Amber light bar too bright?

[Caleb Sousley]

I just got a amber light bar installed behind my grill today and it looks amazing. (40in, from M&R Automotive). My question is, would the amber led be considered too bright to run while driving on the road or is it acceptable?

 

[Small Town Raptor]

Generally, any auxiliary lighting is for off road use only unless it is specifically labelled SAE, DOT etc (country/state traffic laws may vary).

 

[smurfslayer]

Yes, it will definitely cause night blindness in some oncoming drivers. If you had non-SAE / off-road pods, and aimed them downward away form oncoming eyes, you may be able to get by but for the light bar to be usable at that height, you’d lose the functionality almost completely.

Wide dispersion lights / lenses, there is not much you can do other than turn them off. As an example, the baja design squadron sport - not the pro - in wide corner will literally through light in all directions in front of the lens and it’s enough to hurt your eyes if you look directly at it. Oncoming drivers will not be your friends if getting a face full of off road lights.

 

[Caleb Sousley]

Yes, it will definitely cause night blindness in some oncoming drivers. If you had non-SAE / off-road pods, and aimed them downward away form oncoming eyes, you may be able to get by but for the light bar to be usable at that height, you’d lose the functionality almost completely.

Wide dispersion lights / lenses, there is not much you can do other than turn them off. As an example, the baja design squadron sport - not the pro - in wide corner will literally through light in all directions in front of the lens and it’s enough to hurt your eyes if you look directly at it. Oncoming drivers will not be your friends if getting a face full of off road lights.

It’s behind my grille which makes it lose some intensity It’s around 7000 lumens I believe

 

[smurfslayer]

So tonight, start the truck and light it up. Do this well after sunset, in full dark conditions. Walk 50 feet in front of the truck and stare into the lights for 3-5 seconds.

advertised 7k lumens is pretty damn bright. I’m betting you’ll be seeing spots for a few seconds.

If your lights are so bright as to night blind someone, they could easily drift into your lane and collide with you, or someone else.

I get it; more lighting is better for the driver; I have non-SAE lights forward facing and I use them on unlit or poorly lit roads where wildlife and livestock tend to wander, but, not in the face of oncoming traffic.

 

[Caleb Sousley]

So tonight, start the truck and light it up. Do this well after sunset, in full dark conditions. Walk 50 feet in front of the truck and stare into the lights for 3-5 seconds.

advertised 7k lumens is pretty damn bright. I’m betting you’ll be seeing spots for a few seconds.

If your lights are so bright as to night blind someone, they could easily drift into your lane and collide with you, or someone else.

I get it; more lighting is better for the driver; I have non-SAE lights forward facing and I use them on unlit or poorly lit roads where wildlife and livestock tend to wander, but, not in the face of oncoming traffic.

Ok I’ll do that thank you sir! I just drove during the day with them on and didn’t get flashed or anything once. But nighttime is a different story I’d assume

 

[smurfslayer]

Yeah the aiming is important but I suspect this is going to be too much for oncoming traffic.

Some people will flash you for having ANY extra lights on, because Karen/Keisha. Others only get bent out of shape if they’re obnoxious - like the B/D wide corners. Great for deer, not so great for oncoming drivers.

I had a bunch of people flash me with the B/D SAE lights, enough to make me check the aim, several times. These weren’t in anyone’s face but NoVA drivers seemed to get their feelings hurt if there are more than 2 lights on.

TX: nobody bats an eye at the SAE lights.

Local culture will play a part but again I think the grille lights are going to be a bit offensive.

 

[Caleb Sousley]

Yeah the aiming is important but I suspect this is going to be too much for oncoming traffic.

Some people will flash you for having ANY extra lights on, because Karen/Keisha. Others only get bent out of shape if they’re obnoxious - like the B/D wide corners. Great for deer, not so great for oncoming drivers.

I had a bunch of people flash me with the B/D SAE lights, enough to make me check the aim, several times. These weren’t in anyone’s face but NoVA drivers seemed to get their feelings hurt if there are more than 2 lights on.

TX: nobody bats an eye at the SAE lights.

Local culture will play a part but again I think the grille lights are going to be a bit offensive.

Yeah I agree. They are on the bottom portion of the grill and are relatively bright looking head on.
(Not my truck but this is what it looks like)

 

[MandR Automotive]

Hey thanks for the support with the purchase. I am glad you feel they are bright. But unfortunately i would not drive with it public roads with other drivers around you. If you are driving in a remote place without it being an issue to other drivers, definitely acceptable if you turn them off when you see other vehicles....Kind of like high beams

 

[Caleb Sousley]

Hey thanks for the support with the purchase. I am glad you feel they are bright. But unfortunately i would not drive with it public roads with other drivers around you. If you are driving in a remote place without it being an issue to other drivers, definitely acceptable if you turn them off when you see other vehicles....Kind of like high beams

Got it awesome thank you!! The lights are amazing can’t recommend them enough