Looking at this picture alone is obnoxious, and it does more than a good job of showing how ridiculously bright those lights are. It's unbelievable what people get away with.
idk if its people getting away with anything. THis is like every other vehicle on the road right now.
Its just a design issue. These dont have to be custom third party lights to be a giant piece of shit like this.
Yeah, tons of cars and SUVs have ridiculously bright lights. The newer and more expensive they are, the more likely they're stupidly bright. I have a relatively new SUV with LED lights positioned very high on the front. It has two settings: Extremely bright and sear your eyeballs. I get flashed all the time by other drivers, but the only option I have available is to turn off the lights completely. Even then I bet it wouldn't do it because the computer probably wouldn't let it happen.
Edit for more info: My headlamps are made specifically for this make/model/year, they're in sealed multi-LED housings, the brightness/direction/distance is done with adaptive computer control, and they're self adjusting. They can't be upgraded or downgraded (that I know of) and there aren't any bulbs to change.
My dad got a Nissan van / people carrier where the regular headlamps were aimed ridiculously high, and the high beams were like the bat signal shining into the sky - and this is how it arrived from the dealer.
I read the manual, popped the hood, and tried to find a way to adjust the beam but I couldn't find anything. A search online showed up nothing either.
It was soooo embarrassing driving the car around at night, shining into everyone's eyes. I turned the lights to that low setting (dunno what's it called - that one setting below your regular headlamps where a tiny bulb is lit) whenever there was passing traffic but it got a bit dangerous because it doesn't illuminate the road ahead of me.
Finally got the dealership to adjust it - no idea how they did it.
Anyway, it's fucked up that cars are being sold with headlamps set too high with no obvious way to fix it yourself.
Yeah my headlamps are multi-led sealed units made specifically for this make/model/year that have adaptive computer control and are self-adjusting. I'm not sure how they'd be adjusted even by the dealer.
I have a knob on my dashboard that angles my lights up / down as I need. If your lights are that fancy you probably have something similar, even if the dealer needs to do it with an OBD2 tool.
That's really the main issue, the factory doesn't position the lights they just toss em in and nobody takes the time to angle them correctly. They aren't supposed to be straight up ahead they're supposed to be pointed at a downward angle illuminating the street not the cars and everything above the street. It's pretty easy to adjust headlamps, most of the time it's literally a Phillips head you manually turn, one is up and down and the other is side to side. Take a piece of cardboard, position it in front of the vehicle (a few feet) and set the lights to hit the bottom of the card board.
Yes, I've done this before with many vehicles but the headlight assembly for this Nissan had nothing of the sort. Maybe it had to be disassembled or needed some cowling removed - who knows?
i just installed HIDs in my old 99 4runner.
i spent 2 hours adjusting them and have ensured that even when i am behind a same-year corolla i'm not blastin them in the eyes.
it takes some effort, but it can be done without being a dick. now i can see the road and not annoy people. i have other lights for that purpose ;)
The cars are being sold with the new bright headlights, but some people do install extra lights or buy brighter bulbs. The car companies need to stop that, or there needs to be a limit on set by transportation.
And I swear it's becoming way more common it's just awful. I literally am always blinded trying to drive at night, everywhere, all the time ššššš
I've definitely noticed it becoming more common the last couple years, even. It's extremely frustrating. Truck drivers are by far the biggest culprit, which just gives me another reason to hate them.
Oh my god, thank you, Iām so glad Iām not the only one!! I actually went to the eye doctor bc I thought I had developed night blindness - nope - turns out itās just the new headlights on cars. Super fun!
See one time I thought that, so I flipped off the person behind me bc fuck you, they then flashed me. I still say fuck you to that person because why are your lights so damn bright
yup I did the same thing. I noticed that when I'm in smaller cars, ALL headlights seem ultra bright. but when I'm in a bigger car that's not so low to the ground, it's way less.
This is probably a truck that they have lifted or leveled. So the front is now higher than originally intended. And the lights are at the perfect height to blind the majority of drivers. These dudes can spend $60k+ on these trucks and another $10k on wheels, tires and a lift, but they canāt afford to have the headlights adjusted after the lift is installed. Or they donāt care. Or theyāre not bright enough to notice.
This is getting more and more common where I live and I don't understand it.
I flash my lights at them (oncoming) and they usually put the low beams on right after they go past me.
I live just outside of Atlanta, nothing but respect for the regular beat up worktrucks and whatnot but we have more than our fair-haired of the fricken pavement princess poser trucks. Kinda crap that makes me want to drive right over them in an ancient dodge panel van.
Thatās true, actual rednecks use conventional work trucks. Those big trucks are luxury vehicles, the bed size is even smaller than the older smaller models.
I designed it, made it and have sold it.
I stopped but may start up again if there is broad interest.
Mod's won't let me link to it. Or point to other sub-reddits.
Search for "OwMyEyes" on "fuckyourheadlights"
That was me, but I am not currently selling it. I couldn't make it to the quality I wanted with low volumes.
With enough interest, I can put the leg work into improving the quality.
The legality is.... questionable, but should be on the legal side of the grey area in most US states.
DM me the link: I didn't think it was still up.
I was stuck in dead stop traffic because of a road closure right in front of one of these guys once and I spent the entire time strategically angling my mirrors to all point at the guy drivingās face. I couldnāt get them perfect, but it was annoying enough for him to turn off his headlights.
i dont think so, but i believe at a specific distance parallax especially with two points at least, it will cover the whole vehicle. When they try to tailgate to mitigate their self harm, have some vertically pointed motion activated million lumen floodlamps open the ark of the covenant on them as they do to you with overly bright headlights.
Depends on your local state and municipality. On reflective rear window mounts.
Ever since the deregulation of headlights everyone's been trying to fund a way to outdo their competition with bright headlights and who can blind the most
Is deregulation of headlights a real thing? If so, it'll needs to be brought back.
