer to the word you should use! Haha

But the first car I had them in was a 2016 and now with the 2024 it’s noticeably better. Promise. It’ll take time to hit the roads and everyone’s cars, but it’s coming.

14

u/ILikeDragonTurtles 2d ago

Those aren't high beams.

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u/Kinda_Constipated 2d ago

Hi, thanks for your contribution. But my comment is regarding the people who don't turn off their high beams. I can tell because it's obvious on older cars. It used to be that like you crest a hill and see a car, and you'd both turn the high beams off. Not anymore, regardless if it's a new car with LEDs or laser, or an old car with xenon or w.e. no one adjusts their lights anymore. I can tell because I've learned which bulbs on most cars are the high beams. I can see which bulbs are on because I drive with filtered night driving glasses. 

5

u/ksgt69 2d ago

I don't know if it is everywhere, but where I'm at lights are regulated by power, not brightness. Now the lights are stupid bright and well below the enforceable limit.

5

u/kirsion 2d ago

A lot of cars and all EVs have LED headlights now instead of the halogen ones that seem dimmer

4

u/nixblood 2d ago

Especially if you don't have a car that boost you up a little, you end up eye level with the taller cars lights literally blinding you.

9

u/redabishai 2d ago

Don't forget the LED strips those big trucks insist on having, too. Just more bright glares from every direction...

0

u/Redleg171 2d ago

Those are illegal on the road in most states.

3

u/redabishai 1d ago

And yet...

4

u/Human-Country-5846 2d ago

Yes, and indicators harder. Clear lenses don't show an orange bulb in sunlight. And stop shifting placement for aesthetician. By the time I've spotted some, it's too late

5

u/Confused_Sorta_Guy 1d ago

Well I could've fucking told you that

3

u/TraditionalBackspace 1d ago

Almost every time I think someone had their high beams on, it's a tesla. Why?

3

u/-tobi-kadachi- 1d ago

They fucking suck if you have any kind of stigmatism. I remember ~2017 with everyone switching to leds and it going from ok night driving to being fucking blinded 90% of the time because everyone was installing the aftermarket ones wrong and new cars with leds were out of control those first few years. Not only are they insanely bright but the light is so harsh and shocking that it takes much longer to adapt to it. They rock if you live outside of a city but on a busy (and already lit) freeway it gives me a headache by the time I get home.

3

u/sodak_bigdog 2d ago

The last two vehicles I high beam checked, for me with their brights and it was like fuck balls.

3

u/PotatoHunter_III 2d ago

Is there a windshield tint that could reduce glare or reflect it and still pass inspection?

3

u/SigmaLance 2d ago

They aren’t as bright as the new lights on police vehicles. You have to squint now when passing near them.

5

u/Redleg171 2d ago

I was once riding my motorcycle on a service road parallel to the interstate. There was a curve, and at that moment a police officer on the interstate coming toward me, which was also the lane closest to the service road, shined his spotlight right in my face! I turned my high beams on. Not sure what he was thinking.

3

u/Redleg171 2d ago

One thing I've noticed with my motorcycle, with correctly adjusted headlights, is that if I'm on a road that has a curve that requires me to lean a bit, it causes the beam pattern to shine into oncoming traffic. It also reduces the effectiveness of my light around the corner as the other side dips down. Oncoming traffic often flashes their brights at me, but there's nothing I can do about it other than not lean and crash into them. There are technologies that solve this. BMW has headlights that level themselves for instance. There are also bikes that have additional cornering lights that engage progressively as you lean, to fix the problem of the side that dips down. They tend to be very expensive bikes however. I figure there's not enough bikes out there compared to cars and it's only a problem in one specific situation that I doubt it's a big concern for most drivers.

I drive an F-150, but I've never had issue with them even when driving a car. I was in a university vehicle a couple weeks ago at night and a mid-size SUV behind me was like having a spotlight. If they didn't have their high beams on, I can't imagine the lights are aimed properly. I generally DON'T have problems with headlights of other cars even when driving a car.

3

u/condensermike 1d ago

People seem a lot dumber these days - because they are.

5

u/bibober 2d ago

US should not have delayed approving adaptive matrix LEDs for so long. Seriously they were only approved here in like 2021 when Europe has been using them for over a decade. Should be mandatory equipment on any high ground clearance vehicle.

