I'm rip roaring mad! OK......we're backwoods in Pa. Dutch country (N.E. Pennsylvania).....I'll give ya that..........BUT.......who had the "brilliant" idea of making.......

HIGH INTENSITY HALOGEN HEADLIGHTS

????????????????????????????????

As if it isn't hard enough to look at oncoming headlights after driving 12 miles in total and complete darkness (because I live in the boondocks and you have to drive for miles just to get a newspaper) other than your own beacon of highbeams...........

Who came up with the ludicrous idea of making a more annoying headlight than anyone's highbeam coming at you could ever be?????

Have you encountered these yet? I wear contact lenses and it's tough enough to drive at night with the "halo" effect from oncoming traffic..........and to be honest.....I avoid driving at night because of that......especially if it's raining! NOW.......the car manufacturer's thought.......well ya ain't blinded enough......try these bluish high intensity babies comin at ya!

I tell you people......I can't stop staring straight into them even though they hurt my eyes! I'm gonna kill someone if this becomes the protocol for all new cars!

Is this just me or can I consider starting a petition to get this hazard off the street?

BTW..........I just got home from dinner and I kissed the ground when I got out of my truck! I've gotta wonder if the people who have these vehicles with these shitty lights even know what they have??????

All comments welcome!

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Sorry, but I like them, I know they are a bitch when you meet them, but, they do make driving safer for the most part. You are able to see better ahead of you and to the sides if they are ajusted properly. I am sure the insurance companies have had something to do with this, but you might be able to spot hazards easier such as deer, things in the road , sooner and have time to avoid them.
We don't have them right now but wish we did.

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Just have to say .... glad you made it home safe and sound!!!! .... ((hugs)) .... hope you are able to have a nice relaxing .... uhh .... something something .... real soon!!!!

I'm with you, Lixy. I have very light sensitive eyes anyway, and driving at night is hard for me in general. Those high-intensity ones, though, make me want to scream!!!! I just *know* I'm going to end up in a ditch one night because of them. Grrrrr!!!!

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I have to agree with Lixy......they are bastards of things coming from in front or behind

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From a distance the lights look kinda cool, and they do help the driver see better at night. But, you are right Lixy... for oncomming vehicles it is a bitch, especially when the driver is wearing contacts....

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BASTARDS coming at me from in FRONT or BEHIND (or BOTH? Dare I say?)

This thread suddenly gets more interesting...I'm up for it!


(osuche's mind in the Pixies toilet)

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I think I've heard rumblings of these lights facing possible bans in some states, IL included.

The problem lies not so much with the lights as with the drivers behind them, haven't they heard of that device called the high/low beam switch, or twigged to the fact that they have such a thing as low beam?

And as for those who think they can improve things if they "adjust them up just a a bit", the less said about their lack of intelligence the better!

Now I don't have these bluish high intensity bulbs, but I guess mine ARE bright enough that I've had oncoming drivers flash their brights at me, thinking they're getting me to turn my lights down, but there's nothing I can do! Well, turn them off I guess, but that'd be silly

I've so often wished for tiny missiles dispatched to take out the high beam bulbs on incoming traffic. I too have somewhat sensitive eyes especially in the early mornings and those new babies are going to (or probably already have) cause some serious pileups.
((((((((Lixy)))))) I feel your pain Darlin'

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My Dodge Durango must have "louder" lights than some vehicles......because I get the same flases from oncoming cars at times. I just show em my beamers and they stop "asking" me to lower my lights!

I can take someone coming at me and accidently forgetting they have their high beams on.....it's bright, but not something that makes me stare at it and feel like I've had a welding flash! That's what those high intensity (blue) headlights do to me.....in low or high beam mode! I actually find it hard to look away.....but all the while it is killing my eyes!

There's gonna be alot of accidents because of them.........and how can you prove it? The oncoming car will be long gone when the cops get there!

I actually agree with you, Cobalt, in that they must be great when one is sitting behind them.....I can see how things would be brighter (more visible)........but what I can't understand is......who tested these things? Did they do it in real life scenarios under all driving conditions.....from everyone's point of view??? Well....around my area we don't have any street lamps to acclimate your eyes to oncoming lights when they come up on you. I could drive for miles before encountering an oncoming vehicle. When I do realize I am coming up on someone, I lower my beams and, usually, so do they......but it doesn't matter with those new lights......THEY ARE A BITCH!!

Thanks everyone.....for letting me rant!

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The blue high intensity lights are actually not a hallogen bulb but an HID (high intensity discharge) bulb that uses high voltage to create an arc in the gas inside the bulb to create light. These are very white light and provide very good illumination for the driver. When you look at them they seem to have a bluish tint when compared to regular halogens.

That said, the issue is with how the American market has adopted the use of them. In most parts of Europe HID equipped cars must have auto leveling devices on the lights to ensure that the beam patterns do not blind on comming traffic (say when you go up a small hill and are cresting it). This is not the case in the US and this means that these lights have the effect that has been described in this thread.

Sadly it is a poor implementation of a good idea.

What is even worse are the dumb asses that buy "retrofit" kits for their cars to replace the bulbs that came in there. These kits only give you the HID and NOT the correct reflector for it. What results is a light that spews a lot of brilliant light ALL OVER the place but not on the correct part of the road. The kits claim to be "legal" but they are actually not.

Then you get the real morons that buy blue coated bulbs so that they can get the "HID look". These people take the prize in the darwin scale... the blue tint means that there is a filter on the light blocking most of the usable spectrum. What results is blue light and not white light. The loss of the yellows makes it actually about 50% less bright (though you do not know it just looking at it, but the human eye is less sensitive at that end of the spectrum) when it comes to truly being able to illuminate the road and hazzards on them.

And the final case for morons that need to be shot are the idiots that buy Japanses spec parts for their lights (so that they can retrofit HIDs into some of their import cars). In this case they are doing the right thing by getting the correct reflectors and parts... only one catch, Japan drives on the left hand side and the lights are set up to not blind traffic on the right of them by casting excess light to the left... yup, right into on coming traffic in right hand drive countries!

In any case... that is my 0.02 (maybe 0.05) on this rant.

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I actually love them myselfs though they can be annoying at times. My problems are with the SUVs, mostly earlier ones, whose lights are always flooding the inside of my car when they are behind me.

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I love you guys!

Oh...and Nubian........I have always hated that effect as well......and so I bought a truck that has one of those rear view mirrors that dim the lights behind me............but alas, my side mirrors don't have this feature!

Geezzzzzz.......I should be able to design my own vehicle!

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