How Is It Legal for New Cars to Come with Blindingly Bright Headlights?

[Deactivated] on 13/05/2022 - 10:13

I've been doing a lot of long night driving recently, and I've noticed that a lot of cars I come across (they tend to look newer) have blindingly bright headlights, it's at a point where I am not sure if a lot of people are just leaving their high beams on all the time or if their low beams are really just that bright, I am going with the latter because I just don't believe the majority of people do not flick high beams off when they see oncoming traffic and I have been checking the rear view mirror after going past them and noticing that most flick their high beams back on after passing me.

I know it's illegal to replace existing halogens with LEDs (not sure if they are all illegal or if some are in compliance) so why is it legal for all these new cars to have such bright low beams?

Automotive Headlight

Comments

  • Muzeeb on 13/05/2022 - 10:14

    Are any of the cars towing? Is it a tourist area?

    • [Deactivated] on 13/05/2022 - 10:14

      Towing? No.

      Tourist area? I wouldn't say so. It's the highway between Hobart & Launceston in Tas.

      • Muzeeb on 13/05/2022 - 10:19
        +2

        I do a lot of night time regional driving. I find the majority with blinding lights are those towing incorrectly loaded trailers / caravans or the back of the wagon is loaded to the brim.

        • [Deactivated] on 13/05/2022 - 10:24
          +1

          I thought that's what you might be hinting at, but i don't think it's the case here. for reference, none of the cars I drive are post 2005 so that is the lighting standard i'm working from, but it just seems that new cars have incredibly bright low beams, indistinguishable from high beams in a lot of cases.

  • AdosHouse on 13/05/2022 - 10:27
    +10

    I find it's not the new car with LED headlights that are blinding (unless the car angles up and points straight in my car), but older cars that have been retrofitted with HID/LED headlights, they are the worst. Old reflector designs that scatter light everywhere. Owners don't care, they can see better, why should anyone else be able to see.

    Older 4WDs are the worst, put in the brightest LED/HID kits they can find, and then aim they horizontal instead of towards the road, and blind everyone else. Another thing I notice is the number of 4WDs outfitted with every damn spotlight known to man, that drive with them on for every little thing. FFS you don't need spotties on in 60km/h zones with street lamps every 20m.

    • [Deactivated] on 13/05/2022 - 10:34
      +1

      Old 4WDs with incorrectly aimed spotlights are a problem too, but they seem to be a minority on this particular highway at night, thankfully.

      my problem is specifically with the newer cars, i know by the shape if it's an older or newer car (no way i'm going to see the badges when it's got 2 mini suns next to it) and most of them seem to be newer cars.

      • Caped Baldy on 13/05/2022 - 11:01
        +1

        My problem is that every soccer mum wants an SUV. So there's a lot more of the bright lights higher up

  • tonyjzx on 13/05/2022 - 10:36
    -2

    the reason is money

    if you're a bmw or mercedes then you can force your cars to comply with ADR even if they dont

  • pegaxs on 13/05/2022 - 10:37
    +4

    hehehe. Reminds me of a jacked up 4x4 with red "P" plates I saw the other day with a sticker across the top of the windscreen that said something like, "If they're too bright, you're too old." with about 20 driving lights mounted all over it.

    • EightImmortals on 13/05/2022 - 14:46
      +1

      Shows how 'bright' some kids are I guess. As you get older a lot of peoples eyesight gets dimmer so the brighter lights on cars shouldn't bother those folk. Oh, it was supposed to be a clever bumper sticker…..?

      • pegaxs on 13/05/2022 - 16:13
        +1

        I think its the newer version of "if it's too loud" bumper stickers…

  • donga100 on 13/05/2022 - 10:38
    +6

    I think it is the cars with adaptive headlights. They essentially always have high beam on and then switch it off in the areas that they detect a vehicle. Great idea in theory but it doesn't seem to be perfected yet as they either don't switch off or flick on/off into oncoming traffic instead.

    • AdosHouse on 13/05/2022 - 13:31

      Hehe , i ended up flashing my headlights at a cop the other week because of my adaptive highbeam. Never used it before, and tried it on this empty road near home, had the high beam on, saw a cop car sitting in a commercial driveway near a curve in the road but he was underneath a bright light for the driveway. Just as I go to flick the high beam off my car picks up the light, thinks it is a headlight and flicks it off, so my flicking the stalk turns it back on, then I quickly turn it back off. So that's how I double flashed a cop car by mistake, thankfully he didn't pull me over.

