Is it time to ban LED Headlights

Caporegime
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In acme's chair.
*REVIVAL*

given earlier comments about mini lights brightness thought this was a sad/salutory tale heard a R4 programme on, over xmas
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/apr/05/i-became-a-killer-fatal-road-accident-forgiveness.




beyond retaliatory flashing , personally thought if the driver cannot find an explanation for failing to see pedestrian, how can he trust himeslf driving again

I doubt any of us would have seen him.

Night, unlit Road, dipped beams, dark clothing, oncoming car who also flashed their lights, too much going on... Its scary... And that story was a great yet wrenching read.
 
Man of Honour
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I doubt any of us would have seen him.

Night, unlit Road, dipped beams, dark clothing, oncoming car who also flashed their lights, too much going on... Its scary...

Working nights lately I see this being so close to happening (often with one or both parties seemingly blissfully unaware how close a call it was) so many times it is scary - so many pedestrians do NOT approach situations where they might mix with traffic defensively in daylight never mind night time :( poor use of headlights and cyclists with inappropriate lighting setups is also frustrating.

Never mind most pedestrians now seem to assume they have the right of way over cars when it comes to the road and don't even bother checking under some kind of assumption it seems that they are supposedly in the right so nothing should happen... right?

EDIT: Reminds me of a few weeks back when having a lift with a friend and some traffic lights malfunctioned :( everyone waiting to cross just stepped right out into the path of his car despite he was obviously approaching still at normal speed not slowing down to stop as the lights to us had been green.
 
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Soldato
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17 Sep 2007
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West Yorkshire / Market Bosworth
LED lights are the best thing since slice bread.

Once you have them and if you do drive at night then you will understand.

I see way to many cars, usually with halogens with one light out or an issue with their headlights/brake lights. I have a feeling that they aren’t in a rush to fix it either, which I find mental.
 
Man of Honour
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17 Oct 2002
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159,616
LED lights are the best thing since slice bread.

Once you have them and if you do drive at night then you will understand.

I dont think they offer much of a step forward from xenon in many cases. The standard LED lights on the 3 series for example are imho very poor, it's like driving with halogens that are a different colour.

That said the ones in the mini hatch are ridiculously bright but oddly the same lights on the Countryman are not.
 
Caporegime
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30 Jul 2013
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The adaptive multibeam LED's on the E class are amazing. I drove for 2 hours in the dark on Boxing Day and no incoming cars flashed me at all.

Compare that to when I first had my 530D and tried the automatic 'high beam assist' xenons, it was too slow to react to oncoming traffic, and so I never really used it because I didn't want to dazzle anyone. It was quicker/safer just to do it manually
 
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Soldato
Joined
1 Mar 2010
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21,912
The adaptive multibeam LED's on the E class are amazing.
Do they respond to oncoming cyclists, and pedestrians with reflective gear ?
not merc drivers as far as I know but, but I am trying to 'communicate' with motorists on my regular running route.

That said the ones in the mini hatch are ridiculously bright but oddly the same lights on the Countryman are not.
so has there been any recall or tsb about adjustment of these ?
beyond BMW to 'finally' recall 312,000 cars in UK over 'potentially fatal' electrical glitch


I doubt any of us would have seen him.
did see that Italians have to have better eye sight to drive !

Driving License Eyesight Test
Many countries require an eyesight test certificate (or test) when issuing a driving license, this is unlikely to affect anyone renting a car, provided your domestic license has been issued in accordance with the rules of your license issuing country. However you should be aware of driving eyesight minimum requirements for countries you may be visiting and renting a car. For example, the table above shows that in Italy you need to have 20/20 (6/6) vision, whereas in the UK and most other EU countries this is only 20/40 (6/12), which suggests that you should be able to read a number plate from double the required 20m distance in the UK, that’s up to 4 double decker buses away, rather an just 2.
 
Soldato
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Birmingham
The LEDs on my car continue to annoy me. I might actually ask the dealer to align them down or see if I can do it myself under the bonnet despite the fact that they say they’re in spec.

The cut off is so sharp people think I’m flashing them when I’m driving over rough ground and I’m continually getting flashed by oncoming drivers. It’s driving me bonkers.

Two more things I’ve noticed as we’re deeper into winter:
  • New road signs and clean cones which are a very reflective reflect back so much light it ruins my night vision/I’d even call them dazzling on country roads with no other ligh sources.
  • There are quite a few tight back roads near me and in every other car I’ve ever driven when there’s an oncoming vehicle I can use my near side wing mirror to get within an inch of the verge. The dull glow of the rear lights/brake lights is enough to see the edge of the road. In my current car the view out the front is so bright my eyes aren’t really adjusting to the darkness so when I look into the wing mirror view I just see black :p my near side wing mirror doesn’t auto dim either so it isn’t that.
Headlights don’t need to be this bright. They could easily chop half the intensity off and they’d still be fine.
 
Soldato
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27 Feb 2006
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Location
Lincolnshire
I dont think they offer much of a step forward from xenon in many cases. The standard LED lights on the 3 series for example are imho very poor, it's like driving with halogens that are a different colour.

That said the ones in the mini hatch are ridiculously bright but oddly the same lights on the Countryman are not.
Most definately my A4 Matrix headlamps are vastly better than the xenon's that I had on my A3. Forgive the pun but the difference is like night and day. Been driving a lot using them ovef the past week on auto high beam and not one driver flashed me. To see each LED operating is a wonder...
 
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