Keep getting Flashed

btkm8unsl0w5r4 · 10-12-2008 8:57am #1

reciently moved to Waterford and have been doing a lot more night driving than in Dublin. Constantly getting other drivers flashing their headlights at me. My car ( e92) has Xenon lights which are quite bright to the point where I brough it in to the dealer and got the headlights refocused. They said there was no problem and they were within the proper specification. It gets really annoying where you are dazelled by others on the road, I started to flash back but have stopped that as its just as bad if I do it.

Does anyone else here have the same problem? Is it my car or just that the colour and quality of the lights are putting others off?

Einstein · 10-12-2008 8:59am

maybe they just sayin hello?

Anan1 · 10-12-2008 9:07am

You're hardly driving with your front fogs on, are you? My mother has an E90 with adaptive xenons. Whilst I don't recall having been flashed, they are very bright headlights. They have automatic self-levelling, if you watch you'll see them do a 'curtsey' every time you start the car.

btkm8unsl0w5r4 · 10-12-2008 9:12am

Oh sweet lord, I never drive with front or rear fogs on except in fog. (could get murdered here for that crime). The self leveling seems to be working fine. I have driven in aother car in front of my own and the lights are really very bright but I am told this is the way they are supposed to be by the mechanic.

jim o doom · 10-12-2008 9:18am

maybe you're driving on the wrong side of the road..

andrewh5 · 10-12-2008 9:25am

It is the brightness of the beams. Xenon headlamps are a pain for any approaching driver - it's like driving into a feckin searchlight beam.

joeperry · 10-12-2008 9:26am

Well there was a e92 behind me the other day late at night and i was getting blinded on a well lit road even with it behind me although the tosser was up my arse!! My dimming mirror seems to have stopped working :mad: I thought the fecker had the headlights on but no i could tell as we negotiated certain bends that it was just the dipped lights,they are very very bright.

Not your fault op,i find all lights on new cars are very bright,even the brake lights are too bright imo,its a right pain at a set of traffic lights,i usually hang a cwhole car lenght back if im behind something new and shiny.

Berty · 10-12-2008 9:30am

1956 Halogen headlights were fist introduced in cars and people were complaining that they were far too bright.

Xenon HID are now the new "thing". People will get used to Xenon HID as they got used to Halogens.

I used to flash people years ago for having their lights on too bright, two months later I got glasses. It was because my eyesight was bad I thought all lights were too bright.

As long as the HID light is white I dont have an issue. If a car has blueish or purple HID I have a problem because my eyes are drawn to this light which removes my concentration from my own driving.

Zube · 10-12-2008 9:33am

Berty wrote: »

Xenon HID are now the new "thing". People will get used to Xenon HID as they got used to Halogens.

Officially, cars are limited to 55W bulbs, to avoid dazzling oncoming traffic. Yet it's OK to get more light out of that 55W by using Xenons. It makes no sense.

Berty · 10-12-2008 9:44am

Zube wrote: »

Officially, cars are limited to 55W bulbs, to avoid dazzling oncoming traffic. Yet it's OK to get more light out of that 55W by using Xenons. It makes no sense.

HID & Projector headlights create a longer arc in the light rather than spilling the light off in every other direction. Putting a HID aftermarket system off Ebay into a standard rear projected headlight system will just dazzle people. Its like somebody putting a 100w bulb in their car. It does not give any extra light down the roadway rather a rush of light in the immediate vicinity which is a pain for other drivers.

Osram Nightbreaker are 55w but create a light of 85w. These bulbs again force the light into an arc. If you go and buy cheap lights from Ebay they will not have this benefit. List price for a nightbreaker pair of H7 is around €24 and you can nearly buy two pairs of H7, pair of H11 and sidelights for €14 on ebay. Low low quality stuff.

So: As long a the arc of light is directed then all is ok. Misalinged headlight and 100w headlights are worse.

