Pulled over by State Trooper! LEDs too bright?

[old8tora]

I don’t have LEDs and frankly my headlights suck. Can’t tel the difference between high and low but on coming traffic can.

VA stare police story.... I was taking my son and a few other VMi cadets back to VMI on 64 and I was following 10-15 car lengths behind a diesel F350 doing about 85 in a 65. I crested a hill and see the F350 hot the brakes, too late of course and I see the trooper in the median pull down the radar gun before he saw me but before I could get slowed down. He pulled out and motioned me over and pulled behind the F250 and wrote him a ticket.
He walks back to me and goes do you know the speed limit. I say of course 65...
He goes do you know how fast you were going? And then I had an epiphany.... he didn’t know cause he had pulled the radar gun down. He already had my license and was filling out the ticket. I said I don’t know.

He then asked, how fast do you think you were going? I replied I don’t know, I only know the speed limit is 65.

He asked seriously, how fast are you going?

I said I don’t know, do you? He disgustingly tosses my license into the car and said you saw I pulled the gun down before you passed me so no....

Stomped back to the car and takes off all
Pissed off..

Congratulations for your son's service . I had a Colonel who had been my uncle's company commander 23 years previously .

As this happened on a Hill , Please take a look at a famous Grant Wood painting of about 1935 : "Death on Ridge Road" . That painting was a repeat illustration in my driver's educ. course , and the instructor advised is to never speed or pass . You can see the reason .

My problem is that I seldom look at my speedometer , and I am usually going faster than I think , so that officer would have caught me .

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[Shots]

Yep, one of the guys in my division was pulled over and they asked him to walk a straight line. Since he hadn't been drinking (yet) that night, he felt slightly offended at the accusation, so he did a hand stand and then walked the line perfectly straight on his hands. The cop was not amused... No sense of humor...

Funny, but not the smartest move. I know a few guys from training who would do something like that if they could. However, doing something like that is definitely an antic a drunk person would pull, so it doesn't make the best argument for sobriety. Of course it doesn't prove impairment either, but certainly not the recommended course of action.

.... Why the U.S. still remains in the dark on this (pun intended), when the rest of the motor vehicle world is advancing vehicle lighting safety is, frankly, astonishing. ...

Why has the U.S. not adopted the metric system like the rest of the world? In my opinion the metric system is a much easier unit of measure to work with, but here THE PEOPLE decide what we do or don't do. Apparently not enough people have said they want a new lighting requirement to make it law. If you think it should be one, start a campaign, talk to your local legislators, spread public awareness, etc. "We the people" decide what we do, not other countries all doing the same thing (such as the metric system, or apparently lighting requirements).

 

[Joe Paul]

July 4th. Went for a quick drive. Saw a VA State Trooper make a u-turn, didn't think too much of it. Not speeding. Immediately pulls behind me and flashes the lights. I pull over. He says I didn't do anything wrong, but tells me that I have illegal lights. I thought he was talking about my light bar and pod lights. Did I have them on? Nope. He asked if my headlights and fender lights were aftermarket or special addition. I said they were stock. He was surprised at how bright they were, he said that it made him turn his head away when we were passing. That was why he turned around. I told him this would be good for the forum and we laughed, he apologized for the inconvenience. Told him, no problem and be safe.

I guess these lights are that bright! Thought I'd share.

Well, that's a new one, but can understand; they do work! I have the lift and 35s but haven't been questioned yet!

 

[old8tora]

Why has the U.S. not adopted the metric system like the rest of the world?

The E.U. used the metric system as a club against British self-esteem . The E.U. ruled that British greengrocers are required to weigh and price bananas , for example , in kilogram weight , and not pound weight . This was one of many insults to British self-esteem which resulted in the vote for Brexit .

The E.U. rules were mocked by Boris Johnson , when he was a correspondent in Brussels , and by Nigel Farage , when he was an elected representative from U.K. to the E.U. By default , they have been the leaders for Brexit , and against the metric system .

Anyway , the metric system is not benign like a yardstick . Cheers for PINTS at the pub !

 

[TIDALWAVE]

The metric system is a communist plot against capitalist countries...dontcha know! The US DOT proposed using dual signs...mph/kmh, miles/kms, etc. Congress had a fit...you would have thought that the DOT was proposing to have guns made in the metric system. Like a 9 mm Glock.
So glad, that all of our cars are still made using the SAE system, not the godless metric one. Excuse me while I go out to my shop to look for my 12 mm wrench.

 

[BillG]

LED brightness, the Holocaust, Custer, Lincoln, animal against animal violence, critiquing an old Disney movie, the metric system....what hasn’t this thread covered?:cwl::cwl:

 

[old8tora]

LED brightness, the Holocaust, Custer, Lincoln, animal against animal violence, critiquing an old Disney movie, the metric system....what hasn’t this thread covered?:cwl::cwl:

Cool comment , @BillG . Perhaps the thread would be more boring if it simply repeated what is obvious to any eye : the headlights are set too bright .

 

[old8tora]

The metric system is a communist plot against capitalist countries...dontcha know! The US DOT proposed using dual signs...mph/kmh, miles/kms, etc. Congress had a fit...you would have thought that the DOT was proposing to have guns made in the metric system. Like a 9 mm Glock.
So glad, that all of our cars are still made using the SAE system, not the godless metric one. Excuse me while I go out to my shop to look for my 12 mm wrench.

Cool comment , @TIDALWAVE . Is that the same DOT which gave us the insane ESS 'start-stop' ?