2

u/kaz3320 2d ago

I remember reading somewhere that American Teslas come with the European headlight tech that prevents blinding others but it's disabled due to NHTSA regulations.

4

u/Idoubtyourememberme 2d ago

That tech needs work anyway, it doesnt work.

I get blinded by those things from a kilometer away, behind me, broad daylight. I flip my mirror to night mode, put on my polarised sunglasses, pull nightvision glasses over those. And still i cant see shit with one of those diving stadium lights anywhere within vision range

1

u/kaz3320 2d ago

Dang, that sucks. Are you referring to Teslas in general or all cars with that tech?

3

u/Idoubtyourememberme 1d ago

Most/all cars, but teslas are noticably worse

2

u/flashliberty5467 1d ago

The are way to bright I can’t stand the modern day LED headlights

2

u/masnart 1d ago

In Europe they take it seriously. When xenon lights got introduced, they mandated self leveling and washing mechanism to make sure they are clean and pointing correctly at all times. This was more than a quarter of a century ago.

2

u/VioletDarkKitty 23h ago

Blinding drivers? Imagine how bad it is for pedestrians

4

u/refriedconfusion 2d ago edited 1d ago

The lighting expert Daniel Stern they quote was in the movie Home Alone, he was one of the burglars.

3

u/gLu3xb3rchi 2d ago

I‘d say 2/3 are drivers faul: People driving with their high beams on, people depending too much on (simple) automated systems that turn the highbeams off for oncoming tracking way too late, people not adjusting their low beams for heavy loads in the trunk (or even back passengers) and other stuff like poorly calibrated headlights in the first place

3

u/StormCrownSr 1d ago

Brighter headlights are a good thing. Brighter headlights in the same top positions are a bad thing. The cybertruck 🤢 did the correct thing 🤮 here.

2

u/imurangel21 2d ago

People DO drive with their high beams on, so I will turn mine to blind them back and guess what? They turn their high beams off.

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u/vendetta0311 2d ago

I did this once. I flashed my high beams at a truck when I was having trouble seeing the road because their lights were too bright. They turned their real brights on and I had to pull over for a few minutes until I could see again.

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u/Idoubtyourememberme 2d ago

When i do that, they respond by also flashing their high beams, on top of whatever stupid bright stuff they have

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u/Behappyalright 2d ago

What? You mean it’s not cuz my eyes are getting old?

1

u/426763 1d ago

I remember I was visiting my siblings and took a cab to their from the airport. The driver had this rolling tint thing that he put up once it got dark enough for the cars to use their headlights. Every headlight from normal to LEDs were dimmed and didn't hurt my eyes, even if some cars had their high beams on. To this day, I still regret not asking the driver where he got it because it's been years and I still can't find that nifty gadget.

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u/Bengley 23h ago

Nobody seems to have mentioned the actual issue. Brightness isn't the issue. It's the alignment of the headlight beams from factory. They are aimed too high. LEDs aren't the problem, sloppy workmanship is.

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u/18114 17h ago

I am so mad at the industry who decided these lights were a good idea and the idiots who flash them directly in your line of vision.I was parked the other day in a crowded shopping lot area. I have a lower to the ground vehicle and by choice drive standard. Backing out was a little arduous due to so many vehicles crammed in tight spaces.As I was maneuvering successfully some asshole in a vehicle the size of a house shone his intense lights directly at me as he was behind me and apparently afraid I would hit his truck. I have sensitive eyes and always wear sunglasses when out pre sunset. I was about to get out of my car and give him a solid tongue lashing but decided he wasn’t worth it.Instead I pulled straight out the vacated spot directly in front of me. These people are nuts. I have normal vision but have had surgery on my eyes. Really really sensitive to bright light of any kind.I no longer drive at night. TY you auto industry for the floodlights you called headlights.

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u/JOliverScott 2d ago

This being one of many reasons I want to build a portable EMP gun. Short out that sucker's whole electrical system and those bright lights are no longer a problem.

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u/kevinds 2d ago edited 2d ago

Much more annoying are headlights that flicker..

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u/imurangel21 2d ago

No people are just dumb and drive with their high beams in town. Pisses me off.