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The headlights themselves are a fantastic thing. You have a much clearer view of the road in all conditions. I think the issue mostly seems to heat up with those who do not have rear view mirrors that auto-dim light.... so it can be blinding. Similar to mandating rear-view cameras... I think they should mandate auto-dimming rear view mirrors. This way, we keep increased driver visibility and impact other drivers significantly less. This also benefits everyone against drivers who place high-intensity lights illegally on cars without proper leveling... which I find FAR worse than cars that come with it stock.
I think the issue mostly seems to heat up with those who do not have rear view mirrors that auto-dim light.... so it can be blinding.
NO. These are blinding when the driver is on a bumpy road, in hilly terrain, in the side view driver's mirror, and on many SUVs. Cars already have flip up rear view mirrors to bounce light off the roof interior so that is not the issue.
Going to assume you are referring to aftermarket add-on, and not BMW factory LED accents. Depending on what's custom about them, they may or may not be legal, and may be the reason why you are having issues.
But yes, if they are in such a way that is deemed illegal, you can possibly get a ticket. Technicaly, you should also fail the vehicle inspection process.
Vehicle lighting needs to conform to federal standards and testing that is in place. Problem with custom lighting, is most vendors do what looks cool, vs what meets federal standards.
I understand, and if you need to...ah...wave at me when you're stopped dead in the road so be it, but me exiting a hostile situation is actually a counter-attack / bringing the fight to the enemy / a form of de-escalation, as I floor it off into the sunset. I don't know (you, whoever) and need to wonder if (your) next step is exiting the vehicle and having a little "chat" with me about my ....what was it again, bright lights? With a ...what's that, weapon in your hand? Cell phone? Who are you again...?
My stopping is not a 'hostile' situation, it simply means that I am unable to proceed and I am coming to a halt, and you can proceed around me. Now, if I were to exit my vehicle while you were stopped behind me, with a weapon in my hand, you would be right in regarding that as hostile. Your [illegal] 'exhibition of speed', on the other hand, is/would be an inappropriate and aggressive behavior.
Remaining in my vehicle, I present no threat to you. You can proceed around me. If *you*, on the other hand, exit your vehicle and attempt to confront *me* instead of simply proceeding on your way, *I* would consider that hostile...and, yes, I am typically armed...however, assuming a clear road ahead I would simply choose to drive on and leave you standing there, than have to deal with the hassle of a legal investigation if I were to remain and participate in your escalation of the situation.
In the interest of completeness, I actually *have* been in a situation where another driver exited his vehicle and attempted to drag me from mine. I was blocked by traffic (his car in front and another behind) and could not drive away...no, I did not draw my weapon, I simply informed him that if he wished to continue the escalation it would not be as easy as he was thinking, and allowed him to make the correct choice, which he did.
Full disclosure: In the above incident, the other vehicle entered traffic in front of me without sufficient room to do so, and I seriously thought that I would not be able to stop in time. I hit the horn at the same time as I locked the brakes, as a signal that he *really* needed to get a move on to avoid a collision. The individual apparently chose to take the horn as an insult rather than the warning it was intended to be, which is the legal and expected use of this *required* device, stopped and exited his vehicle with *clearly* hostile intent.
Most of us are not as stupid as you seem to think we are, nor are we as easily enraged as you appear to be. Also fortunately, *most* of the people who are [legally] armed are even *less* stupid, and the *last* thing we want is to be in a position where we are forced to use a weapon to defend ourselves. Despite a supposed presumption of innocence, self-defense cases often result in the defender being arrested and charged, and forced to expend a great deal of money to defend the charge, along with all of the other legal hassles- investigation, bail bond, loss of freedom, trial time, etc., and the outcome of the event is not necessarily predictable, even if the defender is in the right.
Vehicle lighting needs to conform to federal standards and testing that is in place. Problem with custom lighting, is most vendors do what looks cool, vs what meets federal standards.
Many of the devices sold, have packaging which is marked "For off-road and show use only", and the installation/use of these devices on public ways is actually illegal.
Unfortunately, there is little or no enforcement in regard to the [illegal] use of these devices on public ways.
The headlights themselves are a fantastic thing. You have a much clearer view of the road in all conditions. I think the issue mostly seems to heat up with those who do not have rear view mirrors that auto-dim light.... so it can be blinding. Similar to mandating rear-view cameras... I think they should mandate auto-dimming rear view mirrors. This way, we keep increased driver visibility and impact other drivers significantly less. This also benefits everyone against drivers who place high-intensity lights illegally on cars without proper leveling... which I find FAR worse than cars that come with it stock.
That's not 'road rage', your response to it *is*. I've come to a dead stop too, because of super bright lights behind me.
Why?
Because I can't freaking see! If your lights are blinding me so that I can't see the road, I come to a stop. What, you think people should just keep driving , hoping they don't hit something...or some*one*?
No, you'll get the finger wave from me on your way by.
THIS! This is not personal, it's not "we just don't like your lights"...I'm 54 and these things blind me when coming at me or when behind me. To the guy with the rude lights who claimed he played around until he found the "right height", how can there be any right height not to blind people when cars are all different sizes? When I had my 2-door Acura, I would have to actually turn my rear view mirror and side mirrors so that I couldn't see them at all, to avoid being blinded.
I actually did the "stop" once myself, when on a very dark, rural 2-lane road going the speed limit, and some a-hole in a giant SUV tailgated me. I was in my 2-door, and the light was as bright and blinding as if he stuck a spotlight in my face. I first slowed gradually hoping he'd just go around me (no shoulder) but he stayed on my butt even when I had slowed to 20 miles an hour under the speed limit. So I stopped. He went around, tires screeching in rage (what the heck did I do, except to want to be able to SEE where I was going?), and that was it.
That guy didn't give a crap that he was blinding me, in fact he used his lights to try to bully me, and I find many people in big trucks and SUVs do that to smaller cars with their lights.
If my new (used) car came with lights that are so obviously too bright people on the road are being blinded, I would personally take the custom lights off, but that's just me, I try to be a good fellow traveler when I can.
I have never had an issue with normal headlights OR high intensity discharge headlights from oncoming cars. In both cases I have been blinded by people behind me and the light reflecting off the rearview side mirrors.
To be fair, where I live the high-intensity lights are almost always OEM on the vehicles... thus auto-level on hills, bumps, curves etc.
Many of the devices sold, have packaging which is marked "For off-road and show use only", and the installation/use of these devices on public ways is actually illegal.
Unfortunately, there is little or no enforcement in regard to the [illegal] use of these devices on public ways.
Agree 100%
Enforcement is lax because police officers aren't really trained properly on determining what is a OEM headlight setup, or what it an aftermarket addition. They aren't vehicle technicians, nor are they up to speed on available lighting options for every make and model out there.
When a vehicle is inspected, such lighting should cause a fails. But, inspectors are human and sometimes don't care, get slipped $20, or the owner just swaps the lights for inspection.
Unfortunately, properly designed OE headlights get a bad rap due to lighting issues with the aftermarkets on the car that just drove by blinding everyone.
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