Owenw · 10-12-2008 9:45am

Xenon headlights are fine on level roads, but, if the car approaches up any kind of incline the light is extremely bright and dazzling. I find vans and 4x4's with xenons the worst for dazzling. It doesn't help if you have sensitive eyes either. Also, I wish people would use their handbrakes instead of sitting on the brake pedal at traffic lights. LED brake lights are ridiculously bright.

snowman707 · 10-12-2008 9:47am

andrewh5 wrote: »

It is the brightness of the beams. Xenon headlamps are a pain for any approaching driver - it's like driving into a feckin searchlight beam.

+1

Change the fecking bulbs , those are annoying even in daylight , IMHO should be banned

Anan1 · 10-12-2008 9:54am

snowman707 wrote: »

+1

Change the fecking bulbs , those are annoying even in daylight , IMHO should be banned

Xenon headlights are completely different from halogens, you can't just change the bulb.

Matt Simis · 10-12-2008 10:03am

Owenw wrote: »

Xenon headlights are fine on level roads, but, if the car approaches up any kind of incline the light is extremely bright and dazzling. I find vans and 4x4's with xenons the worst for dazzling. It doesn't help if you have sensitive eyes either. Also, I wish people would use their handbrakes instead of sitting on the brake pedal at traffic lights. LED brake lights are ridiculously bright.

This is exactly it, I used to get flashed if I pulled up to a stop on an incline.

Regarding the brake lights, my LED brakes are too bright, but foot activated "hand" brake and Auto transmission means I cant plonk on the handbrake and let off the normal brakes at lights..

Goodluck2me · 10-12-2008 10:22am

Berty wrote: »

1956 Halogen headlights were fist introduced in cars and people were complaining that they were far too bright.

Xenon HID are now the new "thing". People will get used to Xenon HID as they got used to Halogens.

I used to flash people years ago for having their lights on too bright, two months later I got glasses. It was because my eyesight was bad I thought all lights were too bright.

As long as the HID light is white I dont have an issue. If a car has blueish or purple HID I have a problem because my eyes are drawn to this light which removes my concentration from my own driving.

The Blue ones make my head hurt too, pretty sure they are banned now?

seamus · 10-12-2008 10:43am

In my experience the problem with people using Xenon's is that they have them adjusted at far too shallow an angle, and they're pointing halfway up signposts and halfway up other cars rear windows. When you're driving in a lit-up area, your headlights shouldn't be lighting up signposts or poles or the backs of cars 100m in front you. Your headlights should be adjusted so that they point at the ground as much as possible.

Outside of lit-up areas, you can change the angle of your lights agains. If my '00 206 has the ability to change the headlight angle from within the cabin, then any vehicle with Xenon's must have it too.

Berty · 10-12-2008 10:54am

Headlight angle should only be changed with manufacturers guidlines.

If you are towing a trailer you should change the angle of your beam
If you are carrying a heavy load
If you are carrying a full complement of adults

There will never be any reason why anybody should need to change the angle of their beams but thats only if their lights are street legal. Xenon HID's are street legal.

Berty · 10-12-2008 10:57am

goodluck2me wrote: »

The Blue ones make my head hurt too, pretty sure they are banned now?

No and they probably will not be.

The cheap blue lights are basically a film over the bulb. They actually provide less or similar light to a halogen. They have a xenon gas inside of them which creates more light but the coating of blue(which creates the colour) actually removes the amount of light getting out of the bulb.

If you have a xenon white 100w bulb then your light will be comparable to a HID but with none of the neccesary properties to control the beam. Basically the light just gets bounces around and dazzled everybody whereas a projector lamp controls the arc.

The darker the coating the more blue and towards purple to light becomes. The lighter it is the more white towards yellow the light gets.

robbie99 · 10-12-2008 11:31am

Nevaeh Beautiful Soy wrote: »

Keep getting Flashed

reciently moved to Waterford and have been doing a lot more night driving than in Dublin. Constantly getting other drivers flashing their headlights at me. My car ( e92) has Xenon lights which are quite bright to the point where I brough it in to the dealer and got the headlights refocused. They said there was no problem and they were within the proper specification. It gets really annoying where you are dazelled by others on the road, I started to flash back but have stopped that as its just as bad if I do it.

