LED Tail Lights are too bright, need Auto Dim!
Maybe it's just me and my sensitive eyes, but here's the problem I have: I pull up behind a QX56, or any Nissan/Infinity product that has LED taillights (the latest craze) and I'm blinded by the bright light emanating from them. Even after just half a second direct exposure, if I look away I see trails of the LED matrix, which are really temporary blind spots in my field of vision. Most LED tail lights are too bright, way too bright, blindingly bright. There is no reason for them to be this bright, especially when the vehicle is not moving. The fact that this is currently a premium feature means that, at least stateside, it is found almost exclusively on automatic-transmission cars which require the driver to stay on the breaks at stoplights. And it's not just annoying, it's a real, not perceived, safety concern:
- You want as much night vision at night as possible. Red light is supposed to allow you to keep your night vision, but not when this bright!
- If I see trails and/or blind spots as I move my eyes around after exposure to super bright LED tail lights, I'm going to be both distracted and have reduced vision.
- If I get a headache after exposure to super bright LED tail lights, I'm going to be distracted and possibly impaired.
- If I am angry because of 2 & 3 above, I'm going to be distracted and may not make decisions as sound as a calm person would make.
A proposed solution: Don't misunderstand - I'm all for using new technology to improve safety, and LED taillights are excellent in proper use cases. Doing more with less (less electricity), improved reliability (run cooler, last longer), improved resiliency (if one LED dies you still have many left) are all important steps forward in automotive taillight technology. But for the love of God, put an autodimmer on them so that when the vehicle is not moving you don't risk the vision of those behind you! Too unsafe you say, what if you're pulled over the side of the road, you want them to be as bright as possible right? Well, these high-end cars have lots of sensors on them, put that rear parking sensor to good use - if there's a solid object behind your car w/in 10 feet, dim them LEDs! Concessions: For any of these, I concede allowing full-on operation.
- Detect if it's dark outside. If not, go ahead, have a blast!
- Look for a car behind w/in 10 feet. No car? Engage super beam of red LED fire!
- Rate of deceleration says this is panic braking? Maintain full-on operation.
And so forth, manufacturers can figure this out. Fall back to full-on if any sensors are not operational, if you have to. Or simply limit the maximum brightness - you don't have to be the brightest thing on planet Earth, you know?
Even scarier is that there are no regulations for this. Sure the gov't requires basic minimum criteria are met, but because this has not been a concern there's no regulation to protect the eyes of motorists in this scenario. Manufacturers will blind you just because they can, probably because a certain demographic that buys high-ticket items thinks it looks cool (you know, the "bigger/more is better" mentality crowd). That's fine and dandy when it doesn't affect me, the guy behind you, but once you start intruding into my life, putting my safety in danger, screw you, that's not cool!
Happy and safe motoring!
Note: I used Nissan as one example but everybody's jumping onto the LED hype bandwagon and dropping these into their cars. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Cadillac (the "strip" LEDs), you name it, they've got it.
Top 10 Signs You Still Love Your Car
The Top 10 signs you still love your car are...:
- 10. you still look back at it every time as you leave the parking lot
- 9. you still think your car is one of the best-looking vehicles on the road
- 8. you still take pictures of it
- 7. you park it so that it looks sexy, even though you kinda know it's just for yourself
- 6. you use your shirt or your fingers to wipe off bird shit
- 5. you still squat down to admire it in from different angles
- 4. after a bad day, you look forward to driving it, and the drive relaxes you
- 3. when you return from driving a rental (or your girlfriend's car), you're amazed how nice your car rides
- 2. even when it's dirty, it's still beautiful to your eyes
- 1. you still never, EVER valet park it!
Rule: use both hands in turns!
This kicks off our Rule section. The rules are hard-learned driving lessons that come from lots and lots of driving and lots and lots of thinking about driving, both during and after the fact.
Today's rule is: use both hands on the steering wheel in [sweeping] turns. It is beyond the scope of this post to discuss if you should use both hands all the time or not. If you are like most people and don't use both hands at all times, then this rule applies to you. It goes without saying that you should always use both hands when taking tight turns, and since it's pretty impossible to do it any other way I won't mention it 
I am talking about sweeping turns, long turns characterized by a low angle of incidence over a long distance, requiring you to maintain and vary the steering angle over a length of time. You may think it's okay to use one hand, but the constant force against your arm makes it difficult to maintain the steering angle in a safe, controlled manner. What's worse, any bump in the road will jerk the steering wheel and amplify your lack of proper control. Because you are "barely holding on" with one arm, it can cause your vehicle to swerve unsafely while you attempt to correct it. If you go over a big pothole, the jerk can be so violent that it can snap the steering wheel out your hand, causing total loss of control over steering your vehicle.
