[ljf]

Here in the UK I can't say that we have the same issue - BUT we have far fewer SUVs and lights are regulated far more. You'll fail your yearly MOT (car roadworthiness test) if you have lights that are too bright or misaligned, and I have seen people pulled over in London for having non-standard/too bright lights.

We have a wattage maximum for headlights too. I am under the impression that roadworthiness test and regulations are very different in the states - is that the case?

[Hilift]

Yes. The US has excellent national standards (low beams can be 15,000 to 20,000 candela per side), however nearly everything is administered by the states, and only 14 of 50 states have annual safety inspections. It used to be most states, but it was hijacked and used as a racket to steal from customers. Accessory LED lighting (off road) is illegal, but only required to be covered on road in California and Pennsylvania. Additionally, the US also bumper height restrictions that are mostly ignored (except California). Many lifted SUVs and trucks are illegal. That means if your car is t-boned by a lifted SUV you could be struck in the head by the bumper.

[lnsru]

Thanks for detailed explanation. I wasn’t able to believe in YouTube videos, that many extremely tuned cars were legal in US. In Germany they would be immediately towed away as not roadworthy. The lifted trucks leave me always speechless. Why!?..

[mannykannot]

You may have noticed that the most fiercely-invoked right in the US these days is the one to be a full-on asshole.

[xtiansimon]

Comic book lives?

https://youtu.be/67aLDt1VJZI?t=116&si=5Cxyp-GT_i5DK-no

Who is making these cars and mods?

[DrBazza]

It certainly seems like headlights are far brighter in the UK right now, given that they're all LEDs.

Of course it could just be confirmation bias, as I'm getting older and I suppose my eyes gradually deteriorate. I do a lot of night time driving and oncoming traffic is definitely brighter, for me at least, than 20 years ago.

Then there's the fact that old headlights were one bulb, and the mirrored surface behind them was simpler.

Another problem is white light is harsh, and the old incandescent bulbs had a yellow/off white tinge which is easier (the redder the light, the less likely it is to destroy your night vision).

[ssl-3]

We're all getting older.

But when I'm driving at night and there's a line of cars with sleepy old halogen incandescent headlights in my view, those seem about the same to me as they always did.

Some are brighter, some are dimmer -- sometimes due to differences of voltages or aging, or sometimes due to differences in aiming or beam shape -- but they still appear to average about the same as ~all headlights did 20 years ago.

Sometimes, they're uncomfortable. They very seldom hurt. I can almost always still see where I'm going without any particular trouble unless they're particularly, acutely bright for whatever reason. Just as before, when my eyes were younger.

And unilaterally, they're easier to ignore than when modern bright-white (what are they, 5000k?) LEDs are shining my way. Those are uncomfortable more often than not. They're very often painful. I often can't see where I'm going when they're particularly bad.

Same eyes. Same road. Same weather. Same night. Different headlights, different results.

[arethuza]

I live in a rural area of Scotland and I don't really have a problem with headlights - 99.9% of drivers dip their full beams when they are aware of you. Now if we could only get people to indicate correctly on roundabouts.... - that's a far bigger peeve of mine than headlights!

[echelon_musk]

While this check exists on paper it is not enforced in any meaningful way and hasn't caught up to modern headlights which to me are simply too bright even when original from the factory.

If I look directly at any headlight they burn into my vision. It makes driving difficult.

[trogdor]

> We have a wattage maximum for headlights too.

Are you sure it’s not a luminance maximum?

LED lights can be much brighter at the same wattage vs. incandescent lights.

[wrboyce]

I was curious about this too so had a look. The brightness is regulated by The Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989 and does specify a minimum wattage in some cases but not for modern cars (“A motor vehicle with four or more wheels first used on or after 1st April 1986: no requirement”). As far as I can tell there are no legal maximums.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/1796/schedule/4

[bsmithers]

Really? I think we have exactly the same problem in the UK. Granted, my eyes are more susceptible post laser surgery, but headlights are definitely getting brighter and higher as the years go by.