Dimming High Beams And Driving Lights

Have you noticed far less people are dimming high beams and driving lights these days? Do you remember when there was more courtesy on the roads? How about when lights weren’t as intense as they are today, or when every other vehicle didn’t leave driving lights on permanently?

I don’t consider myself old, but I’m old enough. My first car had a dimmer button on the floor. (This should give you a ballpark figure of my age.) I remember a time when these things were not quite as much of an issue as they are today. Dimming high beams and driving lights is becoming a problem for both safety, and sanity.

Dimming high beams and driving lights is one of the most important things you should do as a road user, but courtesy and consideration appear to be things of the past. Gone are the days when drivers dimmed their lights at a reasonable distance, or even before they saw you. Most drivers reacted once catching the glow of oncoming lights around a bend or over a hill, but this consideration is disappearing.

Where I really notice the change is how many truck drivers are forgetting their high beams in recent years. I was used to cars not doing this, but not professional drivers. I know we can all forget, but the frequency seems to be increasing. I wonder if part of the reason is due to the practice of putting black tape over the blue light in the dash?

Yes, I was shocked myself the first time I heard of this. I first saw this when working for a company where slip seating was common. I had no problem ripping off the black tape. This practice should be illegal. It makes me wonder how many drivers do this? They claim the little blue light in the dash bothers them. My response, “Get a day job then”.

I put myself out of my comfort zone to adjust the steering wheel so it doesn’t block the little blue light.

To make matters worse, the intensity of newer lights like Xenon HID (High intensity discharge), are 2 to 3 times brighter than conventional incandescent lights. It can be hard to distinguish whether a driver is using high beams or regular beams. They’re very intense making it difficult to see the road.

These lights are considered an improvement in technology, but sometimes there’s a price to pay. In this case, it’s paid by the oncoming traffic. Every increase in your vision can be translated into a decrease in theirs. The HID light is being installed on most trucks in the oil and gas industry and becoming a problem. Recently, some drivers have been removing them as a courtesy to others knowing how intense they are.

The lights have another issue. They don’t create enough heat to melt snow and can be covered quickly. The positive side of these lights is they’ll stay clean much longer when roads are wet with dirt and road grime. With less heat, they are less likely to “bake” the dirt and grime on the lens. We tested this theory a few times on the oilfield highway 40 south of Grande Cache in northern Alberta this winter.

Many experienced and courteous drivers will dim high beam lights well before physically seeing the oncoming traffic. They use the “glow” of the oncoming lights to determine when to dim their own lights. They’re aware of the effects of the initial high beam “Flash” which can be very intense. It would be a wonderful thing if everyone exercised this same courtesy.

We don’t just represent ourselves behind the wheel. Our level of consideration to others on the road reflects back to our companies, fellow drivers, as well as the image of all truckers to the general public. While we may feel pretty independent in our seat, we’re essentially a giant billboard to everyone else.

High beams, improperly adjustment headlights, and bright driving lights, may be preventing oncoming traffic from seeing the center line on the road. Blinding someone could cause your own death or someone else’s.

We also know that our eyes are drawn to lights and our steering often follows our eyes. Some of the newer blue lights tend to draw our eyes more. Safe driver training teaches us to not focus on the lights, but rather the outer yellow line on the right side of the road. This defense is more easily said than done.

Glare

Glare is simply a reduction in visibility due to the presence of a bright light.

We tried to keep this article fairly simple. I could have written dozens of pages on the scientific studies, and research done on glare. Anyone with a strong interest in this subject can do their own web search. I enjoyed reading the interesting and very educational articles in my searches.

I’m sure most older drivers find the newer lights are harder on their eyes. Studies show glare resistance decreases, and glare recovery time increase with these newer lights. The findings also show the older you are, the worse the effects.

Here’s a couple of scientific terms for you:

Glare resistance – is your ability to still see the road or obstructions when looking at a bright light like the sun, or headlights at night.

Glare recovery – is the speed in which your vision returns to normal after such an exposure ends.

Contrast

For purposes of vision, contrast is explained by objects being differentiated by a combination of color and light. Contrast is evident with poorly marked, or badly faded road markings.Think of how effective a high visibility orange safety vest is. It utilizes color and light with reflecting bands for a strong contrast.

How we use our lights affects the ability of oncoming traffic to see low contrast hazards. A pedestrian in dark clothes is a great example of a low contrast hazard. The scattering of light particles reduces your vision by creating a reduction in contrast. If you don’t believe this, turn on your high beams in heavy fog.