Does anyone else here have the same problem? Is it my car or just that the colour and quality of the lights are putting others off?

I've an e92 aswell and used to get the occasional flash. I probably still do but I just ignore it now. I used to flash back but then I realised that this was actually quite pointless because in the e92, both main beam and dipped beam come from the same bulb. If you were dazzling a driver (say on an incline) and you flashed back they wouldn't see any difference as they'd get the exact same dazzle back. On most other cars you know when your being flashed. The other thing that doesn't help is that if it's overcast or starts to get dark, the DRLs on the inner rings are so bright that it looks like you're driving with headlights on.

It's easy though to adjust the light angle on the e92 if you think it might be pointed too high. But one thing I haven't figured out yet is how to rotate the beam as on my car I'd like to angle down a bit on the right and angle up more on the left.

ergonomics · 10-12-2008 11:52am

One of my lights was really badly adjusted a while ago, and I only copped it when I was driving home from college one night. People kept flashing me, and then flashing me again, so I'd give them a quick flash to acknowledge them and show them my main beams weren't one. In return, they'd flash me again. It got really annoying and by the time I got home I had a splitting headache. I just don't get why they keep flashing you AFTER you acknowledge their flashes. Do they think that I am going to stop right there, on a country road, and fix the light if they keep flashing me?

antodeco · 10-12-2008 12:04pm

Ive got 8k HID in my car. I get maybe 1 flash every two weeks, if even. I adjusted the projectors beam angle down one notch and it seems to have sorted everything. Lights up the ground alot better.

The reason aftermarket HID kits are blinding is that people put down in standard "headlights". As a result, the reflection throws the light in every direction and spills "excess light" to different angles. HID's in projectors are fine, as the reflectors are angeld different so as to focus the light, as oppose to spread it. Thats why alot of, for example, Civics, with aftermarket HID's look really bad.

mickdw · 10-12-2008 12:08pm

seamus wrote: »

In my experience the problem with people using Xenon's is that they have them adjusted at far too shallow an angle, and they're pointing halfway up signposts and halfway up other cars rear windows. When you're driving in a lit-up area, your headlights shouldn't be lighting up signposts or poles or the backs of cars 100m in front you. Your headlights should be adjusted so that they point at the ground as much as possible.

Outside of lit-up areas, you can change the angle of your lights agains. If my '00 206 has the ability to change the headlight angle from within the cabin, then any vehicle with Xenon's must have it too.

Cars with Xenons dont have this little wheel to change the light height as they do it automatically (this is law because they are no bright). Therefore drivers have no control of the light height while driving. The reason you have an adjuster is to change the setting depending on passengers & weight in the car.
It is however possible to alter the setting via diagnostic computer I think and also there are aiming adjusters under the bonnet.
My audi has Xenons. They self adjust and Ive never been flashed. There is no way they dazzle anyone as I can see the beam hitting the road and they really are very low. Too low really. Im sure they would dazzle for a second going over a bump or something but all cars do that.

snowman707 · 10-12-2008 12:49pm

Anan1 wrote: »

Xenon headlights are completely different from halogens, you can't just change the bulb.

Cheers for that

I was never bothered by strong/incorrect headlight beams until I started wearing specs. for driving... now they just do my head in.

stifz · 10-12-2008 12:54pm

Ban the Xenon bulbs absolute killer on the eyes.. :cool::cool::cool::cool::cool::cool:

Dartz · 10-12-2008 2:01pm

There is no more destricting thing for a male driver than a woman flashing her headlamps at you... :P

