Led lights a bigger issue than potholes on roads

[Amity Island]

Complaints about the dazzling, ridiculously bright led car and other vehicle lights (front and rear) have taken over complaints about pot holes. Part of the issue is led lights do not have diffusers to reduce glare (same for street lights). Ultimately, there was no reason to change from the warm and eye friendly traditional bulbs.

Complaints about headlight glare increase - BBC News

The RAC now receives more complaints about the problem than potholes.

www.bbc.co.uk

Are LED lights safe for human health?

Are LED lights safe for human health?

health.ec.europa.eu

 

[Martin.A]

That might explain why I sometimes wonder why someone has their main beam on when everyone else is driving with dipped headlights. If a car like that's behind me I'm having to tilt my rear view mirror to its anti-glare position.

 

[Wendal]

That might explain why I sometimes wonder why someone has their main beam on when everyone else is driving with dipped headlights. If a car like that's behind me I'm having to tilt my rear view mirror to its anti-glare position.

Agree Martin.I have never had an issue with driving at night but a few weeks ago we were walking our dogs along a narrow pavement when this car in fairness not travelling at high speed approached us.
I was totally blinded and as he drove past I actually stepped on the road to stare at the driver to make my feelings known.
He stopped and asked if I was OK and I said yes.He then asked if I was drunk and I said no was he at which point he made a gesture which I responded to.
My wife was horrified that I had this altercation and blamed me entirely for stepping into the road and she is usually right.
I was comfortable doing so as the car was on its way past me ( coukd clearly see at this point)and I wanted to keep the dog as far away from the road as possible and I was really angry as was blinded as the car went over a sleeping policeman and temporarily could not see.
Easily explains how a situation can escalate when both parties feel they are acting in best faith but mine more was a gut reaction and should nit have stepped off pathway even if I felt safe as I wanted to make the driver aware of my annoyance.

 

[Satan’s little helper]

Complaints about the dazzling, ridiculously bright led car and other vehicle lights (front and rear) have taken over complaints about pot holes. Part of the issue is led lights do not have diffusers to reduce glare (same for street lights). Ultimately, there was no reason to change from the warm and eye friendly traditional bulbs.

Complaints about headlight glare increase - BBC News

The RAC now receives more complaints about the problem than potholes.

www.bbc.co.uk

Are LED lights safe for human health?

Are LED lights safe for human health?

health.ec.europa.eu

I think the issue to some road users is “HID” (high-intensity discharge headlights.) which are a standard OEM equipment & more common on modern cars? Lol, I have stopped on narrow lanes to allow cyclists to pass safely. As they turn to acknowledge or thank. I’ve been temporarily blinded (scorched retinas.) by a head torch worn by the rider.

 

[Amity Island]

I think the issue to some road users is “HID” (high-intensity discharge headlights.) which are a standard OEM equipment & more common on modern cars? Lol, I have stopped on narrow lanes to allow cyclists to pass safely. As they turn to acknowledge or thank. I’ve been temporarily blinded (scorched retinas.) by a head torch worn by the rider.

Question is why? Why have the done this, knowing they burn people's retinas with them. Many have said they get headaches, blinded, distracted by these awful un-natural led lights.

 

[Satan’s little helper]

Question is why? Why have the done this, knowing they burn people's retinas with them. Many have said they get headaches, blinded, distracted by these awful un-natural led lights.

What I know is the dipped beam set in the 0 position should not be above a certain level in the MOT? The light housing can be adjusted in the housing bracket to comply if not. (On older cars.) The vehicles I’ve driven have A 0 to 3 setting switch dipping the lights dipped beam further via a servo on each light to compensate for any weight in the back. So maybe folk forget to trim the dipped headlight’s beam with a full load?

 

[SimonP]

I'm pretty sure modern LED/HID lights are auto-levelling, though this may only happen when stationary, so there is perhaps scope for them to be slightly misaligned for much of the time while moving. In a similar fashion to emissions testing, as the MoT test only happens when static and on a flat surface, one wonders how much care the manufacturers take (or how much nicer it is for their customers that they can see more 😉) Pure supposition on my part though.

I guess this is a combination of modern LED light producing a much more uniform light field which means that close to the edges the light is nearly as bright as in the centre (unlike traditional incandescent headlights which tended to have a definite hotspot and with a decay towards the edges of the allowed illumination area), coupled with the sharp cut off which makes people think they are being flashed as cars with these headlights encounter the potholes that people are no longer complaining (quite so much! 😉) about.

Potentially interesting diagram here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-ins...ectors-and-electrical-equipment#section-4-1-2

 

[SimonP]

Lol, I have stopped on narrow lanes to allow cyclists to pass safely. As they turn to acknowledge or thank. I’ve been temporarily blinded (scorched retinas.) by a head torch worn by the rider.

This is annoying, also when riding with someone who has a head-mounted light as you tend to face them to talk to them and they face you too (and you're pretty close!)

While there are more than used to be, there are still not very many bike lights with dedicated cut-offs and a high beam function. Therefore, unfortunately, people sometimes ride with the brightest light they possibly can. The cycling press don't help here (they are not very good anyway, almost completely driven by freebies from companies trying to sell their wares) by suggesting that very bright lights without cut-offs are acceptable - some do have a repeated plano-cylindrical lens pattern which spreads the light horizontally, but I do think a cut-off is better, both for car drivers (I don't want to annoy them, nor be annoyed when I am one of them) and also for other cycle commuters on narrow cycleways.

