Newer Mini headlights..?

photome

ElephantBoy57 said:

Mercdriver said:

I have LEDs on my CX5.  Also have intelligent auto dipping which turns off certain LEDs according to what the camera in the windscreen can see.  In comparison my wife has a newer Ford Edge with very dim halogens.  They pick out hardly anything.  I am glad I drove my car to the Lake District last night rather than hers.  

In built-up areas with street lights on, there is no legal requirement for headlights. I prefer to use just sidelights, untill everyone has there headlights on.

With 'ordinary' sidelights, they are not bright enough, some LED are too bright, you cannot win. I think its time for mandatory sidelights, then people might be slower to put their headlights on, when set to manual.

I think sidelights are a waste of time, I cant remember ever using just sidelights, if its dark enough for lights its dark enough for headlights IMO

JustAnotherSaver

photome said:

ElephantBoy57 said:

Mercdriver said:

I have LEDs on my CX5.  Also have intelligent auto dipping which turns off certain LEDs according to what the camera in the windscreen can see.  In comparison my wife has a newer Ford Edge with very dim halogens.  They pick out hardly anything.  I am glad I drove my car to the Lake District last night rather than hers.  

In built-up areas with street lights on, there is no legal requirement for headlights. I prefer to use just sidelights, untill everyone has there headlights on.

With 'ordinary' sidelights, they are not bright enough, some LED are too bright, you cannot win. I think its time for mandatory sidelights, then people might be slower to put their headlights on, when set to manual.

I think sidelights are a waste of time, I cant remember ever using just sidelights, if its dark enough for lights its dark enough for headlights IMO

Hmm this new quoting system on this forum is strange so i'll put my posting in a colour...

ok i guess i can't so i'll make it bold.

MERCDRIVER: Don't get me wrong, i think if i was behind the wheel of one of these cars it would be quite good for visibility. Driving the back roads must be great with one of these cars. Not fun for the oncoming driver though. During this winter i've nearly had a couple accidents through being blinded on the back roads and not through main beams either. They blind so bad that i can't really see where to pull to or how far to shift left before i go down the banking. Halogens are pretty poor i agree. I retrofitted HIDs to my car years ago but it wasn't worth the grief it gave me on the road so i removed them after 2 days.

PHOTOME: Not sure why i also quoted Elephantboy as i didn't select to but hey ho. I put sidelights on when the light is just a bit dim but i can see perfectly fine. I know it may not be what they're intended for but with them on it's something for those behind me to see as it lights up my rear, so anyone who's looking to take 3-4 cars at once can see my rear lights and it may make them decide not to go for it. Oncoming traffic the same reason in a way. I'm more likely to grab their attention with sidelights than no lights. When the lighting gets dim enough i put dipped beam on.

DoaM

JustAnotherSaver said:

Hmm this new quoting system on this forum is strange so i'll put my posting in a colour...

ok i guess i can't so i'll make it bold.

After quoting a post, click in the white bit below the shaded quote box and start typing.

JustAnotherSaver

I did but it didn't work. It didn't put the flashing cursor thing there.

I've just quoted a post elsewhere now and used the arrow key on the keyboard. That worked.

forgotmyname

DoaM said:

I think that was the intention for mandatory daytime running lights (DRL) ... perhaps some manufacturers have taken it too far.

And all those years where they fined boy racers when using fog lights when its not foggy.
They would have been drooling at the thought of DRL's.
Fog lights had to be more than 30cm away from a brake light etc...

I did about 20 miles one night with just my DRL's on. Only noticed when i got to a dark lane where
i normally see further into the distance. Lit the road up quite well, just not 75 metres or so that a
normal headlight reaches.

Goudy

It seems the use of DRLs, particularly LED ones is causing the problem.
The D is for Daylight and in daylight without any other lights on in the day they actually help with being more visible to others from the front.

Trouble starts at dusk/dawn as the white light from them is actually too bright, that's not my opinion but the EU's (European Directive 76/656/EEC).
This is why when the dip beams are turned on the DRLs dim. Going from around 21w to 5w.
This is the reason for another common, misguided  DRL complaint, that they aren't linked to the rear lights. You aren't supposed to use them this way, they are to make you more visible from the front, if the weather/light is bad enough you are meant to use your dipped beam.

A lot of cars now have no selectable sidelight lights.
They have front DRLs that run bright (21w) in the day and dim (5w) when the dipped or main beam are on (with the rear lights lit) and run in the dim setting with rear lights when the car is parked with the positioning lights set to on. 

If owners turned their dipped beams on at dusk/dawn, the bright DRLs will automatically dim and not dazzle other road users.
They will also get the rear positioning light on, making them more visible from the rear as well.

ElephantBoy57

Goudy said:

It seems the use of DRLs, particularly LED ones is causing the problem.
The D is for Daylight and in daylight without any other lights on in the day they actually help with being more visible to others from the front.

I have never had a problem with seeing other vehicles in the daylight, motor bikes/cycles are easily missed, but not vehicles that are over 5 ft wide.

Goudy

ElephantBoy57 said:

Goudy said:

It seems the use of DRLs, particularly LED ones is causing the problem.
The D is for Daylight and in daylight without any other lights on in the day they actually help with being more visible to others from the front.

I have never had a problem with seeing other vehicles in the daylight, motor bikes/cycles are easily missed, but not vehicles that are over 5 ft wide.

But you aren't alone on this world.
I don't have trouble stopping before I hit massive red bus in front, but plenty don't.

scoot65

Newer cars do have much brighter headlights these days and are dazzling.

I sometimes see cars driving at night with just their DRLs on and no lights at the rear. I would have thought that there would be a warning light on the dash to inform that driver that only DRLs are on and therefore no rear lights. However this doesn't seem to be the case. Maybe it be that if DRLs are on then the rear lights should be on also, for safety's sake.    

Mercdriver

scoot65 said:

Newer cars do have much brighter headlights these days and are dazzling.

I sometimes see cars driving at night with just their DRLs on and no lights at the rear. I would have thought that there would be a warning light on the dash to inform that driver that only DRLs are on and therefore no rear lights. However this doesn't seem to be the case. Maybe it be that if DRLs are on then the rear lights should be on also, for safety's sake.    

There is a sensor that senses ambient light and switches on the dash lights.  This confuses some drivers who don't have auto lights.  I got a mouthful of abuse from a female driver once because I was flashing her. 

"What the F is your problem" 
"You're lights aren't on"
"Ah, sorry"