Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright

Re:Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright by LoganDark on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @11:56AM (#45968866)

I usually drive with only the DRLs even at night. My vision is good enough that there's no reason to blind other drivers. I only use the beams at all when there's bad weather that fucks with visibility, or when the road has no retroreflectors. Also ever since a collision repair the headlight beams have been misaligned and that's extremely distracting/infuriating so I hate using them anyway.

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Re:Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright by xxpor on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @11:57AM (#45968881)

At least in NA, if you only have the DRLs on, it means your rear lights aren't on.

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Re:Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright by LoganDark on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @11:59AM (#45968896)

That's not true for my vehicle, I've checked.

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Re:Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright by SoftTalker on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @01:17PM (#45969956)

Not sure why people are not believing you. I have a Volvo and the headlights and taillights are illuminated at all times, even when the headlight switch is "off."

The only thing that turning the headlights "on" does differently is enable high beams.

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Re:Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright by hn_acc1 on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @03:19PM (#45971495)

Thanks - I'm ok with that. As also mentioned, I'm NOT when it's a dark car at night with ONLY DRL and no rear lights at all - which I've seen a LOT of lately..

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Re:Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright by snerbles on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @12:47PM (#45969575)

Anecdata around SV: I've seen an uptick in urban night drivers with only their DRLs and no tail lights.

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Re:Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright by akersten on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @12:29PM (#45969315)

Are you aware of what the D in DRL stands for?

Your vision may be good enough to see ahead of you by candlelight, but other drivers are not going to expect a nearly invisible car approaching at night. Turn on your headlights.

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Re:Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright by BenjiWiebe on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @01:59PM (#45970447)

DRL's aren't dim enough to make your car "nearly invisible". If it's enough light for the driver to see the road via reflection, it's more than enough for the oncoming driver to see via line of sight transmission.

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Re:Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright by hn_acc1 on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @03:20PM (#45971503)

True - but the problem is at night, from behind, on many models, the ARE invisible because no lights are on.

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Re:Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright by LoganDark on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @05:30PM (#45973132)

I don't know what's invisible about the outside edge of my headlights, and my taillights, being illuminated. The car is very visible. If it were invisible, and I do a LOT of nighttime driving, I would've gotten pulled over for it already (and I haven't been).

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Re:Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright by sokoloff on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @12:39PM (#45969449)

On many cars, the beam of the DRLs are more offensive to oncoming drivers when used at night.

Properly repairing your car might make it less distracting/infuriating.

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Re:Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright by saltcured on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @01:29PM (#45970093)

Yeah, the DRL lamps are omnidirectional while proper headlights are much more directional.

Typically the DRL lamps switch off or go to a dimmer setting when the headlights are on.

That omnidirectional nature makes them pure glare at night.

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Re:Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright by LoganDark on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @05:39PM (#45973225)

My vehicle does not dim the DRLs with the beams on. The brightness of the DRLs is also inoffensive enough that I don't think they're worse than the beams at all. They're also essentially evenly-lit light bars, and not point sources like the beams, which further helps.

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Re:Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright by buildsjets on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @12:45PM (#45969551)

Username checks.

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Re:Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright by officeplant on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @03:27PM (#45971576)

> headlight beams have been misaligned and that's extremely distracting/infuriating so I hate using them anyway

One might consider taking the 5 minutes to align your headlights? Even if you're alone and don't have a helping friend with a tape measure it's not difficult to just make them a little more properly adjusted.

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Re:Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright by mmmlinux on Wednesday November 19, 2025 @11:46AM (#45981736)

Sounds like you had a bad repair then. take it back and get it fixed properly.

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