Headlight Aim? Who Cares?

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Some interesting excerpted comments from Daniel Stern, in an editorial at drivingvisionnews:

Quote:
...It's true that modern headlamps, with their more robust mounting systems, are generally better at maintaining an aim setting than those on older cars. But that aim setting has to be correct, and modern headlamps also need to be aimed more precisely than old ones; they're more intense and they have sharper low-beam cutoffs...

...And while the SAE standard describing how headlamps should be aimed in service was tightened up last year to reduce the amount of upward aim before a low-beam headlamp should be considered too high, the reduction was from 10 to 6.4 cm above H-H. The peak intensity of today's low beams is great enough that such a lamp aimed 6 cm above H-H should properly be called a high beam...

...Plainly, something must be done. But what? It's a steep uphill battle to make people understand the importance of headlamp aim in a region where there is no significant culture of giving a [censored] about car lights. In Europe, periodic aim inspection has long been just as widely accepted and understood as periodic engine oil changes: necessary, important, basic, routine car maintenance—not to mention car light safety months, magazines routinely publishing thorough performance comparisons of various cars' headlamps, etc. None of this exists in America...

...Time is of the essence; revolutionarily bright and complex headlamps are coming tomorrow, not years from now; if nothing is done, that alone will make the problem very much worse...
 
It's becoming a bigger issue with newer cars having brighter low beams. Also, people who raise their vehicles almost NEVER take the time to adjust their lights accordingly.

So when I'm not blinded by a lifted GM driving toward me, I'm blinded by a Civic where the driver side light is glaring directly into my eyes while the passenger light appears dimly lit.

And then it's the complete opposite when you drive behind someone. Everyone seems to think it's cool to black out the tail lights so you can't always tell that someone in front of you is actually braking.
 
It's a 50/50 consideration between not blinding other drivers because it hate when it happen to me, and, being able to see where I'm going.

In the UK a car with improper headlight adjustment is deemed not road worthy.
 
This time of year a lot of people forget to turn their headlights on anyway, so who cares?
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I've seen a few new cars have improperly aimed lights right from the factory. What burns my biscuits are ricer blue HIDs people put into their [censored] cars. Sorry pal, it looks ugly and trashy. It's obvious you were too cheap / stupid to properly retrofit and as a result blind other drivers.
 
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Americans just don't care. I've told people about every light on their car including bad aim, burnt out bulbs, driving with high beams on and I have very rarely gotten a favorable response. The responses always range from confused to me being nosey and needing to mind my own business. I would love to be a cop and write tickets for these jerks who just don't give a [censored] about their exterior lights.
 
...and some drivers have their high beams on in traffic. This is really annoying. You either get blinded head on or get the inside of your car lit up from behind.
 
Having stood at accident scenes and many times several of the firefighters would get a bet going about how many people at night would only be driving around with one headlight. %.
Many states need to get on the issue.
 
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Originally Posted By: Olas
It's a 50/50 consideration between not blinding other drivers because it hate when it happen to me, and, being able to see where I'm going.

In the UK a car with improper headlight adjustment is deemed not road worthy.


It USED to be a required part of the safety inspection here (Texas), but was dropped close to 20 years ago. It really should be enforced- there's absolutely no way to ensure accurate aim after a headlamp replacement, body work, or in some cases even a simple bulb capsule replacement without deliberately CHECKING the aim. I'm very pedantic about at least checking my cars for consistency side-to-side, and do my best to check the aiming height using a blank wall at an empty parking lot... but most drivers never give it a second thought.

Worse than that, as more dashboards are now lighted even when the lights are turned off and DRLS are more common, the epidemic of people driving around with their headlights off or their high-beams on is getting worse and worse.
 
I installed Phillips X-treme Vision H4 bulbs in my Fizzer and I've been getting a few people flash their high beams at me when riding down two lane highways, at night. The Yamaha has uses both headlights, which provides far better night driving than my old bike.

I am frankly torn between 'being seen while riding' vs 'being considerate to my fellow motorists'.
 
Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
...and some drivers have their high beams on in traffic. This is really annoying. You either get blinded head on or get the inside of your car lit up from behind.


Yeah, I drive a lot on narrow, windy back roads and usually drivers coming the other way turn off their high beams almost exactly as our cars are actually crossing. Thanks a lot, morons!!!
I can see using the high beams on these roads the first time one drives them, but the curves don't exactly move over time...I just can't imagine driving with my high beams on nonstop. I may flash them on the residential streets if I'm worried about pedestrians in the dark, but my high beams are probably on 0.1% of the total time my headlights are in use. Honestly, I feel like high beams should require the driver to hold the lever to the front or back with no permanent on setting.

Of course, then there are the oncoming drivers with their high beams on who are actually in my lane because they are busy texting...oh man, I shouldn't have even gotten started on this thread. AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!
 
On a dark and lonely night, I flashed my high beams at a on-coming car, and the driver did not dim his lights. So I flashed again, same result. What a jerk....as we got closer, I realized it was a local sheriff deputy! He turned around, stopped me, checked all my papers, and as always, he proceeded to ask if I knew why I was stopped. I said "yes I do, because YOU would not dim your headlights, and YOU wanted to find out why I flashed mine" He asked if his lights were on high, I re-affirmed, and he actually apologized! Must have been too pre-occupied looking at his on-board computer.

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Originally Posted By: Reddy45
...Also, people who raise their vehicles almost NEVER take the time to adjust their lights accordingly. ..


I remember reading a comment over at pickuptrucks.com in which a member removed the front leveling kit from his pickup because he was being frequently flashed. He seemed to be unaware that his headlights could be aimed downward.
 
