[spanner777]

White LED light is out of place in a automobile headlamp. My daily drive has good old halogen lamp and I find it very difficult to drive a car with LED lights in Kerala monsoons. I try using the high beam but all in vain. it defies why it is being used in a place where we need scattered light for overall visibility and not spot lights.

I feel LED headlight is a safety hazard for the occupants of the vehicle too and everyone else on the road.

Originally Posted by PrasadS

In a world filled with fools, only the intellectual suffer.


Failure: Ladies and gentlemen we have a Mexican stand-off..i use my Upper too and slow down and purposely and safely start drifting in their lane just a nudge, which makes them slow down and we stare at each other as we pass. Atleast i get some satisfaction from the eye glare
A couple of times the offending party slows down and asked me why am i an idiot..i just reply "i dont know about that, but i am definitely blind due to your expensive stadium lights right now"

I too used to do all this when highbeam activism gets on to my head. But, looking back its all dangerous as the person in the other car could be drunk (or high) and think he/she is in the wrong lane and do something stupid.

[DhinaStark94]

I can see that most comments say that it is due to improper use!! But i honestly dont understand this view. In a country where 90% of rules are not obeyed , how could anyone expect a person having such powerful lights to not use them! When most of our roads are dimly lit by street lamps and they switch to high beam and they just leave it there due to scare of low visibility or just for comfort! The only solution is for the manufacturers to stop or limit the angles by design. I myself nearly got killed 2 or 3times , so it has gotten to the point that if i had a gun i will start shooting at they're headlamps

[Revvatron]

Originally Posted by sgm

Recently when I was driving in the night, many of the oncoming vehicles didn't switch to low beam even after flashing a couple of times.

I think the main reason behind this is that not many are actually aware that they have to switch to low beam when flashed upon

[arjungod]

What I have observed on kerala roads
1.Majority of the two wheelers keep their headlights to high beam and most of them have blinding LED lights.Signalling(dipping) to them mostly do not have any effect.
2.Most of the smaller cars tend to keep their headlights to high beam and mostly have halogen lights.Signalling(dipping) mostly do not have any effect.
3.Larger cars/suvs are mostly on low beam and majority of them have LED lights.Even If they are on high beam they switch to low beam on signalling (dipping) to them.
4.Buses/Trucks are always on high beam and Signalling(dipping) does not have any effect on them.

Since majority of our roads in kerala are undivided highways it makes driving at night very difficult for a lot of people.I personally know a few people who stopped driving at night due to this high beam menace(specially the new LED ones).

[Srini1414]

Back when I started driving most of our journeys used to be at late evening or night. I used to enjoy night driving as it is cooler and less traffic. All the big vehicles like busses and lorries used to apply black paint to upper part of the headlights even our 800 used to have a black tape. Fast forward a decade gone are those days .. now night driving is a nightmare with all the blinding lights no matter what I do the opposite car/bike don't lower the light. So I made it a point to not drive in unknown roads at night and no long drives at night. I mostly plan my journeys to start at the Crack of first light and end it before twilight.

[NagaBond]

What I do:
1 - Always avoid night travel. In the last 6-7 years, I have driven only about 3-4 days in total in the night on highways (slow traffic in city driving is not a problem). Most of the time, I plan to reach destination by 4:00 pm. This may not be possible for everyone though.
2 - If someone is following me with high beam, I slow down and let them pass.
3 - If high beam car is coming in the opposite direction, I keep my focus on the left side edge of road (many a times thick white line) and drive slowly.
4 - Because of #3, my average speed at night is very less. This has reinforced night driving fear in my co-passengers' mind as well and they insist on avoiding night driving :-)

[mak.prasada]

Wow.
I always thought this was a "me" issue but seems like everyone has this problem.
Yesterday, an activa was driving behind me and his headlamp was not in the casing resulting in the LED shaking violently and he had his high beams on. It was shaking according to the bumps on the road!
The person driving the said activa was also least bothered.
With that being said, I did feel the Fortuner/ XUV 700 are excessively bright especially if they are behind, it feels like flash photography almost. This also might just be me, but I notice all the Brezza's drive on high beams, to the point that now I just assume the low beam is too weak on it.

[vijaysrk]

Any suggestions on windshield sunfilm, polarizing film etc., that can help with blinding LED headlamp glare?

[cool_dube]

Only solution - just flog the morons using high beam for no rhyme or reason!

[COMMUTER]

I too have been at the receiving end of the menace with 99% of my odo reading(1.48L) getting raked in during night drives only. This is an evil that goes unnoticed by most of the drivers who drive short distances and do long drives only during daytime.

This compelled night driving combined with the low light output of my Figo had left me with no choice but to upgrade with auxlights. I now have 8 LED cubes to get my point across. I also have the mods done to mount 4 Rallye 4000(Pencil beam) too which I mount sparingly. These are left lying in my boot most of the time.

I do agree with the LED being useless in the rains though. I always go with 4 Rally 4000s during my long drives whenever I am expecting rain or mist.

I often find myself leading a long line of LED blazing Fortuners, Scorpios and others tailgating at 80kmph when driving in rain!

To be able to swat aside the sadist perks on two wheelers or cars who take an extreme pleasure in pointing high beams against my humble, faded 55w OEM beams is so comforting. I have noticed them turing responsible instantly, most of the time.

Hoorah! to the day when people will be responsible on road with their LEDs, until then,

Go ahead, Make my day!

[DRIVE_ADDICT]

And I find these blinding white lights are utter useless when you are behind the wheel. Recently drove the new Venue, found the light to be very inadequate behind the wheel but at the same time I cannot withstand the light while standing in front of the car.

[BhaskarG]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Lots of people including me feel this way about these blinding white lights. Some are even like the strobe lights on stage at a concert.
I am decidedly not a fan of blinding white lights and LEDs.

Hope someone also talks about the blinding brake-lights that my poor bespectacled eyes have to bear during evening traffic. Especially the new Swift

[Voodooblaster]

Waiting for courts to ensure that RTO’s enforce their direction in letter and spirit

Link: Government yet to restrict dazzling headlights despite Madras high court order


Or hopefully MoRTH will ensure ARAI does the needful:

ARAI replied that that no studies were done on the front in India and such in-built headlights were permitted in India citing their use in developed foreign countries. Even though roads are far better with lane systems in those countries, they are also rethinking about the use of LED headlights which pose danger to other motorists,” he said - Link

Autos have to resort to extra LEDs to counter high beam menace of cars

Most Tourist Vans and Taxis in Karnataka are having extra lamps in their Illegally installed crash guards. The aim seems to be blind the road users than to light up the way

In Tamilnadu , too this illegal light menace exists. But firm action by Ooty RTO a couple of years ago clamped down on this, at least in vehicles that planned to visit ooty to an extent

[kiredd1005]

Just absolutely terrible I must say. Especially on the newer scooters. I sincerely wish people using these lights use common sense too. It just blinds people otherwise.

[aashishnb]

Next big safety feature - auto dimming feature on ORVMs also. :-)

On a more serious note, shouldn't there be a regulation to enforce yellow lights on vehicles, if there is enough scientific evidence that we see better in yellow headlights than white?