Pulled over by State Trooper! LEDs too bright?

[old8tora]

Others will argue that if it's not illegal to drive a motorcycle without a helmet it shouldn't be illegal to drive without a seat belt.
I think what you mean is, there is no such thing as a routine traffic stop.
Traffic stops are dangerous and officers need to be hyper-vigilant even on minor offenses. I think most officers would like to have a back-up unit nearby, but it's not fiscally practical in a lot of places. Some departments do run 2 officers per car, but it's not too common around here. You are correct though, that it's very dangerous and even a minor offense does require extreme caution.
What's funny is that "us vs them" mentality is perpetuated by the "news" and social media. How many actual police officers have you spoken with who are anti people, vs how may people you've talked to who are anti police? I see posts, and hear news reports all the time saying how people hate police, allege police are racist, abusive, sexist, etc. I've yet to see a post or news reports where an officer is saying they hate people and they're out to harass as many people as they can?
It's not the police with the "us vs them" mentality. It's the media selling that story to the people (some of who buy into it). Actually talk to some cops and ask them why they became a cop, or what their favorite part about their job is. Most will tell you they do it to help people, to make their community better, and their favorite part of the job is when they can help someone who can't help themselves.
Yup. Aim the LED's down a hair, and wave as you go by the other Jeeps.

All true and very perceptive .

You are some sort of genius .

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[old8tora]

I wont do anything because if I can help it I wont be driving a self driving car. I'm not supporting self driving technology, as I stated previously. But like it or not its coming. My point was that advanced technology is where the focus is rather than European lighting regulations. I'm not sure why you think I support self driving vehicles.

I apologize for thinking you supported self-driving vehicles . I jumped to an incorrect conclusion .

Now , I have an opportunity to ask you : Who or What Organization is supporting them ? I hope Not our Dept. of Transportation . I hope our tax money is Not being used for the self-driving moron vehicles .

Musk is spending investor's money , and gets some tax benefits from Cali , I have heard .

But if Signor Marachino at FCA jump starts FCA into a self-driving moron vehicle , is the government going to pay him ?

 

[EsTxDr]

I apologize for thinking you supported self-driving vehicles . I jumped to an incorrect conclusion .

Now , I have an opportunity to ask you : Who or What Organization is supporting them ? I hope Not our Dept. of Transportation . I hope our tax money is Not being used for the self-driving moron vehicles .

Musk is spending investor's money , and gets some tax benefits from Cali , I have heard .

But if Signor Marachino at FCA jump starts FCA into a self-driving moron vehicle , is the government going to pay him ?

There have been lots of proposals for government funds, I haven't checked to see if any have been used so far. Mostly I think its the major manufacturers that are going after it, GM, Chevy, add in Google, etc. Self driving cars is really not a big issue with me so I haven't really followed it, I wouldn't buy one so I haven't really spent the time to follow the issue much.

 

[Shots]

Yeah, that's my understanding too. I think it's the private companies paying for the R&D on autonomous vehicles. That said, I believe some of the infrastructure is adapting to support them, so govt money (even if it's isolated to local govt) is being spent. I believe there are roads in Columbus which have been fitted with wires and/or sensors in the roadway to prepare for them. I'm not 100% sure on that though, so it should be fact checked before taken for fact.

Like EsTxDr said, I'll not be buying one. I enjoy driving, so I'm not letting the car do it for me.

 

[Muzzle of Bees]

Not to sound like a smart a__, but this is exactly how the "real criminals" are caught. Police need a valid reason to make contact with a driver. This is "probable cause", which in the op's case was bright lights. To be completely overboard on the topic, Reasonable Articulable Suspicion (aka RAS) can be also be valid to stop, but that's a whole other conversation so I won't muddy the waters.
Once an officer has established probable cause (PC) to stop a vehicle, they can make that contact with the driver. PC can be something seemingly petty like high beams, a missing front plate, cracked widnshield, etc. even if they don't intend to write a citation for it. Once in contact with the driver, they can dig for the bigger things like stolen cars, drugs, weapons, kidnapping, etc. There are rules controlling that contact and how far they can dig, but this is intended to be a simple explanation.
The point is, if the police don't stop minor offenses, they won't catch the "real criminals".

Here's a little story:
An Officer in Oklahoma performed, what he thought was a "routine traffic stop" of a vehicle with no license plate. The vehicle pulled to the shoulder, and the officer ordered the driver out of his car (standard procedure for his department with that violation). He told the driver why he stopped him and the driver said he had just bought the car. Thinking the car was stolen the officer asked for proof of insurance or bill of sale. The driver could not produce either, and the officer asked for ID. As the driver retrieved his ID, the officer could see a bulge in his coat which he suspected to be a weapon (later learning it was a loaded .45 Glock). The driver was secured and the car searched. The Officer found papers in the car indicating it was from Arkansas, where the driver said he was moving to, from Michigan. The driver was taken to jail for the gun violation, and his car secured at the scene per his request.
So far this seems like a pretty mundane story, of how a guy with a gun was caught because of a license plate violation. Is he a "real criminal"? How about I up the ante? What if I say the driver was a bombing suspect. Even better, a terrorist.
What if I take it a step further and say that is a true story? One you likely know, without knowing the story?
It is a true story. That's how Timothy McVeigh (aka the Oklahoma City Bomber) was caught. A stupid, run of the mill violation for failure to display a license plate. Most would consider it pointless, I mean after all nobody gets hurt from that. But look how it evolved. Any PC, however minor, can lead to "real criminals" being caught.

