New l405 headlights

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kermit_rr said:
They are brighter because they can be and 'everyone knows' brighter is better.
There will be no stats because of the above and because if lights are oem then they cannot be bad (unless maladjusted/damaged) because that's the law
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None of the new lights comply with the construction and use regs that used to apply to light output. Have the regs changed? If not, all the new headlights are technically illegal. I'm all in favour of LED lighting unless one LED failure means changing the whole light cluster for example and if the light output is at a reasonable level. It's a sad human trait that everything has to be bigger, faster, more powerful, brighter etc when it's not needed.
 
I'm not a fan of LEDs because 1. it has been decided they don't need a lense 2. they generally pump out all the wrong frequencies (too much blue and UV) 3. the point source is generally too small and therefore too bright (yes you can have clusters, but the points are still too bright).
The health n safety/road safety lot have all been brainwashed into the mantra brighter is safer and safer is better, therefore brighter is better. It's not always true.
The question was raised is it a behavioural or technological problem. It's a bit of both must mostly it's biological. You can change attitudes and you can change light designs, road designs etc but you can't change how the eye and the brain interface to process input. you can't change human response either, pupil dilation, eye movement etc

I digress...
 
Every lamp in the house is LED but, in the car, OK in the reversing lights, having said that I did have a look at the Philips H7 LEDs then read the reviews and, some complained of flickering and even complete failure after a couple of months, then one used a canbus error cancelling resistor and, the heat from it melted plastic in the back of the headlight Nah, I'll stick with Philips Racing Vision or Osram Nightbreakers.
 
norseman said:
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Graculus said:
You comment reminds me of some occupational training I did a fair few years ago, the context isn't important.
Humans have a moth-like attraction to look into the source of light - especially moving light, be it an eclipse, checking the torch is working, oncoming traffic, etc. etc. we were taught that to preserve night vision, you look around or to the side the light source, not directly at it. This is something that takes a while to become 'muscle memory', but it is something that I feel makes the difference between those claiming they are 'blinded' by oncoming night-time traffic and those that are not.
There is no reason for you to look into the lights of oncoming traffic, most of us do though (the course had 60 participants, IIRC 48 realised that is what they were doing) I think if most people suffering from oncoming light could train themselves to concentrate on what is in front of them, rather than what is passing them on st people the opposite carriageway, they'd have a better time driving at night.
It was lightheartedly called 'busybody syndrome' - not an official name or diagnosis, but it does encapsulate the action.
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You really do like generalising, don't you. I spent a very long time driving all sorts of vehs in all sorts of conditions and dealing with all types of incidents. It has nothing to do with 'most people' or how someone is blinded by oncoming traffic because they're not trained..And never in all my years did I hear it called busybody syndrome, lightheartedly, or otherwise. Nor does it have anything to do with your other comment about 70s/80s lights. It takes but a nanosecond to be blinded by an oncoming vehicle. No matter how we are taught to look at the line, look at the n/s edge, or anything else, that split second as they come round a bend cannot be avoided..
The problem is purely and simply brighter lights. I reduce the power of my headtorch when drivers approach, as I know I am blinding them. Headlamps are no different. Lights have become brighter all round and the human eye is no match for them. We do not need to go back to your picked up eras but we do need to have proper research by manufacturers, with thousands of 'average' joe drivers, rather than computer read outs or professional drivers. Then and only then will the truth out.
 
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It's big problem in the countryside with no street lighting at all in the dark. There are a couple of cars on the way to my sons work at 5.30 in the morning. If in my 38' I'm higher up due to the driving position and the bright lights of these particular cars aren't as bad on the sweeping and undulating roads where we are but in the Volvo v50 we also have it's almost painful and the side of the road can actually just dissappear for an instant causing me slow down !
I've also heard a lot of my clients complaining about today's lighting on modern vehicles..
I myself have two small nuclear powered spot lights on my old bus and I'm ultra careful and very prudent to other incoming vehicles because I know the risk they carry.
Unfortunately drivers of newer vehicles with these super lights are probably not as aware of the possibilities of an accident.
We can say " get your eyes tested", "slow down" or" don't drive at night" but some have no choice old or young..
I do believe a revision is needed to reassess lighting needs and power levels. 😵‍💫
 
