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LEDs provide a driver with much better visibility at night, it's something I noticed immediately when I went from driving a 2005 Honda Element to a 2020 Honda Pilot. However, those bright lights can present a problem for other drivers, depending on a number of factors.
One of the most obvious is where the headlights are pointed, misaligned headlights can be a big problem. But even if they are properly aligned, they can be a problem. Most headlights are fixed in position, if they're pointing directly at you, you're going to be blinded, halogen sure, but LED definitely.
Gentle reader boron's comment on the aforementioned post inspired today's post -
Before continuing, I'm not a big fan of adaptive optics ("glass" if you will). Back in the day when they first came out with that for eyeglasses, I had a pair of spectacles which would adjust the tint of lenses based on the amount of ambient light, if you're outside in the sun, the lenses darken, when you go inside, they lighten up. Problem was, while they worked, they worked slowly.
Gentle reader boron's comment on the aforementioned post inspired today's post -
Before continuing, I'm not a big fan of adaptive optics ("glass" if you will). Back in the day when they first came out with that for eyeglasses, I had a pair of spectacles which would adjust the tint of lenses based on the amount of ambient light, if you're outside in the sun, the lenses darken, when you go inside, they lighten up. Problem was, while they worked, they worked slowly.
The Missus Herself has those lenses in her new spectacles, they seem to work rather well, far better than the did forty years ago. Advances in technology tend to make things better. Still not a fan of using adaptive glass though,
Whilst mulling this over I came across this article ...
My first thought was, "Damn, that's awesome." Have the headlights illuminate where they should be illuminating. You can adjust for curves (see around the corner, kinda sorta), you can adjust for elevation, I am continually blinded by oncoming cars when they go over a slight rise, sending those LED beams straight into my Mark One Mod Zero eyeballs.
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| Adaptive Headlights (Source) |
Adaptive headlights are far more than automatically killing the high beams when oncoming traffic is detected. Too bad that Federal law prohibits true adaptive headlights -
“2 Regulatory limitations to allowing advanced headlamp systems in the U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) developed by NHTSA specify technical requirements for all vehicles sold in the United States. Automotive headlamps are regulated by FMVSS 108. This regulation clearly defines headlamp performance, installed position, luminescence, considerations for glare, and aiming for both low beams and high beams. Although FMVSS 108 does not specifically address or prohibit the use of ADB lighting systems, certain technical requirements have been interpreted to rule out their use. Two relevant sections of FMVSS 108: • §9.4: Low and high beam headlight beams cannot be energized at the same time. This is a fundamental obstacle to allowing ADB headlamp systems in the U.S. • §6.1.5.2.1 to §6.1.5.2.3: These sections detail scenarios where high and low beams are allowed to be used simultaneously, but they do not include the basic function of ADB systems. FMVSS 108 also outlines detailed photometric requirements for both low and high beams. ADB headlamps use a combination of low and high beams at the same time, and deactivate the lights in specific areas to prevent glare. Unfortunately, this dynamic lighting control makes ADB headlamps unable to meet all of the requirements specified in the FMVSS standard. 2.1 Canadian Regulatory Requirements Canadian regulations for vehicle headlamps (CMVSS - Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard) are very similar to those in the U.S. However, CMVSS 108, the Canadian counterpart to FMVSS 108, was amended in March 2018 to permit the use of European-style headlamps equipped with ADB capability (Canada, 2018). The regulation states that headlamps may be used, provided they comply with either the requirements detailed in the relevant United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)1 headlamp regulations as described below or the ADB test procedure described by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Recommended Practice J3069 201606.” (Source)
I'm not saying that the Gubmint is why we can't have nice things ...
No, that's exactly what I'm saying.
Maybe there was a reason why they wrote the law that way (probably at the behest of certain business interests) maybe there wasn't. But this is what happens when you hire 535 people to "make laws." Sure the Senate has other responsibilities (treaties, confirmation for certain appointments) so take a hundred off, still 435 people who we pay to "make law."
What if all the law we have is all the law we'll ever need? Then what do they do? We're seeing that now.
Anyhoo, here's another good article about adaptive headlights, the adaptive driving beam (ADB) is the bit I've been on about in this post.
As to headlights, Little Rhody seems to have the most burnt out headlights in any place I've ever lived. Even late model cars!
Here's a question for you: How many states check headlight alignment periodically?
I couldn't readily find that answer. What surprised me is the number of states which do no safety inspection at all. It's not many but it's more than one. You can read about that here.
Mind-boggling, truly mind-boggling.
The headlight thing is an issue, the technology to fix it is available and apparently that Infrastructure Bill (H.R. 3684) passed by the current administration removes that restriction mentioned above concerning the use of low and high beam elements at the same time. Among the many other things that bill claims will mean a new day in America, pork for everyone.
Except probably the taxpayer.
