On Wed, 4 Jun 2003, Robert Keezer wrote:

> Now that there is an explosion of imported high wattage bulbs be sold in the
> US,night driving has become glaringly uncomfortable in the city.

Part of the problem, too, is that a lot of cars with these high wattage
bulbs have lights with poor beam patterns, or badly aimed headlights.
SUVs are also a problem because the U.S. spec for headlight aiming is
based entirely on angles, without taking into account the vehicle height,
so a tall vehicle's headlights may be aimed right at your eye level if
you're in a low car.

I'm told the H4 headlights have an improved beam pattern, compared to
standard DOT units, and produce less glare while putting more light where
it's useful.

Personally, the ones that really annoy me are the Xenon arc-discharge
lamps you see on new high-end cars.  That blue-white light really scatters
a lot, and I think it affects my night vision more than glard from
standard halogen lights does.

David Brodbeck, N8SRE
'82 Diesel Westfalia
'94 Honda Civic Si