Your arms are basically long extensions that jut out from the sides of your body; you don't have to be very knowledgeable about physics to see that a single, long limb is not ideal for controlling a round steering wheel that requires constant, precise correction. If you're having trouble visualizing it, try this experiment: put a gallon jug of water in a plastic grocery bag, then extend your arm straight and try to hold the bag steady at eye level (if a gallon weight proves too much, substitute a 2 liter soda bottle). If you're like most, your arm will shudder, the vibrations getting worse as the muscles in your arm tire from the constant force pulling against them. Now have a friend slap the jug while you're doing this, to simulate going over a bump in the road. Notice how little control you have over it? Extend your other arm out and grab the other bag handle, spacing your arms apart about a foot and a half, approximately the width of a steering wheel. Have your friend slap the jug again. Notice the difference?
In conclusion, to anchor and control the steering wheel in long, sweeping turns, use of both arms is required in order to balance the forces pushing against your body. Make it a habit to put both hands on the wheel as you enter a turn and this will become second nature. Extra tip: use both hands whenever precise directional control is required, such as when driving in a tight lane, thru a construction zone, or between two semis (get out as fast as possible!).
Enjoy, and drive safe!
Daytona Rolex 24 Hours Race
I just came back from the Daytona Rolex 24 Hours Race, the premier event of the 2010 GRAND-AM Road Racing season, and it simply rocked! Despite the fact that it rained on Saturday and it was bitter cold (by my South Florida standards, anyway), the race, and the experience was amazing. Both my girlfriend and I had a great time and we're already getting our tickets to the Homestead Rolex 24 Hours / Grand Prix of Miami, the second of 12 races for the 2010 season.
I want to write more but for now I'll just post a video I took - make sure to turn the volume UP!
[To view in HD: 1) click the video to open it on YouTube; 2) increase the quality to 720p/1080p; 3) expand the size. You cannot change the size of the video on this page.]
200th tank of gas!
This premier driving report is a special one - I'm on my Honda Accord's 200th tank of gas! 89,772 miles and $7,500 worth of gas later I'm still enjoying the sweet ride, averaging a lifetime-of-the-car 31.8 MPG! I topped this special tank off a bit, managing to squeeze in 16.5 gallons last week during my commute to work (75 miles roundtrip). And, as luck would have it, I drove my girlfriend's Audi A3 all weekend long, saving my car from MPG-robbing city traffic.
On the way back home tonight, the yellow gas light came on at 466.6 miles on the trip odometer, quite higher than usual - an average tank gets the light around at 420 miles. I can then usually squeeze out another 100 miles highway using only mild hypermiling techniques.
Me personal best in this car is 609.2 miles on a tank of gas back in May 10th, 2007; that pretty much took all the hypermiling techniques I knew at the time, for a calculated 37.6 MPG(!!!). I have since stopped extreme hypermiling since I don't consider it safe, but I still have a passion for it. I decided I would treat this special tank to some mild hypermiling, and I'm very happy with the results considering I pretty much drove speed limit, never dropping below 60 MPH. The car now has slightly oversized tires, so 466.6 trip miles translate to 480 traveled miles. If I get in another 100 miles, I'll be close to my all-time record without even trying very hard!
I'm taking a roadtrip to Daytona for the Rolex 24 Hour Race this weekend, should be a fun drive! Details to come, keep an eye on this space.
Spyker gets Saab!
After initial concerns over the Russian backers of the deal, General Motors struck a preliminary deal today to sell Saab to Dutch sports car maker Spyker Cars. GM is apparently losing a lot of money with Saab, but so did Daimler AG when it bought Chrysler high and sold it low. For GM, someone living on gov't bailout money, it's a good move to sell Saab for $74 million in cash and $326 million in preferred shares instead of killing the brand. I know it seems like a no-brainer, but large corporations are often so disorganized that simple, basic logic cannot prevail. I hope this is a sign of things to come from GM - this is the kind of thinking GM sorely needs to succeed without having the gov't getting involved when things get tough!
I am even more excited about the future of Saab with Spyker! This could truly be the first time a major brand gets the kind of fresh, young thinking a lot of enthusiast wish the large automakers would adopt. Spyker is a boutique car company and knows how to do this, if they can successfully apply this concept to a low-volume mainstream brand, which Saab has always been, consumers will win affordable, non-cookie cutter automobiles with features they want. I can't wait to see how this unfolds and what the future will bring us from Saab. Likewise, a successful Saab unit will provide Spyker with the independent financial stability needed to compete with the Ferraris and Lambos of the world.
Nulla tenaci invia est via indeed!
First post!
I drive, therefore I am!
No, really - I drive a lot, and I love to drive. So, naturally, and long overdue, I decided to finally start The Driving Blog. I will post here quite often, that I promise you. From daily WTFs, to trip reports, to techniques, ideas, discussions on topics such as blinkers, driving etiquette, safe driving, fuel economy, road manners, and much, much more - I promise! Drive on.