We shall see, but apparently there are motor vehicles sold in the U.S. of A. which have ADB available now. Seems a much more valuable thing than making more charging stations for vehicles which most people can't afford. (No, I'm not a fan of EVs, unless they're built for little kids to play in the yard with ...)
Stay tuned, pay attention ...
And damn it, dim your high beams!
One of the first cars with adaptive (for the times) headlights was the Tucker. Had a third headlight that turned with the front wheels. And 'curb' lights have been around, off and on, since Cord (lights that illuminate... the curb area to the front sides of the car.
ReplyDeleteAs to the 535 who get laws created by others and the Legion of Faceless Bureaucrats who pile regulations upon regulations, I fie on thee.
One of the best things that Trump did was requiring eliminating 2 regulations/statutes/laws for every one created/passed. Amazing how quickly the regs, statutes and laws were whittled down. Even more amazing (sadly) was how after Trump they all came back, and more.
I don't recall seeing any rules going away and then coming back. I also think a President promulgating such orders is an overreach of his authority. The current occupant of the Oval Office seems to live and die by Executive Order. The EO is a much abused thing.
Delete@ Sarge
Deletere the EO: I'm unable to find it in the Constitution - could some constitutional scholar please help
(vide https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/RS20846.pdf)
not to start an argument, heh!
why bother to have a legislative body
Executive Orders are an odd beast (good article here). The EO has a Constitutional basis, Article II, Section 1, Clause 1, which states "The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America." Sections 2 and 3 describe the various powers and duties of the president, including "He shall take care that the Laws be faithfully executed."
Delete"not to belabor the point" which always means the opposite: every time I re-read "The Executive Vesting Clause" I find the wording , "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed" and similarly, "All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress."
DeleteI can't find anything in the Constitution, in any phraseology, stating that the Executive has the power to "make laws" which, in my mind, in essence, is precisely what an Executive Order is. I can understand that tyrants and dictators must employ EOs: presidents?
a bit off-topic, I know and I apologise.
The Constitution does not have the word education in it either, that should make education a state responsibility ... but that didn't seem to slow them down any.
DeleteI'm with you on the EOs, they're not meant to make law, legally they can't, but if Congress abrogates their responsibilities they will.
DeleteRob - We need to dismantle a lot of those extra-Constitutional agencies, Department of Education is near the top of the list.
DeleteI have always wondered why auto manufactures couldn't make a windshield out of the same type of glass in the auto darkening welding masks.
ReplyDeleteProbably the cost.
DeleteBeen saying this for years - It's time to RICO just about every federal regulatory agency. I'm at the point of saying that we should RICO Congress.
ReplyDeleteThere should be NO "regulations" (unvoted on laws) in the books. Everything those agencies come up with should have to go through Congress to be debated and voted on. "Oh! But they aren't LAWS! Those are just necessary REGULATIONS!" If I have to follow it, and can be fined or imprisoned if I don't it's a LAW. Call it what you will, Regulation, Guideline, Suggestion, whatever other term you like, if it has the effect of law, and you can only tell it's not a law by carefully splitting gnats pubic hairs and balancing angels on the points of pinn, then it's a law. Only legislative bodies have the power to make LAW.
Thus endeth my rant.
I couldn't agree more!
DeleteAnd if I have to get a permit or have to attend a class or do anything more than nothing, it isn't a right anymore.
DeleteBingo.
DeleteI cannot get the system to let me sign in--so this is CAPT Mongo. Where I am (Virginia) the huge majority of the blinding lights are on the giant /jacked up pick up trucks--none of which have ever seen a farm/ranch. The problem probably goes with buying these behemoths, which do not fit in parking spaces either. I suspect the connection is the same as with watch size....
ReplyDeleteHey Cap'n, good to hear from you. Yup, I've seen those down there, we have a few up here as well. Most of them seem to have multiple headlights, all aimed directly at my eyes.
DeleteBack in 2006 I had a form of LASIK done to correct my sight. I guess that means I have M1A2 eyeballs. One of the things they corrected was a type of astigmastism that made me sensative to bright lights at night. The doc pointing that out to me sold me on the procedure. BUT! it seems like the world of NY drivers had worked against me and installed super- super bright headlights with a color tone that is dazzling. The ironic thing is that in these parts, there is so much ambient light that you don't need headlights to see but to be seen. I appreciate teh older cars witht the yellowish, older lights more and more.
ReplyDeleteRegards, Daryle
The Nuke had something similar done with her eyes, driving at night for her is something of a pain. So yes, it's a thing.
DeleteSarge - Interesting that is specifically enshrined in law. Perhaps at one time it was due to technology; perhaps now due to the fact that someone makes more money off the old system than the new system (and passes it along somehow). Perhaps if we could link it to producing carbon dioxide and climate change, it would get immediately fixed like our natural gas appliances and fans are.