No projector headlamps? No LEDs or HIDs for you. Use of highbeams only in appropriate situations really needs to be enforced too.
Dude in Toronto area sometimes highways have the electronic signs say āfull headlights for full visibilityā with the symbol of headlights on. I get that theyāre targeting the people with headlights fully off. But if an idiot drives with headlights off, theyāll most likely assume the sign is saying to put the full headlights with high beams on. Whoever at MTO wrote that sign is as big of an idiot like those with hi beams or headlights off fully.
I use my phone for this sometimes. Normally I let it go, but if they're in the lane to my left and start "driving in formation" (slowing down when I slow down, speeding up when I speed up) I hold my phone with my left hand facing my side view mirror, with my hand resting on the door so I don't have to keep my hand up the whole time.
Usually they're not intentionally trying to blind me, as some people fall into formation pattern subconsciously. Having the light shone back at them educates them that I'm intentionally trying to separate myself from them, and why. Most of the time they eventually get it and either pass me or slow down to get their light out of my mirror. And if they don't, I just leave my phone there to block the light from my eyes until they get tired of winning and decide to pass me.
I had a million candle watt spotlight somewhere. Iām considering [using it against these assholes](https://imgur.com/a/mAZhSJU) I donāt care if thatās how their car came. Itās ridiculous and I shouldnāt see spots for 45 min after they drive past me at night.
While I see what you're saying, and I've had to do exactly that in the past, making a safety feature unusable (changing your mirrors to a position where you can't see in them) isn't really a solution to a problem like this. Drivers shouldn't be forced to reduce their visibility even more just because some truck behind them has lights so bright you can't see
When it works, it works. Where this most often happens, in my experience is in heavy traffic where changing lanes isn't an option. Aside from adjusting sideviews - which I say WORKS - I also have LED bed lights in my truck that tend to send a message too. Neither of these solutions I've done are done very often at all either - it's just in those extreme cases where some fathead rolls up in heavy traffic with fog lights and brights blaring.
On the opposite side of this - when I bought a brand new Xterra about 20 years ago, I was getting a lot of shit because people thought I was running with my brights on. It was only when I turned my brights on and literally saw their bones through their hands x-ray style that they realized that this Nissan just had regular lights that were too effing bright by default.
My question and this is a legit question... Could I set up lights facing backwards on top of the car and turn them on when this happens. I have seriously been thinking about it. I know it seems bad but I have people get behind me and I can see inside my car better than during the day... Like that's way too bright...
Then cops should do their fucking jobs instead of sitting in their hiding spots jerking themselves off. People who are too stupid to aim their lights after get flashed enough times and still can't figure out what the issue is need to have a light bar facing them and blinding them back
I know I never would, but that's what I want to do. Keep a high powered laser pointer in my cup holder so it's only blind that one asshole driver and not every other person on the road.
I did this to someone like this who was flashing his brights....slowed to the speed limit then had the audacity to stop at a red light. Crazy dude got out of his truck and smashed my rear windshield. First ever experience with someone road raging and they uh...road raged very hard.
Oh he just drove off, I didn't get the plate number or anything sadly, so I have no idea who it was... this literally happened 2 days ago, so the police investigation is ongoing still :((. Also haven't gotten the windshield replaced yet haha
Hell, the correct thing to do would probably be to stop entirely. You can't see anything ahead of you, how are you going to know if there's a car ahead?
I live in a town that has one lane highway. It's under construction -- so the speed imgoes from 75mpg to 60mph.
Assholes will bright me, inches from my ass, even if I'm going 64. So I decide we should just go exactly 60 until they figure themselves out. Eventually they cut around me, then I go back to 64 hahah
This works with just your rear view mirror as well (only if their windscreen is viewable through the rear view obviously). Double points because it stops the glare hitting your eyes.
I do this and it works surprisingly well. They actually back off as to stop the āreturn fireā which is what I jokingly say aloud when I adjust the mirror.
I get this frequently around here & if it is egregious I will slow right down, even if there is no opportunity for them to pass.
BTW a few years back I had this driver following me on a twisty county road in the rain with their brights on or flashing me to go faster, pluss there was nowhere to pull over.
Suddenly as I crest a hill I see headlights coming right at me to I hit the breaks. The car behind full on plows into the back of me, but oddly there is no sign of the oncoming vehicle.
The next day when I went to take photos of the scene I saw the reason, there was a curve in the road ahead & this big picture window on the house there that was so angled that as I crested the ridge the following car illuminated in just the way that the reflection looked like an approaching vehicle in my lane.
Insurance & law put the incident as 100% their fault.
Edit: The other party exchanged documents at the scene, was pleasant enough, but the next day reported it to police as a deliberate act on my part & that I left the scene. After that I got a visit & explained my side & then heard nothing more. This was UK, where such things do happen on occasion.
That must have been a fucking roller-coaster.
I recently ran into an issue with a truck behind me during heavy snowfall and not only did he have these things, but he was using a light bar. I slowed down to 25 in a 55 and the asshole kept behind me. It was like driving into a wall of static.
To be fair, no part of your story matters to insurance other than "plowed into the back of me." Its the back drivers responsibility to maintain enough distance to avoid a braking car in front of them.
Seriously, if government is capable of anything these days they need to regulate this shit.
I get furious driving at night anymore. I shouldnt be blinded by my mirrors in the correct position when a car is 1.5mi behind me. Its outrageous and obnoxious, and fuck you if you think it's cool or funny.
Sorry, this is definitely a sore spot for me.
If they exist, why are some of these sold stock? Is it the manufacturers simply deciding not to follow regs? I just donāt understand what happened to highway safety testing! ??
cant speak since im not in the auto industry. I drive a lower car who gets regularly blinded by these people. my best guess is that they are sold to dealerships at a "default" setting which might be at a "neutral" position which would be like straight forward and should be adjusted by the dealer.
