Headlight Reform (now!!)

[apples and oranges]

http://www.headlight-reform.org/

"...a page about unecessary, overly bright Daytime Running Lights that started with Saturn and are spreading to other vehicles like a disease. And about headlights that in general have become far, far too bright.

There was a time when having headlights on during the day was a safety feature. Before Daytime Running Lights, if you were driving down the road and you started seeing cars coming toward you with their headlights on it usually meant something. Usually it meant that there was reduced visibility ahead. Most often rain, fog, haze or snow. Or it could have been because cars were directed to turn their headlights on because of a high accident area.

Just a Word About The New HID Headlights
Ban them, ban them, ban them. Some are bad and some are unconscionable. If you've ever had a BMW SUV come around a bend and been blinded by their HID headlights then you know what I mean. Getting blinded by those lights makes you want to get out and smash them with a hammer. Just what exactly are they thinking. I think with BMW and Audi it's almost a kind of arrogance. If you can afford one of their cars then you deserve to see farther than anyone else regardless of who gets blinded in the process.

I agree that it's time to do something about super bright headlights. Write your local congressmen/women!

[virginia mountainman]

1. Agreed...As someone who's work, keeps me on the roads..

HID's are a serious problem...

[ProgressiveProfessor]

2. The law says mine must be on at all times...I ride a motorcycle

however it also allows me to have a modulator during daylight hours, which seems to annoy a great number of cagers.

[Robb]

12. They bother many of your fellow riders, too

...but likely that's a debate for another thread. :hi:

[ProgressiveProfessor]

25. Its all about being conspicuous and therefore staying alive, but I turn it off in tight traffic or

group rides.

[Robb]

30. Given all the evidence about target fixation

...e.g. where you look is where you go, I'd think twice about mounting a beacon on my handlebars. :shrug:

[vadawg]

31. yup for christsakes if you spin out dont look at me, please look at something else

every spin out ive ever had ive went exactly where i was looking, not sure if its because i looked there or for some reason i automatically look where my brain tells me im going to end up...

[northofdenali]

36. We're all about having them on 24/7 here -

even though we don't HAVE darkness during riding season. Most of our roads are 2-lane, very twisty, and there are a LOT of RV's, big rigs, camper trailers etc. during our short (but very, very sweet) season. The more lights on the merrier up here - just so the cagers actually see ya!

[Fumesucker]

14. Cagers don't like it when they are forced to notice motorcycles..

It's much more fun to run over us than see us..

[vadawg]

16. nothing this cager hates more than donors who dont realise that i cant see them

:)

[Fumesucker]

17. The only way to stay alive on a bike is to ride in such a manner..

That if you were totally invisible you wouldn't get hit anyway..

[Dappleganger]

19. Nothing worse than a self-absorbed cager who won't put down the Big Gulp and the cell phone.

When ya'll stop engaging in constant self-distraction, let us know.

[vadawg]

20. two can play at that game, nothing worse than the donor overtaking in and out of traffic

or the donors who dont think that anyone whould be able to drive anywhere between them and their buddies... you want to trade insults all day as you obviously missed the sarcasm that the other poster got...

[Dappleganger]

22. It's not a game

and most bikers I know never ride like what you've described. I really don't care if you feel insulted enough that you have to look up out of your cushy little world to actually share the road.

[vadawg]

28. insulted, really i dont care, i see idiots driving all sorts every day

no one group is worse than any other, everybody just seems to believe that they won the road and they are the best driver on the planet, you just belong to a group that in the evolutionary chart is at the bottom of the food chain when it comes to vehicle collisions..

[ProgressiveProfessor]

27. For that I have dual 115db horns wired through a relay directly to the battery

They have caused many a cager to drop their drink or cellphone. Been known to wake the elderly and make babies cry as well. They sound like the day of judgment...

[apples and oranges]

23. donors?

[vadawg]

26. yup its what we call motorcyclists, organ donors...

[Dappleganger]

18. Exactly.

Have been thinking about getting a modulator, too.

I don't care if it annoys the hell out of drivers because it makes them put down the cell phone and notice me. Cagers are the ones who are driving around distracting THEMSELVES to death, so tough shit if we want to pull their attention away from their self-absorbed little coccoons for a few seconds and avoid smashing into us.

