Do high beams make you angry?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Originally Posted by exranger06
...When I'm driving my wife's Escalade with the HID lights, I often get people flashing their high beams at me because they apparently think I have my high beams on, when I don't. ...


You are getting flashed because the low beams are aimed too high.
 
Originally Posted by WylieCoyote
High beams serve no purpose for better vision in city driving. Ambient light from street lights cancels out any additional visibility they normally provide on a dark road, yet I encounter 2-3 of these idiots every morning. I don't know if they can't tell, or if its purposeful, but it makes me long for the set of Cibies my Dad had on his '78 Blazer. They'd melt your rear view mirror. I flash them my HID high beams on my Mustang, but it has no effect.

Your city must actually install lights and maintain them. My apartment complex has an enormous number of burned out lights resulting in deep dark spots, and for some reason a LOT of my "neighbors" insist on wearing dark clothes as they wander aimlessly around at 5:30 a.m. When I leave for work in the early morning, I have to use the brights. Though I make sure to flick the lever back to "normal" as I get out to the street.

Not that the streets are any better. Lights here are dim. There are long stretches of the Interstate in town where the lights have been burned out for years. In contrast, when I first drove at night in Albuquerque (to take one example), I was amazed to find that I-40 was actually lit up. Denver lit its main thoroughfares pretty well, but not its side streets; one light per block in even nice residential areas seemed to be the average.
 
Originally Posted by The_Nuke
Originally Posted by grampi
Another thing that infuriates me are these semis with these super bright light bars, they are actually blinding and they won't turn them off for nothing. I turn my high beams on them...these light bars are completely unnecessary and are actually dangerous to other drivers...they should be outlawed...


So you, driving a 2 ton vehicle, see an oncoming vehicle with bright lights, a vehicle which weighs 30-40 tons btw, and your best idea on how to handle that situation is to turn your bright lights on and blind the driver of the oncoming semi??

Something doesn't compute there...

Either way, I'm not sure I agree with your assessment of the light bars in question. I honestly don't know what you are referring to, but if they are as common on semis as you say, I cannot see how they could be unnecessary or dangerous to other drivers. The DOT inspections these rigs have to pass on a regular basis would prevent any illegal or dangerous equipment from becoming common.


And as for unnecessary, if that's the case, why are they being installed by the drivers of the big trucks? Just to irritate other non-semi drivers?


You obviously haven't seen these light bars, so why are you responding?
 
Originally Posted by The_Nuke

Either way, I'm not sure I agree with your assessment of the light bars in question. I honestly don't know what you are referring to, but if they are as common on semis as you say, I cannot see how they could be unnecessary or dangerous to other drivers. The DOT inspections these rigs have to pass on a regular basis would prevent any illegal or dangerous equipment from becoming common.

And as for unnecessary, if that's the case, why are they being installed by the drivers of the big trucks? Just to irritate other non-semi drivers?


He's talking about the big LED off-road light bars that you often see on "bro trucks" and sometimes big rigs. They are illegal for on-road use, but as with LED/HID's in reflector housings and other illegal retrofits, there is next to zero enforcement.

[Linked Image from images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com]


I've seen a few of them locally, even on cars. Morons rolling down the road with a wall of unfocused brightness blasting from their vehicle, often installed to augment their ghastly LED or HID retrofit which eliminated their high beams and scattered light everywhere.
 
The "bro truck" in my neck of the woods is the Wrangler Unlimited. Lifted, big tires, flare extensions, sprayed top to bottom with bedliner, poorly aimed LED aftermarket headlights, and that thing pictured above mounted to the front bumper. Nothing short of the high beams on a lifted F250 phases them.
 
Originally Posted by WylieCoyote
The "bro truck" in my neck of the woods is the Wrangler Unlimited. Lifted, big tires, flare extensions, sprayed top to bottom with bedliner, poorly aimed LED aftermarket headlights, and that thing pictured above mounted to the front bumper. Nothing short of the high beams on a lifted F250 phases them.


Yeah, those things are hideous! The LED headlights are disasters.
 
Originally Posted by GSCJR
Yes and it seems to be happening on a more frequent basis.



I'm sorry, but now I just forget or fail to notice the high beams are on. (just kidding of course)
 
Last edited:
If only auto high beams recognized people. It's super, super rage-inducing when I'm out for a run around a lake and some bozo is coming at me - in a 25 mph zone - with the brights on. Since I'm running, my eyes are adjusted for no light. The brights are that much worse, and I can't avoid them without stopping.
 