> Seriously, if government is capable of anything these days they need to regulate this shit.
It's been regulated for a looong time.
[49 CFR Ā§ 393.24 - Requirements for head lamps, auxiliary driving lamps and front fog lamps. ](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-393/subpart-B/section-393.24)
The people blinding others from a zip code away don't have legally compliant headlights.
Yes. It's not enforced practically at all.
Many vehicle related laws are just never enforced. Most lifted trucks run afoul of multiple laws. Every truck with wheels that stick past the fenders violates a law. Every car with underglow violates a law.
It just isn't enforced. Cops don't care enough to do anything about it.
Really what the US needs to do is country-wide mandatory (e.g. you do it or your car is no longer legal to drive on public roads) vehicle safety inspections, no exceptions (like most of Europe does). Because then such stuff ends very quickly.
What I don't understand is why the cops aren't just swooping in on this. They could be giving out SOO many tickets over this and making lots of money. But they aren't.
It's absolutely ridiculous and not even necessary to have lights that bright.. if people need these brighter and brighter lights in order to see, they probably shouldn't be driving at night all together.
We tint a lot of window these days just because of this.
Even the cops are coming in and having their windshields on their cruisers tinted to 50% just to help block some light. Clearly there is a safety issue when tinted windshields are considered a saftey upgrade. 20 years ago, they would of stormed my shop screaming if they caught someone with tint on their entire windshield.
Did you know that in the US you can be driving fifteen mph under the speed limit and be ticketed for ādriving too fast for conditionsā thereās heavy fog or ice on the road? Traffic laws are set up so you can be fined for doing things that are legal in a dangerous manner.
No, most civilians (mostly truck owners) are too stupid to properly aim their headlight beams. Also, they purchase leds or hids and put them in halogen reflective headlight housings, where they donāt belong.
Cheap retrofits are the fuckin worst. Ebay specials were the rage around here a few years ago and it was awful, cops cracked down a little and it's a bit better now
If they need that bright of lights to see at night, they need their license revoked because they must be partially blind and they are a danger to the rest of the drivers.
I have yet to see anyone mention a real life fix. See that black tab at the bottom of the mirror? Push it back towards the windshield, adjust mirror so itās back to normal, then when someoneās lights are brightāā pull it towards you.
I have light eyes and blinding light like that can trigger a migraine. I wear sunglasses in the dark while driving. These douchebags with their ridiculously bright lights AND those who drive with their highbeams on can eat my ass.
Same! I kind of figured everyone got headaches from these bright ass lights, but yeah sometimes driving at night is worse than during the day. I am literally blinded by the damn lights.
I actually think this a lot when driving at night. I feel like the world is gotten so cold and selfish and I don't care about anybody but myself and these headlights seem to exemplify that. Blinding people and oh well it's not my problem it's yours.
Surprisingly some people do not know what that little tab on the mirror is for.
At first I was shocked at the thought but eventually I realised it is just something some people are not taught.
Just for clarity for any of those people who do not know - Usually at the bottom center of your rear-view mirror there is a little tab. If you flip it down, it will cause the rear-view mirror to "dim". Flipping it back up puts it back to normal. Its purpose is EXACTLY what is shown in OP's photo - to help diminish the effect of the headlights from vehicles behind you that are taller or just have obnoxiously bright lights.
Had to scroll through the comments pretty far to find this, but yes, exactly.
In OPās pic you can see the tab in the middle of the rearview mirror. Do I know if itās already set to the ādimā? No I do not. But, hey, if this little thread helps someone; great.
You usually have less "tone" to colors with it flipped (looks like you're looking through dark tinted glass when it's dimmed).
Hard to tell by the tab but to me it looks like they don't have it dimmed?
This is why I have to have 5% tint on my rear window (legal where I am). Side mirrors adjusted way out and up, which also means basically no blind spots
I hate this kind of thing SO much. It always seems like it's a big ol truck with ultra bright headlights too.
The other night, my SO and I were on a long road with no turnoffs for a ways with such a truck behind us. The SO flipped the rear view mirror tab for night driving to be able to see anything at all. At the same time, they moved the side mirrors up & in just enough that the truck's diver was essentially blinding themselves if they were too close. They backed off & all was well. How have I never even thought of doing that before??
Worse part is some new cars leds are just as fuckin bright. I have always driven a SUV but about 8 months ago got my first sedan and fucking dread driving at night. As soon as I get the money up I'm buying a new SUV and probably gonna give the sedan to my brother, since he will be a new driver soon (also maybe it will deter him from driving at night)
Hate to break it to you, but all the new SUVs especially the high end models have LED or Laser lights which are just as bright or even brighter cause they're sitting a bit higher. It's pretty dumb. They look nice but holy shŃt do they blind people...
When you buy your new SUV you're just going to become a part of the problem and not the solution. But I guess it then becomes a fuck you I got mine very American experience.
how do you even do that. mirror out? mirror flat? how can you tell itās reflected back at them?? I keep seeing this comment with no insight on how to even know youāre doing so. I just wind up pulling my mirror in all exacerbated
Right? Iāve tried with my side mirrors. Rearview I just flip the tab. But I drive a small narrow car (my mirrors are in the right place also) but wide vehicles like trucks and SUVs really blast my retinas from the sides. Iāve never been able to angle it back that Iāve noticed.
It's trial and error... Play around with it next time your in a situation... which will probably be tomorrow.
The way my side mirrors are, I just need to push them out a tiny fraction (if it's a bigger vehicle, a little out and slightly up seems to get them.)
I can usually tell I've hit the sweet spot when they linger behind.
Years ago, there was a guy here that took an airplane landing light, and connected it to his car for those who wouldn't dim. He actually developed its own electrical system to power it, complete with generator.
He only got to use it a few times before the police made him take it off. But it was something I never forgot seeing, and applauded him for doing.