Mark Piercy said:
It's big problem in the countryside with no street lighting at all in the dark. There are a couple of cars on the way to my sons work at 5.30 in the morning. If in my 38' I'm higher up due to the driving position and the bright lights of these particular cars aren't as bad on the sweeping and undulating roads where we are but in the Volvo v50 we also have it's almost painful and the side of the road can actually just dissappear for an instant causing me slow down !
I've also heard a lot of my clients complaining about today's lighting on modern vehicles..
I myself have two small nuclear powered spot lights on my old bus and I'm ultra careful and very prudent to other incoming vehicles because I know the risk they carry.
Unfortunately drivers of newer vehicles with these super lights are probably not as aware of the possibilities of an accident.
We can say " get your eyes tested", "slow down" or" don't drive at night" but some have no choice old or young..
I do believe a revision is needed to reassess lighting needs and power levels. 😵‍💫
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See my earlier post, brighter is better ;)
So called auto headlights are even worse because they don't dip until it's too late
 
kermit_rr said:
I'm not a fan of LEDs because 1. it has been decided they don't need a lense 2. they generally pump out all the wrong frequencies (too much blue and UV) 3. the point source is generally too small and therefore too bright (yes you can have clusters, but the points are still too bright).
The health n safety/road safety lot have all been brainwashed into the mantra brighter is safer and safer is better, therefore brighter is better. It's not always true.
The question was raised is it a behavioural or technological problem. It's a bit of both must mostly it's biological. You can change attitudes and you can change light designs, road designs etc but you can't change how the eye and the brain interface to process input. you can't change human response either, pupil dilation, eye movement etc

I digress...
Click to expand...
The problem Graculus ignored with the over bright lights is glare. Looking away from the light source does not stop momentary loss of night vision as the eyes react to the overall brightness.
 
gold rover said:
.

... how someone is blinded by oncoming traffic because they're not trained..And never in all my years did I hear it called busybody syndrome, lightheartedly, or otherwise....
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To be honest, unless you're ex-Fianóglach, then it's not the sort of course you'd have been invited to attend - it was more 'awareness of human nature', looking towards a moving light is akin to a dog being distracted by catching sight of a squirrel,
everything else becomes a second order task - hence the term 'busybody', an online definition is "A busybody is a person who is too interested in things that do not involve them" which at the time, seemed to fit the innate want to look at a moving light...

As for generalising - well, it's the internet, as in a wide audience. If I'd have been very specific, then no doubt someone would have said I was not taking account of the 99th percentile.
 
Datatek said:
The problem Graculus ignored with the over bright lights is glare. Looking away from the light source does not stop momentary loss of night vision as the eyes react to the overall brightness.
Click to expand...
And therein lies the problem. With so many brighter headlights all our eyes automatically reduce sensitivity, hence pushing so many toward brighter lights !! It's a viscious circle. If all headlights were under a sensible maximum, them all of us would see better as our eyes acclimatise.

Mark's oogle search above has this https://media.rac.co.uk/pressreleas...affected-say-problem-is-getting-worse-3296130
 
Mark Piercy said:
It's big problem in the countryside with no street lighting at all in the dark. There are a couple of cars on the way to my sons work at 5.30 in the morning. If in my 38' I'm higher up due to the driving position and the bright lights of these particular cars aren't as bad on the sweeping and undulating roads where we are but in the Volvo v50 we also have it's almost painful and the side of the road can actually just dissappear for an instant causing me slow down !
I've also heard a lot of my clients complaining about today's lighting on modern vehicles..
I myself have two small nuclear powered spot lights on my old bus and I'm ultra careful and very prudent to other incoming vehicles because I know the risk they carry.
Unfortunately drivers of newer vehicles with these super lights are probably not as aware of the possibilities of an accident.
We can say " get your eyes tested", "slow down" or" don't drive at night" but some have no choice old or young..
I do believe a revision is needed to reassess lighting needs and power levels. 😵‍💫
Click to expand...
When at home, which is probably 95ish percent of the time now, my life is spent driving with no street lights, hell not even house lights. Even in the L322 I cannot escape these f-you lights, and as you. and many others on here, know I am not the 'average' driver, but I am affected by them. Around here the drivers of newer vehicles, with f-you lights, are 75yr old plus, and want lights that will light from here to Canada because they can't see 😎 The strength of the lights need reassessing by government and manufacturer. Complaints are uttered on a daily basis around where I live, because we do live mainly in dark areas with dark roads and very few street lights. It can't be wrong if we are all saying it, even owners of cars with f-you lights :D
 
