Is it time to ban LED Headlights

[Jonnycoupe]

hmmh do Jaguars already offer dlp/micromirror matrix ? or is that on the note to father christmas

seemed pretty neat re-deployment of DLP's , from projectors, to headlights , with possibility to detect/block headlight areas/glare where raindrops are on headlight, and to provide annotations directly onto the road,
competitor to the laser strategy;
never mind that headlight replacement cost is becoming disproportionately great versus other components, maybe a dlp (with single light source) is cheaper than a led matrix though

No but Range Rover does, 1.3M Micro Mirrors.

 

[Greebo]

Driving at night can be tough in a tiny mx5, completely blinded by newer larger 4x4 and SUVs etc

This. Its even worse in an MG midget. dipped headlights on SUVS are like full beam when you are sat 3 inches off the ground!

 

[Greebo]

man the replacement cost on units like that, just right the car off in a minor front impact

Ive smashed my matrix led headlight on my bmw x5. Somebody has mentioned that its a sealed unit and will be £6k to replace!!!! :O Not verified that yet .

 

[robj20]

Ive smashed my matrix led headlight on my bmw x5. Somebody has mentioned that its a sealed unit and will be £6k to replace!!!! :O Not verified that yet .

Don't doubt it when I was researching my current Mondeo, I fancied the LED lights but a replacement cost of around £1.5k each put me right off. I'll stick to £20 bulbs.
I know there supposed to last almost forever but they don't and it's pure luck if they do

 

[Hagar]

Give me back my ancient cars with a dip button down by the clutch. So easy to do, hands free.

 

[theone8181]

Ive smashed my matrix led headlight on my bmw x5. Somebody has mentioned that its a sealed unit and will be £6k to replace!!!! :O Not verified that yet .

At that price surely it's an insurance claim? I thought the biggest issue with leds, is that in the (not so) old days of bulbs, there's was something like a 35W limit, which on an led is like a security light.

 

[adam cool dude]

At that price surely it's an insurance claim? I thought the biggest issue with leds, is that in the (not so) old days of bulbs, there's was something like a 35W limit, which on an led is like a security light.

I know back in the day you could get 100w rally fog lights that were mental but clearly rated for private use only.

These new LED bulbs obviously come in the wattage range to be legal but have the brightness of the old school rally bulbs.

 

[Greebo]

At that price surely it's an insurance claim? I thought the biggest issue with leds, is that in the (not so) old days of bulbs, there's was something like a 35W limit, which on an led is like a security light.

It is as its not the only damage. Front bumper is cracked and the main auto driving sensor thing is Fubar as well. I can easily see it being 5 figures when done. And that was a small less than 5mph bump as well. Thats the problem with these modern cars full of high tech.

 

[Glanza]

UK government launches review into headlight glare after drivers’ complaints

Campaigners welcome move as survey suggests they have become too bright and risk causing accidents

www.theguardian.com

 

[CaptainRAVE]

UK government launches review into headlight glare after drivers’ complaints

Campaigners welcome move as survey suggests they have become too bright and risk causing accidents

www.theguardian.com

Ridiculous it took so long. Does it even need a study? The situation is worse than ever. The number of cars I’ve flashed only to realise they haven’t got their beams on. Minis seem to be the worst.

 

[tom_e]

Ridiculous it took so long. Does it even need a study? The situation is worse than ever. The number of cars I’ve flashed only to realise they haven’t got their beams on. Minis seem to be the worst.

I don't notice it so much in the car but 99% of the time I was being blinded on the bike it was by a Mini.

 

[Mr Jack]

Ridiculous it took so long. Does it even need a study? The situation is worse than ever. The number of cars I’ve flashed only to realise they haven’t got their beams on. Minis seem to be the worst.

Yeah, it needs a study. There is a trade off between brighter lights helping the driver see and impairing the ability of others to see.

I see the automatic levelling thing is mentioned in that. That's great - and they do help - but roads are neither flat nor smooth, and these systems can be unreliable (the one on my Seat stopped working properly and when I looked it up it's apparently a problem across the whole VAG group) so they're not a panacea.

I'll be interested to see what this study finds. I'm kind of surprised nowhere else has looked into this already, though. Isn't there data already?

 

[Nasher]

Head on collisions have increased recently and they think LED headlights are the cause of it. Still being looked in to afaik.

I have had a few moments where I've had to just keep the car straight and hope for the best because I just couldn't see anything. Especially in low cars.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Head on collisions have increased recently

This is interesting, can you provide a source for this information?

 

[Yaayuh!]

UK government launches review into headlight glare after drivers’ complaints

Campaigners welcome move as survey suggests they have become too bright and risk causing accidents

www.theguardian.com

Set a max lumen and kelvin for dipped. Sorted.

 

[413x]

I hate them.
I've always found light-dark transitions difficult while driving (ie my eyes seem slow to adjust).

I'd support a max lux on them

 

[Grim5]

Set a max lumen and kelvin for dipped. Sorted.

It's crazy there is no regulation on this, so now we have cars with headlights that dance around like a rave party and blast 10k lumen into oncoming drivers

 

[Nasher]

This is interesting, can you provide a source for this information?

Car headlights ‘too bright’ as drivers increasingly dazzled

The overwhelming majority (89%) of drivers say car headlights on UK roads are too bright, leaving them dazzled while driving, new research suggests.

www.fleetnews.co.uk

There is something more recent and official/detailed somewhere, but can't find it now.

"Official government data shows that since 2013, there has been an average of 293 accidents a year where dazzling headlights were a contributory factor. Of these, six were fatal accidents."

Set a max lumen and kelvin for dipped. Sorted.

Yea should be no more than about 5000k. Then it's close to natural light. Then make a law saying current LED lights must have filters fitted (checked at MOT).

 

[BUDFORCE]

I see the automatic levelling thing is mentioned in that. That's great - and they do help - but roads are neither flat nor smooth, and these systems can be unreliable (the one on my Seat stopped working properly and when I looked it up it's apparently a problem across the whole VAG group) so they're not a panacea.

Exactly.

I live in the fens and the roads are awful, so even what appears to be a straight flat road is more like a roller coaster track, and on coming vehicles headlights dancing in your eyes.

SUVs in particular the headlights are at eye level and can really blind you.

I don't understand why either, I live in a rural area, no street lights and very rarely need full beams and can see perfectly fine with regular 10 year old non-led headlights.

 

[Nasher]

Exactly.

I live in the fens and the roads are awful, so even what appears to be a straight flat road is more like a roller coaster track, and on coming vehicles headlights dancing in your eyes.

SUVs in particular the headlights are at eye level and can really blind you.

I don't understand why either, I live in a rural area, no street lights and very rarely need full beams and can see perfectly fine with regular 10 year old non-led headlights.

They "fixed" a problem which didn't need fixing and caused a bigger problem. Much like with keyless entry.