ReplyDeleteAs to 535 legislators determining the laws for over 300 million people...I have often posited that at some point, a democracy or republic becomes unworkable after a certain size. The democracy of Athens worked on its own scale, but eventually acted like a dictatorship to all the city-states of the Delian League. The Roman Republic eventually collapsed into the Principate because (among other reasons) the Senate was designed for the city of Rome and perhaps parts of the Italian peninsula, not for a Mediterranean Empire (of note, the fairly small government of the Principate was then replaced by the much larger Imperial Bureaucracy of Diocletian). Maybe representative government is simply unworkable at a certain scale.
Regarding the cost of windshields: New windshields are already more expensive than old ones if the car has any of the current sensor technology for things like objects, etc. I imagine an auto-dimming feature would increase that even more.
Your idea about the scale is plausible. Gubmint gets big enough, then whose to keep an eye on everything that's going on?
DeleteAs to windshields, I wouldn't try to resolve the LED vs halogen problem there, adaptive beam technology is much more promising nd more logical. Not only does it direct the headlamp beams to where they're most needed, it keeps them from bothering other drivers!
"when you hire 535 people to "make laws."
ReplyDeleteThe alternative is (historically) one person who makes the laws.. the king/queen/chief or someone like them.
With that said I have to admit that we may have something different today, the faceless bureaucrats & $$ donors seem to make the laws.
It isn't that the 535 "make law," it's that they think that they must be seen to "make law." Any law. And, worse, too many of We The People demand that they be active all the time, actively making laws. Which means that they have to come up with ever newer and more imaginative reasons for making said law. Inventing problems that don't exist, convincing enough of We The People that The Problems are real that there will be a hew and cry to Do Something! about The Problem. All for our own good.
DeleteRob - You raise a good point, but the way things are now is getting unworkable, Congress is out of control/doesn't do their jobs and we, the People, aren't doing our jobs either. It's up to us to get rid of the bad ones. Controlling the flow of money to bureaucrats/elected officials is a tougher problem but is really the key to getting things back under control.
DeleteJoe - You have the right of it.
DeleteMy ancient (2007) Hyundai Santa Fe has an auto-dimming* rear view mirror. If they can do that (and did) with the RVM, why do we not see that anywhere else on the vehicle? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI3cR9KhrdY&t=127s
ReplyDelete* I think that it doesn't have a glare sensor, only an ambient sensor, so everything is darkened at night, in a tunnel, etc.
The disadvantage to a windshield that would do that is that the whole vision field is darkened, to where a dark-clothed pedestrian, or other dark object might be more difficult to see...?
During hockey season, I RT on I-25 from Ft. Collins to Denver frequently to watch the g'kiddos play, mostly night games. I've noticed the increasing number of montrous pickups, OTR tractor trucks, and on-coming vehicles of all types with those LED headlights. Blinding.
Another problem location is the side-view mirrors: when there's one of those vehicles coming from behind to pass me on my driver's side, its headlights fill the mirror with glare to the point that I have to put up my hand to block the reflection.
On the law/regulatory issue, my solution is a US Constitutional amendment that any Federal law / regulation promulgated (or amended) after "x" date must include a "reasonable" self-extinguishing date, ...but during the 12 months prior to which it may be renewed or amended for a further (and identical) term by vote similar to the original requirement (i.e., majority, 2/3s, etc.), to mandate review & re-approval for continuing relevance, updated technology(ies), etc. (they can put that on the state Con-approval calendar right along with repeal of 17A, yah?)
My 2020 Honda Pilot has the same, but you point out a good reason for not doing that to the entire windshield. Adaptive beam headlights would solve most of the problems you cite. They're coming to the US on some higher end vehicles (Lexus springs to mind). But it will be years before everyone has that, doesn't solve today's problem, does it?
DeleteAmen to your last, makes total sense. 17th Amendment delenda est.
Sarge,
ReplyDeleteIt struck me (yes at the usual 0300 wake up and ponder period) that the blocking technology could be somewhat similar to the Target Designation box in the Eagle. When you locked on to a target a box appeared in the HUD (Heads up Display for the non-flyers) over the target. Assuming you were within visual range, you would pick up visual on it. Otherwise, you'd get an idea where to look when he did get in range.
Seems to me that technology (30+years old now) could be used to put a small darkening field over the area the lights are coming from. All it would take, IMHO, would be a small radar, a big computer, an expensive windscreen and something to keep track of the driver's head position.
All doable, right?
Hope you're feeling better.
juvat
I too have pondered something similar, which is why I'm now a big fan of adaptive beam technology.
Delete(Feeling much better today, sleeping better at night, not as congested as before, just need a long weekend to ... Oh yeah, that starts this afternoon. 😁)
Almost as bad as headlights are the high-reflective highway signs. Driving on a dark rainy night trying to see the worn white shoulder stripe separating black road and black shoulder. Then into a curve with one glaring marker after another showing where the road isn't. I want to know where it is. Perhaps a heads-up camera display?...
