Or are oncoming cars’ headlights at night WAY brighter than they used to be? I swear, they almost blind you.

Don't know if it's real, or just my eyes becoming more sensitive.

I don't know if they're halogen or quartz or what, but I think there are some restrictions on them in some states.

We have modern lighting methods like halogen, xenon and LED. The newer lights put out a clean white light or bluish light, so they are going to be brighter than the old sealed beam headlights which had a distinct yellowish tint.

And I am one of the guilty parties. The headlights on our 1999 Suburban were extremely dim, especially compared tour 2014 Prius V. When one of the bulbs burned out my husband took it to the shop. They not only put in LED bulbs, they also replaced the lenses on the low beams. Great - now we have enough light to see very well on the highway. But other drivers find them far too bright. Right now my husband is using high beams in traffic. They still have the old bulbs and the original, yellowed lenses. Other drivers seem relieved even though they are badly adjusted for low beams.

Most cars had a single pair of round headlights that did high/low beam in one package, and upscale cars had four round headlights, the additional pair being the high beams.

Now it seems anything goes. The blue-white searchlights are the worst, they ruin the night vision of oncoming drivers, even on low beam.

I'm glad cars have brighter lights so drivers can see batter at night. All cars are going to have White LED headlights within 10 years.

Personally, I think the blinding lights of some oncoming traffic make me see less well at night.

Aftermarket HID conversion kits put in factory reflectors
They put out a LOT of lumens but it is not focused and causes glare and scatter

Some are factory HIDs or LEDs that just need to be properly aimed

The US is so far behind the rest of the world it is mind boggling
Regulations here date from the 50s and 60s

BMW for one offers adaptive headlights with high beam control that automatically pivot the light away from on-coming traffic or when approaching a car from behind. They are illegal right now in the U.S. which does not allow headlights that are not fixed. Cars sold in the US have these lights disabled.

That's badass. If we're lucky we'll see that in ten years. If we're lucky.

One of the columnists wrote about how he'd mounted a motorcycle headlight with higher-than-automobile luminosity behind his grille and had it aimed and ready to light up anybody who didn't dim their high-beams

And if they didn't actually have their high-beams on, he felt justified because their headlights were clearly not aligned correctly

I guess the front grille on vintage Detroit steel had much wider spacing than today's automobiles. And law enforcement was looser. Or the columnist liked to spin fantasy revenge yarns

Because normally it's some type of souped-up raised truck

But there are many 'luxury' cars that have the same poorly aimed blinders.