Is it my imagination or

[Danny Tanner]

I feel the same way about people who drive around town with their fog lights on as if they are driving lights

Last weekend on my way to my dad's we were in my wife's Nissan Altima without tinted windows. Driving behind us down 15th street was a white Hummer H1. I counted about 12 fog lights on his bumper and the cage above the cab. He had all but about 4 of them turned on. Even speeding up to put some distance between us and adjusting the rear-view to dim, it still felt to my eyes as if we were being tailgated by the sun.

It was about 5 in the evening, too, wasn't even dark yet. We also passed a cop driving the opposite direction who did nothing, and there's no way he didn't see this freight train chugging down the road.

 

[MaddSkillz]

Please click here.

 

[264Magnum]

I never even considered adjusting my head lights after I lifted my truck. I like being able to see farther down the road.

HID lights on a Lexus seem a lot brighter to me than normal head lights on a lifted truck, anyway.

 

[Istandalone]

My vehicle (Xterra) is not lifted, but people flash their brights at me on occassion. What's a good way to adjust the headlights. the only one I really know of is the 100 yard flat road type test.

 

[WhiteyMacD]

Fog lamps/running lamps shouldnt be blinding anyone. They illuminate between you main beams and a few feet just past the bumper and a few yards either side. I run mine auto with main beams.

HID in non HID assemblies is worse than anything. Not to mention illegal.

 

[RidgeHunter]

Don't look at the lights. Look at the white line on the right edge of the road, and whatever you do don't focus on the light, even for a second. It will blind you.

A helpful hint is that if you can see each individual beam, the brights probably are not on. When brights are on, you usually can't distinguish the 2 separate beams. It looks like one big supernova of brightness.

People flashed my 4WD Tacoma when it was stock all the time. I usually ignored it, but a few times they insisted on doing it multiple times. That hurts my eyes. Then I would slow way down and hit the high beams for them, leaving them on until they passed. You know, just in case they were right and I was wrong. I had to be sure. One guy's lady friend covered her eyes with her arms. I guess they believed me that my stock truck only had it's stock low beams on after that.

It's now on 33's and sits a few inches higher than stock. I didn't adjust them, because it really isn't any worse than it was stock. You'd have to be REALLY close to notice the difference. In passing, that's a fraction of a second. If i don't tailgate you, that eliminates the other problem. So I won't tailgate you. They still flash me, but oddly it seems I get flashed less than when it was stock.

Headlights are brighter now than they were 20 years ago. I've driven low cars, and that's just part of it (getting excess light in your eyes) . I've never had a problem driving at night, except when people ACTUALLY have their high beams on.
A stock SUV/Truck vs. a car that sits on the ground, you are always going to get lit up. Headlights on many stock SUV's and pickups sit at windshield level to the average car.

I think it may be a getting old thing. My dad is getting worse at night driving, and he admits it. He's not even old.

ETA: I also wear glasses and have pretty bad near-sightedness.

 

[JRSherman]

I don't know if it's that or if it's just the super high intensity of all these new style of bulbs. When I started driving prior to 2000, I never had any problems seeing at night. My headlights always illuminated the road a good distance in front of me, and I could usually see beyond that too.

The last 3 years though, and mind you I'm only 28, I am seriously scared to drive at night sometimes, especially if it's raining. I've had my eyes checked out numerous times with nothing wrong, and I even eat my carrots lol.

One thing that kills me here in Oklahoma is that I cannot see the road lines here. Everywhere I drive in MO, the roads are primarily concrete, although we do have a few asphalt roads. All the lines up there, new or old, are highly reflective, and I can see them day or night, with or without it raining. There are several stretches of highway here that are brand new, new striped lines, and I can't see them at night at all, and if it's raining I have to pull over and let my wife drive.

Don't feel alone, if I drive at night I can't distinguish hi or low either, and usually come home with a headache from them.

ETA: After reading Ridgehunter's post, it bugs me even more that I have problems since I'm in a truck and have problems with lights. . .

 

[ewheeley]

I can't stand headlights on lifted vehicles. I think headlight level should be regulated, so that even lifted vehicles must have their headlights at the level as standard vehicles. I can't count the number of times, just recently, that I've been full on blinded by the headlights on a lifted truck.

 

[RidgeHunter]

I can't stand headlights on lifted vehicles. I think headlight level should be regulated, so that even lifted vehicles must have their headlights at the level as standard vehicles. I can't count the number of times, just recently, that I've been full on blinded by the headlights on a lifted truck.

You live in Arkansas, so I can see where you're coming from.

We don't have as many hillbilly built Econoline vans sitting on inverted junkyard leaf springs and 8 foot of 2'x'4 steel in order to tower over 35" Ground Hawgs as you guys do.

[Broken External Image]

 

[ewheeley]

You live in Arkansas, so I can see where you're coming from.

We don't have as many hillbilly built Econoline vans sitting on inverted junkyard leaf springs and 8 foot of 2'x'4 steel in order to tower over 35" Ground Hawgs as you guys do.

That is brilliant.