I was getting tire of almost getting rear ended every night coming home from work in stop and go traffic so I spent some $$$ and got 2 led tail lights.What a difference. No more screeching brakes or people sliding off on the shoulder of the road almost rear ending me. Bruce.
I run into this all the time. Not only emergency vehicle lights, but also lights on construction vehicles. Go into a construction zone or an accident scene with 15 dozen sets of flashing bright lights and it's sensory overload. You are blinded just like looking at a welding arc. A few years back, I came up on a sobriety check on a two lane road. There was so much light, I nearly hit a deputy when he walked out in front of me, even though I was in the process of stopping. I told him he was blinding traffic with all those lights, he hollered at one of the other deputies to kill all the lights except on one car, it was a world of difference, you could actually see a person then. He told me he appreciated me letting him know that, he was unaware that they were actually blinding folks like that. Standing by my door, he could clearly see what I was talking about. Now if all of them would just realize that....
I think the above quote says it all in a nutshell. All the freakin' LED's in the world won't be of any use when that idiot coming up behind you is texting instead of paying attention to their driving! Look at the photo of the station wagon that was rear-ended. It has a third brake light above the rear window AND extra tail lights beside the stock tail lights! That is more rear lighting than your average hot rod.
This thread is supposed to be discussing taillights but headlights got sucked into it. I think there's some confusion with HID headlights being mislabeled as LED in some of our posts. The LED headlights are fairly new and gaining market share but are nowhere near as widespread as the HIDs that have been around for about 15 years, +/-. The HID headlight "kits" are guilty of most of the crimes mentioned. There were some good quality, original equipment HID headlights from the vehicle manufacturers that were well-engineered and controlled the light very precisely. These were expensive options to include on the build sheet when you ordered a new vehicle. But there are also literally multiple millions of cheesy, Chinese, $50, aftermarket kits that are replacing halogen bulbs in headlight shells that were designed or engineered for halogens but not for HIDs. This is why we're nightly dealing with dazzle, light scatter, and uncontrolled illumination from oncoming traffic. Naturally, the booger eaters who install the cheap kits think they are great because the headlights scatter light everywhere down the road which is great for them...... but not for the eyes of oncoming drivers.
Well, there's something different. You don't see that every day...................................................no,wait......................
Our son, who was driving, had emergency surgery that night, and hospitalized again a week later for unknown internal injuries. He's OK now, for which we are very grateful.
Quite OT, but as far as safety I can tell you a bright light gets peoples attention. Years ago I converted my motorcycle to some Halogen HID lights. I could see road signs reflecting in the daylight. I kept them pretty white, you can get those lights in all sorts of colors. I worked at a dealership, I cant count how many times people would see my bike parked out front and come looking for "the guy who rides the bike with the really bright headlight" and they all wanted to know how I got it that bright. Was also nice for expedited rides at night, rarely needed the high beam, but with the 2 on I could see into the next county
I drove my Shoebox today...only 5 miles to work but in the dark, I really missed the LED headlights on my daily. I drive pretty rural roads and really need to be alert when it comes to critters...
You're likely not the guy who pulled up behind me one night, riding a Harley with 20,000 lumens emanating from his accessory Headlight, Spotlights and crash- bar mounted spotlights all turned on at once on a city street that had streetlamps on both sides of the road. I shut my car off and walked back to his bike, I held up 3 fingers and asked "How many am I holdin?" He replies"What?" Me: "Just checking if your f**k**g legally blind or if all this is necessary in town" pointing to the blinding display. The blank look on his face spoke volumes, I shook my head "That's what I thought." and walked back to my car.
Having ridden a Harley, I am (luckily) here to tell you that ANYTHING one can do to be seen is 100% useful. It's not so the rider can see, it so YOU can see them, and, again, your inconvenience is my life. Pulsing headlights and taillights is one way, LED's is another, but anything to avoid someone pulling out of a side street or making a left turn in front of me is totally worth your momentary irritation.
Having owned and ridden Harleys for over 40 years, I totally get the whole visibility thing. But there's always those who take shit to the extreme. Same as this clown, I could tell right away this guy was a "TV" biker, everything he knows about motorcycles was learned on "Orange County Morons" You can just tell by all the factory crap festooned on his ride, the stereo blasting, super loud exhaust pipes, just trying to "out Harley" his fellow morons
If somebody gets shot driving with those damn headlights and I'm on the jury , the shooter walks and gets a medal. Bob
I am the guy that started this and am happy that I am not the only one that feels this way about super bright lights. Whilst I can see why people feel the need to be noticed, compromising someone else's safety by blinding them to ensure their own safety is a fine line to start walking. I have had a cyclist with such a bright pulsing taillight at night turn from a side street in front of me. My only option was to stop in the middle of the road and let them get a long way ahead as it would have been dangerous to follow. I could not see the edge of the road to safety pull over. If I drove on I could not see the road surface or if an animal or person was going to step in front of me. If anyone did not notice that cyclist, they would need to have their guide dog checked. If any car following hit an object on the road and killed themselves or others , the question should be who was responsible. I have seen indicators on jacked up 4wd's that come close to this level of brightness. It can be the same with fast pulsating brake lights. I will probably get flamed for this but I would like to live in a world where it is important to care about the welfare or our neighbor as much as we care about our own welfare, and have that reciprocated. Steve
Hey @Reidy , not wanting to start anything here, but have you had your eyes checked lately. It would make this whole thread a little redundant if it turns out you have a light sensitivity issue due to something like Ocular Myasthenia Gravis (or a multitude of other disorders). The way you describe it seems to be a bit over the top.
Grumpy, I have had my eyes regularly tested as part of my 30 plus years in the military. I have worked around aircraft with strobe lights. Whatever this clown had decided to fit to the back of his bike was unbelievably bright. The LED indicators that I have the most issue with are when they think why not stack 2 or 3 big rectangular LED indicators on the back of my truck. I am sure that well designed LED brake and indicator lights that disperse the light at a sensible brightness would not cause an issue. Like everything it is a minority who fit supper bright LEDs and someone always has to take it to the extreme. Steve
I dont know about in the rear but the ones on the front are the reason I carry a ball pin hammer, so I can help adjust the ones behind me on the pavement princesses around here. Sent from my SM-A015A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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