Every November I come to a stark realization: car headlights are too damn bright!
This isn’t a new realization; but it is certainly accentuated the first day we Californians fall back from Daylight Savings Time and all of a sudden; I’m driving home from work in the dark. Now, Teslas flashing from low beams to high beams (because it’s an automatic feature and the vehicle has no understanding of when to use low beams vs. high beams); Acura RDX Jewel Eye LED headlights and Lexus Tripple Beam LED headlights aimed straight at my face from the oncoming lane. These modern technological marvels might be wonderful for the user of the vehicle; however, for oncoming traffic and pedestrians, it is a major headache. Don’t even get me started on people who have modified their older vehicles with “super-bright” LED headlight bulbs; yet installed them incorrectly or never bothered to adjust the aim of the beam of the new bulbs. I am reminded of a time, driving southbound on 85, with some modified JEEP in front of me; when it drove under a bridge and the entire under-side of the bridge lit up because the aftermarket lights were so poorly installed and aimed.
Auto manufacturers are doing everything they can to make car headlights as bright as possible; while also attempting to not blind oncoming traffic. Most feature automatic switching between high and low beams (Tesla as mentioned before) or “adaptive” beam lights that redirect the bright lights away from oncoming vehicles (Lexus and other luxury brands). However, unless the vehicle is completely aware of the affect its bright lights are having on the surrounding; it will never be perfect in this task. There are just too many variables. They perhaps work well when both lanes are straight and flat, with no pedestrian sidewalk or bike lane.. but this is not the typical case.
HOW BRIGHT ARE WE GOING TO GO??
The current federal regulation on headlight brightness is as follows; “Pursuant to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) luminous intensity of headlights must be between 500 and 3,000 candelas.”
Let’s come up with a solution that allows the drivers of vehicles to see the environment around them without compromising the other people around them.