Driving at night

[kevinlightfoot]

Does anyone out ther have similar experiences as me when driving at night?I find that the modern lights of cars approaching on the opposite side of the road tend to dazzle me.Only last week I was lucky not to have a collision because of this and the profusion of other lighting around roads which are very distracting.My New Years resolution is not to drive after dark as I don't wish to be a danger to myself or others,just want to hear others experiences.

 

[NazNomad]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Revex-Night-Vi ... B001UJGYVE

Worth a punt?

 

[Tasky]

It's not just you, I've had it for a while - Modern HID Xenon stupid things, badly adjusted and people with rubbish Auto-Beam lights or who forget they're on high beam, or who just don't give a toss... They will when they rob me of my sight and end up with 42st of steel motorcycle through their windcreen. I'll be dead and won't care, but I'm sure they or their wife/gf/kids will have something to say about it...!!

About the best you can do is flash the edit like mad, as if their very lives depended on it.
Some will just argue that it's how they come from the factory now and in a few cases they are right, but my own car has these lights on and I promise you it's nothing like these idiots.

 

[John15]

Language

John

 

[Rorschach]

Modern cars are getting worse and worse for it, almost blind me at times. Absolutely no need for it.

 

[NickN]

Worse than headlights at night is when an ambulance comes towards you on a country road with blue lights strobing - I actually have to just stop and wait for it to pass, there's no way at all I can see a thing, it completely destroys my night vision. Why on earth can't they have a dimming facility at night - it seems bonkers to be just as bright at night as in the daytime? Or if they are dimmable, they need to be considerably more so!

 

[Lons]

I agree completely there are far too many distracting lights and signage, worse at Christmas when all the flashing lights go up and doesn't help when silly person householders and businesses shine their security lights out on to the road.
There will always be stupid drivers who misuse their lights and why oh why don't the police crack down on those who drive with foglights when it isn't foggy? that's breaking the law!
I passed a lorry tonight with the front that would put Blackpool illuminations in the shade #-o

Things are slowly changing for car however and in a few years what are expensive options now will be the norm in a few years. LED lights will be standard to save power on hybrid and electric vehicles, yes they are very bright but my new car has "intelligent lighting". I was sceptical so it took me a couple of weeks to try it properly but apart from the safety features like cornering lights, longer beam at high speed etc it does everything automatically with very fast reaction times.
The lights dip when street lights are recognised, headlamps or tail lights from other vehicles and it blacks out portions of the lights so other users won't be dazzled.

I followed my wifes car a couple of times to check and since using have not once been flashed by another road user.When following another car it's fascinating to see your headlights black out a square section around the vehicle in front.

This works exactly as the video shows. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRKrZW6yX14 Will be on all cars eventually and by then even better.

Bob

My previous Audis had auto lights but not a patch on this system and I rarely used then as I felt reaction times were too slow!

 

[whatknot]

I would agree with you, the modern lights are way to bright and can blind you

I try not to drive at night but sometimes you have to and on a recent 200 mile drive back it was dreadful, how many cars blinded you

Then there are those who don't put any lights on at all despite the road conditions dictating they should

And those with bulbs out, in my youth you would have been pulled up for it

 

[Phil Pascoe]

If I were a copper I'd throw the book at people driving with two lights out- it just shows they never check. One is forgivable, it might have packed up seconds before, but not two. I followed a didicoy one night into a carpark nd told her that her transit had no lights at all on the back and she reply that it was OK, someone had told her that the previous week. :lol:

 

[Duncan A]

As we get older our eyes are significantly less effective at night, unable to deal with glare and needing far more light to see as well as a younger person.
I suspect the demographic profile of the forumites is not helping!
As regards HID lamps, my car has them. They are set by the manufacturer or garage so not much I can do to adjust them. However, if approaching a car where it may dazzle the other driver, sometimes a small turn of the wheel to the left will turn the beam away for a second (the lights follow the wheel position) until the other car has gone past. Needless to say, a large turn to the left will probably result in a crash!
Fog lights may be illegal but, unfortunately, so-called driving lights are not. Neither are overbright daytime lights or overbright rear lights in a bewildering variety of shapes and forms.
Just to stir the pot a little more, has anyone else noticed how many indicator lamps are buried so deep inside the headlamp housing that they are only visible from straight ahead?
Duncan

