Other road users dazzling us low-sitting Z drivers, or just my old age?

[dmo]

Been loving my Z4 since I put it back on the road last week. Done a few evening and night drives around Surrey for old times sake.

It's not quite like I remember though; for starters all my favourite roads have average speed cams set up which is a bit of a bummer. It really takes the fun out of driving at 50mph

More troubling though is how easily dazzled I find myself by oncoming cars. It was never an issue before; afterall, bright LEDs have in the last few years taken the spotlight and become the norm.

I don't have the same problem when driving our other car (crossover 4x4 style car) as I'm positioned significantly higher than where I am in the Z4.

Im convinced it's a combination of me sitting low (lowest seating position) and the majority of other vehicles these days being crossover types with higher mounted lights.

Anyone else have the same problem? Or, could it be my old age catching up with me

[GJ1]

YES to this. Sometimes they seem so bright I think they must have their full beam on. Like you, I put it down to driving position.

[Pondrew]

Think it may be to do with so many cars having LED headlights TBH. They are much 'colder' than halogens, or xenons, so have a much whiter light.
Always remember when xenons first came out (2000 ish?), as I could tell if a car had them by the change in light colour as they came closer/ changed angle. The Vauxhall Omega was one of the first to use them and the rozzers had them as patrol cars, so I always presumed if I saw the 'prism' light it was a fed coming toward me!

[dmo]

YES to this. Sometimes they seem so bright I think they must have their full beam on. Like you, I put it down to driving position.

I thought the guy behind me had his full beams on for a good 10sec while the road was making a steep drop. It was insane.

God forbid someone actually turns on their full beams..

[dmo]

Think it may be to do with so many cars having LED headlights TBH. They are much 'colder' than halogens, or xenons, so have a much whiter light.
Always remember when xenons first came out (2000 ish?), as I could tell if a car had them by the change in light colour as they came closer/ changed angle. The Vauxhall Omega was one of the first to use them and the rozzers had them as patrol cars, so I always presumed if I saw the 'prism' light it was a fed coming toward me!

If only it was that easy to spot our friends in uniform

[Z4Mariner]

Here in the US I experience similar dazzle for at least three reasons: 1) There is a huge market for inexpensive 'off road only' LED bulbs, fitted into headlight assemblies not designed for them - lots of light and mostly not in the right places, 2) 'Auto-dimming' LED or HID newer vehicles that are supposed to dip the high beams for the driver, so that the high beams can be left selected all the time - if the sensor is too sensitive, the lights dim from traffic sign reflections, and decreasing sensitivity leaves the high beams on all the time, 3) Not only are trucks and SUV's higher to begin with, but it is very popular to do a front end 'level' on half-ton pickup trucks, which raises the front end, but often without re-aiming the headlights. The trucks come from factory with front lower than rear, because with a payload the vehicle will be level, but many drivers don't like the look (and may seldom carry much load).

My wife's Honda Odyssey and my RAM truck both have the 'auto-dimming' headlight feature - we have it turned off on both.

[smorris_12]

Is the inside of the windscreen nice and clean? Gooey build up can make oncoming headlights worse.

[Vonlipvig]

Yes to this. It doesn't help my windscreen has so many tiny scratches it's like a starry night sky. It's not old age, still in my 30's (admittedly with crap eyes so always in glasses). Find myself at night on unlit roads having to focus on the kerb on occasion to keep position if someone's are particularly bright and I have noone in front of me. Nowhere near as bad in the wife's E90

[dmo]

It's not old age, still in my 30's (admittedly with crap eyes so always in glasses).

and there was me thinking mid 30s was old age. I bought it when I was 23 so I feel old after so many years of ownership

[MikeyH]

Wearing glasses makes it worse, they sell them with anti glare coatings and this helps a little.

[dmo]

Wearing glasses makes it worse, they sell them with anti glare coatings and this helps a little.

Initially I read that as sunglasses and thought "no sh!t Sherlock.. if they've got their headlights of full beams on then it's probably too dark for sunglasses"

[MikeyH]

Wearing glasses makes it worse, they sell them with anti glare coatings and this helps a little.

Initially I read that as sunglasses and thought "no sh!t Sherlock.. if they've got their headlights of full beams on then it's probably too dark for sunglasses"

It’s a mystery Watson

[Argenta]

The problem is the "intelligent" LED headlights today, they are just not very intelligent. Most of them are full-beam as DEFAULT and auto-dip when you meet them head on. Problem is, the system doesnt detect you as fast as a human driver would. YOU see a car meeting, the car doesnt.
So on a country road you get meeting traffic dipping their headlights 100m before you, not 1000m like in the old days.
And its not like its a 2-position system, some dip gradually and "just about" (meaning, hunch a bit and you get blinded...)
Tesla headlights are particulary bad. You get blinded even in town when cycling etc.

Ban the sh#it out of these systems, now.
Like they did in the US.

[Barty]

The biggest offenders are Tesla's; somehow the LED's in their lenses just throw off a huge amount of diffuse light, dazzling you both when they're behind you or coming the other way. Mercs and Audi's have the laser-LED's and while bright usually aren't producing quite such a haze.

Another factor is ride height: look at sedans and estates from the 00's versus the average family car now. They've all become taller, bulkier, SUV's are more popular... All of which isn't ideal to us arse-on-the-ground type drivers

[pvr]

I do like the feature that my X5M and Porsche have where they partially leave the headlights on full beam (onto the side of the road) making it easier to see where you are going when someone comes towards you with bright lights