Question for any headlight experts

[Josh B]

This really isn't only about Fords, because at night, when there's headlights coming at ya, you cannot know what vehicle it is. I grew up in the 60s, 70s, and then cars had 4 headlights - 2 for low beam, and 2 for high, but on high beam all 4 were on. Then is easy to know if their high beams were on.
Nowdays there's so many lights that it's almost impossible to tell, but it seems to be more recently there are far more vehicles sporting 4 headlights than there were in the 80s, 90,s etc.
Those 4 headlight vehicles all but blind me, are they running fog lamps along with their dims, or are there those which have four lights for bright and dim?
Also there's a newer type of light, LED I suppose? Those ones get me pretty bad too. Are those ones always that blindingly bright, or are they also on high?

 

[Dirtman]

Yes.

 

[Josh B]

That's quite a bit to think about there Dirtman, sure glad you cleared me up on this

 

[Dirtman]

the reason modern cars tend to blind you is not because they have their high beams on or even really that the lights are brighter. It's that they use very focused lenses. Older cars basically just had flood lights, new cars use spotlights. It gives the driver a much clearer, sharper view of the road. The trade off, it gives other drivers a headache...

Use your rear view mirrors night setting and their are glasses that reduce the glare.

I put projector lenses in my fog lights and people HATE them even though they are only a foot off the ground. They just shine like laser beams so when they hit you, it's very annoying.

 

[adsm08]

There is no easy, sure way to tell if the high beams are on, only if they are off.

Fog lights only operate with the low beams.

 

[Uncle Gump]

The sealed beams of yesterday are a joke compared to today's headlamp technology. While I agree they are a far more focused beam... they are far brighter then the headlamps of old. Some so bright on DRL... they turn the headlamp off so people can see the turn signal flashing.

I can't imagine the legal limits of the law allowing more intense lighting then what we have currently... in fact they should review what is already legal and rid our roadways of some of them.

 

[Josh B]

Thanks yall, that helped me understand it a great deal better. They used to mount a spotlight on a truck or car for use on private land, but it was illegal to use it on a public road, double illegal to hit another vehicle with it at night, I just can't quite figure how they reached the conclusion to use 4 of them now on every vehicle. Also it still seems to me that 4 headlights equal bright, unless you're the only one on the road, or if it's very foggy.
Still I thank you guys for helping me to understand that better

 

[Dirtman]

I love my old school spotlight....

 

[4x4junkie]

I can't imagine the legal limits of the law allowing more intense lighting then what we have currently... in fact they should review what is already legal and rid our roadways of some of them.

Something definitely needs to be done about this for sure.

I think the biggest contributors to this problem are the super-sharp cutoff in the beam pattern, combined with the higher color-temperature light output many are using, especially so when it comes to LEDs. When a vehicle goes over a dip or bump in the road, that sharp beam cutoff hits you in the face and makes it appear like they're flashing you with their brights. A third issue is automakers sending vehicles out of the factory with the stupid things aimed up too high. If there's anything heavier than a duffel bag in the back, the lights will then blast straight out at everyone.

 

[Dirtman]

The color definitely matters. Warmer colors dont tend to be as blinding, but the white colors definitely give better clarity and definition (for the driver). The bottom line is when your driving a car having crazy bright, white, focused beams is awesome. But it sucks when that light is pointing at you from someone else.

Left, standard halogen. Right, 6500k led. Notice how much better you can see the ground with the 6500k light.

I have my foglights wired to come on automaticly with the parking lights. So my fog lights are essentially alway on with the headlights on low or high. (4 lights). I notice this does annoy other drivers occasionally but to me it makes me feel alot safer since the fog lights light up the big gap directly in front of the truck that the headlights miss. On dark country roads it makes a massive difference.

 

[Josh B]

I have my foglights wired to come on automaticly with the parking lights. So my fog lights are essentially alway on with the headlights on low or high. (4 lights). I notice this does annoy other drivers occasionally but to me it makes me feel alot safer since the fog lights light up the big gap directly in front of the truck that the headlights miss. On dark country roads it makes a massive difference.



Sooo, You're the one! We're not annoyed, but blinded. You're doing 70 miles an hour, seeing anything that close at that speed won't help because you'd never be able to stop anyway or even correct by much. At those speeds one needs to watch very well the roadway farther ahead.
I'll send you the $1.99 to get a flip switch and when you hit the dirt roads you can flip it on so you'll feel safer there, and off when you get back to the highway so you won't be blinding us folks who's eyes are more sensitive to the brights everywhere. Yes, you have about 90 million friends out there, me, probly not a tenth of that, but we're still people too, only trying to get to where we need to go, as harmlessly and safely as possible

 

[Dirtman]

I have never messed with my headlights because I dont want to be obnoxious. I use regular old halogen beams aimed correctly in those. My fog lights are aimed low so they dont blind people UNLESS like 4x4 junkie mentioned. On bumpy roads the beams can pop up and hit your eyeline for a second. It looks like I flashed my high beams. So people flash back at me. They are simply focused like that. If I'm behind you, you dont see my fog lights.

I get your point, doing 70 why do you need to see 2 feet in front of me. But honestly its more like 15-20 feet... still not enough "stopping time" but you can see the road lines easily. It helps me.

I'm fully wiling to take a video of me driving a dark road with regular low beams, and low beams plus led fog lights. And I rarely drive on the highway, my trips are through town. Which has no street lights.

 

[Josh B]

It's gotten worse for me Dirtman, over the last few years. Divided highways are best, two lanes are ok as long as the lines are there as you said, unless they are just blindingly bright.
But on the dark country roads, paved without lines I have to almost stop because the oncoming lights make it near impossible for me to see where the pavement ends and the grass begins, so I just get close as possible to the edge and proceed very slowly until they pass.
On dirt roads, especially the county ones which here rarely have two full lanes, I completely pull over and stop. If they all but do the same I will go one further and turn off my headlights leaving only the park lights on until they get by

 

[Dirtman]

No offense intended but sounds like you need better lights... and glare blocking glasses.

 

[ford4wd08]

Call me crazy, but I have heard of some local elderly folks getting their windshields lightly tinted to help with the glare from other vehicles.

My latest truck (2016 F150) came used with a tinted windshield and I definitely don't have any issues with any glare from anyone at night.