  • bhubb18 on 13/05/2022 - 10:49
    +6

    Even worse when you have a low car, constantly feel like I'm being EMP'd

    • Shadowsfury on 13/05/2022 - 10:55
      +4

      OMG +1 feel like everyone has bad lights

    • md333 on 13/05/2022 - 14:34
      +1

      With the MX5 you can sometimes see under 4x4s at intersections, but I don't think I've been low enough for lights to go over the top.

      • Euphemistic on 13/05/2022 - 23:11
        +1

        I stopped at a set of lights in a 4x4 ute and wondered why the car behind was so far back. When I took off there was an mx5 in front of the car I could see. I had no idea it was directly behind me when stopped.

  • payless69 on 13/05/2022 - 10:58
    -1

    Euro cars have even got a bunch of dedicated lasers and supposed to work technology to cut out blindning of oncoming traffic.
    Just because a replacement light costs a few grands they have the right to blind you.
    Even some tail lights seem to use strength to mask the owners lost strenth to reproduce?
    Wait there is more: Some top of the range model have buttons to increase the noise.
    Get a jacked up 4x4, the strongest light bars and 4 train horns to take revenge!

    • tonyjzx on 13/05/2022 - 11:03
      +1

      people have been complaining about lights since the introduction of hids like 25yrs ago

      not much you can do, the govt. thinks they're fine and car companies have deep pockets

      only gonna get worse with led and lasers and…

  • orangetrain on 13/05/2022 - 11:03
    +1

    Ask your mechanic to set your lights brighter with HID, etc. Improve your own safety. Police have ignored this issue for decades despite promises to stop it.

    I was on the highway over easter break. I saw a few police cars get blinded by these lights. Police cars in bush with this speed traps in front of vehicles approaching. Only a few pull overs but it looks like it was for speeding.

    • tonyjzx on 13/05/2022 - 11:21

      ive been blinded by police cars… they're using BMW 530d chasers so yeah…

  • Euphemistic on 13/05/2022 - 11:08
    +1
    1. It’s not legal.
      2.HID beams have a really sharp cutoff. The beam is full on below it and almost nothing above. Poorly adjusted they appear like high beam. Often I see them and if they get a bump it looks like you are being flashed at. If they come over a crest at you, you are below the cutoff.
  • dogboy on 13/05/2022 - 11:10
    +2

    Like the 2011 Kia Sorento rear lights. Those things are blinding.

  • hsp on 13/05/2022 - 11:25

    Mainly I see lifted 4wds and they didn’t bother releveling the headlights.
    Also auto high beams, which don’t work well especially on Euro cars. even the NSW BMW hwp car has blinded me a few times.

  • iamherenow on 13/05/2022 - 11:40
    +3

    Have observed the same. Also concluded it's the newer cars with far too bright headlights. There are the ones that are too bright when they come over a hill. But then the ones that are constantly too bright. Many are 4wd/SUV, but sedans still do it too sometimes. Does not make for pleasant driving.

  • Brian McGee on 13/05/2022 - 11:46

    The trouble with HID and LED headlights that come standard in vehilces is they have a 'self leveling' function that flick the light up and down in an attempt to keep them level. Trouble is they react to an input that could be delayed by half a second.
    There are also those idiots, mostly in bogan chariots, that buy replacement LED headlamps for their 100 series landyacht from aliexpress for the left hand drive market so they are focussed for the other side of the road and deliberatly burn retinas in our great brown land, a55holes the lot of them.

  • LanceVance on 13/05/2022 - 11:51

    Anyone else noticed the rear brake lights on modern Audi's are somehow blindingly bright at night?

  • Pluto88 on 13/05/2022 - 13:34
    +1

    aftermarket led / hid headlights should only be fitted to projector style headlights.

  • dylanando on 13/05/2022 - 14:07
    -1

    I drive an el cheapo merc with adaptive headlights. They work but I sure do get flashed a lot.

  • jazzyman9182 on 13/05/2022 - 23:02

    I find it's newer cars as well.
    They have HIDs I think which have the sharp cutoff which is legal as it'll be below windscreen height normally, but if you are slightly downhill or a bumpy section you'll be in their bright section which is just blinding

  • Some Human on 14/05/2022 - 17:43

    I cop high beams in my face every night driving home. I think humans are too busy looking at their phones to remember to turn them off. I feel my eyesight is suffering because of it. I have taken to squinting now when I see them coming over the hill or around a bend. It helps a little.

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