When you're blinded by an oncoming car's high beams, it's hardly the time to be fumbling about the steering column to flash your lights back at him.

You're also temporarily blinding him too because lights aren't meant to be turned on and off that quickly, so you've got two blinded drivers heading towards each other.

So a photocell in the front of your car would sense the oncoming high beams and cause your brights to flicker very quickly for a second, not long enough to blind him but long enough to get his attention.

Less draconian than killing him with a brights seeking missile. Maybe not as fun but more practical.
-- doctorremulac3, Sep 16 2010

Night Vision For All Night_20Vision_20For_20All
No need for lights at all ! [8th of 7, Sep 16 2010]

I like the basic idea. +

What about using a properly-placed active retroreflector? (This would detect beams that reach one's own rear-view mirror, and amplifies and returns said beam to just above its source.)

Could be properly annoying to an oncoming hi-brighter, and would instantly respond to correction by the offender.

Another thought: integrate this with adjustment to rear-view mirror for annoying hi-bright tailgaters?
-- csea, Sep 16 2010


How about a disorienting strobe designed to cause seizures originating in the left side of the brain, so that the offending driver will swerve to the right and out of your way?
-- DIYMatt, Sep 16 2010


blind people shouldn't be driving!
-- xandram, Sep 16 2010


Have to agree with [21]. I drive a fairly short car, and have occasionally had someone on my tail where it got worse when the switched to low beams. Likewise, those evil HID lamps are consistently brighter and more in my eyes, even at low, than most cars high beams.
-- MechE, Sep 16 2010


Yea, I've been in a low slung sports car where every oncoming light's hitting you right in the eyes so you'd have to take that into consideration. Put the sensor right above the driver's line of sight I guess and have some threshold that won't make this thing go off every 5 minutes.

It would also have to be pretty directional so streetlights etc wouldn't set it off. Another consideration would be twilight where it's dark enough to need headlights but the sun's still on the horizon.

You may or may not be able to tweak it to take those circumstances into consideration.
-- doctorremulac3, Sep 16 2010


Better <link>.
-- 8th of 7, Sep 16 2010


The latest trend for xenon headlights is going to make a lot of wealthy drivers very unhappy.
-- infidel, Sep 21 2010


Yea, but freeway driving would be like an acid trip scene from a 1960s movie. How cool.
-- doctorremulac3, Sep 21 2010


Add a Doppler sound effects track and I'm in.
-- infidel, Sep 21 2010



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