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from the shine-a-bright-light-on-the-subject dept.
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
It might be stating the obvious, but your car's headlights are a safety device, and not all headlights are created equal. For a while, carmakers have been fitting powerful LED headlights to their high-end offerings, but more often than not, their cheaper cars—and particularly cheaper trim levels—get saddled with much-weaker illumination. But sometimes a commuter wants to see more of where they're going when the sun goes down. Eventually, they go looking for a solution, starting with their local automotive parts store. But stuffing aftermarket LED headlight bulbs into OEM housings designed for conventional halogen units results in dangerous glare for oncoming drivers. While LEDs can deliver more intense light at a higher end of the spectrum, most aftermarket units also create a hazardous condition.
The major brick-and-mortar auto parts stores know this, which is why they tend to shy away from aftermarket H11 LED bulbs, other than ones clearly marked for use in fog lamps or "for off-road use only." It's a different world online, with off-brand H11 LED bulb listings on Amazon, eBay, and Walmart websites failing to carry the same prominent warnings.
You can get pulled over for non-spec headlamps, and for a good reason. In addition to issuing a citation, the law enforcement officer may have the legal right to force you to remove the bulbs. More ominously, once the officer has pulled you over, you risk a vehicle search. With all that in mind, it would be wise to keep a set of securely packaged OEM bulbs in the glovebox or trunk if you are running aftermarket LEDs.
Although Consumer Reports tests new vehicle headlamps, it hasn't tackled the topic of LED replacement bulbs, despite Consumer Reports' extensive resources. A comprehensive Consumer Reports aftermarket LED replacement bulb test would go a long way to bring clarity to the market. Consumer Reports' testing of conventional replacement bulbs found that while aftermarket units can improve headlight brightness, there's much more to it than that. "Distance and how far a headlight illuminates is governed more by the reflector (behind the bulb) or the lens (ahead of the bulbs). While you can change the bulb, you are not changing the distance, i.e., not necessarily improving safety."
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(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday March 17 2020, @07:55PM (3 children)
Many motorcyclists have run this kind of flashing headlamp for decades - more important to be seen than for others to be able to see anything else, I suppose.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by dry on Wednesday March 18 2020, @01:05AM
As a bonus, it gives some people an epileptic seizure. Not too mention the people who get migraines from the flashing lights. How they're legal is beyond me.
Today I was getting followed by a bike, even in the Sun it was blinding me with its twin headlights (non-flashing), then he passed me, sounded like his motor did about 20 grand. I was doing 80 in a 60 zone and he was just about instantly gone. Rural area but lenough driveways, side roads and the odd kid or horseback rider. Idiot. Speeds are in kmph.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 18 2020, @02:31AM
Not only does the flashing light kill your night vision, it kills your sensitivity to motion. Suddenly everything looks like it's moving - therefore much harder to detect actual motion, like a dog or person stepping out between parked cars or a door opening in the bike lane. Those flashing lights are dangerous for the rider as much as annyone else.
(Score: 2) by legont on Wednesday March 18 2020, @03:57AM
When a two wheeler is killed, the usual claim by the perpetrator is that she did not see him.
Yes, I was in this position, but survived. A mother made a left turn on me and I flew over her and her two children for 20 feet.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.