Campaign Against Those Stupid Hid Lights.

[S@m 156]

I don't mean to be harsh, but judging by the responses in this thread it must be a fairly small minority who have problems.

 

Sam

[Batfink 201]

 

 

Daytime driving with lights i am also against.

 

 

What a silly comment. Personally I find the visibility of new cars running daylight leds much better. Will be great for bikes too as some bikers still ride with no lights on during the day.

Theres a reason why its been mandatory in Scandinavian countries for years. People see vehicles easier with lights on..

[DaveW 6]

We should all have infra red fitted or nightvision, tho they too might be too bright for sugieees eyes

[S@m 156]

What a silly comment. Personally I find the visibility of new cars running daylight leds much better. Will be great for bikes too as some bikers still ride with no lights on during the day.

Theres a reason why its been mandatory in Scandinavian countries for years. People see vehicles easier with lights on..

 

Sure, you can see the car with the daytime running lights better, just nothing else at all because they are such high power. Maybe if the DRL's were the brightness of sidelights it wouldnt be an issue, but since they are designed to be used in the daytime they seem to have made them super bright so they can be seen even on a bright summers day. And bikers with their sodding lights on all the time, usually right up behind you (until you reach a corner anyway), thats particularly annoying also. I can see things without them being luminescent and at the same time have no problem with HID headlights at night.

 

Sam

[harryskid 193]

I find the cars with their high up brake lights in your face far more annoying!

[feb 47]

Surgie, it doesn't matter if it is just you or another few/tens thousand people, some people seem to be annoyed by them and some aren't.

 

Have you -or anyone else who complains- driven a car with HIDs?

 

If not don't assume things and it's worth trying, you will be amazed how we have been driving without them (or how $hit 205 headlights are).

 

And no, they wouldn't be blinding you as much if your car had them simply because your cornea wouldn't have to be so much wide open due to the better lights your car has so a "head on" light wouldn't irritate you so much.

 

Try entering a dark room and someone shining a torch at you, then do the same but have a torch as you enter the room and see for yourself.

Edited April 21, 2011 by feb

[SurGie 54]

I find the cars with their high up brake lights in your face far more annoying!

 

 

I find this very annoying too, then they think, why do my brake light bulbs keep going ?

 

However these are not really as dangerous as blinding other drivers.

 

It's nice how most of the replies are aimed and the negative stuff i write rather than the positive side, then wonder why i go off on one now and again unconsciously.

 

I am not a bug

[Baz 421]

 

Try entering a dark room and someone shining a torch at you, then do the same but have a torch as you enter the room and see for yourself.

 

Good analogy.

Edited April 22, 2011 by Baz

[SurGie 54]

That still wont stop them dazzling through the wind mirror when im overtaken on the motorways etc and there are loads of cars on the road without these, far more than with them. I dont feel i need my lights any brighter, so i dont want to waste money getting them, I'd rather spend it on better more useful things and save getting melting any wires in the engine bay.

 

With the torch idea, when its pointing right in my eyes it will still dazzle me due to the direction of the beam.

 

Anyone would think the old lights were rubbish and no use yet are and will be legal through the MOT system.

[GLPoomobile 958]

1) I have photosensative eyes. Bright sunny days when the light is refelecting off light concrete (for example) really hurts my eyes and I have to shield them as I walk along

 

2) I never thought I had issues with oncoming headlights until I got my Alfa 166, which has very poor dipped beams. On this basis, I agree 100% that the problem is not the brightness of the oncoming lights, it's the difference between those lights and how much illumination your own lights offer.

 

3) On the basis of the above, we shouldn't be debating whether modern headlights are too bright, we should be simply looking to level the playing field. If all headlights provided similar illumination, the problem would be non-existant for all but those with eye issues like myself and SurGie.

 

4) Headlights from behind, either in the rear view mirrow or wing mirrors (not "wind mirrors" SurGie ) do annoy me if they are very bright and/or high up, but I've never felt blinded by them. I suspect this is because they are not shining directly in to my eyes like oncoming headlights (becuase the mirror is in your peripheral vision). If you find this an issue SurGie, then I really feel you have much worse eye issues than me, and I really think you need to see (no pun intended) an optician for advice.

 

5) People with sight issues should not be dictating the lighting standards. We are in the minority, and like it or not, the advantages offered by improved headlights far outweighs the risk to those of us with sight issues. It's up to us to address our personal flaws in whatever way necessary. Be that as simple as wearing appropriate eye-wear, or as serious as simply not driving at night. The latter may not be a nice thing to think about, but it's a serious thing for many older motorists who eventually reach a point where they simply have to give up when their sight begins to fail. Just becuase we are younger, doesn't mean the issue is not as serious and relevant for us.