There are many different factors that affect light. This is why some lights can bother you more than others. It’s not always the light itself that’s the problem, rather than other factors that may influence the situation.

Rain, fog, snow, dirt, grime, and even windshield imperfections can all scatter light particles. The same is true for your sealed beams or headlight covers. These things can affect the abilities of your lights, as well as oncoming lights.

Continue reading Dimming High Beams and Driving Lights…..

Driving Lights

Driving lights are the cause of much controversy in recent years. They seem to have become more of a “cool” accessory than a necessity. Most truck drivers along with auto drivers are not aware of federal, state, or provincial fog light and driving light laws.

Furthermore, the laws are rarely enforced and inconsistent across different governing bodies. They’re also difficult to find as I found out researching some points for this article.

As a courtesy to others on the road, follow the same rules as high beams. They should be shut off with oncoming traffic or when following closely to others. The advantages to you are minimal in relation to the glare they produce to other drivers.

Many drivers forget they’re on, so here’s a test to determine whether they’re worth having on or not. Turn them on and off while driving down a dark road. If there is little or no improvement, then leave them off. They’re doing little or nothing to increase your vision, but they do create glare for others.

The most productive use for driving lights when used with low beams is to aim them lower than your headlights, and just slightly towards the ditch. This will help you read the road conditions in adverse winter conditions. Keep in mind they’re offensive to oncoming traffic in rainy conditions as this produces severe glare. Part of “sharing the road”, means allowing the other traffic to be able to see.

Factory installed driving lights on most commercial trucks are set up to come on with and assist the high beam. Experienced drivers usually aim the driving lights towards the ditches rather than down the road. This makes for more effective use of the lights by warning you of potential hazards like wildlife. Your high beams are already aimed down the road.

Many trucks now have an extra set of driving lights. These can be used with low beams, and are usually operated by a separate switch. Driving lights on most cars and light trucks have a pull out switch for the driving lights on the headlight switch or somewhere else on the dash.

Contrary to what people claim, these provide minimal improvement to the driver when aimed with headlights. They do provide glare to oncoming drivers that reduces their ability to see. So why use them?

As a truck driver, I’m confident in saying most people are unaware they’re even on, or that a switch for them exists. I hope to one day do a survey on it thinking the results would be interesting. If you stopped 1000 people with fog lights on and asked them to turn them off, how many would fumble around not knowing how?

Most drivers running high beams, driving lights, fog lights, or even off-road lights are unaware of driver courtesy. The problem is driver consideration and courtesy is rarely taught.

Many driving and fog lights are poorly aimed and maintained. The lenses are often in poor condition due to cracks or rock chips. This can scatter light particles as we mentioned earlier. All your lights should be maintained properly, and frequently cleaned in adverse conditions.

Fog Lights

Fog lights and driving lights are not the same thing. While fog lights can be yellow or white, driving lights can be white only. The difference is fog lights produce a wide bar shaped beam of light and are mounted lower. Depending on your local laws, they usually can only be used in conditions like fog, rain, snow, or poor visibility.

Fog lights are aimed lower to cut down on glare and are best used by themselves for maximum effectiveness. Each light on your vehicle has its own specific purpose, so use them correctly and legally depending on your laws.
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Some places may not allow you to run them alone, so check the local laws when using them. Unfortunately, this law never made sense to me. The reason you use them alone is to reduce glare back to you from the fog, snow, or moisture. Having headlights on at the same time negates the value of the fog light.

What makes sense?

We all have our ideas of how the world should work according to us. My personal opinions are expressed below, and I understand as drivers we don’t always agree on everything, so we welcome your opinions and comments.

I guess having my own site makes me feel entitled to give my opinion, so here it is,

Standard laws on lights should be simplified for safety, compliance, and make it easier for enforcement. Standard laws everywhere something like this,

Two front lights only on low beam with any oncoming traffic at a specified distance. The same applies when following other traffic within a certain distance. This limits glare and allows both parties an equally fair ability to see the road and low contrast hazards. Fog lights only in adverse visibility conditions.

All vehicle manufacturers should be mandated to comply with driving lights wired to come on and assist high beams only. Four additional forward auxiliary lights are allowed. These can be either “fog”, or “driving” lights, but must comply with intensity laws. They must also be properly aimed and maintained.

As a driver, how do you feel about this topic? You’re welcome to read comments by others in our high beams and driving lights discussion forum. You can also have you say, or start your own topics by registering to use our forums.

Thanks for reading Dimming high beams and driving lights.