Mini Rant about trucks with Bright Headlights.

[Hammer 4]

Lately as I drive the local freeways, I've noticed that a fair number of trucks, i.e. pick m up's have these 100 watt led light bars usually mounted on the front bumper. In most cases the headlights are either turned off, or pointing up just enough to almost blind me. Tonight as I was coming home, some clown in a newer GMC had what appeared to be super bright fogs lights and a ..you guessed it, a 2 foot long light bar that was so bright I had to look down for a split second as the brightness would have blinded me for a second or 2.

 

Now, I have HID's on my truck ( 2003 Duramax with a slight lift ) Mine are 55 watts, and I have them adjusted so I don't blind anyone, even in smaller cars if I'm behind them. This idea where people think having 100, 000 lumens is cool, well it's not, and is dangerous to boot. The CHP and local law enforcement doesn't seem to care. Might come down to where I need to wear sunglasses at night...Sheesh. Rant over. 

[Kyle S]

I can't STAND it!! Hate being blind by headlights almost as much as I hate seeing someone riding a bicycle on one of the back country roads I frequent....

 

I get it, you've got to ride somewhere but how about a road that doesn't have cars going 55 mph on it around a curve!

 

 

I feel better now.

[soflabasser]

Trucks or SUV with bright headlights seem to be very popular for those with a mid life crisis just like a sport car or jeep with a bright color.

[GRiver]

It doesn’t help that they are lifting only the front of there trucks so even the the low beams are blinding. 

[E-rude dude]

Look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me

 

I put 1.5” leveling front pucks on my F150 only because the gait was so bad.

But I get a thoroughly good belly laugh at the $1000’s of dollars spent on lifted/leveled trucks with wheels and tires at the boat ramp looking like they have a bed full of bricks. And they just can’t get their truck to plane out. Almost need a booster seat to see over the hood. ?

Just couldn’t put those $300 airbags on.????

And yes they have light bars that cost $100’s of dollars. People are a funny species.

[TnRiver46]

Preach it!!!!! Oughta be illegal. When they get behind me I desperately want to chuck a cinder block out the back of my truck 

[Way2slow]

If you had local law enforcement worth a darn, they would stop a lot of that.   The light bars and most other high powered front lights are legal for off road use only.  Driving lights, even those within legal power limits are supposed to be connected to the high beams so they are only on with high beams and not with low beams.

95% of those super bright headlights are after market installations and are not DOT legal.

A lot of states have legal limits on how high a headlamp can be off the road to prevent those that put those skyjacker lift kits on them from blinding the crap out of you.  They also have limits on how high the bumpers can be.    

 

The laws out are there in most states, it's just a matter of them being enforced. 

[huZZah]

1 minute ago, Way2slow said:

A lot of states have legal limits on how high a headlamp can be off the road to prevent those that put those skyjacker lift kits on them from blinding the crap out of you.  They also have limits on how high the bumpers can be. 

Kinda like how turning into the turn lane to “merge” into traffic is illegal in every state...but it still happens to me daily. 

[TnRiver46]

6 minutes ago, huZZah said:

Kinda like how turning into the turn lane to “merge” into traffic is illegal in every state...but it still happens to me daily. 

Ugh! The landing strip method, also drives me crazy. That and when people slingshot around me on the acceleration/on-ramp. Come on people, wait for the car in front of you to merge into traffic before you merge.

 

Then there's people turning directly into the outside lane.......

 

Can y'all tell I drive all day at work??

[GTN-NY]

As far as the light bars and blinding high beams. Just start flashing your high beams and then steer into them just a little lol

[Way2slow]

I use the old saying, fight fire with fire.  If I'm in my truck, I can throw enough light down the road to light up an air strip if I wanted to, I just don't turn it on when on public roads.  If one of those want's to come at me with theirs own, I will give them my HID high beams first, if they don't get the hint then, I start adding "more power". 

