There aught to be a law!

[Poppy]

I think that there should be a law that manufacturers of cars and trucks must design them with headlights at a standard height, and that it should be low enough that they do not allow them to shine into the windshield of standard passenger vehicles.

I've seen buses designed that way.

I find the glare of oncoming headlights extremely disturbing. There is no reason, why an SUV, or pickup truck needs to have its headlights higher than a standard car's headlights, yet they are, and they are blinding to those of us who drive a standard car.

I'd go one step further, and require owner's of jacked up trucks to lower their headlights. Manufacturers can design them so that they can be physically lowered, not just aimed lower.

 

[bykfixer]

I'm watching cars as I type this and wonder how well a vehicle's driver could see if lights were lower. It looks like headlights are designed to be located as close to eye level to the driver as practical.

Now speaking as a flashlight user, when I use my light in fog, rain or high humidity I aim it forward from my waste area because at eye level all of the moisture blinds me.

Now to the after market heights, that (at least in my area) is a law enforcement issue as the vehicle is not legal when raised beyond a certain height off the ground. It used to be 36" from the bumper in my state. That may have changed. But these days the rule isn't enforced by and large.

Just now a semi just went past and even though the driver was way up in the air his headlights were about the same level as a pickup truck.

My thought on the matter is that headlights in many cases are just too bright. I see day time running lights that cause me to see spots IN THE DAYTIME

 

[thermal guy]

They do have a minimum and maximum headlight height. At least in NY. Got stopped more then once many moons ago when I had a lifted truck.

 

[knucklegary]

CA has same vehicle height laws. However, extreme lifted trucks will not get written up unless they're pulled over first for a moving violation, then they'll add all the other violations

 

[thermal guy]

Yep same thing here. We call it a free New York State inspection.😂😂

 

[EJR]

I think that there should be a law that manufacturers of cars and trucks must design them with headlights at a standard height, and that it should be low enough that they do not allow them to shine into the windshield of standard passenger vehicles.

I've seen buses designed that way.

I find the glare of oncoming headlights extremely disturbing. There is no reason, why an SUV, or pickup truck needs to have its headlights higher than a standard car's headlights, yet they are, and they are blinding to those of us who drive a standard car.

I'd go one step further, and require owner's of jacked up trucks to lower their headlights. Manufacturers can design them so that they can be physically lowered, not just aimed lower.

Feel free to submit a complaint to the NHTSA at this link HERE. You aren't the first to complain about it though as it has been a widely recognized problem for a number of years.

There was a SAE task force that was created in '96 to address the mounting lamp height of heavy trucks. A few years later they reconvened to evaluate lamp height for passenger cars, pickup trucks and SUVs because of the large number of complaints submitted to the NHSTA regarding glare. They concluded that a maximum lamp height of 33.5 in. (85 cm) was necessary to avoid glare exposure.

You can read the technical report HERE.

The top selling vehicles for the past few years are the F150, Ram 1500 and Silverado. These trucks make up a LARGE number of vehicles driving on the road today. How high are their lamps mounted? Between 39-45 in. (99-114 cm). Factor in some of those trucks where the owners have decided to add lift kits and larger tires to which the lamp height is higher.

The DOT allows for a maximum lamp height of 54 in. (137 cm).

Why hasn't the DOT changed the regulations to mirror SAE recommendations? GOOD QUESTION.

 

[alpg88]

My shop does inspections, it is in nyc, we do not measure headlights height, as long as they function, it is a pass.

As far as driving, i do that everyday, i did not notice correlation between glare and lights height, I drive a Honda passport, pretty high suv, i can have f250 following me and not blind me,, and i can have sedan blinding the s#@$t out of me. What i did notice, is that new led lights will blind you when a car follows you in a lane next to you, once they get in your lane they no longer cause any glare.

 

[orbital]

+

The generally cooler tints in modern lights, compounds the problem even more.

I don't enjoy having to look slightly to the right.

