Night driving can be a really miserable experience these days. In the ‘olden days’ you just had to deal with selfish or forgetful drivers who left their high beams switched on as you approached them at close range. These days it is not uncommon to be dazzled by the modern HID projector lamps used for standard (low) beam headlights. I had HID’s in my 2002 Audi TT and got a lot of flashes from other drivers despite their alignment being ‘within factory specification’ and MoT compliant. The real nightmare was amateurs fitting upgraded lighting systems that were not correctly aligned etc. they were in a minority however. It was the general fitting of HID lamps that made night driving unpleasant for me. The light was a blue/white harsh colour temperature that hurts if you get dazzled by it. The driver of the HID equipped vehicle might see benefit from the higher quality light output, but it can make night driving somewhat wearing for other drivers, both oncoming and in front of the projector lights.
Many moons ago my wise father warned me about the use of the powerful additional high beam flood lighting that I attached to my Ford Escort Mk3. Whilst they gave excellent long distance illumination, they tended to create a dark blind spot nearer to the vehicle and when switched off, night vision took time to adjust. I rarely used them in the end. There is such a thing as ‘too bright’ in some driving scenarios. Reflective signs can be an issue as well.
So this thread appears to be discussing new technology that some clever minds have come up with that tries to keep the brighter illumination where it belongs (on the road and edges) and reduce the dazzling effect on oncoming drivers etc. I do not think such a development is without merit and it needs to be considered as the vehicle headlight technology develops and produces a more intense beam of light. The old way was to either use prisms, shaped reflectors or carefully positioned light blocking plates. They all worked to a degree, but are far from perfect. If this new technology is intended to better control the light beams emitted from a vehicle, I am in favour of it as an advancement in illumination technology.
Those old enough may remember the Citroen car that had headlights linked to the steering system that actually steered the whole headlight as the cat travelled around corners. Citroen were well known for innovation and quirky vehicle designs but it has been said that they were “just ahead of their time”. When you consider how many vehicles travel the roads in poor weather or darkness, is it not a good idea to continue development of the lighting systems that enable the driver to safely travel the roads and avoid accidents ? I think it is

What I do object to is frivolous deployment of ultra bright LED systems that do little to improve safety, and can even degrade safety in some cases. How many on here have been dazzled by modern high intensity red LED rear brake light assemblies when in traffic ? The designers of some vehicles have employed a large number of such high intensity LED’s for ‘visual effect’ (cosmetics) rather than safety. Such bright rear light assemblies can really be a pain to sit behind in traffic.
Now the fun bit…. Cost of replacement ! An LED is a long life device but when mounted in a vehicle, the lighting assembly is exposed to harsh conditions that can lead to lighting assembly failure. In the good old days a filament lamp would fail and could replaced for a £1 to £5, depending upon which lamp it was (simple or complex headlight lamp). Then came the HID headlights and their associated replacement cost….my Audi TT needed Philips HID’s at £125 each and the HID lamps had no guaranteed life span ! They could fail quickly or after several thousands of hours use. The HID driver Ballasts could also fail and they were not cheap to replace.
Now we have entered the era of LED illumination in a big way. High intensity LEDs are common and relatively inexpensive. They have a long service life when treated properly BUT….. place such technology in a harsh environment and there is the potential for failure of the LED, it’s driver or other parts of the lighting assembly through corrosion etc. “So what” some might says and “just replace the failed LED or assembly” ….. well life is not that simple. Generally speaking the high power LED’s are not individually replaceable as the OEM wants the owner to fit a whole new lighting assembly. Fine when such an assembly costs a few Pounds or Dollars, but how do you feel about having to pay $1K when your rear light assembly suffers a failure or >$1K when a headlight assembly fails ! Yep, no kidding. Those are the prices being charged by car manufacturers today. GM being one such company. Such prices could easily write off a vehicle of a certain age that has a shunt and breaks both the headlights plus the usual £2K for a bumper on cars like an Audi. I suspect we will see companies offering lighting assembly repair services once such expensive parts become more widespread.
We are in an age of transition to “electric transport is the way forwards” and can expect much innovation in the coming years. It will be an unstoppable force that the public will either love or hate, depending upon their experiences. I suspect t that more modern technology will bring with it significant costs for the owners who choose to keep their vehicles longer than a few years though. I am driving a 16 year old AUDI A4 1.8T that is immaculate….but it burns fossil fuel (cleanly) so apparently has no future. I doubt many people will be driving 16 year old electric cars in the new future that awaits us. They will be scrapped as uneconomic to repair long before they reach such an age….just like your laptops and phones

Progress is good and unstoppable, but it can get expensive !
Fraser