this post was submitted on 21 Mar 2026
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The survey lasts until April 20. I'm glad transport Canada is looking into it.

Edit: thanks @Quilotoa@lemmy.ca for pointing out that I got the date wrong.

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[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 13 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

The problem is the headlights are not regulated for total lumens, and all the light is highly concentrated. Second problem is brodozers illegally lifted causing the lights to be aimed at the wrong angle. OPP or local police don't enforce the height law of 3", nor the law that says wheels cannot exceed the fender width.

[–] Soup@lemmy.world 5 points 15 hours ago

Not just brodozers, I swear headlights are just never adjusted as part of PDI. My grandmothers highlander has them lighting everything from the road to the forest beside the highway to the people in front of the fucking thing to even the driver who looked at the reflective speed limit sign only to have that shit go straight back into their eyeballs.

My car’s headlights are simple halogen bulbs, not LEDs, and I have a manual adjustment dial which I keep quite low. I even adjusted it all myself so it’s good no matter where I put it. It’s just a BRZ so it wasn’t blinding anyone anyway but holy fuck, not that hard.

[–] BCsven@lemmy.ca 2 points 19 hours ago

Biggest issue is the parabolas have a focal length, and while you can get adjustable LEDs to put focus in proper place, nobody bothers, so instead of the parabola projecting it parallel and straight forward/down its a scatter pattern

[–] bradbeattie@lemmy.ca 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

A problem I find is that cars are increasingly visible with their brighter and brighter headlights, but that means pedestrians are much harder to see after you've been blinded.

[–] Soup@lemmy.world 2 points 15 hours ago

The fact that another car is present but I would never say that it makes them more visible. I can’t see the road, can’t see the car producing all the light, can’t see pedestrians like you say, can’t see fuckin’ anything. Never have I had a set of oncoming headlights that drowns out literally all other things in my vision and thought “wow, things are safer now.”

[–] slykethephoxenix@lemmy.ca 15 points 1 day ago

I have seen supernovas less bright than some car headlights.

[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago

Is it possible to make them into signal lights? Then nobody would use them. /s

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (2 children)

They have a proven technology to fix this issue. The US is kind of late to the game.

https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/nhtsa-allow-adaptive-driving-beam-headlights-new-vehicles-improving-safety-drivers

They pretty much solve the issue of blinding other drivers.

[–] TheAgeOfSuperboredom@lemmy.ca 4 points 5 hours ago

Technology isn't always the answer. This adds more cost to the car and more maintenance cost, when the solution is to simply turn down the lights and make sure they are at the correct angle.

It's also more complicated to operate. Supposedly my car has this feature and I have no idea if it's working, but maybe I'm misunderstanding the manual.

We have a tendency to add technology and complexity to solve problems, but I've always tried to live by the saying "a good engineer knows what to leave out". Though I do still over engineer things from time to time.

[–] SparroHawc@lemmy.zip 13 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

You know what else solves the issue of blinding other drivers, and doesn't require the use of finicky and expensive moving parts? Lights that aren't stupidly bright, and have a gradual fall-off.

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 2 points 23 hours ago

I think either way is acceptable. What is not is increasingly bright lights without the technology to prevent them from blinding others.

[–] HugeNerd@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

But I need to see three provinces over for SAFETY, for the CHILDREN.

edit: also fucking bike lights, there is a local idiot who somehow has found a piece of quasar and has strapped it to his handlebars and even on a cloudless summer noon that fucking thing is ON and manages to pierce my retina. I think it's a mental illness at this point. Both from companies that make these technological anal cancers, and the anencephalic weirdos who buy them.

[–] SapphironZA@sh.itjust.works 30 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Only solution is maximum height of lights. Make these massive SUVs and trucks look stupid with the light dragging on a lower bumper.

[–] karlhungus@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 day ago

I actually think it's mostly an aim issue, the height of these vehicles is also an issue but I think the headlight one could be solved by aim

[–] polle@feddit.org 7 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I never understood why bigger cars can have their bulbs at a higher level.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 day ago

Because fuck the world.

The lights are supposed to be aimed lower, but then dipshits lift the trucks for no good reason and don't re-aim the lights.

[–] xthexder@l.sw0.com 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago

Trucks are also exempt from safety standards of cars, and ironically people buy those tanks because they think they are safer.

[–] mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 day ago (3 children)

uh, no. the only solution is instituting an appropriate maximum level of output

height only matters on flat smooth roads

[–] xthexder@l.sw0.com 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The law actually specifies a maximum wattage, which back before all the new technology like LEDs and Xenons actually did limit the brightness... But the laws haven't been keeping up with technology for quite a while...