Omcd · 10-12-2008 2:15pm

I find in very annoying when I'm waiting to turn out onto a main road in the dark and theres a car coming along with bright headlamps, I have to watch it coming along which wreaks my eyes, then it slows down, so I have to keep looking at it longer, it slows more, and then takes the turn I'm coming out from, only then can I see it had an indicator on which if it hadn't have been completely obsecured by the intensity of the headlamps I could have pulled out a lot earlier and saved my eyes (then again, if I had been able to see the indicator earlier and pulled out chances are it would have been some twat driving along without knowing the indicator was on:rolleyes:)

Anan1 · 10-12-2008 2:49pm

Omcd wrote: »

I find in very annoying when I'm waiting to turn out onto a main road in the dark and theres a car coming along with bright headlamps, I have to watch it coming along which wreaks my eyes, then it slows down, so I have to keep looking at it longer, it slows more, and then takes the turn I'm coming out from, only then can I see it had an indicator on which if it hadn't have been completely obsecured by the intensity of the headlamps I could have pulled out a lot earlier and saved my eyes (then again, if I had been able to see the indicator earlier and pulled out chances are it would have been some twat driving along without knowing the indicator was on:rolleyes:)

Don't ever trust another car's indicator.

mickdw · 10-12-2008 2:59pm

Anan1 wrote: »

Don't ever trust another car's indicator.

+1

also with cars having auto headlights now, if you see someone flashing at you to let you out of a junction, be sure its not just their lights coming on. My xenons light up with a sudden burst of light and it takes them a second to focus so it does look like flashing lights.

vibe666 · 10-12-2008 3:51pm

there's quite a bit of misrepresentation of what lights are what.

the vast majority of 'xenons' aren't actually xenons in the traditional sense. they are halogen lights with a small amount of xenon in them to produce a brighter light. a proper factory fitted HID (High Intensity Discharge) xenon headlight is very different from the bulbs labelled as 'xenons' that you pick up in Halfords or off ebay as they are not a traditional bulb with a filament in, they create light by passing electricity across a gap through the xenon gas which is what causes them to light up (like a sustained spark).

99% of after market 'xenon' bulbs are just a standard halogen bulb with a filament in them (same as a regular light bulb) with a very small amount of added xenon to make them burn more brightly.

the blue versions of these are particularly dangerous as the blue filter on the glass effectively blocks out the majority of the spectrum of light to produce the blue hue and this has several detrimental effects on their performance.

halogen lights give off the whole spectrum of light with emphasis on the yellow end of the spectrum. yellow has long been known to give the best illumination for night driving (remember all the French motors with yellow headlights?).

blue light by contrast has a very short wavelength and a tendency to reflect and refract a lot more than other wavelengths which gives a less focussed beam and sends more light where you don't want it (i.e. into other drivers faces) and will reflect of the road a lot more than a whiter light would.

studies have also shown that the human eye reacts a lot less to blue light, meaning that shining a blue light in someone's eyes will cause more of a dazzling effect than white light as the eye does not perceive it as being as powerful as it is and does not contract as much as it would with white light.

you can buy a proper after market HID conversion kit for some older cars, but these run into several hundreds of quid as the whole headlight has to be changed and voltages changed so most of the time when you see fancy looking headlights on an older car they'll be the cheap knock-offs.

/waits for xenon fanboi to demand proof of these claims with glee.

endplate · 10-12-2008 5:21pm

snowman707 wrote: »

Cheers for that

I was never bothered by strong/incorrect headlight beams until I started wearing specs. for driving... now they just do my head in.

Did you get the anti glare coated lenses? I find them great for glare from lights at night

I get flashed sometimes too and as far as I'm concerned my lights are aligned ok nor are they Xenons. So a quick flash back as if to say hi back and just motor on

gofaster_s13 · 10-12-2008 6:05pm

A lot of truck drivers will tell you they are not bothered by vehicles approaching using full beams as they don't the whole rabbit in the headlights thing of staring at the unusually bright lights instead they look at the white lines or the road.

Anan1 · 10-12-2008 6:06pm

Truck drivers are also a lot higher up.

