When in the history of automotive culture did it become OK to routinely blind other drivers with your headlights and fogs? It was not that long ago, before cheap aftermarket HIDs invaded the USA, that getting blinded was a rare occurrence. People did not feel it was OK to drive around on public streets with their high beams on continually, or with their "old-school" 55W halogen Cibie/Marchal/Hella driving lights lit up. Yeah, there were some misaimed headlights, but that was not intentional blinding. The attitude today seems to be "I'm putting HIDs in my car/truck, and I don't care if it blinds other people. I think I can see better, and it looks a lot cooler, and that's all that matters. It's my car/truck, and I can do whatever I want with it."
The other evening, at twilight, this dude in a "brodozer" (a lifted, 4x4, crew-cab dualie pickup, with the front bumper at decapitation height) was approaching me, with super bright, blue tinted headlights and fog lights (and not a speck of fog in the air). Very obnoxious glare monsters! No doubt these were 55W HIDs, in factory halogen reflectors. So I flash him with my highs, and he flashes me back with his highs. His high beams barely punched through the glare of his lows and fogs.
This is such a routine occurrence, it is getting to the point that driving at night is a PITA. It's a shame that back at the beginning of the automotive industry, polarized headlights and polarized windshields were not required by Federal standards as standard equipment.
The other evening, at twilight, this dude in a "brodozer" (a lifted, 4x4, crew-cab dualie pickup, with the front bumper at decapitation height) was approaching me, with super bright, blue tinted headlights and fog lights (and not a speck of fog in the air). Very obnoxious glare monsters! No doubt these were 55W HIDs, in factory halogen reflectors. So I flash him with my highs, and he flashes me back with his highs. His high beams barely punched through the glare of his lows and fogs.
This is such a routine occurrence, it is getting to the point that driving at night is a PITA. It's a shame that back at the beginning of the automotive industry, polarized headlights and polarized windshields were not required by Federal standards as standard equipment.
