Is it time to ban LED Headlights

I actually think they might be getting better in general, I reckon I'm getting less problems then I used to.

Its odd some of the cars that still get you though, like random small cars sometimes, not always the SUV type things you'd expect. Like some random Kia or something.

I live in a rural area so used to driving at night with no street lights, I don't even bother using my full beams about 90% of the time and my 12 year old Volvo certainly doesn't have LEDs or abnormally bright headlights.

I must admit though and I know this is naughty, but when people with, what I call "**** headlights" are oncoming , I do put my beams on, only if there is no one else behind them.

It's not on though, the roads where I live are now so poorly maintained, no cats eyes, white lines so faded and with all the agricultural machinery driving around, at night it's very hard to see where the road is at the best of times, the "brown" pretty much merges together, when an incoming vehicle blinds you on top of that it's not funny.

But as I said, I did a 70 mile trip through Cambridgeshire and Norfolk last night and came across only one, although that being said the roads were not busy.
 
Mobius 1 said:
My new mini has led’s. Haven’t been flashed yet though.

Haven’t used auto-main beams in a long time. They’ve gotten so much better than when I had them with my 2018 i30n
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My mother in law had a vauxhall mokka with auto high beams but they were so slow to dip would get frashed at constantly.
 
Saw someone last night - most cars ahead of me flashed them thinking they'd left main beams on, then after they passed me... they put their main beams on... in the dark and with how bright their headlights were, they were pretty bad for dipped but I didn't think they were main beam bright, I couldn't make out brand or model.

One thing I did notice the vehicle seemed to be quite squatted to the rear - wonder if heavily loaded and hadn't adjusted the tilt (if available).
 
I have to imagine people not knowing how to use the tilt dial is another contributory factor in hating headlights. Some "basic" LED lights still come with manual tilt control and I'd bet over 50% of people don't know what setting it should be on or when to tilt.
 
I don't know if it's just in my region but I've started to find that the new LED street lights put out so little luminence (and are spaced so far apart in new developments) that it actually exacerbates how bright car headlights appear compared to the street lighting!

I've actually found myself now using full beam on my car in some residential areas when there's no other traffic because the street lighting is so poor. I realise I shouldn't but honestly some modern street lighting is shocking and borderline dangerous IMO.
 
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silvagti said:
I don't know if it's just in my region but I've started to find that the new LED street lights put out so little luminence (and are spaced so far apart in new developments) that it actually exacerbates how bright car headlights appear compared to the street lighting!

I've actually found myself now using full beam on my car in some residential areas when there's no other traffic because the street lighting is so poor. I realise I shouldn't but honestly some modern street lighting is shocking and borderline dangerous IMO.
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Yea we have had them in my area for years now. They don't light up the street like the old orange ones did, not even close. Then once they get dirty they get even dimmer, some of them are basically at candlelight levels now lol. But there is a LOT less light pollution in the sky.

One thing is when they start to fail they to flash like a strobe for months first. Which is especially annoying if it's right outside your windows. Like LED light headlights, it doesn't seem like the bulbs are replacable either and they have to swap the whole thing. So they stay dead for along time. Really silly and seems like a false economy as eventually they are all going to need replacing.
 
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theone8181 said:
I turned off the auto high beam due to it being fat to slow. I see the glow around corners/over hills and I turn full beam off, whereas the car likes to make sure the other driver has been dazzled for a few seconds before turning off :p .
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Surprises me they're so crap
 
theone8181 said:
I turned off the auto high beam due to it being fat to slow. I see the glow around corners/over hills and I turn full beam off, whereas the car likes to make sure the other driver has been dazzled for a few seconds before turning off :p .
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Weird. IME, while it did wait until a car's headlights were fully in view (and so the computer could identify as headlights) the beam masking was very, very fast on the Y I used to have, probably a fraction of a second.
 
Cant they just make then use yellow LEDs?

I’ve had LED headlights since 2017 and they were factory fit option. No manual tilt (the lights level automatically).

In the end they have their uses, but half the time you need a brighter light to see the road due to other brighter drivers. i normally disable my auto beams as they’re not fallable.
 
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SexyGreyFox said:
Those anti glare glasses I've had show some lights to be yellow and others to be white but if I lift them up all headlights are white.
Anybody know what's going on there?
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Presumably colour temperature, where some of the cold white ones are so cold-white that they break through the yellow filter properties of the glasses.
I imagine they're on Minis and KIAs?
 
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