 

Finally, Surgie, what do hope to achieve by flashing your lights at everyone else? I'd argue that you are creating a hazard by doing that. If someone has bright lights that have blinded you (and you acknowledge that you have sensative eyes, so you are not the norm), do you think they are going to turn them off and continue their journey with no headlights on, just becuase you flashed at them? Do you think they are going to pull over and call the AA to rescue them, becuase their headlights are too bright and causing a hazard? Do you think they are going to get home and think "oh I better sort this out. Tomorrow I'll remove my aftermarket HIDs and spend more money returning it to standard", or "I better get down to the dealer and ask them if they can fit dimmer bulbs in my OE HIDs". You seem to like to take the moral high ground, but the reality is that you are just as bad as them if that's your behaviour As I said in a recent thread "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" (I was referring to fitting HIDs to my Alfa IIRC), and to be to be quite frank about it you really may as well swallow your pride, fit some HIDs to your own car, and reap the benefits. YOu may feel you are contributing to the problem by dazzling other drivers, but you're already doing that by flashing them in frustration!

[GLPoomobile 958]

With the torch idea, when its pointing right in my eyes it will still dazzle me due to the direction of the beam.

 

Instead of making an assumption, why don't you actually try the experiment and see what happens?

 

I also just have to chip in about DRL and headlights on during the day. What's the issue? Seriously now, c'mon. Why does this bother anyone, apart from the fact it may look a bit stupid and attention grabbing to some people, like those who drive with their fog lights on?

 

I drive with my headlights on in the Alfa during the day. Because there are too many mongs on the road these days who seem to have issues seeing a ton+ of car in their way, and these people need all the help they can get in avoiding accidents. So I like to make myself visible to all the dumb-asses. It's the same logic for bikers who need the extra help making themselves visible and are more at risk if they aren't visible. Too bright during daytime and you can't see anything else Sam? Seriously? Maybe time to get yourslef down to the optician with SurGie

[Peetypug 5]

I've got aftermarket hids (fitted by last owner) on my truck, they are fanbloodytastic!

Without them the lights are dangerously poor (Peugeot boxer) how we have gone so long without them is beyond me!

Even if they outlawed them I wouldn't remove them!

I think the whole thing is a stupid idea

[S@m 156]

Too bright during daytime and you can't see anything else Sam? Seriously? Maybe time to get yourslef down to the optician with SurGie

 

Fair point, i was exaggerating a bit, but i still think that DRL's neednt be any brighter than sidelights. Its more of an annoyance than a safety issue i suppose. I also have an irrational and often over zealous hatred of people with their fog lights on in mild drizzle....bastards.

[Peetypug 5]

I also have an irrational and often over zealous hatred of people with their fog lights on in mild drizzle....bastards.

 

 

+1

[GLPoomobile 958]

Oh I do agree entirely on the Fog Light hatred. It's the ones who drive around at night with only their sidelights on instead of dipped beam, and their fog lights on instead. Again, not really a saftey issue as such, and doesn't really impact me as another driver, but it's just stupid and makes them look a wanker. Just an annoyance, in the same way you obviously get annoyed by DRLs.

[unariciflocos 49 1 Cars]

I've got aftermarket hids (fitted by last owner) on my truck, they are fanbloodytastic!

Without them the lights are dangerously poor (Peugeot boxer) how we have gone so long without them is beyond me!

Even if they outlawed them I wouldn't remove them!

I think the whole thing is a stupid idea

 

Seriously?!

 

I drove a friends Boxer the other day when I bought some materials for the house and I found the lights to be very good. I felt bad for the poor basterds in front of me because the headlights on the Boxer are so high up that the light goes straight through their rear windows. I tried to keep a distance as not to blind them.

 

I REALLY don't want to imagine a Boxer with after-market HIDs. HIDs need a lens to focus the beam, auto leveling and washers so as not to disturb other participants to traffic. Without those you'll be throwing the light even at the dark side of the Moon.

 

That thing about the difference in light intensity from your car and that of HID equipped cars is a load of $hit. Just as you're not suppose to look into lasers, you're not supposed to look directly into HIDs. That's why European regulations enforce the use of lenses, auto-leveling and washers.

 

All those with aftermarket HIDs get the high beam treatment from me and I imagine myself knocking their lights out with a bat. Aftermarket HIDs are illegal here, but police and MOT stations are doing nothing against them...

[SurGie 54]

I said i feel like flashing them every time, sometimes i do depending on the road conditions etc. People flash when others have the high beam on and to me its the same sort of thing, im still getting piercing light in my eyes even when not directly looking at them.

 

For me its just technology gone too far, if they were less bright and piercing then fine but they are not, They are a big annoyance as are those super shiny new indicators that have also passed their testing. I think i should be their tester, ill find any fault they may have far better than the ones that do it now. I believe their was a campaign about them also a while ago.