Our LEO's write tickets for fairly subjective things … like loud music (measured the same way as loud oil here) …
But they are missing a revenue stream with the headlights since these vehicles pass inspection too easily
(not checking headlights) …
 
Originally Posted by 4WD
Our LEO's write tickets for fairly subjective things … like loud music (measured the same way as loud oil here) …
But they are missing a revenue stream with the headlights since these vehicles pass inspection too easily
(not checking headlights) …


I drive between IL and OH every weekend because I work in IL and live in OH and I see a vehicles driving down the interstate after dark with no lights on at a rate of about 1 in every 10 vehicles. LEO's could sit on the side of the highway and radio ahead to another LEO to ticket these people. They could literally just hand out tickets. Budget problems gone! Why police departments won't do this, especially those that are tight on revenues, is beyond me...there is an endless stream of money driving down the interstate with no lights on...
 
Originally Posted by SubLGT
Originally Posted by exranger06
...When I'm driving my wife's Escalade with the HID lights, I often get people flashing their high beams at me because they apparently think I have my high beams on, when I don't. ...


You are getting flashed because the low beams are aimed too high.

No his lights are right on target. Try keeping your eyes focused on your lane and don't look at oncoming headlights.
 
Originally Posted by Skippy722
The cop I flashed one time didn't seem to care though
21.gif



There is a simple explanation for this you unknowingly engaged into a form of non verbal communication.
 
Yep, 1-1/2 hours last night on 2 lanes. Couple Cads were killer, big trucks with aftermarket flamers, but annoyed more by many F150/F250 OEM lights which were endless blasts - especially those towing RV or livestock.
I just watch the RH road shoulder … and a Texas improved shoulder has the white stripe
(these roads had the buzz grooves, whatever those are called)
 
Wonder if there are any LEO's on this board that can chime in and comment weather or not they care while patrolling. I once saw an episode of Live PD where a female was pulled over for driving in the city with her high beams on. She ended up with a DUI, had a meth pipe, rolling papers, no shoes and seemed as if her life choices were much worse than her decision of driving at night with her brights on. Basically, her decision to drive with her high beams ended in jail time.

My question is for any BITOG LEO, do you care, or not that big of a deal to even bother with?
 
Originally Posted by 1978elcamino
Wonder if there are any LEO's on this board that can chime in and comment weather or not they care while patrolling. I once saw an episode of Live PD where a female was pulled over for driving in the city with her high beams on. She ended up with a DUI, had a meth pipe, rolling papers, no shoes and seemed as if her life choices were much worse than her decision of driving at night with her brights on. Basically, her decision to drive with her high beams ended in jail time.

My question is for any BITOG LEO, do you care, or not that big of a deal to even bother with?


I would also like to hear from LEO's why they don't ticket drivers with no lights on after dark, but it doesn't appear that any are following this thread...
 
I have a close relative who is a LEO. In my experience, they do not discuss with outsiders how, when or whether they enforce particular laws or use "discretion." Everyone has their opinions about enforcement, and it's like trying to discuss religion or politics: it only leads to trouble. The most he will say is that he looks for people behaving erratically or suspiciously. That and running speed traps/sobriety checks is about it. Anything else traffic-wise is secondary for causing an accident, looking suspicious or copping an attitude. He actually spends most of his time dealing with drunks, drugs, theft and domestic problems, which all seem to go together.

I think if he saw someone driving with headlights off, he would pull them over and then see how things looked. If the driver had legit license/registration and seemed innocent and sober, he would let them go with a warning. If not, it would go worse from there and the headlight infraction forgotten to go after bigger convictions. I'm pretty sure he would write a ticket if he saw someone driving in traffic with off-road lights on.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

JTK
Bad year with the deer.
2
Replies
29
Views
2K
jeepman3071
M
High Mileage accomplishment cheat?
2 3 4
Replies
66
Views
3K
Astro14
I
Speedometer error on Toyotas
2 3
Replies
53
Views
2K
CR94
T
Do they not make window tint you can see out of at night?
2
Replies
36
Views
2K
The motor guy
supton
Would seeing Valvoline Instant on a carfax deter you from buying?
2
Replies
27
Views
1K
supton
Back
Top