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago

There is actually no law in Ontario, nor a federal law for headlight brightness, but even if there was, police would not enforce it.

[–] SapphironZA@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I was referring to trucks and SUVs that are so tall they blind the cars in front of them even if they are pointed appropriately. Their headlights are at the eye level of other drivers in normal cars.

Output level is another matter that also needs attention

[–] mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca 2 points 21 hours ago

I mean by definition they are not pointed appropriately if they're blinding other people in regular conditions

but I get what you're saying

[–] PeriodicallyPedantic@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Neither of these are, in fact, the only solution.

We could, for example, have heights that identify other cars in the road and selectively dim the area around those cars.

We could have headlights that keep light below a certain level accounting for both the attitude of the car and the oncoming terrain.

Really how it is achieved doesn't matter, the regulation should just say that, within some cone in front of the vehicle, light levels must be limited to below x for the window areas around any other vehicles.

[–] mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca 2 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

congrats on forgetting that non-drivers coexist with these vehicles

[–] PeriodicallyPedantic@lemmy.ca 1 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)

Congratulations on forgetting the justification people are using to restrict light brightness, which is that is blind other drivers dangerously.
I would consider motorbikes and bicycles to fall under that category, but I expected that people understood that I wasn't going into the minutiae of a hypothetical regulation that I'm not responsible for writing. There are, of course, lots of edge cases that I didn't include.

If you're making a case for pedestrians, or people indoors, I think that's gonna need to some more serious justification.

[–] panda_abyss@lemmy.ca 48 points 2 days ago (2 children)

It’s bad and we should match European standards.

The US standards for cars are a cancer and perfectly encapsulate the American “I got mine fuck you” mindset.

[–] Damage@feddit.it 21 points 1 day ago (1 children)

European standards

As a European, headlights are way too bright. And modern dashboards too. If your car gave your eyes the chance to adapt to the darkness, we wouldn't need bajillion lumen headlights.

[–] copd@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Every car I've owned has had a little potentiometer or "roller" to dim internal and dashboard lights. I have no idea why it's not common knowledge but I use it every time I have to travel in the dark and it allows me to see outside so much better

[–] Damage@feddit.it 9 points 1 day ago

As someone who rents a lot of cars, it's becoming harder and harder to locate

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[–] KingOfSuede@lemmy.world 45 points 2 days ago (15 children)

I’d also like to see enforcement of proper headlight aiming. While lights really are too bright, it’s crazy that no one aims them properly.

An educational program about proper aiming, along with a check stop style safety sweep would help mitigate a lot of the issues.

Then again, we could just do the smart thing and mandate auto-leveling headlights, but that would be too simple.

[–] discomatic@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 day ago

I drive a little hatchback. Aiming just means headlights on trucks point directly into my mirror. People insist on leaving zero space.

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[–] Quilotoa@lemmy.ca 52 points 2 days ago (4 children)

I did the survey. It took 5 - 10 minutes. The survey ends April 20th.

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[–] bookmeat@fedinsfw.app 8 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Now do one about about red animated turn indicators and one about strobing lights on bikes. Fuck all that shit.

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[–] nik282000@lemmy.ca 37 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I drive a B2300 (old Ranger sized pickup) and headlight glare is fucking unbearable. Most modern SUVs and pickups have their lights above the bed of my truck and shine directly into my rear window, usually bright enough to drown out my dash lights. I can't imagine that the experience is much better for car drivers who get those lights at eye level.

I have taken to dropping down to 1 under the speed limit when I get truck/suv tailgating me with insane lights because they are drivers most likely to get impatient and pass if you aren't going at least 10 over.

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[–] tiredofsametab@fedia.io 5 points 1 day ago

I'm a Canadian citizen not living in Canada who gets blinded by stupid lights just the same, but apparently they aren't interested in my opinion.

[–] TheFeatureCreature@lemmy.ca 33 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Filled it out. I live in Vancouver which is rainy for a large part of the year. Driving in the dark in the rain with modern headlights glaring in my face makes it impossible to drive. That's not a hyperbole either; I've literally had to pull over and let cars pass because I could no longer see the road or road markings.

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[–] Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz 27 points 2 days ago (2 children)

The yellow headlights are so much better for people with astigmatism btw.

[–] BigJohnnyHines@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago

Better for everyone. Some people mistake noticing the colour as hard to see but our pupils stay dilated with warm colours. Hence why red light is common with outdoorsy folks. All these new cool temp lights should have never been allowed. The older warm colours were fine even on big transport trucks.

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