 

Hey at least there's the HID reason why an accident had occurred in the first place, but then i suppose they would say hey they are legal. Yeah they got legal by a bunch of buffoons where their eyes dont hurt when these are shining at them.

 

As said my eyes are good and have been tested, i think its more to do with the back of the eyes being very sensitive to bright light. Then again i dont get that bothered about the sun in my eyes just these HID's, so i dont know why that is ?

 

Please bare in mind that a lot of them on the roads are probably the illegal type of HID's, which dont help how it effects people like me on the road in the first place. Its very annoying how the MOT and police dont seem to be doing anything about it either, i guess they think hmm lights are on thats fine.

 

Also how do auto levelers level the light when a car is coming from a crest of a hill, there is no way for them to do this, not all roads are flat and straight. Theres more to these than meets the eye.

Edited April 22, 2011 by SurGie

[GLPoomobile 958]

That thing about the difference in light intensity from your car and that of HID equipped cars is a load of $hit. Just as you're not suppose to look into lasers, you're not supposed to look directly into HIDs. That's why European regulations enforce the use of lenses, auto-leveling and washers.

 

Exactly. A correctly functioning, OE HID system should not be shining the light directly at oncoming traffic (in the same way that non HID lights shouldn't either). An aftermarket HID kit is more likely to scatter it's light, so yes it is more likely to affect oncoming traffic, but because the light is scattered rather than focussed, surely it's not going to be so intense As I said earlier, I had NEVER had an issue with oncoming traffic (which is bound to include both cars with OE HIDs and those with aftermarket kits) before I got my 166 last Nov. If anything I would have expected to be worse affected in my 205 as it's lower to the ground. But the 166's headlights are so bad that I find myself struggling to see beyond the end of the bonnet if I'm on an unlit road and I meet oncoming traffic. So don't try and tell me

that thing about the difference in light intensity from your car and that of HID equipped cars is a load of $hit

as it's blatantly not! If I had adequate lighting on the 166 I wouldn't be affected by oncoming traffic (and I'm obviously not just talking about HID equipped vehicles) in the same way.

 

For the record, I have absolutely no argument against aftermarket HIDs being outlawed (I thought that they were technically illegal for road use anyway, but that they just tend to slip through the net at MOT time for many owners). But I don't have any issue with OE systems (apart from the annoying flashing effect you get from vehicles following you as they go over bumps).

[Peetypug 5]

The lights on this truck are poo!

It's a 1998 that's been converted to a recovery truck, even with a car on they don't shine too high.

I'm always aware of other road users so adjust my light level accordingly.

Without the hids I'd struggle, but that could be because if my cataracts

[welshpug 1,627]

mk1 boxers have H4 candles, MK3's are nice vans with good lighting

[Batfink 201]

Sure, you can see the car with the daytime running lights better, just nothing else at all because they are such high power. Maybe if the DRL's were the brightness of sidelights it wouldnt be an issue, but since they are designed to be used in the daytime they seem to have made them super bright so they can be seen even on a bright summers day. And bikers with their sodding lights on all the time, usually right up behind you (until you reach a corner anyway), thats particularly annoying also. I can see things without them being luminescent and at the same time have no problem with HID headlights at night.

 

Sam

 

really? Are you going to complain the sun is too bright during the day next and stops you seeing things? I cannot say i've ever been blinded by what is basically a mildly bright led side light. Bike lights naturally sit high on the frame so shine right through the rear windscreen but they are hardly behind you for long..I'd rather know they are there. 4x4's are similar but theres a really cool invention on modern cars. You press that little tab on your rear view mirror and no more problem..

I'm all for HiD lights as normal ones are crap in comparison at night, especially when driving fast. I find it simple to change where i look to stop getting blinded by oncoming traffic. Following the lit up curb on the left for example.

 

This thread just seems to be a big exaggeration of a minor inconvenience. I quite fancy trying some yellow tinted glasses now.

 

Aftermarket is another issue, but most are illegal anyway.

Edited April 24, 2011 by Batfink

[GLPoomobile 958]

especially when driving fast.

 

Uh oh, you've done it now...

[Batfink 201]

yeah. I did overtake two cars and an 30tonne lorry on an unlit road in one go. There was an earlier incident where I made my passenger cry but thats another story and was in no way related to a near death driving experience.

[Cameron 16]

4) Headlights from behind, either in the rear view mirrow or wing mirrors (not "wind mirrors" SurGie )

 

Thank you, I was just about to say the same thing.

[SurGie 54]

People may call them wing mirrors when these were on the wings, most cars these days have them on the doors, not the wings. So with this in mind i call them wind mirrors. They are the only mirrors on the outside with the 'wind' hitting them

 

Another thing is the fact they look a blue colour, yet having any other colouring lights other than yellow and white are not road legal. They may look white up close but on the road they look blue

Edited April 24, 2011 by SurGie