Yakult · 10-12-2008 6:56pm

Hate xenon lights. They are pretty damn blinding:mad:

ninty9er · 10-12-2008 7:00pm

R_H_C_P wrote: »

Hate xenon lights. They are pretty damn blinding:mad:

Only if you have an eyesight problem to begin with. Drive mainly in the dark and never have an issue, except when I'm a little tired.

Berty · 10-12-2008 7:15pm

I even hate the people on the other side of the dual carraigeway/motorway who wont dip their headlights. If I can see you you can see me, dip your lights.

Yakult · 10-12-2008 8:07pm

ninty9er wrote: »

Only if you have an eyesight problem to begin with. Drive mainly in the dark and never have an issue, except when I'm a little tired.

I dont mind it at the distance. Just when they are about to pass you on a small country road that just about fits 2 cars, it can be a stuggle. Most times I will slow down near to a stop and let them drive by. I prefere people with fogs on that them at this stage.

Cant see whats wrong with the aul normal lightseither, they do the job just fine.

Omcd · 10-12-2008 8:35pm

Anan1 wrote: »

Don't ever trust another car's indicator.

Ideally I agree, and would give such advise too (indicators do not give right of way), but in reality, most of us, most of the time, do with caution (assessing speed, road positioning, etc., of approaching indicating vehicle) take indicators to mean an indication and proceed accordingly, otherwise the world wouldn't go round quite as fast as it does.

rameire · 10-12-2008 8:57pm

at least youve got lights, half the fcuking idiots on the road have broken light, half working light, no lights, stupid lights, incorrectly pointed lights, id seriously like to punch their lights out completely.
recks my head.

vibe666 · 10-12-2008 9:13pm

rameire wrote: »

at least youve got lights, half the fcuking idiots on the road have broken light, half working light, no lights, stupid lights, incorrectly pointed lights, id seriously like to punch their lights out completely.
recks my head.

let me know if you need me to hold someone for you, would gladly do so as long as I get a turn.

Berty · 10-12-2008 10:03pm

I love the fog. It really shows you people lack of understanding about their lights.

People with fog lights that have them on anyway, during the day, hail rain or shine and then the people who do not have them switched on whether or not its foggy or not.

Some people dont even know they have them.

vibe666 · 10-12-2008 10:56pm

and the vast majority of people don't know the difference between a bit of mist and proper fog.

rameire · 10-12-2008 11:24pm

another problem is all the idiots who havent a clue how to work their lights properly, will have their fog lights on tomorrow morning, because they never turned them off tonight.

is it any illegal to have light not working properly, or to have fog lights on when not required.,
if so they should setup check points,
where every cars lights are checked, prob at night would be easier,
well if the lights are blown the driver has the choice of an 80 euro fine and they can drive away, or they can pay 40 euro there and then, this will get them a professionally fitted light bulb on their car, 15 euro for charity,, 5 euro for the bulb , 10 euro for the gardai and 10 for the mechanic fitting the bulb.

RoundyMooney · 11-12-2008 12:09pm

Xenons are fine, I have the self levelling ones myself.

It's those bloody cheap ass blue headlamps (as fitted to two out of three PL reg cars-complete with crappy air horn and unce unce German techno) that are truly evil.

Not only do they fail to improve the lighting, they dicky up the optics and scream chav(ski).

stealthyspeeder · 11-12-2008 12:34pm

On the subject of lights/driving in the dark/indicators..........

I was driving in Roscommon two weeks ago at night, it was below 0 degrees but I didnt notice any ice on the road, it was a two lane road and I was driving begind two different cars for the majority of my journey.

The first one, indicated right everytime a car passed in the opposite direction? wtf? He turned off and the next car i was behind did it randomly maybe every other car that passed!?

Is this some unwritten secret driving lingo in Roscommon or is this a national thing that I am blissfully unaware of?

Omcd · 11-12-2008 1:25pm

Could it be the oncoming headlamps reflecting off your vehicle making it appear the right indicator of the vehicle in front was lighting up ? Maybe helped by ice on the front of your vehicle. Just a wild guess.