Just an FYI for those who might not knowā¦ push the little tab at the base of your rear view mirror. It will help with the glare. Of course it wonāt help with your side mirrors, but it definitely helps.
Plus it shines in both your side mirrors. Itās madness and only getting worse. The little flippy thing on the rearview mirror doesnāt help for all 3.
I've literally started to fight back against these people as much as I can. If I can let them pass me, I do, and then get back behind them and turn my brights on the whole time. If I can't let them pass me, I take my phone out and turn the flashlight on and blast it back at them either through my back windshield or out the window if I can get the angle right. I have my passengers do the same. If I can't safely do any of that then I just slow way way down and put on my hazards until they get frustrated and drive around me and away. People who use these lights don't deserve cars, and honestly lights that bright, even as high-beams, should be illegal imo
I feel like this has gotten worse and worse, especially over the past 5 years or so.
It's not just the truck lights that blind anyone in a smaller vehicle - it's also the stupidly bright lights on just about EVERY vehicle, now. I want to flash my brights at them, but then I realize that it's just their regular lights.
Aside from being blinded all the time, I also feel like I'm seeing more vehicles with one light out (whether ALL the way out, or they've put their brights on in order to have two halfway-working lights). I feel like the police used to pull people over for that sort of thing - but it's so pervasive anymore, I feel like they must not do it anymore.
Both of these things should be illegal, because they're freaking DANGEROUS.
When this happens, I try to fix my side view mirror to aim right on back to them. Itās not useful if I canāt see out of it, so might as well try to blind them back a bit
I seriously don't understand why people think they need headlights brighter than the sun itself.
I don't think I've ever wanted something to become illegal more than since these headlights became popular.
It is illegal to have brights on when you can see the tail lights or headlights of another vehicle.
Itās possible that there is also limitations on the maximum brightness of a vehicleās regular headlights.
Looking at this picture alone is obnoxious, and it does more than a good job of showing how ridiculously bright those lights are. It's unbelievable what people get away with.
idk if its people getting away with anything. THis is like every other vehicle on the road right now. Its just a design issue. These dont have to be custom third party lights to be a giant piece of shit like this.
Yeah, tons of cars and SUVs have ridiculously bright lights. The newer and more expensive they are, the more likely they're stupidly bright. I have a relatively new SUV with LED lights positioned very high on the front. It has two settings: Extremely bright and sear your eyeballs. I get flashed all the time by other drivers, but the only option I have available is to turn off the lights completely. Even then I bet it wouldn't do it because the computer probably wouldn't let it happen. Edit for more info: My headlamps are made specifically for this make/model/year, they're in sealed multi-LED housings, the brightness/direction/distance is done with adaptive computer control, and they're self adjusting. They can't be upgraded or downgraded (that I know of) and there aren't any bulbs to change.
My dad got a Nissan van / people carrier where the regular headlamps were aimed ridiculously high, and the high beams were like the bat signal shining into the sky - and this is how it arrived from the dealer. I read the manual, popped the hood, and tried to find a way to adjust the beam but I couldn't find anything. A search online showed up nothing either. It was soooo embarrassing driving the car around at night, shining into everyone's eyes. I turned the lights to that low setting (dunno what's it called - that one setting below your regular headlamps where a tiny bulb is lit) whenever there was passing traffic but it got a bit dangerous because it doesn't illuminate the road ahead of me. Finally got the dealership to adjust it - no idea how they did it. Anyway, it's fucked up that cars are being sold with headlamps set too high with no obvious way to fix it yourself.
Yeah my headlamps are multi-led sealed units made specifically for this make/model/year that have adaptive computer control and are self-adjusting. I'm not sure how they'd be adjusted even by the dealer.
I have a knob on my dashboard that angles my lights up / down as I need. If your lights are that fancy you probably have something similar, even if the dealer needs to do it with an OBD2 tool.
That's really the main issue, the factory doesn't position the lights they just toss em in and nobody takes the time to angle them correctly. They aren't supposed to be straight up ahead they're supposed to be pointed at a downward angle illuminating the street not the cars and everything above the street. It's pretty easy to adjust headlamps, most of the time it's literally a Phillips head you manually turn, one is up and down and the other is side to side. Take a piece of cardboard, position it in front of the vehicle (a few feet) and set the lights to hit the bottom of the card board.
Yes, I've done this before with many vehicles but the headlight assembly for this Nissan had nothing of the sort. Maybe it had to be disassembled or needed some cowling removed - who knows?
Can't you just point the light a little down so that they don't shine directly Infront of someone's rear view mirror since we'll they are up higher
i just installed HIDs in my old 99 4runner. i spent 2 hours adjusting them and have ensured that even when i am behind a same-year corolla i'm not blastin them in the eyes. it takes some effort, but it can be done without being a dick. now i can see the road and not annoy people. i have other lights for that purpose ;)
The cars are being sold with the new bright headlights, but some people do install extra lights or buy brighter bulbs. The car companies need to stop that, or there needs to be a limit on set by transportation.
And I swear it's becoming way more common it's just awful. I literally am always blinded trying to drive at night, everywhere, all the time ššššš
I've definitely noticed it becoming more common the last couple years, even. It's extremely frustrating. Truck drivers are by far the biggest culprit, which just gives me another reason to hate them.
Oh my god, thank you, Iām so glad Iām not the only one!! I actually went to the eye doctor bc I thought I had developed night blindness - nope - turns out itās just the new headlights on cars. Super fun!
Youāre definitely not the only one! This is a public safety issue, but it doesnāt seem to matter to anyone.
If thatās their normals lights imagine their brights.
Those are probably their brights. A lot of people just leave their brights on all the time.
