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Headlight height regulations and lumen limits. If a transport truck can have reasonably placed head lights, so can the f250.
I've been thinking about this stuff since I moved to a place where nights are very dark and people use high beams much more liberally (and inconsiderately)
It's it possible to have some sort of lumen-activated glass tinting? Something to protect the receiving end?
I think ive heard of glasses that do something similar in the sunlight. I think auto makers will be hesisitant because if it fails to revert back the low visibility could be hazardous and result in a lawsuit. I think we can solve this problem with proper regulation rather than add even more tech to new cars. Along with lumen limits the "warmth" (kelvin) of the lights may be regulated as well.
Along with lumen limits the "warmth" (kelvin) of the lights may be regulated as well.
God I wish it was 3000K max, just like good old halogen bulbs.
I believe any kind of window tint on windshields is illegal in the United States. Even electrochromic tint that is 100% transparent most of the time.
My understanding is that thwres a a federal limit of like 30% light being blocked for windshields, with most states having stronger regulations.
My state, Mass, only allows any tint in the top 6" for instance. BUT, its really easy to get a waiver, overriding that. All it requires is taking a doctor's note documenting photosensitivity to the DMV.
Back in highschool, my friend's mom had glaucoma, and got her car tinted. Because he was on his parent's insurance, that made her a registered user of his car, and also entitled him to tint his out. He had his windshield tinted to about the darkness of a medium pair of sunglasses.
There is a quick fix, sealed beams.
There was a time when all cars in the US had round headlights. That's because there was only one headlight and all cars were mandated by law to use it. That law can be reimplemented at any time. It would fix the headlights as soon as it goes into effect.
Car makers would hate it. It would ruin a lot of their styling and marketing having to use the one and only headlight. Which would make it an effective deterrant. Any major government using sealed beam laws as a threat would make the industry self regulate quickly.
I support a return to round sealed beam headlights. Especially if we can have pop-ups again.
Pop ups are dangerous for pedestrians.
So are big ass pickups with grilles that are over 5ft high
wait, why?
It would fix the headlights as soon as it goes into effect.
All headlights would magically change? Even the millions installed in cars already? Wow, that's a powerful legislation.
Alternative response: retroreflective mirror
I keep a reflective umbrella in the passenger seat, it's been quite useful
unfortunately you'd need a quite large surface for it to be effective
Not if they're slightly hyperbolic.
.. that's already handled by the retro reflective nature
But if you combine both together.....
then you get an even smaller effective area
90% they have every light on people don't take the time to figure out their cars so drive about with fogs on full blast 24/7
This! People who don't spend 5min to figure out their lights and just leave them on auto.
Ok, here's how you fix it:
- Calculate how many headlights need changing and how much it will cost
- Create a fund for that amount.
- Announce that in a 1.5 years headlight regulation changes and all cars need to adapt.
- During annual checks verify the lights. If they don't comply with the regulation send driver to regulate/change them for free (covered by fund established in 2)
- After 1.5 years do random checks. Each car that still doesn't comply gets towed. The owner can either pay for the tow and fixing the lights and can't recover their car.
Just saying there are new requirements would be unfair to poor people that bought a car before the new regulation. They would have to spend extra money now to fix something they are not responsible for.
Saying that car manufacturers have to fix all their cars would be unfair because they were selling car that complied with all regulations. This would not stand in court.
That's why there's no quick fix. Doing it fairly will be complicated and it will cost money. It's easier for politicians to ignore the issue.
during annual checks
Most of north america doesn't do that. Some place require a safety check to initiate insurance, after that most just wait for things to break or get pulled over by a cop/ministry of transportation.
Im also a little iffy about #2. We already subsidize drivers enough, making them pay for their lights or at least partly pay sounds reasonable.
I think a middle ground solution would be add the regulations for new cars and enforce the regulation when a noncompliant car changes owners. This way buyers of used cars should be able to research if that cost is likely to impact their model or not. It doesn't take all the headlights off the road at once but it starts phasing out the problematic cars.
Most of north america doesn’t do that.
Clearly, a solution for civilized countries :)
But I agree, you can either pay and get the problem solved faster or pass the cost to drivers and wait a decade or more to phase out problematic cars.
I bring up north america mostly because it has the most egregious offenders with high hooded SUVs and trucks.
Yes but US regulates so few things they will obviously not even try to solve this issue. With current administration it's even less likely.
Just put the onus on car and bulb sellers going forward, then tack on a req for antiques that goes into effect in stages, probably paired with registration renewals. That way it's not an all-at-once burden, and most people can know about the transition well in advance. No surprises.
idk man a hammer to the headlight seems like a pretty quick fix to me
I was disappointed by the scene in 'fight club' where they hit the modern vw beetle with baseball bats.
They did virtually no damage.
Make sure you use a big pointy hammer.
They've spent their entire lives bedazzling everything from hair to toenails to purses and beyond. They're not finding the way to de-bedazzle the lights, because they're not looking for one.
Interesting stats, if caveated
Collisions dropped suddently in 2020. What could have possibly caused it???
Everyone had 20/20 vision that year, duh.
Seriously?
I do not think they are being serious. The triple ? is a dead giveaway.
Look at least they didn’t blame congestion tax
Death is not the only concern.
You don't just not beat your dog because it doesn't kill it.
These lights are too bright, they cause discomfort and stress out blinded drivers, and make driving at night impossibly for many who could otherwise drive safely before they were introduced.
For many night driving has become a rather traumatic experience, and that negatively effects them and other people as a result.
Imagine wearing a shocking dog bark collar and not knowing when it's gonna go off, but knowing it could, and you are also operating a 2 ton vehicle at 60mph on a busy and notoriously deadly stretch of road with your adorable 3 year old twins buckled in the back seat.
Idk, as a cyclist I’ve been blinded at night by other cyclists as often as cars.
Don’t mistake me, I have plenty of reasons to share the “fuck cars” ethos, but LED headlights aren’t even in the top 10.
this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2026
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Fuck Cars
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