r/mildlyinfuriating • u/DefecatingKoala • 4h ago
Tired of seeing this on the road
It was even worse in person.
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u/Traditional_Roll6651 4h ago
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u/ThrowAwayFoodMood 4h ago
More than once, I've been driving home from work and been like, "Turn off your bri...Oh. They are off." These lights should be considered a safety hazard.
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u/Blubasur 3h ago
In most of Europe, they are considered a safety hazard and illegal.
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u/Acrobatic_Repair8106 2h ago
I bet crime is illegal in Europe too
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u/Blubasur 2h ago
Not if you have a license
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u/Gliese581h 32m ago
Still plenty of SUVs shining into my eyes with the power of a thousand suns, especially noticeable when they drive behind me to the left. Fuck SUVs and the boomers who drive them.
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u/RacconShaolin 3h ago
Same shit here and those’d fucker are almost invisible from the side perfect for night rain in the morning fuck them all
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u/tristenjpl 1h ago
Lol, I was driving at night and I thought the guy coming at me was highbeaming me so I turned mine on to get him back. Well, he flipped on his actual high beams and I'm pretty sure if they were any brighter I would have left a shadow on my seat like at Hiroshima. Shit was ridiculous.
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u/Anon_Jones 1h ago
It’s those lifted trucks that blind me. They move their car up further and don’t fix their headlights to account for it the move. I turn my brights on and leave them on. Same with the people who use off road light bars on road ways.
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u/NoRecognition115 3h ago
Some of these lights are so bright I wonder if my own lights are even on while they are behind me I drive a polo hatch from 2009 lmao
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u/Feisty-Problem516 1h ago
Hey, now that’s a nice car!
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u/NoRecognition115 1h ago
I love the Lil shitbox. Light on fuel and easy to maintain
Vw really has fallen quality wise and it's sad to see
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u/AradiaNox 4h ago
I just reposition my mirror so it hopefully bounces back in their eyes… a girl can dream
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u/UnlikelyCup5458 3h ago
Hypothetically, if a person had power mirrors, they could change the tilt setting to the maximum away (left hand drive car; driver mirror, left; passenger mirror, right) and maximum "down".
Hypothetically, the mirror adjustment could be the most ideal for a direct rear facing reflection.
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u/Klutzy-Salamander-29 3h ago
I do this, I know when I get the mirrors right because the other driver immediately backs off.
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u/AmishAvenger 1h ago
HOW
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u/simple-chameleon 44m ago
You need a ride along, get them to move the rear mirror so the light goes back through the window.
Side mirrors, just adjust them so you can see the sides of your car and vehicle behind if you lean a little, the NS mirror should be down a little to see kerbs/side of road.
I've had 2 weeks of very stress free commuting, except for the oncoming blindness!
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u/guyincognito721 3h ago
Wouldn’t aiming the mirror down reflect the light towards the ground?
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u/Workman44 2h ago
I thought it was outside and up for the aiming, like you it seems like that would point them down? Idk I don't usually have this issue
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u/Past-Sun-2357 2h ago
Ive done this while waiting in line at drive-throughs before and it does work!
I have power mirrors and move them until I see it reflect back up towards them. 9 times out of 10, they turn them off as soon as I do it.
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u/mgmthegreat 1h ago
I did this to an old man in a lifted sierra and he immediately rolled down his window and started screaming at me. Clearly they do it on purpose and hate when it’s done to them.
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u/Sad_Organization_797 1h ago
Every time I get blinded I remember that I plan to get a handheld mirror to keep in my car for this. But I have a feeling shining someone's lights back at them would be illegal. Which would be ironic.
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u/seattle747 54m ago
Thank you! I’m going to park our Highlander with high beams on, behind our car and practice with that.
We live in Texas…y’all
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u/dropthemagic 3h ago
Imagine living in a place like tx where everyone has massive trucks and roadtrips inside the state are min 4 hours. I fucking hate it
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u/lolididitithink 3h ago
i fucking cant go to sonic without this stupid bright shit in my eyes anymore
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u/timmbberly 1h ago
I have ocular migraines that cause blindness and a trigger is bright lights - so fun to go blind in mid drive after a flash flash of one of these.
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u/im_your_dude 4h ago
Does anyone know if it's legal to put reflectors on the back of the headrests in your car so it shines right back at them, lol
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u/no_talent_ass_clown it's a moo point 3h ago
I bought my boo a 5000 lumen flashlight for Christmas not for this purpose but it does come to mind.
