and then there was light

[Petrus]

One of the tree main components of car headlights





The other two are the amount of loght; Lumens and the other is the design of the beam.

On my PFL, before polishing the plastic, the diffused light from the slightly milky visible edge distracted me no end. No way I was going to have a brighter/lighter bulb in.

[Ardent]

I see it.

[Chilli Girl]

I also see it.

[Petrus]

I don't see anything? Is there supposed to be some photos attached?

Small wonder you want HID bádly ;-)

[Petrus]

It´s from this page.
There is more good info on it about the quality of light and the Lumens.

https://www.xenonpro.com/hid-xenon-temperatures-color-chart-ultimate-headlight-guide


It´s also almost funny to read that the stock halogen is describes as golden yellow. Imagen how they´d class pre halogen glow bulbs; orange? Go figure the 35W 6Volt on a Lucas only-at-higher-revs-dynamo....

[shnazzle]

Also worth noting that the temperature is not directly related to distance of reach. 
It's very popular to slap 9000k lights in but joke's on them because the 5500k reach much farther

[Ardent]

Good read.

Another school day

[Petrus]

Also worth noting that the temperature is not directly related to distance of reach.
It's very popular to slap 9000k lights in but joke's on them because the 5500k reach much farther

and that is not even taking the reflector/projector and the ´glass´ covering it into account.
Even more Lumens does not tell the whole story.

[Carolyn]

One thing I'd like to say about headlights.

Please think of other road users a- and that includes pedestrians.

HIDs can present a real hazard to others.  Lights can be TOO bright. Not only other drivers, but pedestrians  can also be dazzled and put at risk

It's a bit like car safety.  It's all very well keeping you safe in your car, but keeping others safe is as important.

We tend to be very selfish about these things.

Ask yourself. how bright do my lights need to be?

[Petrus]

One thing I'd like to say about headlights.

Please think of other road users a- and that includes pedestrians.

HIDs can present a real hazard to others.  Lights can be TOO bright. Not only other drivers, but pedestrians  can also be dazzled and put at risk

It's a bit like car safety.  It's all very well keeping you safe in your car, but keeping others safe is as important.

We tend to be very selfish about these things.

Ask yourself. how bright do my lights need to be?

Us being rather low on the road should be rather aware of it you´d expect no?!

Another aspect I am very much aware of is the limits of the beam.
With that I mean that outside of the lit area there is life too and the brighter the light the blinder we are to that. The brighter the beam, the greater the difference between lit/unlit ánd the worse your night vision = the later you see that cyclist or deer about to cross your path.
This is why I prefer yellow light; the reflection blinds less. Alas, it´s not allowed.

[Ardent]

One thing I'd like to say about headlights.

Please think of other road users a- and that includes pedestrians.

HIDs can present a real hazard to others.  Lights can be TOO bright. Not only other drivers, but pedestrians  can also be dazzled and put at risk

It's a bit like car safety.  It's all very well keeping you safe in your car, but keeping others safe is as important.

We tend to be very selfish about these things.

Ask yourself. how bright do my lights need to be?

I'm generally finding the same when it comes to cyclists with the new breed of super bright flashing lights.
Seem to be aimed full ahead rather any form of dip.

[Petrus]

I'm generally finding the same when it comes to cyclists with the new breed of super bright flashing lights.
Seem to be aimed full ahead rather any form of dip.

No dip whatsoever but they are supposed to go on half power in the dark. Many don´t.

[shnazzle]

I've whinged incessantly about new cars and ridiculous headlights with so called intelligent LED matrices. Load of bollix. It's like people coming at you with screwed up mains all the time. And I'm convinced the "intelligent" lights don't see the MR2.
Makes me wish for the days when all you had to worry about was the occasional prat with aftermarket HIDs in their car.

I have no idea how most cars get through MOT

[Ardent]

Re post 14
Bright is one thing. The flashing is quite another. Not full fat strobe, but some are not far off.
Have ended up putting a hand up to shield my eyes a couple of times.

[Joesson]

I'm generally finding the same when it comes to cyclists with the new breed of super bright flashing lights.
Seem to be aimed full ahead rather any form of dip.

No dip whatsoever but they are supposed to go on half power in the dark. Many don´t.

Disconcerting to say the least, particularly when the cyclist is on the nearside footpath coming towards you.
While cyclist's are unregulated they have no need to be responsible.

[Petrus]

Disconcerting to say the least, particularly when the cyclist is on the nearside footpath coming towards you.
While cyclist's are unregulated they have no need to be responsible.

Being an avid cyclist, let me assure you that;
1. cyclist are very much regulated
2. they have a committed interest in behaving responsible
As a cyclist I find motorists disconcerting to the power of disconcerting.
The other way around not at all.
There are not many motorists killed by cyclist vs. several dozen cyclists yearly by motorists... Same thing pedestrians.

If bothersome flashing lights save cyclist lives, then I am all for them.
Same thing loud pipes on bikes or seemingly near invisible cars.

The bottom line is that a vast number of motorists should not really be driving but the State has a monetary interest in them driving so there we are; the largest portion of the population is the least capable and most drive around in potentially deadly vehicles weighing around ton or more.
The cyclists and pedestrians are just as moronic only théy are not protected by armour.
I am all for mássive proteccion of those not in a tin and if that hampers me while driving protected by tin then so be it.

Over here in Spain the flashing lights on bicycles are not legal yet with the above in mind, because so many cyclist are killed in traffic, they are now officially ´condoned´. Also motorists are allowed to cross an uninterupted cental line in order to pass cyclists with more than 150 cm. distance.

[Topdownman]

I find that good quality yellow lensed driving glasses help.

They stop some glare from oncoming lights and increase contrast slightly.

