A neat trick

How many times has this happened to you?

You’re driving at night when suddenly, your eyes begin to sizzle and pop. And usually it’s because of this.

brights

Oh yes, how I dread the idiot SUV drivers that don’t understand that the little blue light in the middle of the dash means their headlights are set to kill. Better still if said idiot doesn’t know where their space ends and yours begins, so they get as close as possible to the back of your car, driving those retina searing beams straight into all reflective surfaces of the MINI, most of which happen to be pointing back into your face. Want them to back off?

A little outside mirror adjustment works wonders in this situation. Adjust the drivers side mirror up until the beam is blasting across the glass of the window. You should notice them back off immediately to avoid getting blinded. If it doesn’t work, adjust the passenger side mirror out and up until the beam are pointed back in double barrel fashion, much like they are doing to you.

With the main rear view on dim and the outsides adjusted up, your vision should return to normal shortly. If they continue to tailgate with their brights, pull over at the next opportunity and let them pass. Not really much else you can do.

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16 Comments

  1. This is real bad out where I live as 75% of the population drives a lifted truck/suv and seemingly does not bother to have their lights adjusted. Oncoming traffic then makes it very hard to stay on the road.

    I like your suggestion, will try it next time someone is behind me.

  2. My problem is that I have bad aim. I just can’t seem to find the sweet spot that reflects the lights back at them… That and I’m usually just happy to get the glare out of my eyes…

  3. Great idea except…your mirrors are not any use at that point. Not to mention all the trees you might run into while trying to precisely adjust your mirrors while driving.

    I instead use the rightmost foot pedal and the inverse square law of light to reduce intensity with distance. :)

  4. >Great idea except…your mirrors are not any use at that point. Not to mention all the trees you might run into while trying to precisely adjust your mirrors while driving.

    I was on a two lane road and stopped, so I didn’t see any harm. At least my eyes weren’t getting blasted.

    You know, because some of us can’t use the rightmost pedal and the inverse square law of light at the same time. I need more power! And, of course, less cars in my way ;)

  5. I’m so tempted to install a nice bright Halogen bulb at the back of the car, hooked to an extra toggle on the dash ;)

    Perhaps slightly more legally – I’ve seen license plates that “flip”; how about fitting a mirror to the back :)

  6. I’ve thought about mirror plating the back of the MINI, but I’m sure there is some law against that.

    Maybe mirror tint on the rear window?

  7. I once (about 25 years ago)had a great big old Cibie fog light mounted on the rear bumper of my ’71 Datsun 240Z for just these situations. Don’t remember if I had the courage/stupidity to actually use it though…

  8. Every now and then, since I usually have a camera or two with me, I’ll turn the flash function on and snap a frame towards the offending vehicle.

    I wonder if that’s a ticket.

  9. 1/4″ ballbearings and open the sun roof. But that’s only if they insist on tailgating and leaving the brights ON.

    I wouldn’t really do this, but that’s what I sometimes want to do.

  10. That sounds brilliantly wicked.

    I get those feelings as well, but no way do I have the balls to actually pull it off.

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