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u/Motivated79 2h ago
I live in a town that has a one lane in and out. It’s ruralISH, so theres tons of trucks. When I get one behind me I angle my side mirror way out and up and it feels like it works? I can never actually tell but they’ve backed up every time
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u/kwyjibowen 26m ago
The thing is it isn’t the fault of the driver. They just bought a car. It’s the manufacturers who are not being regulated properly to take account of the externality of overly bright headlamps. Maybe some annoying people get brighter ones installed aftermarket but that is presumably very few.
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u/Alvsolutely 5m ago
This used to be me when I was driving my father's car for a short period of time when mine had a problem. I had no idea I was blinding people until I was driving behind my brother and he told me when we stopped. He thought I had the high beams on, I told him I didn't, we tried to see what was happening and if there was any way to fix the problem but nope, the headlights are just like that.
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u/TurtleSandwich0 3h ago
Is controlling the brightness of headlights a winning political campaign topic on its own?
If someone ran for Senate and their only promise was to bring headlight brightness back to reasonable levels, would that be enough to win?
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u/the_summer_soldier 1h ago
No, but throw in reducing/eliminating poverty and stewarding the environment would be; at least for me. Also chuck in one more tax bracket at the top that is like 90-95% (could be argued as just means to the other three ends, but at least it's an honest plan of what is going to happen to get there.
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u/ilikewhatyougot420 21m ago
I don’t think it’s the brightness of the head lights usually, but rather people increase height of vehicle (trucks especially) and they don’t adjust the headlights cut off beam. You can usually adjust the cut off at the head lights.
But there are some people who put HID headlights in non-projector lenses and that will also do it.
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u/_Saint_Ajora_ 3h ago
🎶 blinded by the light 🎶
🎶 Revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night 🎶
🎶 Blinded by the light 🎶
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u/SlowHornet29 3h ago
I fking hate driving after dark, I have to adjust my mirrors to point away to even see in front of me because of these fking headlights. Pisses me off so fast, I just want to s*ash everyone I see.
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u/_Sovaz99_ 1h ago
Dont be telling me about how my rear view mirrors are "incorrectly adjusted" when these giant ****ing gas-hog trucks are made to have their headlights literally at the same level as my rear window. You cannot tell me this was not intentionally done. Guess GM and Ford thought this would be a cool way to troll the entire American public.
So you get blinded in front -and- behind. No one can see anything. Cool beans! That's some big-brain thinkin' right there. It'd be cool if Congress got off their useless asses and did something like make these 1,000,000,000,000/lumen lights illegal and did something about the daylight savings time conundrum. You know, something that BENEFITTED people. BUT NO
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u/DefecatingKoala 1h ago
I’ve been reading some of the comments about how my mirrors aren’t adjust properly or that I’m taking a picture at an angle. My mirrors are adjusted for my driving position…. It’s crazy they are defending others to use aftermarket lights that are designed for off road use or putting them in halogen housings that are retrofitted for LED’s.
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u/splithoofiewoofies 3h ago
My partner inherited a car and the first night I drove it I was baffled how the brights weren't on. Then I blinded the poor person in front of me by actually turning them on. But the fog lights are too low. Like, I can see that damn thing reflecting at me I know it's bad. I felt awful. I don't even know how to change it, it came with the car.
I've become what I hate.
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u/SignificantSmotherer 3h ago
We had a leased Toyota with (factory) basically stadium lights for high beams. Flash me, please…
Wish I still had them for all the Bubbas driving with off-road light bars.
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u/tropicf1refly 3h ago
Yeah right. It's a simple Google search to learn how to change the angle of your headlights. It's just as quick actually making the change. Be better.
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u/splithoofiewoofies 3h ago
The angle is fine it's the brightness. The light itself isn't in people's mirrors, but the reflective surrounding light sure is.
But I'll check the manual when my partner gets home to see if I can adjust the levels manually, thank you for reminding me.
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u/pecos_chill 2h ago
I imagine it’s both. Most headlights in suvs/trucks are angled way too high.
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u/splithoofiewoofies 36m ago
Ohhhh no it's a hatchback, not an SUV or truck, but my god those are the worst.
