Do you people remember the annoying Sylvania light bulbs commercials, where the guy says "Now you see me, now you don't". Makes me want to replace with "Now you blind me, now you don't". Heck, I've seen some people whose regular lights are brighter than their far lights. Mostly on pickups, too, right where the height of the lamps is perfect for blinding those who have regular cars. And these people brag about it too. Shouldn't the lightbulbs that exceed the ministry's 300 Cd be prohobited from use? Oftentimes I get blinded on the highway by trucks/SUV's that come from behind, and that is their regular lights too. Any ideas on how to combat these people?

The "negative afterimage" left by those superbulbs is bad enough that on one occasion I actually pulled off the road for a few moments... couldn't see enough to drive safely.

I'm not a big fan of introducing more regulations... but I think it's reasonable to say that your regular bulbs must be between "x" and "y" candlepower, and high-beams between a certain amount too. I haven't looked into what the regs are right now. Lights are too bright = unsafe equipment on vehicle, police pull over driver, inspector checks, verifies it's too bright, licence plates removed & vehicle is off the road until it's fixed. If a driver gets partially blinded, even for a few moments, that's a major safety problem.

Not to steer off-topic here, but super-bright bulbs are a real BAD idea in snowfall or fog at night. The brighter light is more easily reflected back to the car, reducing forward visibility. So it's not only a safety issue for other vehicles, but for the driver with those super-bright lights. If I need brighter illumination I'll turn on my high-beams... but not in fog or if I've got an oncoming car. Downside: With the high-beams off in good conditions it's harder to spot the OPP cruiser parked behind the bridge pillar on the 401 near Ridgetown early enough.

Radar Identified wrote:

Downside: With the high-beams off in good conditions it's harder to spot the OPP cruiser parked behind the bridge pillar on the 401 near Ridgetown early enough.

Just repeat after me..... Kilometre 109, Kilometre 109, Kilometre 109

there....never have to worry about highbeams again

I see a lot of this type of stuff on the hwy. Maybe once a month I will see misaligned headlights.

Fail to use low beams is $110 and 3 points. I pick a lot of those off on the 401 (MV following others AND approaching from the opposite direction (there is no concrete barrier to block light).

I also stop 2-5 per shift of improper headlights ($110)...people not turning on their lights, and think daytime running lights are headlights.

yes, those other bulbs are annoying as especially on pickups and jeeps, just high enough to zap the retina!

As to safety.

When you use low-beam the top of the beam should just touch the top of the plate on the car in front of you..

Cheers

Viper1

I also stop 2-5 per shift of improper headlights ($110)...people not turning on their lights, and think daytime running lights are headlights.

I'm all in favour of DRL, but you'd think the manufacturers would make it a little more obvious to the drivers that their headlights aren't on, like keeping the dashboard panel dark until the headlights are fully activated. Lots of people in my neighbourhood seem to drive with the lights off at night.

Is there a set max candlepower that the lights can have for regular bulbs? I've been too lazy to look it up myself.

Kilometre 109, Kilometre 109, Kilometre 109

Very funny, Bear.

Although last time I was driving on the 401 through your territory I noticed that the usual 2-3 officers were down near Chatham as opposed to their usual spot near Highgate/Ridgetown. And by the way the Tahoe sticks out like a sore thumb when it's parked behind the bridge. [/quote]