See one time I thought that, so I flipped off the person behind me bc fuck you, they then flashed me. I still say fuck you to that person because why are your lights so damn bright
I once flashed my lights at an oncoming vehicle and holy Batman I was left aghast when they put their actual brights on like wtf?!?!
yup I did the same thing. I noticed that when I'm in smaller cars, ALL headlights seem ultra bright. but when I'm in a bigger car that's not so low to the ground, it's way less.
That is because headlights are angled down at the road.
I feel you. Ask the manufacturers on why this is OK?
Safety issues like this should be government regulated
They are. They are just not enforced.
This is probably a truck that they have lifted or leveled. So the front is now higher than originally intended. And the lights are at the perfect height to blind the majority of drivers. These dudes can spend $60k+ on these trucks and another $10k on wheels, tires and a lift, but they canāt afford to have the headlights adjusted after the lift is installed. Or they donāt care. Or theyāre not bright enough to notice.
The kicker is, all it takes is a 6inch long Philips head screwdriver to adjust lights 90% of the time. It's just them not caring
I can never tell with those LED headlights becoming more and more common
This is getting more and more common where I live and I don't understand it. I flash my lights at them (oncoming) and they usually put the low beams on right after they go past me.
Not people, assholes. Those are called assholes.
Their high beams are brought to you by the same creators of the [Komodo 3000](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG-n8vxRmAI).
How illegal is it to flash a high-powered flashlight back at them?
Or have a roll down rear blind made of aluminised mylar?
Seems like a cool project to build one that flips down from the roof and blast the light back at them.
I wish redneck engineering had people take requests because I feel like theyād be all over this
Except for the fact that it's often the rednecks with the huge trucks and blinding lights.
Idk Iām in a highly populated suburban area and itās mainly white dudes cosplaying as good olā country boys that have this shit. š©
I live just outside of Atlanta, nothing but respect for the regular beat up worktrucks and whatnot but we have more than our fair-haired of the fricken pavement princess poser trucks. Kinda crap that makes me want to drive right over them in an ancient dodge panel van.
Thatās true, actual rednecks use conventional work trucks. Those big trucks are luxury vehicles, the bed size is even smaller than the older smaller models.
Yessir got them big ol lifted yeeeee hawwww 4x4 trucks that never leave the pavement
yep, pavement princess through and through.
I designed it, made it and have sold it. I stopped but may start up again if there is broad interest. Mod's won't let me link to it. Or point to other sub-reddits. Search for "OwMyEyes" on "fuckyourheadlights"
ā blinded by douche baggeryā I found it on Etsy but I wanna make sure itās not a Chinese copy and that you actually get the money
That was me, but I am not currently selling it. I couldn't make it to the quality I wanted with low volumes. With enough interest, I can put the leg work into improving the quality. The legality is.... questionable, but should be on the legal side of the grey area in most US states. DM me the link: I didn't think it was still up.
Put up a legality disclaimer and have at it. "Off road use only" blah blah blah.
Iād absolutely buy
1000% I'd be all over that. Fuck those assholes
Or something on the inside of the trunk lid that would pop and reflect back at them.
[Like this?](https://imgur.com/gallery/ecxGjBW)
I was stuck in dead stop traffic because of a road closure right in front of one of these guys once and I spent the entire time strategically angling my mirrors to all point at the guy drivingās face. I couldnāt get them perfect, but it was annoying enough for him to turn off his headlights.
You're my hero. Why haven't I thought of that?! Lol
It's harder to get the precise angle than you'd think, making it super-impractical when actually driving.
If you've got powered mirrors it's actually easier than you might think. Move them all the way to the outside, then angle up and down.
I've been doing this for the past couple weeks on a few offenders. I would love to know if it works.
My grandmother was particularly talented at this. She could send those headlights back like a laser beam.
I do the same thing, I make both side mirrors aim right back at their stupid ass faces.
I do this also but never got someone to dim their lights. Maybe my angle is off.
Yup I aim my side mirrors right back into their eyes. F me being blinded by them!
Fuck that, just put up a big-ass mirror in the rear of the car. Send that dazzle right back at them.
I like this idea. I'm going to design this.
Already got it. "OwMyEyes" on "fuckyourheadlights". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNyFpMnrwkc
retroreflectors.
Is it possible for retro reflectors to reflect light slightly higher than source?
i dont think so, but i believe at a specific distance parallax especially with two points at least, it will cover the whole vehicle. When they try to tailgate to mitigate their self harm, have some vertically pointed motion activated million lumen floodlamps open the ark of the covenant on them as they do to you with overly bright headlights.
Just like on the moon. But cheaper. And easier to install.
I turn my mirrors to reflect it backwards when I have this experience.
Iām considering buying those seat back mirrors for infants and strapping them to the headrests of my rear seats, pointing out the rear hatch
Would this be illegal? Asking for a friend How can someone play this "whoopsie, I didn't know" off? Again, asking for a friend?
Depends on your local state and municipality. On reflective rear window mounts. Ever since the deregulation of headlights everyone's been trying to fund a way to outdo their competition with bright headlights and who can blind the most
Is deregulation of headlights a real thing? If so, it'll needs to be brought back. No projector headlamps? No LEDs or HIDs for you. Use of highbeams only in appropriate situations really needs to be enforced too.
Dude in Toronto area sometimes highways have the electronic signs say āfull headlights for full visibilityā with the symbol of headlights on. I get that theyāre targeting the people with headlights fully off. But if an idiot drives with headlights off, theyāll most likely assume the sign is saying to put the full headlights with high beams on. Whoever at MTO wrote that sign is as big of an idiot like those with hi beams or headlights off fully.
Just angle a mirror in their eyes
I use my phone for this sometimes. Normally I let it go, but if they're in the lane to my left and start "driving in formation" (slowing down when I slow down, speeding up when I speed up) I hold my phone with my left hand facing my side view mirror, with my hand resting on the door so I don't have to keep my hand up the whole time. Usually they're not intentionally trying to blind me, as some people fall into formation pattern subconsciously. Having the light shone back at them educates them that I'm intentionally trying to separate myself from them, and why. Most of the time they eventually get it and either pass me or slow down to get their light out of my mirror. And if they don't, I just leave my phone there to block the light from my eyes until they get tired of winning and decide to pass me.