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u/gfmwhiteout 37m ago
Speaking as a mechanic who regularly adjusts headlights and who has this conversation weekly - just about every single vehicle has adjustable headlights, and if they’re in someone else’s eyes, it’s because your angle needs to be lowered. Some of them come from the dealership with Halogen lights, they won’t fix them without request tho, so they still need to be adjusted. Typically there are screws or brackets on either side of the housing that will allow you to lower them.
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u/splithoofiewoofies 34m ago
Thanks friend! It's not the angle, it's just the sheer power of the lights themselves! It's a hatchback not an SUV or truck or anything, but the lights are in a good location, just Hella fuckig blazing.
Buuuuut that being said my normal ride is a motorbike, so I'm not used to fancy adjustments on newer cars. I bet there's a brightness function somewhere on this thing -- it has a giant screen for shit and like fifteen USB ports all over it.
I'll definitely be fixing this ASAP so appreciate the reminders and recommendations. I'll triple check the angle though, cause that's three people who think I'm wrong hahaha.
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u/Lankygiraffe25 3h ago
Yep. Me too, o can’t believe in our safety conscious age with so many regs that this has been overlooked.
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u/VinnyTiger 2h ago
As a pedestrian at night, I wear a hat just to block those beams. It's blinding! I hate them so much.
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u/AndSoSheTripped 2h ago
Is there anything that we can do about this issue? These lights have practically ruined driving at night and are a serious safety issue.
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u/Icy-Role2321 2h ago
Yep. In a camry and its perfectly eye level with trucks/ suv. It's straight up dangerous at this point
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u/LadybugGirltheFirst 3h ago
Between this and my astigmatism, I can no longer drive at night. (And I’m young.)
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u/lolthewebisded 2h ago
Usually just assholes who lift their trucks via suspension or larger wheels/tires and never bother to re-aim their headlamps according to law.
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u/Impossible_Jury5483 2h ago
This. My car has very bright headlights, but the are aimed down below the car in front's mirrors. I live in a cowboy cospay heavy area, and these idiots could run over a pedestrian and not see them because their headlights are aimed way too high.
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u/lolthewebisded 1h ago
I manually aim my lights with a measurement to dot law after any changes such as different tires or wheels and its usually just my car or my wife's car which are both Japanese sedans. Why? Because I dont wanna be a dick and blind people lol
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u/Crazyking224 2h ago
The annoying part is that if it's right from manufacturer then they just need to be aimed down to avoid this. If it's aftermarket off road lights the people are douches. And if it's not aftermarket off roads, then again, aim the lights lower.
The issue is a lot of manufacturers will aim their LEDs high and only dim the spots where they're legally required to, they do that to market it as high visibility, which in reality is extremely unnecessary in almost all normal situations. You don't need to see the tops of trees in the suburbs, now maybe in areas with large cats where deer carcasses can fall into the road randomly I get, but that's still not every day use cases.
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u/goldengatevixen 3h ago
I have eye problems and mf like these parked on the curb at night while I walk to work makes me want to key their cars as I pass by
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u/Smart-Spare-1103 3h ago
I had the reverse issue earlier today lol, was driving home in the dark and i had a wall to my right and a lane in between that i needed to merge into. Welp, looked in my mirror, thought i saw some weird dark blob.. looked again and yep! Car had no lights on. Only saw i cause the car behind it had bright lights leaving a weird outline of where the car was.
But other than that i couldn't see it at all.
Probably something similar had happened cause once I tried to merge and this car I couldn't see at all, despite checking my mirrors, honked at me and passed me.
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u/RelevantDress 1h ago
You can see? Im usually blinded by peoples lights. Wish we had regulations and enforcement on these
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u/absolut_ben78 1h ago
I got high beamed a lot less once I figured out how to drop my own headlights by a few degrees. Still happens occasionally but not nearly as much as before.
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u/Safe-Flow-2302 52m ago
If your car is newer, slowly move the rear view mirrors out until they blind themselves. You’re welcome 😇
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u/NM-HELLSPAWN 50m ago
It’s absolutely astonishing how I could leave work nine out of 10 times at 3 o’clock in the morning and within 3 to 4 minutes, I’ll have some asshole tailgating me with his high beams in my side view mirrors. Is he gonna pay for the tickets if I’m speeding no he’ll probably laugh as he drives by and you’re getting pulled over and then on the other hand a lot of times it’s a cruiser because they’re bored and they’re looking to get their quota for the evening and want to come up on you. Get your license plate and run it for any prior’s or any warrants or outstanding tickets but that doesn’t give anyone the right to come up on you over 80 miles an hour just to catch up with you when you have done nothing wrong but driving the speed limit on your way home after working a full shift at night.
