Have you ever driven down the road and wondered if the car behind you either A. had it’s high beams on or B. had some kind of new-fangled ultra-bright bulb? I have been wondering this myself and decided to investigate.
Etiquette
First things first – Use proper driving etiquette. IT IS NEVER APPROPRIATE TO USE HIGH BEAMS WHILST DRIVING ON ILLUMINATED STREETS WITH OTHER DRIVERS ON THE ROAD. I’ll admit that I have ACCIDENTALLY switched on my brights a time or two and unwittingly shined them on city streets.
Proper Operation
It seems clear to me that some folks either don’t know how to operate their high and low beams or don’t understand the difference at all. One of the drawbacks of living in a free society is that public spaces like roadways are rampant with bad choices like headlamps that are too bright, light bars, or folks that like lifted vehicles which shine in ordinary cars’ mirrors.
A high beam is for shining light greater distances at a higher brightness. It is not for city driving and should be disengaged when other drivers are present on the roadway. For example, when driving in the mountains it is proper etiquette to disengage your brights(high beam) when oncoming traffic emerges in the opposite direction on a two-lane road. You know your brights are engaged when the blue symbol appears and the road ahead of you is generally brighter than parking or low beam illumination.
Catching Up
Adaptive driving beam legislation was approved earlier this year to catch up with European auto makers who remove this technology on cars sold to the US market. Such technology includes smart features which may eliminate the need for the driver to make a light selection at all. Also, adaptive lighting may shade pedestrians and other drivers entirely from the field of light.
This technology requires more expensive hardware, and may only begin to appear in luxury vehicles. Its about time it did, as insurance and safety organizations have been raising alarms about the dangers of America’s roadways.
I had a dangerous experience myself yesterday. I was coming from a dimly lit area when, ironically, I faced a lineup of overly bright vehicles which, combined with fog, nearly blocked my view of the road paint at a stop light. Smart adaptive headlights would have sensed my approach and dimmed appropriately without driver input.
Some Facts
Here are some empirical facts to think about. The common Halogen headlamp puts out about 1,300 lumens of brightness. LEDs are around 1,600. The controversial Xenon or HID is around 3,000, which is commonly thought of as a limiting benchmark. However, laser technology has emerged with a possible illumination of as much as 6,400 lumens!
Personally, I drive at night quite often. I find that I use my manual rearview mirror dimmer switch routinely. Still, this does not help me with my side mirrors. We clearly have a long way to go to advance driver safety.
If you have a comment or correction, please do so below 🙂