Originally Posted By: Virtus_Probi
Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
...and some drivers have their high beams on in traffic. This is really annoying. You either get blinded head on or get the inside of your car lit up from behind.


Yeah, I drive a lot on narrow, windy back roads and usually drivers coming the other way turn off their high beams almost exactly as our cars are actually crossing. Thanks a lot, morons!!!
I can see using the high beams on these roads the first time one drives them, but the curves don't exactly move over time...I just can't imagine driving with my high beams on nonstop. I may flash them on the residential streets if I'm worried about pedestrians in the dark, but my high beams are probably on 0.1% of the total time my headlights are in use. Honestly, I feel like high beams should require the driver to hold the lever to the front or back with no permanent on setting.

Of course, then there are the oncoming drivers with their high beams on who are actually in my lane because they are busy texting...oh man, I shouldn't have even gotten started on this thread. AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!


I remember that older cars had a floor button near the clutch pedal to dim the lights. They should bring back that idea so that you can still do whatever you're doing and dim the lights, too.
 
Remember when headlights had three raised bumps on them for easy aiming at inspection time or DIY? In the late 70s when halogen bulbs appeared so many people said " they're blinding, I can't see, they should not be allowed". Now halogens are "too dim".
 
I think Stern is correct that this is a problem of priorities (at least in the US). Lighting design is being driven as much by fashion as by function. Some auto makers with global platforms spend money making red-only rear lamp designs specifically for the North American market because we think amber signals "look funny" (I personally refuse to own a vehicle without amber signals all around). On the flip side, some state-side auto makers spend as little as possible on rear lamps, using just a single bulb for everything, because they can. "Leveled" trucks blind oncoming drivers all the time -- extra points if you have a "leveled" truck, an HID kit in your main beams, AND an HID kit in your fog lamps. But, extra points are only awarded if you have them all on, all the time. LED light bars are also extra credit.

It's intriguing to observe how many cars out there with HB2/H4 bulbs have their bulbs installed wrong. It's easy to spot -- the wrong portion of the reflector is shaded, and you get a huge bright spot right in your eyes as an oncoming driver. (Likely the cause of the Civic's lights someone previously posted.) It's beyond me how these drivers can't perceive that their lights are pretty useless in this condition. You'd think they'd pull up to the back of a vehicle at a stoplight, or park facing the side of Walgreens, and think, "hmmm...something doesn't look right with my headlights." Nope.

If our priorities, as a lot of drivers, were different, I think many of us would be far less aggravated when driving at night. I will say that it does seem to be somewhat regional. When I used to live in Fayetteville, NC, I essentially got to where I refused to drive at night. Despite nearly always being on well-lit suburban roads, the amount of cars with HID kits and aftermarket LED lights was astounding (and disappointing). Where I live now (Winchester, VA), it's FAR darker at night on most roads, yet the VAST majority of cars are running around unmodified. It's almost enjoyable to drive at night here.

Don't confuse me for a luddite. I appreciate and welcome all advances to lighting technology. Factory HID and LED systems are fine -- they're compliant with regulations and they work well. ANY lighting system, regardless of the source used, can create disabling glare when non-compliant due to modification or poor aim, etc.
 
Originally Posted By: ffhdriver
Remember when headlights had three raised bumps on them for easy aiming at inspection time or DIY? In the late 70s when halogen bulbs appeared so many people said " they're blinding, I can't see, they should not be allowed". Now halogens are "too dim".


Exterior lighting has to keep up with the rest of the vehicle. Back in the day of incandescent headlamps and sealed halogens, our instrument cluster lighting was quite dim by today's standards. As interior lighting becomes more intense (as in the last decade or so), our headlamps must also become more intense to compensate for the abundance of foreground lighting.

This is probably THE most effective thing someone can do to improve their night vision: turn down the silly gauges! I keep mine on the absolute minimum at night. Some people have noted that it affects things like their backup cameras, but the % of time spent in reverse is, I presume, FAR outpaced by the % of time traveling forward, so I would recommend those people simply adjust the gauges when actually going in reverse. The benefits of reduced cluster lighting when traveling forward are tremendous.
 
Originally Posted By: ffhdriver
Remember when headlights had three raised bumps on them for easy aiming at inspection time or DIY? In the late 70s when halogen bulbs appeared so many people said " they're blinding, I can't see, they should not be allowed". Now halogens are "too dim".


Remember when headlights had to be filled with lamp oil, and the wick had to be adjusted for maximum light? I sure miss the good old days.
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From a recent lighting conference:

Quote:
In his lecture at the DVN US Workshop—one of the best lectures of the event, surely—Dr. Michael Hamm presented 4 examples showing how technological evolution and change affects and is affected by rules, regulations, and reality………….

Hamm's third and most important point was about how headlamp aim specifications and assumptions clash with reality. Today's headlamps—and today's headlamp rating systems—are extremely sensitive to aim. It was demonstrated that a shift of 0.15° in headlamp aim makes the difference between 75 metres and 115 metres of seeing distance. Hamm presented a variety of parameters of misaim, and shows how there are great variations…….

…..as driven on real roads, a car's headlamps change their effective aim constantly by dint of acceleration, deceleration, gear shifts, and suchlike; all of these lead to effective misaim. And those real roads aren't flat; they have bumps, hills and defects in the pavement. Thus, for the coördinate system of a car, the street moves and also introduces headlamp aim dynamics. Combining vehicle and road factors together, the probability for correct aim is a shockingly low 9.9%. That is: less than ten percent of the time will the "perfectly aimed" headlamps of a car be in actual, practical, effectively correct aim.

Hamm concluded by discussing the possibility for matrix light to greatly improve lighting, independentely of aiming. The matrix light allows glare-free zones for oncoming and leading cars with a substantial improvement in visibility and range.
 
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