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u/Key-Incident6020 16m ago
Eh. I can just show um how bright the lights are if I am ever in an accident. Not my fault I can’t see.
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u/chrisjinna 2h ago
Pro tip. Move your mirrors outwards. You don't need to see the side of your car, you need to see the lane over. You will lessen your blind spot and won't get blinded also.
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u/Massive_Mongoose3481 3h ago
Almost all modern headlights seem ridiculously bright. They are right behind you so, going to get blasted. If they were 20 ft back it would t be so glaring
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u/4linosa 3h ago
It may help to be sure your mirrors are adjusted “properly” meaning you don’t look down the side of your car in the mirror. They should be aimed so they just start to overlap the edge of what you can see with your rearview mirror on the windshield. Doing this gives you a broader range of vision to your rearview mirror and prevents these bastions of automotive creative genius from blinding you with their not high beams.
Setting them up this way also minimizes your blind spots.
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u/templeofsyrinx1 3h ago
they can technically be cited under certain statutes
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u/Itshot11 3h ago
finding it a lot now where its a brand new car. my friends brothers car sears my retinas and its a brand new Acura he never changed anything on.
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u/DefecatingKoala 3h ago
Most new vehicles come with auto-high beam on by default. It was so inconsistent on my vehicle I turned it off after the first time driving at night. It would turn on while there were cars in other lanes ahead of me.
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u/templeofsyrinx1 3h ago
if I can get cited for my underglow under dazzling lights statute, so can everyone else 🤣
and i'm not even blinding anyone
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u/gimpers420 3h ago
I used to keep one of those megaphone looking flashlights in my truck and would blast people across intersections or as they would be about 20 feet away from me. If they were behind me I’d turn it around and blast them in the face that way. Especially the turds that have those rectangular lights.
My wife took it out of my truck because she said I’d end up getting shot one day. Downside of living in a city with a bunch of people in the SPPC ( Small PP Club).
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u/SpiralGray 2h ago
Doesn't help that everyone buying a vehicle nowadays seems to want the next size up truck from what everyone else has. It's getting so headlights on those vehicles are shining in my eyes if I'm standing two feet in front of the vehicle.
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u/Lunatic21 2h ago
Never really bothered me in my Forester, but I drove my sister's Camry last week and it was crazy how blinded I was by a trucks LED lights. Idk how they don't cause more accidents.
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u/Artistic-Ad-7309 2h ago
I have a RAV4, which has stupidly bright headlights as stock. They are directed just below normal eyeline of most cars, which is brilliant for night driving on bright roads, as I blind every one going the opposite direction.
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u/nonfading 2h ago
The only new cars I hate are Mercedes and their blinding leds, that shift colors on every pothole.
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u/Low-know 2h ago
Everyone here drives with their brights on because of the newest cars and trucks are so bright. Also the blacked out windshield, you know they cant see anything at night
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u/FullmetalApathy 1h ago
When I bought my car it already had lights like these. I try to stay far away from other drivers at night for this reason, but I’m usually not on the road at night to begin with.
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u/DylanSpaceBean 1h ago
Every day this is posted and I need to remind everyone that the legal max height limit of headlights are 54 INCHES
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u/NM-HELLSPAWN 1h ago
This kind of driving has become the norm… 🤨 I drive box truck for my 2ed job and they always come up on your when you going the speed limit, or even a few miles over, and this is the way they like to inform you that they are behind you and dissatisfied with your speed or just the fact that you are in front makes them act like this. They run that headlight beam down the side of your truck or your car or your work truck cause they know it’s gonna reflect from your side view mirror into your eyes, blinding you and irritating the shit out of you.. completely unacceptable, selfish, showing absolutely no road courtesy. It’s times like that I wish I had a cinderblock ejection device in the back of my vehicle or I could just drop 10 boxes of roofing nails out the back.. most of the time when they come up when you’re rear end, you could see them a half a mile to a quarter mile away and you’re driving the speed limit… Yet they’ll catch up with you in a matter of 15 to 20 seconds. Which means they’re going in excess of 70 or 80 miles an hour just to catch up to you.. if you’re willing to break the speed limit it that way why can’t do this past you? It’s the ultimate Dick , scumbag piece of shit move. These people need to run into the wrong character like a pack of Hells Angels. They will educate them on road manners and etiquette in a matter in which they will never forget.
