Was passed by an FJR at dawn on the highway yesterday...

...I was in the car instead of on the ST (hence being on the highway and not in country lanes!) and what stood out about the FJR was his HID's. They were soooo bright in the car mirror, that I had to put my hand over the reflection so as to avoid being dazzled. Dawn, so not full daylight.
This made me think - you want to be seen and watched when you are on a bike, that's why you run with lights on in the day, and wear hi-viz jackets etc. So - the HID's on this FJR were making me look away instead of watching him pass me. To my thought: counter productive.
Thoughts?

Interesting question.

Still, he got your attention, you knew he was there. Mission accomplished.

.....Anyway, that's my take.

Well I guess it depends on whether the rider was on high or low beams..... if low, well you knew he was there but maybe he got a bit close before moving out.... if high.... not very clever dazzling other drivers.... illegal in the UK....

To those who say you can't ever have enough lights - do we want cagers to lift their hands to shield their eyes from our too-bright lights? I don't think so. It is irritating to have to lift your hand to protect your eyes, whether from a bike, a lifted pickup, or a wannabe rally-racer. It is bad enough to be passing "reduced capacity" drivers, but really, do you want to riding into traffic that you have dazzled? Not a good idea.

At least you knew it was coming. In my work truck, cruisers with open pipes go by and I don't hear them until they come along side. That usually causes me to flinch as they pass. That doesn't seem like a "Life Saving" thing IMO...

I wonder if his lights were adjusted properly and if they were on low or high?
I run high beams during the day because the low beams on the ST are so anemic. I turn the adjuster knob all the way down when using high beam and switch to low beams in low light conditions, dusk, dawn or cloudy days. I also run under mirror 55 watt Hellas during the day. I've adjusted all the lights and never get flashed with the high's on during the day. With every vehicle using DRL's now, bikes don't stand out by being the only ones using lights during the day. I'm all for more lighting as long as you use it respectfully and keep it adjusted properly.

Could be he was running his brights and was actually too close and didn't bother to dim them, or his headlights were out of adjustment. Years ago states used to do vehicle inspections and ensure that headlights were properly aimed. Now a days it seems no one gives a damn!

st11ray said:

I'm all for more lighting as long as you use it respectfully and keep it adjusted properly.

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+1
I don't like to be blinded and it's really annoying when oncoming lights are just too bright/not aimed correctly. So I remain very conscious to other drivers with my lights on the bike. 99% of the time I can run with the HID's on day/night and it's only once in a great while does someone think they're too bright.

Snave said:

...So - the HID's on this FJR were making me look away instead of watching him pass me. To my thought: counter productive.

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Amplifying the issue is the height of our mounts, aligning the headlight nearly, if not exactly at level with the rear-views of saloon- and compact cars...
Misaligned and/or equipped with illegal light-sources their definitely dazzling, thus irritating, thus an endangerment for others, especially in the proximity of dense traffic.

And especially the blinding glare in the rear-view trips the curiosity of the "ape part" in the brain to look there, and as we all know does this cause unintentional movement on the steering wheel (you go where you look), which explains why cars you're about to pass quite often start to move to the left (or right, depending on the situation), right into your path...

And if an incident occurs, it would be quite easy for the driver at fault to claim "...I was totally dazzled and couldn't see anything..." to simply reverse the question of who is to blame with causing the crash, thus who's insurance has to pay and who's prosecuted with a fine...
Exactly the case If I'd be taken out like by the common, ignorant "oncoming traffic turning left" and the insurance investigators/police would find out that I'd illegal HID or LED modifications installed...

I think HID lights are crazy they are too bright and should be banned, I had a guy over taking the traffic behind me yesterday, and the head lights were so bright I could not tell if it was a bike quite close to me with twin headlights or a car a lot further back as the glare just hurt my eyes, needless to say I did not see what bike it was when it passed me as my eyes were burnt as if I had beeen looking at the sun, and this was day time god knows what it would of been light at night,

I am surprised the law has not stepped in on this as here in the UK there is a max wattage for head lights and while the HID lights do not exceed that they are putting out three times the light for that wattage, that law was set origanally on brightness, it is still illegal to use 100 watt bulbs on the road here, but they are nothing like a bright as HID lights.
Keith

Besides all the common sense and legal comments made about the lights... you don't want to trigger the "rage" some drivers are all to ready to unleash.

I too think there's a level of light that gets attention, but which doesn't irritate other drivers--we need to show respect to other vehicles. The FJR rider may not realize the issue with his/her HIDs. On the positive side, the rider is getting noticed, but on the negative is likely getting actively ignored once noticed.