DeleteThere is a lot of signage which could be better!
DeleteI swapped out the headlights on my 95 Ford a couple years ago. The whole assembly on both sides. The old Bear headlight aiming devices that USED to be at our inspection stations are looooong gone. No one even checks that now. I used the roll up door at a welding shop to aim the lights. Low beams aim low and to the right, high beams more or less straight ahead. I started using yellow lenses at night to help with the glare. My Sperry anti-aircraft light mount is being fabbed up for the flatbed. If they don't dim when I flash, get ready for the heat ray!!!! HA!!
ReplyDeleteThe Texas inspection was a $7.50 payment to a garage to scan the VIN and issue a passed receipt. Not much more than that. I think we are done with that in 2025. The last time I had a real inspection was in Houston back in the 90's. Right after they required emissions testing.
I remember Mississippi in 1987, there are no inspections required in that state. If it could roll under it's own power, you could drive it on the highway. Kinda scary in some places.
DeleteAs bad as my eyes are, I could always see quite well at night (grease 'em in on a dimly lit strip somewhere in "G-d's country").
ReplyDeleteI found, driving in same area, that if I averted my eyes/focused on the right edge of the road, the (highbeam) oncoming lights barely bothered me at all and I could retain the levels of rhodopsin I needed in my rods to drive at speed on unlit roads. (v.i.)
https://coopervision.com/blog/how-eyes-see-night#:~:text=Rhodopsin%20is%20the%20photopigment%20used,in%20the%20low%20lighting%20conditions.
Out in God's country I have no issues with night time driving (other than with kamikaze deer attacks). In the more built up areas it can be like flying through searchlights.
DeleteKind of different over here in the UK. LED headlights are being seen as a bit of a problem as many drivers are reporting problems with being dazzled by oncoming headlights. I had a cataract operation late last year and am now waiting for the other eye to be done. Prior to that I was noticing that my eyes were taking a couple of seconds to adjust to oncoming traffic at night (BMW, AUDI, Mercedes drivers I'm looking at you) and this was in addition from going from bright sunlight into shade. The operation was like being upgraded from an old analogue TV to Ultra 4K but as I'm awaiting my left eye being done I've found my perception is slightly out. The other thing that slightly surprises me is that over here a car has to have what is called an MOT test when it's three years old ( as measured from first registration). These cover all aspects of your car, tyres, brakes, steering etc. This certificate is valid for one year. The other difference is that the MOT test (Ministry of Transport test) is logged on a central database. Your car insurance is also logged on this database as is whether you have paid for your road fund licence. The rules are that no MOT or Road Fund Licence invalidates your insurance which means your car is liable for seizure. Number plates on vehicles have to be of a specified size and font so that they are machine readable. If you think that's a bit too much try Switzerland.
ReplyDeleteRetired
It's almost as if the U.S.A. has no standards at all ...
DeleteThat was only somewhat tongue-in-cheek.
This won't be popular:
ReplyDeleteWe need to increase the membership of the House. It was las increased in 1911. Since then we have added 5 states and almost quadrupled in population.
So, quadruple the membership of the House. It would dilute the power of the individual members, make lobbying more difficult and more expensive, give better representation, and give third parties a better chance of gaining a foothold.
Also, and this will likely be popular here, repeal the 17th Amendment.
Well, Article I Section 2 of the Constitution states "The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three."
DeleteMeans we can expand Congress up to 11,063 members. It would dilute the power of the individual members and probably overwhelm the Federal governments infrastructure. Not saying it's a bad idea, just saying that it's unworkable.
Now try and get that past the States ...
I have always been in favor of repealing the 17th Amendment.
I agree about maxing out the number. When I first started playing with the idea a decade ago, maybe more like a decade and a half, I looked at the max and shuddered. But a number around 1,700, even 2,000 should be workable.
DeleteI'm all for making the federal government almost unworkable, that seems to me to have been the intent of our ancestors who cobbled this whole thing together. That's why Congress was set up the way it was, so there would be a built in conflict between the two houses, plus the Congress against the executive.
The government right now is unworkable, not what the Founders had in mind, more of a balance between State and Federal. Give the Feds an inch, they'll take a mile. Most of the States are pretty poorly run these days, not sure how it was at the beginning. Not great I would venture, given our history.
DeleteThese help me. Not perfect but keeps the glare to a manageable level (plus cheap).
ReplyDeletehttps://www.amazon.com/Battle-Vision-Glasses-Driving-BulbHead/dp/B089D66QMK/ref=sr_1_54?crid=2H94MQHG4WEJS&keywords=night+driving+glasses&qid=1705096389&sprefix=night+dribin%2Caps%2C313&sr=8-54
Anything that helps!
Delete