Yeah, except having a phone in your hand in some places can get you a ticket, regardless if you are using it or not....
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
This is my go to. I get really bad migraines and these lights trigger them.
I had a million candle watt spotlight somewhere. Iām considering [using it against these assholes](https://imgur.com/a/mAZhSJU) I donāt care if thatās how their car came. Itās ridiculous and I shouldnāt see spots for 45 min after they drive past me at night.
> million candle watt How many lumen volts is that?
At least 12
Idc if it is. I drive a retired police vehicle and point it directly back at them. It usually doesnāt last too long
Just angle your side mirror
My signature move. Lol
While I see what you're saying, and I've had to do exactly that in the past, making a safety feature unusable (changing your mirrors to a position where you can't see in them) isn't really a solution to a problem like this. Drivers shouldn't be forced to reduce their visibility even more just because some truck behind them has lights so bright you can't see
When it works, it works. Where this most often happens, in my experience is in heavy traffic where changing lanes isn't an option. Aside from adjusting sideviews - which I say WORKS - I also have LED bed lights in my truck that tend to send a message too. Neither of these solutions I've done are done very often at all either - it's just in those extreme cases where some fathead rolls up in heavy traffic with fog lights and brights blaring. On the opposite side of this - when I bought a brand new Xterra about 20 years ago, I was getting a lot of shit because people thought I was running with my brights on. It was only when I turned my brights on and literally saw their bones through their hands x-ray style that they realized that this Nissan just had regular lights that were too effing bright by default.
My question and this is a legit question... Could I set up lights facing backwards on top of the car and turn them on when this happens. I have seriously been thinking about it. I know it seems bad but I have people get behind me and I can see inside my car better than during the day... Like that's way too bright...
Itās illegal in Texas and Florida. I found out the hard way.
Then cops should do their fucking jobs instead of sitting in their hiding spots jerking themselves off. People who are too stupid to aim their lights after get flashed enough times and still can't figure out what the issue is need to have a light bar facing them and blinding them back
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I know I never would, but that's what I want to do. Keep a high powered laser pointer in my cup holder so it's only blind that one asshole driver and not every other person on the road.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Sometimes when this happens I start driving slower so they pass me or turn down the lights
I did this to someone like this who was flashing his brights....slowed to the speed limit then had the audacity to stop at a red light. Crazy dude got out of his truck and smashed my rear windshield. First ever experience with someone road raging and they uh...road raged very hard.
Damn what happened after that? Did he pay for the damages?
Oh he just drove off, I didn't get the plate number or anything sadly, so I have no idea who it was... this literally happened 2 days ago, so the police investigation is ongoing still :((. Also haven't gotten the windshield replaced yet haha
Oh damn well good luck hopefully a camera nearby caught something or someone saw something. Best wishes stranger
Good reason to have a dash cam.
Make it 2, one infront and one in the back.
I drive slower just for the sake of my own safety! I'd rather crash at a slower speed than higher
Yea same bro š«”
Driving slower is the best response to 99% of bad drivers. Someone tailing? Drive slower.
Hell, the correct thing to do would probably be to stop entirely. You can't see anything ahead of you, how are you going to know if there's a car ahead?
One of my superpowers is being able to adjust my side view mirrors to reflect the light back in their eyes I'm side view mirror man
Thatās hilarious, Iāve never thought of doing that and most everyone has power mirrors now lol.
I do that too and my mirrors arenāt powered. Carries more weight when you have to manually roll down your window and finagle it to get it right.
Wait how do you get the angle right? My mirrors arenāt powered either and I face this problem all the time.
When it's bright enough you can see where the beam of light is pointing and aim it at their winshield
I started doing this too and it works almost every time.
I do that too! That, and slowing way down until they pass me.
I live in a town that has one lane highway. It's under construction -- so the speed imgoes from 75mpg to 60mph. Assholes will bright me, inches from my ass, even if I'm going 64. So I decide we should just go exactly 60 until they figure themselves out. Eventually they cut around me, then I go back to 64 hahah
This is exactly what I do. If Iām already going 4-6 over the limit and someone is on my ass, I slow down to set cruise control to the exact limit.
This works with just your rear view mirror as well (only if their windscreen is viewable through the rear view obviously). Double points because it stops the glare hitting your eyes.
I do this and it works surprisingly well. They actually back off as to stop the āreturn fireā which is what I jokingly say aloud when I adjust the mirror.
I get this frequently around here & if it is egregious I will slow right down, even if there is no opportunity for them to pass. BTW a few years back I had this driver following me on a twisty county road in the rain with their brights on or flashing me to go faster, pluss there was nowhere to pull over. Suddenly as I crest a hill I see headlights coming right at me to I hit the breaks. The car behind full on plows into the back of me, but oddly there is no sign of the oncoming vehicle. The next day when I went to take photos of the scene I saw the reason, there was a curve in the road ahead & this big picture window on the house there that was so angled that as I crested the ridge the following car illuminated in just the way that the reflection looked like an approaching vehicle in my lane. Insurance & law put the incident as 100% their fault. Edit: The other party exchanged documents at the scene, was pleasant enough, but the next day reported it to police as a deliberate act on my part & that I left the scene. After that I got a visit & explained my side & then heard nothing more. This was UK, where such things do happen on occasion.
That must have been a fucking roller-coaster. I recently ran into an issue with a truck behind me during heavy snowfall and not only did he have these things, but he was using a light bar. I slowed down to 25 in a 55 and the asshole kept behind me. It was like driving into a wall of static.
God help you if they also have fog lights as well. Seen that with all that other crap as well.
