USA Doesn't Like Low Headlights: I had never heard about this, but there was a version of the Morris Minor, an English car, that was not allowed in the USA because its headlights were...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I had never heard about this, but there was a version of the Morris Minor, an English car, that was not allowed in the USA because its headlights were too low. I always knew there were laws regarding the height of headlights, but I never knew that cars were denied import because of that.

https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=AJOqlzVT8ujsQKkFO5oHeigl2HRqZqk_Dw:1678115464346&q=morris+minor+low+light&tbm=isch&source=univ&fir=q-hURXZKT2LHhM%252CBO8CP7pQVzPqsM%252C_%253BGiaFMWXcSjex_M%252C7tBsxVkSrqN0pM%252C_%253B73HFJ7IQ7pZ30M%252CFFuWKu3nFWl7_M%252C_%253BKUZPeCAe7XSqVM%252CfiTGBOzjGGFNoM%252C_%253BinPQDMoa5GJ1BM%252Cf3LrbsgFNp5rhM%252C_%253B5Sf7wK3AWnroXM%252CiPB8tHZYgmQBeM%252C_%253BQggJ4OQaNm2YnM%252CfzARtBfRz_u3rM%252C_%253BSpE12PjhU53VNM%252CgT2qaGJk2uuS2M%252C_%253BofkSTyF_dJrnUM%252CZ99ab67c1E5GIM%252C_%253B2bEFTmGFkHUsDM%252CBO8CP7pQVzPqsM%252C_&usg=AI4_-kQth4FoHNFmSAZ6UZMLoaPXgDj4iQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwicz5Ohy8f9AhUuElkFHRGjB_IQjJkEegQICRAC&biw=1873&bih=937&dpr=1

StanMac Loc: Tennessee

If there is a regulation on the height of headlights on vehicles, it apparently is a lower limit with no limit on height. Todays pick’em ups have their head lights on the upper front corners, which is probably close to five feet or higher depending on how large a wheel is installed. At that height they are a hazard for those of us in automobiles as the lights are at our eye level when on the road. And since most truck drivers, at least in these parts, like to drive around with their headlights on high beam, along with their fog lights, they present a hazard for us car drivers by killing our night vision when they appear in our field of vision.

Stan

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

StanMac wrote:

If there is a regulation on the height of headligh... (show quote)

Exactly.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

StanMac wrote:

If there is a regulation on the height of headligh... (show quote)

Right! Headlights need more regulation. Those very bright lights are dangerous. I have to turn my head when a car with them approaches. Not looking at the road isn't a good practice. I'm sure those lights had to be approved, but I bet the people who approved them didn't see them on on-coming cars. When they are on a truck or set to high beam, they're even worse.

Yes, it is a big problem, but there is no relief in sight.
https://slate.com/business/2022/03/headlights-are-too-bright-what-regulators-are-doing-to-fix-it.html

1963mca

US law didn't even like some headlights regardless of the height. During the 1960's and 70's, each year I had to swap the Lucas PL700's on my 56 AC Aceca Bristol and 57 AC Ace for US standard headlights in order to pass the yearly vehicle inspection, then swap them back after the inspection. By the 80's they didn't seem to care during the inspection so I didn't swap them anymore. I did have to change to replica PL700's eventually as it was getting tough to source the Lucas 410 bulbs that fit and the replicas use modern halogen bulbs. Plus I have to admit the new lens/bulbs are brighter while still maintaining the original PL700 tripod look. My cars aren't concourse quality (after 60+ years of use, far from it) so not worried about originality although I've kept the original PL700's somewhere in the garage to reinstall, just in case.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

1963mca wrote:

US law didn't even like some headlights regardless... (show quote)

Right, and it's illegal to have more than four "headlights" lit at once. That means anything more than high beams and fog lights.

RiJoRi Loc: Sandy Ridge, NC

jerryc41 wrote:

Right! Headlights need more regulation. Those very bright lights are dangerous. I have to turn my head when a car with them approaches. Not looking at the road isn't a good practice. I'm sure those lights had to be approved, but I bet the people who approved them didn't see them on on-coming cars. When they are on a truck or set to high beam, they're even worse.

Jerry,
A trick I learned from my driving instructor was to look at the white line on my side of the road when the ninnies are approaching. You can guide yourself by that, and the part of the retina that gets overworked is off to the side of your eyes. I suppose throwing up your left hand to block the dumdum's lights might help, but I'm usually concentrating on the road too much to think of it.

--Rich

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Both my cars have HID headlights, but both are projectors and have the euro style sharp cut off with an “ear” to light the right shoulder. They also have self leveling so when you crest a hill, they point down and turn when you go around a corner. They’re bright, but no more offensive than regular lights IF your car has those features. If not and you convert to HID or LED, you can be a real hazard to oncoming traffic. Pickups are the worst and when raised, as many are, just blinding when oncoming - ought to be a law on max headlight height.

pendennis

My first car was a 1953 Mercedes Benz 220 Sedan. It had a couple of modifications so it could be registered in the U.S. I only remember one of the modifications, and that was the deactivation of the semaphore turn signals. The car didn't have any standard signals, so I had to manually signal turns.

I restored a good bit of the car, including repainting it to its original black, from a horrible coral red. I also reconnected the semaphore signals, and added fog lamps to boost the original bulb-type headlamps, which were awfully dim.

The only time I was ever pulled over, was by a motorcycle officer who thought the semaphores were the neatest thing he'd ever seen.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

jerryc41 wrote:

Right, and it's illegal to have more than four "headlights" lit at once. That means anything more than high beams and fog lights.

In Missouri was illegal I'm not sure what it is now to have more than six lights facing forward.
And there is/was a max, height . not sure if there still is. if there is it is not enforced.

cdayton

That regulation went into effect in the late ‘60s. Jaguar XKEs did not meet the height requirement so in 1968 they removed the headlight covers and raised the units a few millimeters. The rumor was that Porsche just jacked the front torsion bars up and new owners would crawl under and readjust them.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

TriX wrote:

Both my cars have HID headlights, but both are pro... (show quote)

I put HID lights on two of my previous cars. They were bright, but they had a cut-off that could have been drawn with a ruler. The problem headlights of today are LEDs.

One Rude Dawg Loc: Athol, ID

jerryc41 wrote:

I had never heard about this, but there was a vers... (show quote)

There are numerous cars we miss out on due to idiotic US rules, no surprise. US companies also don't like competition.

fsommer

Jerry. Headlights on my older cars worked just fine. On my new Lexus (and all newer cars these days) the focused beams are admittedly bright. To compensate for this the lenses focus the light and the top portion is somehow blacked out (not to shine in the other drivers eyes). Trouble is I can't see past a couple of hundred feet in front of me. I also cannot see what's above me or to the sides. Worse, I live in California and a lot of our roads are hilly. When going downhill, the road is black past 50 feet in front of me and I can't see sh*t! Very dangerous. Bring back old sealed beam headlights.

JCGammack Loc: Hayesville, Iowa

One of my early cars was a BMW 2002. There was a spacer between the strut mount and the body on the front. It made the car look high in the front. I was told that the spacer was there to meet the state of Rhode Island license plate height requirements. Seemed strange to me that all the 2002's were modified for the smallest state in the union. But that's how regulations work.