Glad to see you back, DVD. I trust things are progressing well.

A tip I was told early in my traffic days was that when faced with what appears a dazzling beam DO NOT look at the beam but try and focus beyond. Seemed to work for me.

I was taught to look just beyond the range of your own lamps, into the black pool. That way your pupils adjust more quickly once the dazzle passes and you're looking exactly where you should be.

A tip I was told early in my traffic days was that when faced with what appears a dazzling beam DO NOT look at the beam but try and focus beyond. Seemed to work for me.

I pass this on for what it is worth

dvd

Hello dvd, I hope your recovery is progressing well. A very welcome post.

Like you I was taught too focus to the left of beam to avoid a direct flash into the eyes. It seems these day I have to use the technique more often than I would wish. Some inconsiderate drivers around who either refuse to dip, or don't even realise they are on full beam. Then the perenial maladjusted lights, not noticed until the clocks go back and headlights are more in use. At least my rear view mirror has an automatic 'dipping' function to avoid being dazzled, usually by a large SUV or similar with headlights mounted higher from the ground. The joys of driving.

Cheers Concrete

Confess this is one of the reasons i drive a higher vehicle when not at work, the difference in sitting that two or three feet higher is amazing.

Couple of tips to add to the above posts.

Keep your windows spotlessly clean inside and out at all times, less glare when it can't land on dirt on your windows and cause that to show up, and good for stopping winter sun glare.

Wash your windscreen with something different to normal wash and wax after you wash the car itself to get wax and road grease off, and don't forget to keep the blades themselves clean either, a useful way of prolonging wiper blade life and preventing judder is to lift them up and flip them the other way now and again when they are 'parked', helps keep them flexible and they don't develop that one sided lean that means judder.

Keep an old spray bottle of clean water and a rubber blade squeegee handy during the winter when you are out and about, there is nothing worse than trying to wipe salt residue off the windows, all you do is smear it further, but a few sprays of clean water and couple of passes with the rubber blade and it clear again.

I have been known to keep a full squeezy bottle of water in the door pocket during really bad weather, whilst at the lights a quick blast of clean water over the screen saves using your washer bottle of proper mix up too quickly.

If your screen is badly scratched due to thousands of wiper passes and small stone chips, get it changed, shop around local one man and his dog windscreen fitters, you'll be amazed how much you can get a new screen supplied and fitted for so long as you avoid the usual heavy advertisers...its doesn't pay to claim f you can help it, even for glass, despite them telling you it won't affect your NCD, it can affect your premiums.

The light wars i'm afraid are here and only going to get worse as millions more people arrive and millions more cars go on the road, plus hundreds of thousands of houses more plus amenities shopping centres etc means more light still, all you can do is try to mitigate the problems for yourself.

LED clever lights?, can't imagine i'll ever be buying a car fitted with any of that guff.

Edited by gordonbennet on 25/11/2016 at 17:13

One of our local magistrates stated in court that when dazzled he closed his eyes!

Eyesight should be checked every two years by a qualified optician, not just for drivers over a certain age but for all adults and children - even if glasses aren't needed they can/do spot the first signs of eye diseases - cataracts do tend to cause dazzle and can be dealt with - glaucoma can affect vision and may be managed but damage can't be reversed - there's a multitude of other eye issues that are all best dealt with early rather than late.

Its very rare to be dazzled by incorrectly adjusted headlights unlike 40 years ago. I guess modern design and the mot sees to that.

Only gripe are the high intensity led drls, some which are left on, though slightly dimmed when the headlights are on. Because they are directionless and have a high far blue content, the light scatters easily in mist/fog/rain (thats why we jave blue skies).

I think drls should shut off completely with headlights on, they are not sidelights.

I can only think complicated adaptive lights will only lead to more problems of dazzle and other unforeseen consequences. Dont trust modern technology as being applied in cars. Touch screens, christmas tree lighting inside/ouside the car, creative manipulation of lighting regulations (Im thinking of combined drl/sidelights/indicator led arrays that change intensity or even turn off to avoid conlict). Foglights that go on and off when turning the steering wheel maybe great for drivers bit not for everyone else on the road.

Will they rewrite the highway code for these adaptive lights? Tech for the sake of tech. Meh.

Another thought. The distribution of light from headlights on dipped beam light up the nearside verge and are then cut off sharply to prevent glare to the drivers approaching on the other side of the road. So, when the thoughtless motorist parks on the wrong side of the road outside a shop ?, while his/her passenger ducks in to buy something, the lights are concentrated in the view of drivers approaching. No matter what measures the oncoming driver takes will deal with this.