Dan Fixes Coin-OpsNov 19, 2023

If you're in the US and you've also been idly wondering why "I don't like to drive at night" has become such a common thing to say in the past few years, stand near to a modern LED streetlamp and block it with your hand. In about two thirds of a second, the whole road brightens up as your pupils open.

You're not just getting old; between over-bright streetlights, over-bright headlights of oncoming cars, over-bright instrument clusters, over-bright porch lighting, nobody can see in the dark anymore.

Just in the last decade we've made it much harder and more dangerous to drive at night. Oh, and we also gave up the stars.

Show threadJanuaryNov 19, 2023
@ifixcoinops I keep hoping for good night driving glasses that will just... cap the brightness they let through to some maximum value
This is probably not how physics works but I can dream
Show threadMre. Dartigen [maker mode]Nov 20, 2023

@codicil @ifixcoinops Yellow-tinted polarized sunglasses. They're not easy to find, but they're out there - or, if you normally wear glasses, ask your optometrist if they can do a pair for you. (Brown tint is probably too dark for night-time.)

Night-driving glasses are getting more and more popular though. Which speaks to the scale of the problem.

Show threadJanuaryNov 20, 2023
@dartigen @ifixcoinops have you tried these? I had a pair that didn't work at all, but they were dollar store quality so I might just need to spend a little more
Show threadMre. Dartigen [maker mode]Nov 20, 2023

@codicil @ifixcoinops I've had pretty much the same experience with a very, very cheap pair that weren't polarized - they were better than nothing, but didn't do much for the aggressive LEDs.

But at the time it was virtually impossible to get yellow tint *and* polarized, and I found that brown tint was far too dark. I'm seeing a lot more now in yellow tint and polarized (sometimes with anti-reflective coating too) though, and really good reviews of a few.

Show threadHoward Chu @ Symas
@dartigen @codicil @ifixcoinops sounds like the Blu-Blockers brand. I had a pair but have long since misplaced them.
Nov 20, 2023 at 2:17amWeb