Headlights- What gives?

When a neighbor asks if I have heard about this or about that, I tell them I am always the last to hear.

So I must be the last to hear of the 'new' headlights on cars. They seem to be more white and intense. Honestly I don't like to look at them as they are too bright, not like the 'old' kind.

Do all new cars have them? Is it an extra? Can we get a law passed to have them classified as illegal?:)

You're talking about the new xenon headlights. They are blue/purple white and WAY too bright!

I agree Golddog - I was driving home the other night and was blinded and then saw red spots in my vision. Not good when you're driving.

I want to know why its legal for supposed FOG light's to be on even if its not foggy,they irritate the heck out of me.They are not adjusted correctly and its just as bad as someone having their brights on......and then when they have those new lights......

I drive for a living and it bugs the heck out of my eyes,professional drivers now call the fog lights FAG lights(no disrespect meant by me)and get on the radio and yell at any driver with his on.Too bad the regular car drivers can't hear .......

crestedchick, do sunglasses help at all? I remember with cateracts, sunglasses did help. And yes, fog lights are never adjusted right. Hey, you aren't cool if you don't have fog lights, and use them all the time.

My new car came with fog lights. I have used them ONE time in 1,000 miles of driving. It was VERY foggy! LOL I do not like those bright bluish thingies though, they kill my eyes as well!

The industry has received many complaints that these lights tend to blind oncoming drivers.

The National Auto Safety Board is looking into setting standards that limit the amount of candlepower that lights can emit.

Paul

woo hoo! we are NOT alone :)

I agree, they are too bright.

adding my voice to the uproar ...

I hate those lights. It's a hazard and should not be allowed.

Cheri'

Ahem...er...I use fog lights. Properly adjusted of course. I seldom drive at night though on account of my night vision not bein so good. With all the deer around my neck of the woods, fog lights have helped tremendously with my ability to see ahead when I do drive after dark.
I am courteous though, depending on the distance between the car in front of me, I will turn them off. And I don't use them at all within city limits.

As for the new xenon lights...I guess I'm the underdog, I love em and they don't seem to bother my eyes as much as the old styles. Must be something with my night vision and how my eyes react to it.

TC...

I like them - took some getting used to, but I like them. Maybe it's how these lights are installed or the type of car (or if they're cheap after-market installations).

I have them on my Honda S2000 and they're set VERY low, so that even if I am right behind someone, they don't come much above the license plate of the car in front of me. One nifty feature is that they go low across the road but actually go up a little higher right where the curb would be to make it easier to see. This is especially useful on dark roads to see what's just off the road, without blinding oncoming drivers.

I've driven at night with an S2000 behind me and didn't get any glare. Then again, S2K's aren't SUV's which do tend to glare right in your eyes.

Most new cars in the Uk now have them. They give, I think, 30% more light. Cops had them first.

Fog lights are needed but it's a pain when the driver doesnt turn them off.

Are these new lights worse than halogen lights? Those are bad enough. We don't need something worse.

What are fog lights? That is what we called the little yellow lights on the front of a car that come on when the headlights are turned on, but that must not be what you are talking about, as those little lights been around forever and I can't imagine them being bright enough to bother anyone.

When I first saw the xenon lights on oncoming cars, I was fascinated by how blue-white they looked from an oblique angle and how yellow-white (normal for most headlights) when coming on a straight-away. It was quite noticeable when they were approaching on a curve.

I had no problems with them being too bright, unlike the SUV's whether their bright lights are on or not.

Not having driven a vehicle with them, I'd have to take sbarr's word that they help on dark and windy roads... my local driving conditions!

Fog lights are extra bright red lights at the back of cars.

I've been in a car with the new lights and they make such a difference. When I am somehwere new in the dark my yellowish lights are a pain. These new lights are available to but in car parts stores

Well if the new lights are here to stay, I will wear sunglasses at night to filter the glare.

Now what happens when the combustible engine goes by the wayside?

Crossing the street will no longer be easy; there will be no noise. I don't think I could to adjust to 'no noise' cars.

Golddog there is no glare that I have seen except when a 4x4 is coming the opposite way. When these lights first appeared I used to look at them which was a bit blinding. Now I dont notice them.

They blind me, too... Whether they are behind me or coming at me...

but you arent supposed to look at on coming car lights

I don't look directly at them but the glare still blinds me for some reason. I actually have to put my hand up to shade the glare sometimes because it's so bad...

Groovytee... you seem to be ultra-sensitive to light, as some of us are. Have you been tested recently for interoccular pressure? A hoigh sensitivity could be a warning sign.

Maybe extra Vitamin A would help???

You may be right Kelli, I'm looking into it... Looks like it's good for the immune system too :)

I don't mind the new lights. What I get upset about is that so may people are driving around with their lights improperly adjusted. Their low beams are aimed way too high so that even if they dim them as you approach they are still in your eyes and blinding.

I have found that most sunglasses reduce vision at night and have bought a pair with yellow lenses that reduce the glare but still allow me to see clearly.

Harry had the answer! (Truman that is, Harry Truman). If youse can't stand the heat stay outta the kitchen. If you can't see well don't go out driving at super high speeds on the same roads I use. PLEASE!

darius I totally missed your post. What the heck is "interoccular pressure"?



This message was edited Dec 1, 2003 6:08 PM

groovytee.. it is the pressure they measure in your eyeball when you have an eye test... the one where they put drops in yor eyes so you will not feel the pressure of the machine. It's mostly a guage for glaucoma, and high sensitivity is one of the signs. I am very susceptible, genetically.

edited for typing errors

This message was edited Dec 2, 2003 8:14 AM

drops in yer eyes!? They dont do that here.