After dark, a megawatt solution
If driving in the dark spooks you, there are a few automotive products on the market designed to help.
Whether they actually improve visibility or cause even more distraction depends on the individual motorist, driving conditions and other factors.
Because night driving has been a challenge for me, I recently test-drove two vehicles equipped with technology designed to improve a driver’s ability to see on dark streets.
The first was the 2005 Acura RL sedan, priced at $50,000, with an Active Front Lighting System and fog lights.
The system’s Xenon High-Intensity Discharge headlights did a superb job of illuminating the roadway, whether driving on the freeway or on a two-lane neighborhood street at night.
The system, which is standard on the RL, allows the headlights to adapt and turn as you drive around curves. Stop signs, freeway ramp signs and even street signs are enhanced.
Compared with the regular headlights on my Ford Taurus, the Acura’s system made me feel as though I had emerged from the Dark Ages. The light beam was so wide, the entire roadway and sidewalks were lighted up. For comparison, I switched between the Taurus and the Acura several times. There was no mistake. I felt my night vision improved markedly when using the Acura lighting system.
In the system’s xenon headlamps, an electrical charge ignites gas contained in a sealed bulb. The resulting beam is an intense white light.
Although such lamps can improve a driver’s vision, they have not been without controversy: Oncoming motorists complain bitterly that high-intensity lights, including halogens, dangerously impair vision.
These lights produce a “death-ray glare,” says reader Jim Valentine. Motorists whose eyes take a long time to recover from bright headlight glare can become temporarily blinded, safety experts warn.
If you’re in the market for brighter lights, you don’t need to spend a fortune on a new vehicle. A host of light-conversion kits can be purchased for any type of vehicle. Online at www.bright headlights.com, for example, high-intensity-headlight conversion kits range from about $500 to $700, depending on the vehicle.
Kits are also sold at various automotive retail stores. If you are unsure about the legality of after-market lights, contact a local CHP office.
The next test vehicle was the Lexus LX 470, a luxury SUV, priced at about $65,000. The vehicle’s optional Night View system costs about $2,200.
The infrared system is designed to help drivers see farther forward than mere headlights allow. When the system is switched on, an image from the infrared shutter appears in a rectangular screen on the driver’s side windshield.
In practice, I found the Night View system more distracting than helpful. In heavy freeway driving, the blur of oncoming headlights appeared even more intense on the Night View screen than it did looking through the windshield with the naked eye. There were times when I turned off the system because it was too distracting.
A colleague also test-drove the Lexus, and we agreed that the Night View system did not give accurate depth perception.
The Rear View Monitor system has similar problems. It uses a rear camera to flash an image on the car’s navigation screen. At night, I constantly had to second-guess distances and side views.
The Lexus owner’s manual cautions drivers on the drawbacks of the system. For example: Use of Night View “in an area with many curves or slopes or in a well-lighted area could cause an accident.”
The first time I used the Rear View backup system, I nearly hit a car because the screen showed the vehicle to be farther away than it really was. After that, I basically ignored the backup system.
Jeanne Wright can be reached at jeanrite@aol.com.