You are correct that people get caught that way. Kinda like me finding a wad of money on the ground while walking. That is not skill, but blind luck.

 

[old8tora]

like me finding a wad of money on the ground while walking. That is ... blind luck.

You finding the money on the ground while walking ... blind luck ; was Exactly how I felt when I drove off in my JK and realized that it is flawless and perfect . Now , at nearly 30K miles , it has never been to a dealer for anything , including warranty issues . Everyday I pet my JK and say "Good Boy !"

 

[Wingman]

I drove overnight from New Jersey to North Carolina and I had to eventually turn off my headlights and just drive with the driving lights. The LEDs are ridiculously bright and not only that I have people flashing me from a quarter mile away, I had people in my own Direction of travel giving me the finger as I drove by. The LEDs are unbelievably bright. Although I love it, it is not something we can keep on. Crazy enough the driving lights and fog lights are adequate. I cannot be the only one who sees this too much beautiful white light. do you think that would be a recall for something like this?

 

[Young04]

I drove overnight from New Jersey to North Carolina and I had to eventually turn off my headlights and just drive with the driving lights. The LEDs are ridiculously bright and not only that I have people flashing me from a quarter mile away, I had people in my own Direction of travel giving me the finger as I drove by. The LEDs are unbelievably bright. Although I love it, it is not something we can keep on. Crazy enough the driving lights and fog lights are adequate. I cannot be the only one who sees this too much beautiful white light. do you think that would be a recall for something like this?

As many have said here, I would suggest you aim them down. Mine were definitely aimed too high from the factory. People will stop flashing you. Aim has more to do with being flashed than brightness does, in my view. You will get flashed with dim, but mis-aimed halogens. Our Jeeps' LEDs are bright, but they're not THAT bright. My Audi's LEDs are brighter and I almost never get flashed while driving that.

 

[Shots]

That's a good point. I had a Civic about 9 years ago (it was tool, never really a car I enjoyed). The 2 things I did like about that car was the gas mileage and the headlights. The headlights on it were MUCH brighter than the headlights on my JL, or any other car I've ever owned. Yet, I never got headlights flashed at me in that car. I think a lot of our issues is the aim, and the height of the vehicle. If the lights are aimed too high and/or lower vehicles are passing, it's going to be annoying to them.
Find a level surface, with a flat wall ahead of it (a local school or business) should fit the bill, and aim the lights according to DOT regulations just in case the factory missed. So far in my JL, I haven't had anyone flash their lights, so I'm inclined to believe it's a factory aim issue.

I think there was a link early in the thread on how to aim them, but you can see the image below for aiming headlights (I've done this after lifting or leveling trucks to make sure the aim is corrected).

 

[Shots]

On the up side, our LED's have a very crisp line, so it should make aiming them a breeze.

 

[old8tora]

do you think that would be a recall for something like this?

There are 2 employees in charge of aiming the lights : One is the blind supervisor who is clueless , The Other is not blind but needs the agreement of the blind clueless supervisor .

 

[TIDALWAVE]

Self-driving technology was originally developed by DARPA to be used in combat supply vehicles. Quickly, the transport industry realized that it would be useful for trucking (young people don't want to be driving big rigs for long stretches of time even at decent wages), and an aging population which still wants to get to grocery and drug stores. You may not want self-driving cars...but each new one on the road is a vote for the other side.

 

[Shots]

Oh yeah. They're coming whether we like it or not. Likely a similar thought process of those who saw the inception of the car from the coach.

 

[Wingman]

As many have said here, I would suggest you aim them down. Mine were definitely aimed too high from the factory. People will stop flashing you. Aim has more to do with being flashed than brightness does, in my view. You will get flashed with dim, but mis-aimed halogens. Our Jeeps' LEDs are bright, but they're not THAT bright. My Audi's LEDs are brighter and I almost never get flashed while driving that.[/QUOTEB

As many have said here, I would suggest you aim them down. Mine were definitely aimed too high from the factory. People will stop flashing you. Aim has more to do with being flashed than brightness does, in my view. You will get flashed with dim, but mis-aimed halogens. Our Jeeps' LEDs are bright, but they're not THAT bright. My Audi's LEDs are brighter and I almost never get flashed while driving that.

Home from vacation and had a chance to check my headlight heights, I was about even at 25'-0" so I lowered them a little. We will see if it improves. Took a ride around my well lit neighborhood, so it was tough to tell. Thanks all I will keep you posted

 

[Shots]

Cool, I'm interested to hear if it helped out. I still haven't checked the aim on mine, but I haven't had people flash their lights at me so I never really think about it.

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