 

[TIDALWAVE]

Cool comment , @TIDALWAVE . Is that the same DOT which gave us the insane ESS 'start-stop' ?

The US DOT did not mandate the ESS...auto manufacturers were too lazy to figure out a more logical way to reduce gas usage while waiting for that 90 year old man to make a left turn.

Update: I have not found any government mandate that says that ESS must be used on new vehicles. Just that ESS happens to be the cheapest method at the present time to decrease fuel usage while temporarily stopped. Cheapest is not necessary the best...just the cheapest. An EV doesn't need ESS because the motor is shut down when stopped. I have two vehicles that shut off cylinders when they are not needed while running on the highway. I have wondered why four of the six cylinders couldn't be shut off while waiting at intersections to run AC or heater.

 

[old8tora]

I have wondered why four of the six cylinders couldn't be shut off while waiting at intersections to run AC or heater.

Yesterday , the beach temp was 95 , and with my JK it was quite easy to lift up my rear window , re-shut the tailgate , roll down the front windows , and drive at 80 mph , thus generating a 80 mph wind inside . All while running on 6 cyl . with no AC . Over 20 mpg .

If the beach temp gets down to a foggy 60 , no problem . Roll up the windows , put on a wooly , and drive at 80 mph . All while running on 6 cyl . with no heater . Over 20 mpg .

If you begin wondering why not shut off four cylinders , you will begin imagining ESS as a solution .

 

[DrPerez007]

Just because Europe does something, it doesn't mean that we should. Instead of thinking that Europe is "more advanced", I think they are more repressive in that they mandate things that we allow the manufacturers to choose to implement or not. Unfortunately, we are all to willing to mandate things that we have no business mandating also.

Sorry, this is one area I will have to respectfully disagree with you. While like many of my fellow Americans I loathe the overstepping reach of the federal government, which Ronald Reagan summed up so nicely when he said the feds theory is, if it moves, tax it, if it keeps moving, regulate it, and if it stops moving, subsidize it, Europe is "more advanced" (to use your words) than the U.S. when it comes to vehicle lighting and safety. Certainly there are some who might disagree with the results of their lighting standards, but the bottom line is they are willing to consider safety in lighting and not stuck in the bureaucratic red tape of DOT when it comes to setting standards. DOT is famous for studying issues for years upon years before issuing regulations if they ever do. Everyone is covering their butts because they are so risk adverse and they don't want to piss off the vehicle manufacturers for fear their jobs will be on the line. And obviously, not everything Europe requires for or on vehicles is more advanced or any better than the U.S., but adopting Europe's vehicle lighting requirements can only save lives and as a volunteer medic in my spare time who has scrapped more people off the pavement than I care to remember, we should all want to live with those mandates.

 

[old8tora]

but adopting Europe's vehicle lighting requirements can only save lives and as a volunteer medic in my spare time who has scrapped more people off the pavement than I care to remember, we should all want to live with those mandates.

More lights won't help stupid . The fool lunatic speeders and passers kill people , not their lights .

 

[Mojito Dave]

My lights work! Do ya think cops would give me a ticket?!

 

[EsTxDr]

but adopting Europe's vehicle lighting requirements can only save lives and as a volunteer medic in my spare time who has scrapped more people off the pavement than I care to remember, we should all want to live with those mandates.

I keep hearing about "Europe's lighting requirements", what precisely is it you find more safe about their requirements? Serious question.

 

[DrPerez007]

I keep hearing about "Europe's lighting requirements", what precisely is it you find more safe about their requirements? Serious question.

My comments only relate to vehicle lighting, as I understand that other vehicle safety issues, i.e., air bags, bumpers, etc., and emissions (talk about over-regulation in the States) may not meet the stricter U.S. requirements. UK lighting requirements, at one time among the best or strictest in the world, depending on your view, included as I recall, "automatic leveling devices" for HID/Xenon headlights, thus reducing the "bright light" or glare problem so prevalent in the U.S. (and part of what this thread is about). The UK also had, among other standards, a "headlamp cleaning system" requirement; rear turn signals that must be amber and must be separate from brake lights; mandatory side "repeater" turn signals that flash/illuminate the entire lane or side where the vehicle wants to merge or turn; more vehicle reflectors; rear fog lights; and allowed for better headlights (such as ADBs). The simple truth in the U.S. is that we overdrive our (weak) headlights because they illuminate so poorly.

Some of these UK requirements were modified when the UK became part of the EU (European Union); have no idea if it will go back to the stricter/better vehicle lighting requirements once the "Brexit" is complete. But certainly these "foreign" vehicle lighting requirements described-above would make American roads safer for both fellow drivers and pedestrians notwithstanding comments here to the contrary. I cannot account for "fool lunatic speeders and passers" nor distracted drivers, which is why I gave up my motorcycle years ago. The U.S. has always been willing to accept a certain number of road casualties every year to avoid what it would really take to reduce the highway carnage (look no further than the weak drunk driver laws in many states, including my home state). Seems to me, based on my experience in both law enforcement and EMS, that some of the small things, like the vehicle lighting upgrades, can help reduce these roadway tragedies. Yet the Feds, even in recent presidential administrations that had a tendency to over-regulate, would not consider them. Look how long it took to even get factory LED headlights in Wranglers. 2016/2017? Which then necessitates some of us to make our own upgrades in that regard, including among other things, LED lightbars or driving lights, amber rear turn signals, mirror or side-mounted turn signals, etc.

And for the record, we in Wisconsin do not accept the concept of warm beer. The Brits can keep that to themselves!

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