Hacker News Reader

Comment by bena | Hacker News Reader

In over 20 years of driving, even in rural areas with lots of deer and other critters, I can count on one hand the number of times I've intentionally turned on my hi-beams.

If your night vision is that bad, the solution isn't to blind other drivers by turning the road into the midday sun.

View on HN

You're absolutely in the minority here. Perhaps you have extremely above average peripheral vision.

I grew up in a rural area and still visit quite often. Deer jump out in front of cars all the time. It is physically impossible for me, any of my family members, or anyone I've ever known in this town to be able to see the deer off the side of the wooded areas without high beams on. High beams are not going away.

Not the GP but I have similar experiences. I do have above-average night vision, though.

This seems so ridiculous, I almost think you're deliberately trolling. All one needs to do is drive through a dark forest at night, flip on the high beams and instantly see another 200 feet ahead of you, giving you more time to see deer, fallen trees, etc. It's not about bad vision. Even the human with the best eyesight can't see in the dark. And to be clear, this is done when there aren't other drivers coming toward you.

Low beams give you around 200 feet. Which is within the stopping distance of 50mph. If you are in a situation where you are concerned about fallen trees, why are you driving faster?

To also be clear, way more people are driving with high beams or insane lumens just everywhere. My mirrors are practically useless at night because there's always some idiot with their highs on shining right in them.

The benefits of the few cases where you could use high beams are outweighed by all the times they are used inappropriately and cause way more issues.

My mirrors are practically useless at night because there's always some idiot with their highs on shining right in them.

You should see an eye doctor about that. My mother had the same issue and it turned out to be a serious problem.

The serious problem are the drivers who can't fathom not having ultra-high lumen LED headlights switched to high at all times. This is not a subjective thing. It only takes one jackass, so it's easy to see the difference between them and other vehicles.

And it's not like I'm the only one who has noticed this problem:

https://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/2018/12/20/br...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com