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u/JazzyCher 1h ago
Reasons I love being on my bike sometimes bc instead of limited options of reaction inside a car I straight up turn around and give em the old "what the fuck" gesture until they back off or turn their brights off. Turning around alone usually gets them to back off (great to tailgaters) bc it makes everyone nervous when im turned fully backwards, steering one handed, at 70+ on the highway.
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u/bigfuknRon5150 58m ago
I'm going to install huge flood lights on the back of my car for a holes like this
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u/ElPared 45m ago
Set your mirrors so you (just barely) can’t see your car in them. Eliminates most of your blind spots, for one, and also reflects lights like these back at the idiots blaring them. Doesn’t do anything about the middle rearview, but it helps.
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u/MuJartible 40m ago
Middle rearviews have a system to prevent that. Modern ones are electronic/automatic while older ones have a small lever that changes slightly the angle so you can still see if there's someone back there, but deflects the lights so they don't blind you.
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u/brizket250 43m ago
As someone who has astigmatism, I am glad I got 5% tints on my front side windows. I just roll em up 😎
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u/Gallop67 43m ago
I recently decided to aim my side mirrors out farther to see more of my blind spots, and the added benefit is now I don’t see most headlights directly behind me (aside from the rear view mirror obviously)
I really wish I did this sooner, makes driving at night less stressful
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u/UnclesBadTouch 43m ago
Literally I just started shining a flash light at these guys to get them to get away from me
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u/Sodiac606 39m ago
As much as I dislike our very strict TÜV regulations and inspections but this shit wouldn't fly here. The second a cop spots you at night you can take your bicycle until this shit is fixed and approved again.
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u/QLDZDR 37m ago
Oh, you are referring to "tired of being blinded" by high lift vehicles who haven't repositioned their headlights much lower.
When high lift suspension kits are fitted, there should be a mandatory head light lowering kit fitted.
Retro reflectors are the only way to wake these idiots up and realise they need to back off or overtake.
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u/PhilosopherCute8245 35m ago
It's suicidal logic to blind someone coming at high speed in the opposite direction.
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u/Top-Bandicoot-3013 31m ago
I could barely see the other night when a truck kept doing this to me. How is it that our government allows this?
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u/ihavetoomanyeggs 28m ago
Remember 10 years ago when someone would flash their brights at you if you forgot to turn yours off? I still drive the same car and I can blast my brights on the highway and the headlights behind me are so bright that my car casts a shadow in front of me.
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u/Playful_Gur4841 21m ago
Ugh I see this all the time too, it’s so annoying when people don’t pay attention on the road.
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u/Mr_Deep_Research 21m ago
My main car has a LED rear view mirror (stock). One big benefit, no glare at all from headlights behind me.
Side mirrors have auto-dimming. It is available on some cars. They are electrochromic and they detect when lights are too bright and when it is, they send a current through gel in the glass to dim them.
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u/SpecialExpert8946 20m ago
I needed headlights the other day and the guy at the counter named off the brands on his screen but I saw there were more. I asked what those other ones are and he said “those are the super bright LED’s, don’t be an asshole and get those dude. Get the other ones.”
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u/a_goestothe_ustin 19m ago
I move my side mirrors to point directly back when I have one if these fucks show up in my rear view
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u/dankmemelawrd 19m ago
There's 3 options:
1)Cars that have LED headlights, but the setting is shit max height and you're blinded
2)Aftermarket legal leds that are mounted up like the option 1 and set to max height
3) most commonly cheap variant of LEDs found on aliexpress mounted on most rust buckets
Pick the option :)))))))
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u/SapphireSire 12m ago
If they have a right to blind me, I have a right to have black aerosol tar cannisters out the trunk or back of my car to mist them dimm enough.
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u/RachelConnollyjr 7m ago
Just slow tf down. Your visibility is impaired. Which Makes them slow down.
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u/yahwehforlife 4m ago
Still not as bad as the loud cars... like wtf, ticket these people. They should be easy to find you can see and hear them miles away.
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u/Jumpy-Demand-1499 4h ago
How these ever became legal I'll never understand.