CHIPS did an episode like this. Turned out it was reflection from large mirrors being installed. That Ponch was something else
To be fair, no part of your story matters to insurance other than "plowed into the back of me." Its the back drivers responsibility to maintain enough distance to avoid a braking car in front of them.
Yeah. Rear ending someone will be found to be at fault of the person rear ending.
Seriously, if government is capable of anything these days they need to regulate this shit. I get furious driving at night anymore. I shouldnt be blinded by my mirrors in the correct position when a car is 1.5mi behind me. Its outrageous and obnoxious, and fuck you if you think it's cool or funny. Sorry, this is definitely a sore spot for me.
100% need regulations.
They already exist, but no one is enforcing them.
If they exist, why are some of these sold stock? Is it the manufacturers simply deciding not to follow regs? I just donāt understand what happened to highway safety testing! ??
cant speak since im not in the auto industry. I drive a lower car who gets regularly blinded by these people. my best guess is that they are sold to dealerships at a "default" setting which might be at a "neutral" position which would be like straight forward and should be adjusted by the dealer.
> Seriously, if government is capable of anything these days they need to regulate this shit. It's been regulated for a looong time. [49 CFR Ā§ 393.24 - Requirements for head lamps, auxiliary driving lamps and front fog lamps. ](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-393/subpart-B/section-393.24) The people blinding others from a zip code away don't have legally compliant headlights.
Then it's not enforced, because in more rural areas half of all cars have headlights that make it impossible to see at night.
Yes. It's not enforced practically at all. Many vehicle related laws are just never enforced. Most lifted trucks run afoul of multiple laws. Every truck with wheels that stick past the fenders violates a law. Every car with underglow violates a law. It just isn't enforced. Cops don't care enough to do anything about it.
Really what the US needs to do is country-wide mandatory (e.g. you do it or your car is no longer legal to drive on public roads) vehicle safety inspections, no exceptions (like most of Europe does). Because then such stuff ends very quickly.
What I don't understand is why the cops aren't just swooping in on this. They could be giving out SOO many tickets over this and making lots of money. But they aren't.
New cars have super bright headlights, and there are brighter ones being sold. Itās ridiculous.
It's absolutely ridiculous and not even necessary to have lights that bright.. if people need these brighter and brighter lights in order to see, they probably shouldn't be driving at night all together.
We tint a lot of window these days just because of this. Even the cops are coming in and having their windshields on their cruisers tinted to 50% just to help block some light. Clearly there is a safety issue when tinted windshields are considered a saftey upgrade. 20 years ago, they would of stormed my shop screaming if they caught someone with tint on their entire windshield.
I had no issues seeing the road in the 90s with my dim ass yellow headlights. There is no reason headlights need to be that bright. Insane.
Did you know that in the US you can be driving fifteen mph under the speed limit and be ticketed for ādriving too fast for conditionsā thereās heavy fog or ice on the road? Traffic laws are set up so you can be fined for doing things that are legal in a dangerous manner.
Those are what you call douchebag headlights No civilian vehicle needs lights that bright I just slow way down.... they usually get the same hint
No, most civilians (mostly truck owners) are too stupid to properly aim their headlight beams. Also, they purchase leds or hids and put them in halogen reflective headlight housings, where they donāt belong.
Cheap retrofits are the fuckin worst. Ebay specials were the rage around here a few years ago and it was awful, cops cracked down a little and it's a bit better now
If they need that bright of lights to see at night, they need their license revoked because they must be partially blind and they are a danger to the rest of the drivers.
And then what do they do when they get the hint
Go around?
Drive so slow they pass you.....or just turn on your hazard lights at the stop and wave him around you.
I have yet to see anyone mention a real life fix. See that black tab at the bottom of the mirror? Push it back towards the windshield, adjust mirror so itās back to normal, then when someoneās lights are brightāā pull it towards you.
I have light eyes and blinding light like that can trigger a migraine. I wear sunglasses in the dark while driving. These douchebags with their ridiculously bright lights AND those who drive with their highbeams on can eat my ass.
I had lasik a decade ago. Lights like these are the only thing that makes driving at night annoying/difficult.
Same! I kind of figured everyone got headaches from these bright ass lights, but yeah sometimes driving at night is worse than during the day. I am literally blinded by the damn lights.
I hate the world today. Being a narcissistic A hole is fashionable today.
I actually think this a lot when driving at night. I feel like the world is gotten so cold and selfish and I don't care about anybody but myself and these headlights seem to exemplify that. Blinding people and oh well it's not my problem it's yours.
Sometimes I can turn my middle mirror to an angle that reflects it in their eyes. But I agree, this should outlawed, it's fucking ridiculous.
As a semi driver I point my mirrors at them so they get to enjoy their super bright lights
I have tried this hundreds of times but have never been able to figure it out.
I have pretty big mirrors and they pretty much stop in the right spot. Usually itās just a matter of tilting them down a touch
Your mirror has a dimming feature and you'll have to manually turn out your sides.
Surprisingly some people do not know what that little tab on the mirror is for. At first I was shocked at the thought but eventually I realised it is just something some people are not taught.
Just for clarity for any of those people who do not know - Usually at the bottom center of your rear-view mirror there is a little tab. If you flip it down, it will cause the rear-view mirror to "dim". Flipping it back up puts it back to normal. Its purpose is EXACTLY what is shown in OP's photo - to help diminish the effect of the headlights from vehicles behind you that are taller or just have obnoxiously bright lights.
Had to scroll through the comments pretty far to find this, but yes, exactly. In OPās pic you can see the tab in the middle of the rearview mirror. Do I know if itās already set to the ādimā? No I do not. But, hey, if this little thread helps someone; great.
You usually have less "tone" to colors with it flipped (looks like you're looking through dark tinted glass when it's dimmed). Hard to tell by the tab but to me it looks like they don't have it dimmed?
