Being flashed even though low beams are on

aseibel · January 25, 2021

I drive a sedan for my work beater. The view is very different from down there. I can easily tell when trucks have their lowbeams on, but are just aimed poorly. The SUV's now are usually worse than trucks, unless its a work truck loaded to the gills and squatting. I do get angry driving to work at 5:00 am with these people trying to burn my retinas.

If you are one of those guys who think "hitting them with the highbeams" teaches any kind of lesson, you are WRONG. Since your poorly aimed lowbeams are already projecting the full brightness into someone's eyes, just with the top portion of the beam cut off. You are not actually shining anything brighter at the oncoming driver by flashing. No, instead you are just proving to them that your lights ARE the problem. Gone are the days when light bulbs actually had a dimmer filament for the low function. I wish there was a law to regulate these blinding headlights and people actually got pulled over for not having safe alignment.

Vigilante375 · January 25, 2021

1 hour ago, aseibel said:

I drive a sedan for my work beater. The view is very different from down there. I can easily tell when trucks have their lowbeams on, but are just aimed poorly. The SUV's now are usually worse than trucks, unless its a work truck loaded to the gills and squatting. I do get angry driving to work at 5:00 am with these people trying to burn my retinas.

If you are one of those guys who think "hitting them with the highbeams" teaches any kind of lesson, you are WRONG. Since your poorly aimed lowbeams are already projecting the full brightness into someone's eyes, just with the top portion of the beam cut off. You are not actually shining anything brighter at the oncoming driver by flashing. No, instead you are just proving to them that your lights ARE the problem. Gone are the days when light bulbs actually had a dimmer filament for the low function. I wish there was a law to regulate these blinding headlights and people actually got pulled over for not having safe alignment.

I have no problems in my Camaro (and I sit lower than your beater I'm sure) when passing newer vehicles. The only real issue I have are the older vehicles that people put in "better" lights but I cannot tell if those are the low or high beams. Especially whichever lights people put in that are a very light blue color. Those are just bright even to make you think it's high beams but it's actually low beams.

In my truck or the Camaro I have issues with certain sedans (mainly Mercedes ones) where its like they have high beams on but they don't. As I mentioned when I was in front of a newer Silverado (in my Silverado) and at certain angles (since the road curved left and right at times) the trucks low beams looked like high beams.

I will continue to flash people because when they leave their high beams on, I'll gladly leave my high beams on. Because after 2 adjustments, myself, people still flash me. Even when you flash someone with your low beams and those people think it's blinding, when the high beams come on, they are even more blinded by the light.

Yes, vehicles need extra rule(s) to make sure lights aren't blinding people and also have an manual (by each light) and electronical (in the cab) adjustment knob so you can adjust it either in your driveway or while driving down the road. Just like my 2013 Tundra had from the factory.

aseibel · January 25, 2021

19 minutes ago, Vigilante375 said:

Even when you flash someone with your low beams and those people think it's blinding, when the high beams come on, they are even more blinded by the light.

I agree with the rest of your post, but this statement is not accurate. Have a wife or a friend operate your truck. Go some 100' in front of it and make sure your eyes are below the cutoff line, where an oncomer may think your brights are on. Then have your assistant flash the lights. You will notice it gets no brigher, but you can tell more light is sent up into the sky.

Headlight bulbs used to be dim or bright. Not anymore. They are now either full brightness below the cut-off line, or full brightness everywhere. The only difference is the amount of light going above "horizontal". The problem occurs when the horizontal line is not aimed correctly.

Edited January 25, 2021 by aseibel

OnTheReel · January 25, 2021

1 hour ago, aseibel said:

If you are one of those guys who think "hitting them with the highbeams" teaches any kind of lesson, you are WRONG. Since your poorly aimed lowbeams are already projecting the full brightness into someone's eyes, just with the top portion of the beam cut off. You are not actually shining anything brighter at the oncoming driver by flashing. No, instead you are just proving to them that your lights ARE the problem. Gone are the days when light bulbs actually had a dimmer filament for the low function. I wish there was a law to regulate these blinding headlights and people actually got pulled over for not having safe alignment.

This is not always true. My 16 had flappers on the HID projectors that opened to raise the cutoff (with the same amount of light). But my 19 has two LEDs on each side for low beams. On “high”, a third LED on each side comes on. This gives a lot more light output, it’s not just redirecting what was already there! I believe a lot of vehicles with LED headlights are set up like this.