[TOXIC]

Here in Virginia it’s a law that any aftermarket lights added to your truck that are above your front bumper have to be covered when you are not off road.  We also require inspections annually and I have had my jeep flunked because I have aftermarket round lights mounted on windshield hinge mounts.  If they do the inspection properly, there are marks on the wall to measure the proper height of your headlights.  My 2016 High Country Silverado is bone stock and I get flashed with high beams often and I have the HID light package.  I even get flashed when I am not towing.  I asked the dealer and the checked my adjustment and told me that a lot of people are not used to seeing the brighter white lights of HID as opposed to the old style that are dimmer and more yellow.  I was told they are not blinding them, they are just a different light.  I know the feeling because I see the same thing when I am driving from other vehicles.  Before I flash my brights which are very bright, I always look to see if the other vehicles fog lights are on because on most all current vehicles, you can’t run your fog lights with your hi-beams.  

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, TOXIC said:

Here in Virginia it’s a law that any aftermarket lights added to your truck that are above your front bumper have to be covered when you are not off road.  We also require inspections annually and I have had my jeep flunked because I have aftermarket round lights mounted on windshield hinge mounts.  If they do the inspection properly, there are marks on the wall to measure the proper height of your headlights.  My 2016 High Country Silverado is bone stock and I get flashed with high beams often and I have the HID light package.  I even get flashed when I am not towing.  I asked the dealer and the checked my adjustment and told me that a lot of people are not used to seeing the brighter white lights of HID as opposed to the old style that are dimmer and more yellow.  I was told they are not blinding them, they are just a different light.  I know the feeling because I see the same thing when I am driving from other vehicles.  Before I flash my brights which are very bright, I always look to see if the other vehicles fog lights are on because on most all current vehicles, you can’t run your fog lights with your hi-beams.  

You can’t sneak through the commonwealth with a moving violation, that’s for certain 

[TOXIC]

16 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

You can’t sneak through the commonwealth with a moving violation, that’s for certain 

You got that right.  I’ve seen the State Police stop lifted trucks and measure both the height of the bumper off the ground and the amount of tire outside the fender well.  Too much of Either one is a violation.  And the one I see written up a LOT are tint tickets.  

[TnRiver46]

2 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

You got that right.  I’ve seen the State Police stop lifted trucks and measure both the height of the bumper off the ground and the amount of tire outside the fender well.  Too much of Either one is a violation.  And the one I see written up a LOT are tint tickets.  

My brother lives in Philly and has lost count of the tickets he gets going back and forth to moms house in TN hahah. I suggested to him to go around, maybe take an ocean liner instead ! (The uber rich take their boats from Knoxville to the ocean, some even complete “the great loop”)

[Way2slow]

I was stationed at Langley AFB in VA back in the 80's  My 1970 Mach-1 Mustang has those decretive amber lights in the grill, that look like driving/fog lights but were nothing but amber parking lights.  Wired the same what as when it rolled off the assembly line, but the vehicle inspection stations gave me a big hassle every time I got it inspected trying to tell me they were driving lights and had to wired to the high beams only.   

I think all states key on dark tented glass.  Not so much because of the tent, but because almost all drug dealers have them so people can't see what's going on inside the vehicle.   Tented widows will get usually get you a drug search somewhere along the way.  

 

A little funny side note about VA state troopers.  I had one pull me over for running doing 70 in a 55 and because I was slowing down quickly his radar didn't get a lock until I was at 57mph so he couldn't charge me with 70mph .  He accused me of running a radar detector.  He went all through my vehicle looking for it.  My wife was in the passenger seat doing her cross stitch needle work. He asked her to get out, and when she did, he handed her,  her basket of needle work to get it out of his way.  He searched every square inch of that vehicle, and finally he walked off telling cursing saying 70 was too fast and slow it down.  He peeled rubber leaving there he was so p***d.   

After he go out of sight, I took the radar detector out of my wife's needle work basket he had handed her and sat it back on the dash.