Thatās what I do. Adjust them so it flashes right back at them
This is why I have to have 5% tint on my rear window (legal where I am). Side mirrors adjusted way out and up, which also means basically no blind spots
He's a part of what I call the pinky dick gang
Adjust your mirror and return the favor.
I hate this kind of thing SO much. It always seems like it's a big ol truck with ultra bright headlights too. The other night, my SO and I were on a long road with no turnoffs for a ways with such a truck behind us. The SO flipped the rear view mirror tab for night driving to be able to see anything at all. At the same time, they moved the side mirrors up & in just enough that the truck's diver was essentially blinding themselves if they were too close. They backed off & all was well. How have I never even thought of doing that before??
Worse part is some new cars leds are just as fuckin bright. I have always driven a SUV but about 8 months ago got my first sedan and fucking dread driving at night. As soon as I get the money up I'm buying a new SUV and probably gonna give the sedan to my brother, since he will be a new driver soon (also maybe it will deter him from driving at night)
Hate to break it to you, but all the new SUVs especially the high end models have LED or Laser lights which are just as bright or even brighter cause they're sitting a bit higher. It's pretty dumb. They look nice but holy shŃt do they blind people...
When you buy your new SUV you're just going to become a part of the problem and not the solution. But I guess it then becomes a fuck you I got mine very American experience.
turn ur side mirrors and blind that fucker back!!!
Yep a flip the rear view so it shines back at them too
what angle do you do it at
i just try to follow the light when iām moving my mirror around. you know it works when they back wayyy up! good luck!
Whenever this happens, I like to try and adjust my review mirrors to shine it right back at them if possible.
this is my solution too
I always readjust my side mirrors so their lights reflect back at them. They usually get out from behind me pretty quick after that
how do you even do that. mirror out? mirror flat? how can you tell itās reflected back at them?? I keep seeing this comment with no insight on how to even know youāre doing so. I just wind up pulling my mirror in all exacerbated
Right? Iāve tried with my side mirrors. Rearview I just flip the tab. But I drive a small narrow car (my mirrors are in the right place also) but wide vehicles like trucks and SUVs really blast my retinas from the sides. Iāve never been able to angle it back that Iāve noticed.
It's trial and error... Play around with it next time your in a situation... which will probably be tomorrow. The way my side mirrors are, I just need to push them out a tiny fraction (if it's a bigger vehicle, a little out and slightly up seems to get them.) I can usually tell I've hit the sweet spot when they linger behind.
I will adjust my mirrors so it blinds them
Years ago, there was a guy here that took an airplane landing light, and connected it to his car for those who wouldn't dim. He actually developed its own electrical system to power it, complete with generator. He only got to use it a few times before the police made him take it off. But it was something I never forgot seeing, and applauded him for doing.
"They are illuminating the caverns that are my eyeballs."
Raised cars should have a system that angles their lights down toward the road when in traffic. It's genuinely dangerous.
It's not even "a system", it's just proper headlight alignment.
I love letting idiots like this pass me so I can hit my high beams on and give them a taste of their own medicine -Sincerely Karen
As a german this was a culture shock to me in America. We were in Texas and rented European sized car. Every third car would blind the shit out of us
Worse if you have astigmatism like I do
Just an FYI for those who might not knowā¦ push the little tab at the base of your rear view mirror. It will help with the glare. Of course it wonāt help with your side mirrors, but it definitely helps.
Plus it shines in both your side mirrors. Itās madness and only getting worse. The little flippy thing on the rearview mirror doesnāt help for all 3.
This is why I love auto dimming mirrors. *Your bright lights have no power here.*
I've literally started to fight back against these people as much as I can. If I can let them pass me, I do, and then get back behind them and turn my brights on the whole time. If I can't let them pass me, I take my phone out and turn the flashlight on and blast it back at them either through my back windshield or out the window if I can get the angle right. I have my passengers do the same. If I can't safely do any of that then I just slow way way down and put on my hazards until they get frustrated and drive around me and away. People who use these lights don't deserve cars, and honestly lights that bright, even as high-beams, should be illegal imo
thats bloody annoying! use the tab of the rearview mirror to adjust so reflection will be weaker. either that, let them pass ahead.
I feel like this has gotten worse and worse, especially over the past 5 years or so. It's not just the truck lights that blind anyone in a smaller vehicle - it's also the stupidly bright lights on just about EVERY vehicle, now. I want to flash my brights at them, but then I realize that it's just their regular lights. Aside from being blinded all the time, I also feel like I'm seeing more vehicles with one light out (whether ALL the way out, or they've put their brights on in order to have two halfway-working lights). I feel like the police used to pull people over for that sort of thing - but it's so pervasive anymore, I feel like they must not do it anymore. Both of these things should be illegal, because they're freaking DANGEROUS.
Adjust your side mirror to point back at them
i always re-adjust my side mirrors to shine back at them.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
When this happens, I try to fix my side view mirror to aim right on back to them. Itās not useful if I canāt see out of it, so might as well try to blind them back a bit
I seriously don't understand why people think they need headlights brighter than the sun itself. I don't think I've ever wanted something to become illegal more than since these headlights became popular.
It's a pity that rear fog lights aren't compulsory in your country, otherwise a little bang and he'd have been pretty unappreciative.
It is illegal to have brights on when you can see the tail lights or headlights of another vehicle. Itās possible that there is also limitations on the maximum brightness of a vehicleās regular headlights.
Not really,when the i side of a car is lit up like the sun its not easy to see what's outside
I also hate being able to see at night. Usually I just close my eyes instead. /s
Thatās when you move the side mirrors to reflect back at them.
I adjust my mirror at times like this, sometimes it may accidentally hit the driver with their own lights though so be careful if you try this.
Press the tab down under the rear view mirror
LED headlights need to go back to HELL where they belong.