I don’t know how the conclusion is reached that everyone with “blue” lights either has brights on or bad aim. But it’s outrageous to believe that every vehicle leaving a factory with LED lights is not in compliance with DOT regs. We are talking about people like me with a brand new, bone stock vehicle. Not the bro-dozers with 8” of lift on stock headlight aim.

I just think it’s more reasonable to assume that we have people who drive around looking for reasons to feel like a victim. @KARNUT hit that point well. Anyone who crosses their arbitrary headlight brightness threshold gets hit, and when there’s no reason for it, I hit back.

Rob Mugs · January 25, 2021

11 hours ago, amxguy1970 said:

Damn we have some real tough guy asholes in here hiding behind their brights. Geez, some of you sound like they are doing it to be an dick but they are literally just getting blinded by your lights, if you are stock that isn't on you just the angle. Give them a quick flash so they know and move on, no need to try and whip it out or one of you will come across a guy with a Vision X that will make you put it in the ditch. Straighten up guys...

If those of you are leveled and getting flashed that is on you for being a dick, I can only imagine how painful that much be for those elders with eye issues.

Tyler

Mine was in gest... I usually just give em a quick "hey.. these are my normal beams.. here are my brights" notice. Not worth the road rage from either side

BluegrassMotorsport · January 25, 2021

I aimed mine down when I leveled the front end. I haven't been flashed too much but it happens every now and then. Most drivers just don't understand how light output works. A lot of times people think they're getting bright lighted when actually they're just "down wind" of xenon or LED lights. When I drive my Corvette at night, I'm blinded by just about everything on the road. Aiming lights definitely helps but there's some height differences you just can't overcome on full size trucks and SUVs.

BowtieSquatch · January 25, 2021

I just hit them back with everything I've got, Hi-beams, Light bar, and ditch lights. Fire Teh Lazers!!

Transient · January 26, 2021

Done that and still get flashed.

What I wished was in the Silverado was in my 2013 Tundra. A knob to adjust the angle of the light in the truck and that was something on a base model Tundra. You'd think with all this advertisement GM did with the new Silverado about towing features that this would be in the truck.

I just feel the need to go get a light bar and tie it in with my brights.....

The light bar GM Accessories sells is putting out around 16,000 to 18,000 lumens. It'll definitely get the message across. The manufacturer is Baja Designs, and they sell a wire harness for $15 that you could theoretically tie into the high beams. You just gotta know what you're doing, which I don't.

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Transient · January 26, 2021

Save the pissing and moaning. It's about to get a lot worse. Soon we'll be driving with high beams on all the time, and no way to turn them down. We're just waiting on the NHTSA to finalize the rules.

https://www.autoweek.com/news/technology/a34417809/nhtsa-still-hasnt-ruled-on-adaptive-headlights/

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AJMBLAZER · January 26, 2021

On 1/25/2021 at 9:25 AM, OnTheReel said:

I just think it’s more reasonable to assume that we have people who drive around looking for reasons to feel like a victim. @KARNUT hit that point well. Anyone who crosses their arbitrary headlight brightness threshold gets hit, and when there’s no reason for it, I hit back.

I personally believe a lot of it is this. I think a lot of people are so used to the barely functional lighting systems that we in North America have had for decades that they see any kind of bright light and start flashing. We used to trundle along with yellow, dimly lit, poorly wired, barely performing lights and now we have actual white light producing LED and other high output lights. Even when aimed properly these people see it and freak out.

I drive to work and back in the dark half the year and have for years. It was worse when I lived up north. I appreciate my bright, well aimed, lights. Wish they had a wider throw but that's a different issue I can fix.

Vigilante375 · January 26, 2021

15 hours ago, Transient said:

Save the pissing and moaning. It's about to get a lot worse. Soon we'll be driving with high beams on all the time, and no way to turn them down. We're just waiting on the NHTSA to finalize the rules.

https://www.autoweek.com/news/technology/a34417809/nhtsa-still-hasnt-ruled-on-adaptive-headlights/

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I read about Audi's headlight years ago and thought that was cool but I see it hasn't hit the market yet and why.

I will never purchase the auto dim/brightening feature. This Audi one......I would only if it truly works all the time.