[IDemo]

21. Thanks for reminding me

I had meant to install a modulator and never got around to it.

These 25 degree morning rides are gonna kill me before a cager gets the chance.

[Codeine]

32. Modulator? Wazzat? nt

[Rhiannon12866]

3. K&R! I sure agree! I have night blindness and those bright lights sear my eyes...

Seriously, when a vehicle with lights that bright comes at me, I can see nothing. And it lasts even after they've passed, and I get sharp pains in my eyes. It's dangerous! x(

[Leftist Agitator]

24. If you have night blindness, you really shouldn't be driving at night.

Seriously.

[vadawg]

33. yeah i totally missed that, you should not be driving at night period

im surprised you dont have a restriction on your licence...

[Rhiannon12866]

38. My eyesight is fine, don't even need glasses.

I pass the eye test with flying colors. And I can drive just fine in lighted areas, so I stick to those routes, avoid the highway after dark. But those super bright headlights completely blind me, which is the point of this post. x(

[Rhiannon12866]

37. I know, and I try not to, but sometimes I don't have a choice...

It's not like I have someone to drive me. I'm fine when I drive in town because it's lighted, and I stick to those roads, but I cannot drive on the highway, with all those lights coming at me. But sometimes, even in town, there are those bright headlights which completely blind me. x(

[freeplessinseattle]

4. oh thank goodness! they are more dangerous than safe

I think have done permanent damage to my retinas. plus they tend to trigger and aggravate migraines, those darn lights have practically become the bane of my existence-and my mom, too. she will be happy to hear there is some movement for change.

[onethatcares]

5. it's not just coming at you.

it seems the rear view mirrors are worthless when they come up behind me. I get blinded by the reflected light.

What's worse, they're on the mega dually Dodge F9800s, with rollbars, brushguards, quadraflap tires with semi exhausts that never see the rain because they have to stay bright and shiny to impress their neighbors.

Me thinks some compensation factor is peeking its' way out here.

[B Calm]

6. What gets me is people driving white cars in a snow storm without headlights

on. Talk about having no common sense!

[vadawg]

7. rofl, i have seen that one too, crazy basterds

though i hate people who dont put their lights on when its raining, its damn hard to see you when im going over 100 if you dont put your lights on...

[dems_rightnow]

9. They're stupid

So many think headlights are only for allowing the driver to see, when many times they're for allowing other drivers to see YOU.

[TheCowsCameHome]

11. The headlights should be tied to the wiper circuit

If it's raining/snowing and the wipers are in use, the lights come on.

[vadawg]

13. nah you wantthem on all the time, it does help other drivers to see you even on the brighest day..

[TheCowsCameHome]

15. You're right. But too many don't switch them on when even they should.

Driving in snow or rain with them on is especially critical.

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. I like DRL's. But the high-intensity lights are terrible.

They are a hazard, unlike the less-bright versions.

[ThomWV]

10. There are much much better lights available than the ones that come on your car - not HID

You can buy lights for your car that will improve the low beam effectiveness by about 4x without blinding oncoming drivers, and in fact makes it easier for them to see. The problem with our lights, the DOT approved ones, is that they are poorly focused - and generally pretty poorly made too. If you replace the reflector unit (not the light that goes into the bulb part, but the bulb part itself) with a european specification one rather than a Department of Transportation spec one you will be stunned by the improvement - and it will not hinder the vision of oncoming drivers. They cost about $50 per light to do the replacement. Anyone capable of changing a flat tire and who owns a couple of common hand tools can do it at home in about 15 minutes.

[eppur_se_muova]

29. About time! I've hated those HIDs since they first appeared.

Thanks for the link! :hi:


"You know those little orange balls you put on your antenna so you can find your car in the parking lot? Every car should have one of those!" -- Homer Simpson (natch)

[Jamastiene]

34. A HEARTY K&R

I despise those things. I really REALLY hate them.

[dickthegrouch]

35. The High Intensity lights give me a TERRIBLE headache

very quickly. I have to let them pass me so I don't have to run the risk of seeing them in my mirror. It's very hard to avoid them when they are in oncoming traffic though.

I agree ban them quickly. I can't be the only one.