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Graculus said:
To be honest, unless you're ex-Fianóglach, then it's not the sort of course you'd have been invited to attend - it was more 'awareness of human nature', looking towards a moving light is akin to a dog being distracted by catching sight of a squirrel,
everything else becomes a second order task - hence the term 'busybody', an online definition is "A busybody is a person who is too interested in things that do not involve them" which at the time, seemed to fit the innate want to look at a moving light...

As for generalising - well, it's the internet, as in a wide audience. If I'd have been very specific, then no doubt someone would have said I was not taking account of the 99th percentile.
Click to expand...
Again making assumptions. You have no idea what I have done in my time . And also backtracking. Looks like you're not worth the energy so bye bye
 
gold rover said:
.

You really do like generalising, don't you. I spent a very long time driving all sorts of vehs in all sorts of conditions and dealing with all types of incidents. It has nothing to do with 'most people' or how someone is blinded by oncoming traffic because they're not trained..And never in all my years did I hear it called busybody syndrome, lightheartedly, or otherwise. Nor does it have anything to do with your other comment about 70s/80s lights. It takes but a nanosecond to be blinded by an oncoming vehicle. No matter how we are taught to look at the line, look at the n/s edge, or anything else, that split second as they come round a bend cannot be avoided..
The problem is purely and simply brighter lights. I reduce the power of my headtorch when drivers approach, as I know I am blinding them. Headlamps are no different. Lights have become brighter all round and the human eye is no match for them. We do not need to go back to your picked up eras but we do need to have proper research by manufacturers, with thousands of 'average' joe drivers, rather than computer read outs or professional drivers. Then and only then will the truth out.
Click to expand...

Hiya

Maybe we need to start wearing an eye patch like the sailors of old use to 🤣

Indeed is terrible when drivers from the other direction don’t have the manners to dip there lights ,

Also not forgetting the ones who drive around with there fog lights on a clear day

Ps, hope ur well
 
gold rover said:
Again making assumptions. You have no idea what I have done in my time . And also backtracking. Looks like you're not worth the energy so bye bye
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Yes, of course....
Even if your headlights were as dim as a Toc H lamp, your ramblings give the impression that they'd be way brighter than you.
As they say in Glasgow to the rambling drunk, 'Well, enjoy your night, pal.'
 
gstuart said:
Hiya

Maybe we need to start wearing an eye patch like the sailors of old use to 🤣

Indeed is terrible when drivers from the other direction don’t have the manners to dip there lights ,

Also not forgetting the ones who drive around with there fog lights on a clear day

Ps, hope ur well
Click to expand...
Fog lights, not dipping lights, and DRLs where drivers do no understand it means they have no tail lights on. I came up the motorway yesterday in belting rain, with standing water and ridiculous amounts of spray. So many idiots happily zooming along thinking they had lights on.
All good here. Still in 'civilisation' so weather not so bad.
 
gstuart said:
Hiya

Maybe we need to start wearing an eye patch like the sailors of old use to 🤣

Indeed is terrible when drivers from the other direction don’t have the manners to dip there lights ,

Also not forgetting the ones who drive around with there fog lights on a clear day

Ps, hope ur well
Click to expand...
I already wear a patch when shooting, had one ready on helmet for over goggles at all times. I'm left eye dominant. Last thing i need is to start wearing one when driving 🤣
 
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