[TnRiver46]

10 minutes ago, Way2slow said:

I was stationed at Langley AFB in VA back in the 80's  My 1970 Mach-1 Mustang has those decretive amber lights in the grill, that look like driving/fog lights but were nothing but amber parking lights.  Wired the same what as when it rolled off the assembly line, but the vehicle inspection stations gave me a big hassle every time I got it inspected trying to tell me they were driving lights and had to wired to the high beams only.   

I think all states key on dark tented glass.  Not so much because of the tent, but because almost all drug dealers have them so people can't see what's going on inside the vehicle.   Tented widows will get usually get you a drug search somewhere along the way.  

 

A little funny side note about VA state troopers.  I had one pull me over for running doing 70 in a 55 and because I was slowing down quickly his radar didn't get a lock until I was at 57mph so he couldn't charge me with 70mph .  He accused me of running a radar detector.  He went all through my vehicle looking for it.  My wife was in the passenger seat doing her cross stitch needle work. He asked her to get out, and when she did, he handed her,  her basket of needle work to get it out of his way.  He searched every square inch of that vehicle, and finally he walked off telling cursing saying 70 was too fast and slow it down.  He peeled rubber leaving there he was so p***d.   

After he go out of sight, I took the radar detector out of my wife's needle work basket he had handed her and sat it back on the dash.

That’s great!!!

[TnRiver46]

18 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

You can’t sneak through the commonwealth with a moving violation, that’s for certain 

I didn’t realize how true my statement was until I turned on the news this morning...... good grief

[Way2slow]

I have not been in South Carolina in several years so I don't know about now, but they used to be one of the worst in the country for speeding, especially if you had out of state plates.  Three MPH over the speed limit would get you a speeding ticket

[TOXIC]

I put brush guards on my jeep wranglers tail lights because I did the occasional flyfishing guide trip which required I go up some logging roads.  The VA state inspector failed the jeep because of them.  Sitting right next to my 1993 Jeep was a new model with.....you guessed it.....factory installed brush guards on the tail lights.  It passed and the factory set were actually wider and blocked more of the tail light than the ones I had on.  He told me since they were factory installed they were approved.  I sat in the parking lot and took them off my Jeep so it would pass.  I was not happy.

[gim]

On 4/11/2021 at 7:35 AM, Way2slow said:

The laws out are there in most states, it's just a matter of them being enforced. 

 

This.  Its illegal to have full tint on front windows here in MN too but I see people driving around with that all time, including both my neighbors.

 

Having anything hanging from your rear view mirror is also illegal here.  Fuzzy dice, air freshner, etc.  Its considered to be a viewing obstruction.

[MN Fisher]

15 minutes ago, gimruis said:

This.  Its illegal to have full tint on front windows here in MN too but I see people driving around with that all time, including both my neighbors.

If I had the money, I'd replace ALL the tinted windows in my truck with clear - hard to look through especially when backing up as the rear cab, front topper and rear topper are all tinted.

 

16 minutes ago, gimruis said:

Having anything hanging from your rear view mirror is also illegal here.  Fuzzy dice, air freshner, etc.  Its considered to be a viewing obstruction.

I've had cops see the 1" faceted crystal ball I got hanging from mine and ignore it.

[galyonj]

3 minutes ago, gimruis said:

This.  Its illegal to have full tint on front windows here in MN too but I see people driving around with that all time, including both my neighbors.

 

35% is the legal light transmission limit for tint on side and back windows in Tennessee.

 

I have 10% on my car, and it's not going anywhere. I might consider scraping it off when I stop seeing police cars with tint at least as dark as mine.

[gim]

1 hour ago, MN Fisher said:

I've had cops see the 1" faceted crystal ball I got hanging from mine and ignore it.

I have been pulled over for having an air freshner hanging from the mirror.  I only received a warning.  I see some people with all kinds of crap hanging but like you said, probably being ignored a lot.

[Bankbeater]

Around here it's really bad.  Trucks with high beams and after market lights turned on during daylight hours.  Have to wonder about some people.