 

[Poppy]

My shop does inspections, it is in nyc, we do not measure headlights height, as long as they function, it is a pass.

As far as driving, i do that everyday, i did not notice correlation between glare and lights height, I drive a Honda passport, pretty high suv, i can have f250 following me and not blind me,, and i can have sedan blinding the s#@$t out of me. What i did notice, is that new led lights will blind you when a car follows you in a lane next to you, once they get in your lane they no longer cause any glare.

If you were in a Honda Acura, you'd likely be blinded by the F250, because your line of sight would be directly, or near directly INTO the line of his headlights. If he was facing you, NOT so much if he is behind you/following you.

Yes you are right that they no longer check headlight alignment anymore during state inspections. IMO, they should!

 

[bykfixer]

The place(s) I have my inspections done check head light alignment. They check intensity too. Fogged over lenses get rejected. Same with aftermarket bulbs. Too bright and you get 👎.

 

[SCEMan]

Back in the day (60s-70s) misaligned headlights were rare in CA as the Highway Patrol staged ad hoc vehicle inspections that we hot rodders all dreaded. Once pulled into one you never escaped without a laundry list of required repairs. Headlight alignment was on the checklist, but one of the least of our worries.

Now, living in ID where 90% of the vehicles are 4x4 trucks it's a glare fest at night if you're not riding in one.

 

[Mister Ed]

If you were in a Honda Acura, you'd likely be blinded by the F250, because your line of sight would be directly, or near directly INTO the line of his headlights. If he was facing you, NOT so much if he is behind you/following you.

Yes you are right that they no longer check headlight alignment anymore during state inspections. IMO, they should!

This happened to me when I was at a drive thru line a few weeks back. Talk about pain, I had to avert my eyes for 10 minutes since it was a slow drive thru (local mom and pops place)...was thrilled when I was able to leave.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

I would like to see a limit on color temperature as well. A 6500k headlight is mostly good for illuminating fog and fluorescing your corneas.

 

[John_Galt]

There already is "A" law, and the OEMs are compliant (largely), including leaving wiggle room for aftermarket modifications to the vehicles, like fitting oversized tires and lifting the vehicle (barring ridiculous 8+" spacer block lifts that do nothing for suspension travel).

Color is defined using the CIE color reference chart. Not just the area considered to be "white" light, but also what is considered amber (for signaling lamps), red (for brake lights and traffic lights), and green (for marking lamps for aviation and nautical vessels, as well as for traffic lamps).

 

[PhotonWrangler]

The CIE color chart was originally developed in the 1920s. While it accurately describes color perception, it says nothing about the fact that corneas actually fluoresce under short-wavelength (blue) stimulation, which produces glare. Back then there were no bluish light sources being used as general illumination at night so there was no reason to consider this effect.

Since this is a safety hazard with modern, bluish-white headlights at night, the automotive industry as well as legislators need to sit up and take notice. It's not good enough to hide behind a 1920s color chart and pretend that everything is ok because the headlights meet the broad definition of "white."

 

[divine]

It's getting worse and worse. It annoys me. I think as I get older, I get more sensitive to glare.

I have been paying attention to the manufacturers that do it.
Toyota has been doing this forever.
Hyundai
Kia
For some reason the Ford Explorer is very bad.
The newest versions of the Honda Pilot and the CR-V are very bad.

Some of the time it's the end user, the lenses get cloudy and no one cares to fix them, so there's glare.
Some people drive a relatively brand new car and don't turn their headlights on, so the daytime running lights (which use the high beams at a lower output) are on and shining right in your eyes.

 

[eggsalad]

The people who create laws have never been able to keep up with technological advancements. What makes you think they could start now?

 

[Poppy]

The people who create laws have never been able to keep up with technological advancements. What makes you think they could start now?

Irrelevant.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

Irrelevant.

Wait. What? Please expound.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

Just because it's hard to keep up doesn't mean we shouldn't try.