For a number of years I ran brights during daytime, but I saw too many folks adjusting their rear view mirrors or blocking the light as it was offensive, therefore I was being actively ignored. Today, I gage where my lights are pointed when approaching another vehicle at a stop light/sign and observing the reflected light off their vehicle...it is easy to tell if my headlights are inconspicuous, noticeable, or offensive.

The new Harley 4-LED headlights are offensive to me ... the color/intensity is unsafe to me as another vehicle driver. I don't know if they're aftermarket or OEM, but they are intense, causing me to look away and lose sight of the motorcycle so that I avoid being blinded (so that I can keep operating my vehicle safely).

Harley has the "daymaker" oem LED DOT compliant retro fit.
Mighta been adjusted too high?

The law in the UK says it that dazzling another driver is an offence however caused.....

So the European, legislature has now mandated daytime running lights, which are CREE LED on most cars after the date they were required buy law......

So now we have a legal requirement to have these excessively bright lights on cars causing dazzle because they don't dim at night......

Good huh?

I have noticed newer cars and especially pickup trucks have "Low Beams" that are very, very bright. All the High beams seem to do is make them brighter The stock style bulbs have the shield that shades the lower portion of the reflector to lower the angle of the beam, many of the projector style and HID beams seem to not lower, just go from one brightness to another with maybe a little change in focus. I have the problems of course at dusk, through the night, into dawn, and when it is darkening for rain. I try to remember to dim my own lights in time for it not to be an issue (got some fairly bright bulbs in my stuff) and have noticed how bright the road signs can get in low light but not dark conditions and use that as a clue. I also try to lower the aim while on brights in the daylight (I love that feature of the ST1100)

Firstpeke said:

So the European, legislature has now mandated daytime running lights, which are CREE LED on most cars after the date they were required buy law......

So now we have a legal requirement to have these excessively bright lights on cars causing dazzle because they don't dim at night......

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Just so I'm clear are the mandated lights manufacturers' equipment or add-on?

The majority of OEM daytime running lights over here are probably incandescent or halogen. There are LED replacements available. I haven't noticed any dazzling from them. When HID was all the rage I did see a lot of dazzling lights but they looked to be from cars that were too old to have them from the factory.

Even a couple of cars that had retrofitted the subsequent model year's HID fixtures look fine.

dmcleane said:

Still, he got your attention, you knew he was there. Mission accomplished.

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It's putzs like that that give HID at the least a bad name. He deserves a performance award.

Snave said:

So - the HID's on this FJR were making me look away instead of watching him pass me. To my thought: counter productive.

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Right. The fact that he's chosen to ride a motorcycle does not put his right to a safe riding experience about your right to a safe driving experience. I understand riding at your own peril but not at the peril of others.

I'm not a fan of using HID lighting but if it's done correctly there should be no dazzling/blinding display. Period. If people don't take the time to adjust their lights properly shame on them. And low beams are called passing lights for a reason.

Whether on a bike or in my car I always flash my high beams at oncoming vehicles that have too-bright lights. Maybe it won't make a difference to most drivers/riders but it might to some of those who use that inferior standard of headlight adjustment.

Were the FJR's bright lights the headlights or add on lights?

It seems like a lot of vehicles with fog lights have them on all the time now. They are pretty low so it doesn't take much for them to point up and blind an oncoming driver.

Sorry for the delay in catching up, been out and about enjoying Autumn colours - Adirondacks gorgeous at this time of the year.

oslin2012 said:

I think HID lights are crazy they are too bright and should be banned, I had a guy over taking the traffic behind me yesterday, and the head lights were so bright I could not tell if it was a bike quite close to me with twin headlights or a car a lot further back as the glare just hurt my eyes, needless to say I did not see what bike it was when it passed me as my eyes were burnt as if I had beeen looking at the sun, and this was day time god knows what it would of been light at night,
I am surprised the law has not stepped in on this as here in the UK there is a max wattage for head lights and while the HID lights do not exceed that they are putting out three times the light for that wattage, that law was set origanally on brightness, it is still illegal to use 100 watt bulbs on the road here, but they are nothing like a bright as HID lights.
Keith

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I so agree. Some of the HID's fitted as OEM to trucks in Canada are bright in the day - at night it is just painful to look at.

bmcdonau said:

Were the FJR's bright lights the headlights or add on lights?

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These were his normal headlights - not add on lights.