The jury is out though on the question of looking like Bono when you wear them.

[Petrus]

I find that good quality yellow lensed driving glasses help.

They stop some glare from oncoming lights and increase contrast slightly.

I have a real good quality orange ´road view´set since 30 years or so. Lóve them in twilight/rain. In the dark I need all the nightview I can get. No street lighting here on most higways even outside city boundaries.

Good trick is closing one eye and opening again once past glaring light.

[househead]

I find that good quality yellow lensed driving glasses help.

They stop some glare from oncoming lights and increase contrast slightly.

The jury is out though on the question of looking like Bono when you wear them.

These are brilliant in the right conditions. I find during very rainy motorway trips in daytime with lots of spray these can be an absolute godsend because they also cut out glare from spray and water reflections, without dimming. They also make the rest of the non-glare scenery brighter.

[Petrus]

cut out glare

The ultimate to go with winter top down fur hat for the steampunk look:

[Petrus]

The problem however is that when a cyclist is acting dangerous he is endangering only himself.

...

I know that my late friend from UK would always complain about Cambridge students just cycling everywhere and cutting off cars without looking .... but what is the solution to all this?

1. Expect the worst when on a bicycle/motorbike.
2. Be worthy of your responsibility in the safety of your armoured vehicle.
3. Zénnnnnnnnn...

and I know from him that the cyclist strobes can be a menace, especially at night,

That is justifiable self defence; I would carry a .45 if I could!
No, seriously, I have escaped MÁNY attempt on my life. Even by car divers (m/v) who hád seen me. Have had to ´ditch´ literaly several times.
Have lost over a dozen friends to ´had not seen him!´ motorcycle accidents.
This summer a friend of my son had his very promising professional cycling carreer cut short by a motorist who ´I did not see him´ turned off right in front of him. He is lucky to be alive.
If cyclist could carry a .45 they would be percieved as a potential threat by the tinned and I bet much more ´visible´.
When I wore a uniform it was like cycling/horseriding/motorcycling untouchable. Suddenly I wás visible and all gave me wide birth, right of way even when I had none!!

[househead]

Those remind me of the pair of snow goggles Captain Scott wore on his famous expedition to Antarctica...

Disclaimer: Probably not ideal for driving

[Petrus]

Back to lights:
They are both to see and to be seen.
The more vulnerable the more the balance shifts to the latter.
The more potentially deadly the vehicle the more the balance shifts to the left.

I can understand ´irritating´ lights on bicycles. When they are perceived as such they served the purpose; they were SEEN!

Now soúnd has an angle inverse to that. A clearly audible motor vehicle will be noticed. See the upcoming mandatory sound generating device for electric cars. They are currently 30% more likely to be involved in accidents with pedestrians and cyclists...

Some motorists may say that the pedestrians/cyclist should pay more attention but when you get into a car you take on the resposibility for a potentially lethal tool. Yoú decide to let the rest of the world run the risc of you driving that deadly machine through public space.
Peolple make mistakes. We áll do. 
Those drivng the deadly machine should make allowances for that.
Imo that is ALL there is to it.

[Joesson]

Well my "While cyclist's are unregulated they have no need to be responsible" evoked some response, response that I do not disagree with in the main.
Much of what has been said is if course from the experience of the writer.
I was not born with a steering wheel in my hands and rode a cycle in my teens, only being dismounted once by a car. Our son has road raced in the USA and was dismounted by a pedestrians basket ball jamming under his bike's frame suffering bad gravel rash. He broke ribs and was badly bruised when a car turned off the highway into a petrol station and crossed the cycle lane he was riding.
So, my comment about regulations and responsibility are from some experience.
Whenever I pass a cyclist I imagine I am passing our son, but I do believe that our son would not ride in the way that, for example, dispatch riders in London go about their business.
Unfortunately in recent times a lady pedestrian was killed by a pedal cyclist "riding furiously" on a fixed wheel bike (with no brakes).
The " riding furiously " was an archaic law that was applied at the time because there was no specific applicable regulations concerning cycles.
Concerning lights, I am more " troubled" by the cyclists that choose to ride without lights than those that ride with bright lights and wish those that do so would ride on the correct side of the road.

[Ardent]

Well my "While cyclist's are unregulated they have no need to be responsible" evoked some response, response that I do not disagree with in the main.
Much of what has been said is if course from the experience of the writer.
I was not born with a steering wheel in my hands and rode a cycle in my teens, only being dismounted once by a car. Our son has road raced in the USA and was dismounted by a pedestrians basket ball jamming under his bike's frame suffering bad gravel rash. He broke ribs and was badly bruised when a car turned off the highway into a petrol station and crossed the cycle lane he was riding.
So, my comment about regulations and responsibility are from some experience.
Whenever I pass a cyclist I imagine I am passing our son, but I do believe that our son would not ride in the way that, for example, dispatch riders in London go about their business.
Unfortunately in recent times a lady pedestrian was killed by a pedal cyclist "riding furiously" on a fixed wheel bike (with no brakes).
The " riding furiously " was an archaic law that was applied at the time because there was no specific applicable regulations concerning cycles.
Concerning lights, I am more " troubled" by the cyclists that choose to ride without lights than those that ride with bright lights and wish those that do so would ride on the correct side of the road.

As is often the case. @Joesson has beaten me to it. I like to get out on a bike myself, so not totally immune to all the very good points made above.
But I do wonder of those that have come to harm, how many were dressed in ninja style stealth clothing with not so much as a reflecter, let alone lights.
How many more would have come to harm if it were not for the due diligence of the motorist.
I would wager a ratio of 10 to 1 of cyclists thet ignore red lights.
Certainly were I live.