The German StVO-compliant lights (which have a cut-off and high/low beam similar to car lights) are unfortunately very expensive over here (no idea what they cost is in Germany, nor how compliant people are there) - perhaps this is one place where legislating something for bikes might increase the availability of lights and therefore reduce the cost such that they can be bought without needing to sell a kidney!

 

[nonethewiser]

Admittedly they can be blinding when driving at night.

Mind do like LED lights other than that, have few torches/headlamps/plug in night lights that are LED.

 

[Amity Island]

Admittedly they can be blinding when driving at night.

Mind do like LED lights other than that, have few torches/headlamps/plug in night lights that are LED.

Have you also noticed on the service station forecourts the LED TV's turned up to a ridiculous level of brightness. I asked why they are so bright, apparently it's the company that install them that set them up this way. Apparently they get lots of customers commenting on the brightness of the TV's.

 

[Satan’s little helper]

I'm pretty sure modern LED/HID lights are auto-levelling, though this may only happen when stationary, so there is perhaps scope for them to be slightly misaligned for much of the time while moving. In a similar fashion to emissions testing, as the MoT test only happens when static and on a flat surface, one wonders how much care the manufacturers take (or how much nicer it is for their customers that they can see more 😉) Pure supposition on my part though.

I guess this is a combination of modern LED light producing a much more uniform light field which means that close to the edges the light is nearly as bright as in the centre (unlike traditional incandescent headlights which tended to have a definite hotspot and with a decay towards the edges of the allowed illumination area), coupled with the sharp cut off which makes people think they are being flashed as cars with these headlights encounter the potholes that people are no longer complaining (quite so much! 😉) about.

Potentially interesting diagram here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-ins...ectors-and-electrical-equipment#section-4-1-2

Fuel emissions test is normally done when the engine is up to running temp? I also believe they rev the engine up to 3500 rpm? Or high up near “redline?” (Don’t quote me.) what gets me above anything else is front light cluster designs where it’s hard to spot or distinguish the indicator signal from the head lights. There were a few models like this a few years back.

 

[Satan’s little helper]

Have you also noticed on the service station forecourts the LED TV's turned up to a ridiculous level of brightness. I asked why they are so bright, apparently it's the company that install them that set them up this way. Apparently they get lots of customers commenting on the brightness of the TV's.

Isn’t that to counteract any sunny weather? I’ve seen these massive screens over the entrance of some stops at services. Lol, I’ve cranked my watch up for the same reason. But it only comes on when I flick my wrist.

 

[SimonP]

Fuel emissions test is normally done when the engine is up to running temp? I also believe they rev the engine up to 3500 rpm? Or high up near “redline?” (Don’t quote me.) what gets me above anything else is front light cluster designs where it’s hard to spot or distinguish the indicator signal from the head lights. There were a few models like this a few years back.

Traditionally emissions test were done at a standardised ambient temperature using a standardised drivecycle (velocity vs time profile) and depending on the drivecycle in question (and whether the vehicle is an AT or MT) an algorithm to produce a set of gear shift points. More modern tests now allow AT vehicles to select their own gear (though MT vehicles still have a shift profile imposed on them unless the manufacturer wants to supply their own). The tests are from a cold start, so also include warm-up behaviour and cat light-off. The cold start ambient temperature is iirc 23C though, so not all that cold.

 

[Amity Island]

Isn’t that to counteract any sunny weather?

When's that? Lol

 

[indio02]

I'd agree about 10 years ago I bought some bike lights for my commute and it turns out the front where 2000 lumen and the rear 90. Crazy!

 

[nonethewiser]

Have you also noticed on the service station forecourts the LED TV's turned up to a ridiculous level of brightness. I asked why they are so bright, apparently it's the company that install them that set them up this way. Apparently they get lots of customers commenting on the brightness of the TV's.

Never noticed led tvs on forecourts around here, take it they are advertising products or something & not tuned in to Coronation Street.

 

[Satan’s little helper]

Never noticed led tvs on forecourts around here, take it they are advertising products or something & not tuned in to Coronation Street.

I’ve seen them either by or over the canopy to the main entrance to the “mall” at service stations. (As I enter.) Not so much on petrol forecourts?

 

[Deb_l]

Easily explains how a situation can escalate when both parties feel they are acting in best faith but mine more was a gut reaction and should nit have stepped off pathway even if I felt safe as I wanted to make the driver aware of my annoyance.

Hmmm I can see why you were a bit peeved but you can't really blame the car driver for the brightness of their headlights - it's totally out of their control.

My headlights are really bright (LEDs) and my car is an SUV so they are generally shining higher than a car's lights. I've lost count of the number of people that blind me with their full beam, thinking I'm doing the same. Most of the time I don't react but occasionally I blast them with my full beam too, which isn't pleasant. Nothing I can do about my main beam though, that's just my car and I would be annoyed too if someone shouted at me about my normal dipped headlights.

 

[Amity Island]

Some say the lights are not bright enough where there are no streetlights.

"But which is the safety bigger risk: inadequate illumination, or headlights that impair the vision of other drivers?"

Headlights are too bright! But US experts say they’re not bright enough | Well actually | The Guardian

Driver complaints about high beams are commonplace, though specialists say US roads need to be better lit

amp.theguardian.com