Honey-ec · 11-12-2008 1:36pm

Berty wrote: »

I love the fog. It really shows you people lack of understanding about their lights.

People with fog lights that have them on anyway, during the day, hail rain or shine and then the people who do not have them switched on whether or not its foggy or not.

Some people dont even know they have them.

Or the gobsh!tes who won't switch off their rear fogs even when you're directly behind them. Hello, I'm aware you're there, you can turn them off now.

robbie99 · 11-12-2008 1:40pm

stealthyspeeder wrote: »

On the subject of lights/driving in the dark/indicators..........

I was driving in Roscommon two weeks ago at night, it was below 0 degrees but I didnt notice any ice on the road, it was a two lane road and I was driving begind two different cars for the majority of my journey.

The first one, indicated right everytime a car passed in the opposite direction? wtf? He turned off and the next car i was behind did it randomly maybe every other car that passed!?

Is this some unwritten secret driving lingo in Roscommon or is this a national thing that I am blissfully unaware of?

I've never seen that before but did the car in front have both dipped beams working? If the driver's side beam is not working then it's very difficult for oncoming traffic to make out the width of the car until almost on top of it so maybe the driver was indicating to point out that he wasn't a motorbike!?

stealthyspeeder · 11-12-2008 2:09pm

robbie99 wrote: »

I've never seen that before but did the car in front have both dipped beams working? If the driver's side beam is not working then it's very difficult for oncoming traffic to make out the width of the car until almost on top of it so maybe the driver was indicating to point out that he wasn't a motorbike!?

This is probably why they were indicating, it makes sense! cheers!

Anan1 · 11-12-2008 2:13pm

I don't think so, most drivers would use a quick flash of the high beams for that. Well, most of the few who both a.) have an RHS dip beam out, and b.) know/care.

zilog_jones · 11-12-2008 3:11pm

Berty wrote: »

I love the fog. It really shows you people lack of understanding about their lights.

People with fog lights that have them on anyway, during the day, hail rain or shine and then the people who do not have them switched on whether or not its foggy or not.

Some people dont even know they have them.

And then there's the people who think their full beams are "fog lights" :eek:

rameire wrote: »

at least youve got lights, half the fcuking idiots on the road have broken light, half working light, no lights, stupid lights, incorrectly pointed lights, id seriously like to punch their lights out completely.
recks my head.

In all fairness not everyone driving around with blown bulbs is an idiot - I wouldn't notice one's gone until I start moving, and I don't usually bring my spares and screwdriver around with me. And then there's the newer cars which require removing bumpers and other rediculous things to get to the lights - not something you could do on the side of the road!

It's those bloody cheap ass blue headlamps (as fitted to two out of three PL reg cars-complete with crappy air horn and unce unce German techno) that are truly evil.

The main problem with LHD cars is the lights are facing the wrong way when over here, i.e. towards the other side of the road. With RHD cars the beams go slightly to the left. LHD drivers are supposed to put those sticker things on their headlights when driving here, or adjust them appropriately if they're projector lamps.

I think the worst headlight experience I've had was one night when I was reversing into my driveway - someone was approaching me (towards the driver's side of my car) so they slowed down and decided to put their full beams on right in front of me - I couldn't see a thing! :mad:

Owenw · 11-12-2008 8:57pm

zilog_jones wrote: »

In all fairness not everyone driving around with blown bulbs is an idiot

True, but there are so many cars with blown bulbs (often multiple bulbs!) that they can't all have failed recently. I do take the point that modern cars require having the front end being removed just to replace bulbs - which genius came up with this money-making scam?

Last winter I passed the same 4x4 several times over a number of weeks with one headlight bulb, an unlit trailer and only the rear indicator flashing to let anyone know he was there!

Also met several cars on the pitch black back roads of Wicklow/Kildare with no tail lights working! :mad:

As drivers we are supposed to check brakes, lights, tyre pressure, oil level etc. on a regular basis. I wonder how many people do any basic checks whatsoever?

Keep getting Flashed

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