 

[Hemsby]

Worth reading
http://www.laramyk.com/resources/educat ... g-glasses/

 

[Keith 66]

There is another aspect to this, about 8 years ago in my late 40's i had got to the stage where i disliked driving at night, nothing i could put my finger on but i had found i got affected by oncoming lights more. Driving back from my parents in lancashire during the day my eyes got quite sore. My wife said "Get your eyes tested" & made me an apointment. Imagine my surprise after the thorough eye test when the optician said to me, "Mr webster, legally i have to tell you that you should not be driving". He asked "how did you get here?" "I drove" His reply was "Drive home but do not drive again until your new glasses are done". I didnt.
A week later my wife took me to pick up my new specs, I put them on & the whole world leapt out in sharp clear technicolour 3d, I could read numberplates on oncoming cars at long distance, the world wasnt fuzzy, It was wonderful. At the age of 48 & never having worn glasses i had not noticed the steady deteriation in my eyesight. I should not have been on the road for years.
I have no idea how old the rest of you are but advancing years take there toll, my father in law gave us a right scare one day when he was driving us at night & nearly piled the car up at speed on the m25, he admitted that not only could he not read the words on the overhead motorway signs but he couldnt actually see the words at all. He had been too stubborn to admit it.

The moral of this is if you have any concerns about your eyes & driving at night get your eyes tested before you kill somebody.

 

[lurker]

Keith's experiences are pretty much identical to my own, about 30 years ago.
Further, I know of someone who had their life saved by something an optician spotted during an examination.
I have my eyes checked every two years and nag my nearest and dearest to do the same

 

[Rorschach]

Speaking for myself it is the cars that are the problem, not my eyes, I am 31, eyes tested every 2 years.

 

[kevinlightfoot]

I tried wearing glasses but they made little or no difference at all I do think it's the cars but I find the point of sensitive lights interesting and I will look at that when I change my car.I will stick to my resolution not to drive after dark as I do not feel safe and would not wish to harm anyone even if it was not my fault.It is also difficult to judge or even see where the curbs are when you are being dazzled.

 

[rafezetter]

It's not just you, I've had it for a while - Modern HID Xenon stupid things, badly adjusted and people with rubbish Auto-Beam lights or who forget they're on high beam, or who just don't give a toss... They will when they rob me of my sight and end up with 42st of steel motorcycle through their windcreen. I'll be dead and won't care, but I'm sure they or their wife/gf/kids will have something to say about it...!!

About the best you can do is flash the edit like mad, as if their very lives depended on it.
Some will just argue that it's how they come from the factory now and in a few cases they are right, but my own car has these lights on and I promise you it's nothing like these idiots.

I agree, I've only been driving just over a year now regularly and those types of headlights are awful - doesn't help that I'm photophobic - I carry two sets of sunglasses in my car for different light levels but at night unless I wear those glasses linked I just have to put up with it.

My car also has a headlight beam adjuster to lower them a bit - I'm guessing not all "modern" cars have this? they should.

 

[Lons]

Just a note on the yellow tinted glasses.

I have a pair, polarised, yellow lenses, reasonable quality so not the cheap £5 ones from China. They were bought for fishing use on dark overcast days and they do help but I tried using them coming home in the dark last week and they were completely useless so they're back in the fishing bag, permanently.

I had my eyes lasered a few years ago and when tested last year still had 20/20 vision so I know my eyes are ok so while the lenses might help others they probably aren't for everyone.

 

[flying haggis]

Worse than headlights at night is when an ambulance comes towards you on a country road with blue lights strobing - I actually have to just stop and wait for it to pass, there's no way at all I can see a thing, it completely destroys my night vision. Why on earth can't they have a dimming facility at night - it seems bonkers to be just as bright at night as in the daytime? Or if they are dimmable, they need to be considerably more so!

I agree that they are FAAAR too bright at night and pardon my ignorance, why, when they have passed you (as you kindly pull over to let them past) do they have lights on the back just as bl**dy bright???

if they are stationary attending to a victim i have no worries about lights front and rear but moving? you knew it was an ambulance that passed and is now disappearing into the distance..............

PS i agree that modern car lights are too bright

 

[RogerS]

Impending cataracts ?

 

[kevinlightfoot]

Wow Roger you know how to cheer a fellow up!