＜Source: “How to use car headlights (headlights) such as high beams | Zurich” ＞
＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
I think many drivers nowadays have their headlights set to “auto light (automatic on).” In the past, when entering a tunnel or when it was getting dark, you would turn the switch “ON” to turn the lights on, and when you left the tunnel or it got brighter, you would turn it “OFF.” It’s certainly convenient and saves you time, but I feel like it dulls human sensitivity.
1. What is “high beam”?
Previously, most drivers would use “low beam” headlights because oncoming vehicles would feel dazzled when they were on “high beam”. However, with the revision of the Road Traffic Act in March 2017, headlights (headlights) are now “high beam as a rule”.
・High beam: Headlight for driving
・Low beam: Headlight for passing other vehicles
It’s true that when driving at night or in the rain, high beams, which can be seen up to 100 meters ahead, are safer and more convenient than low beams, which can only be seen up to 40 meters ahead.
However, when driving on a main road, oncoming vehicles with high beams can be dazzling and potentially dangerous.
According to the revised Road Traffic Act, in this case too, high beams are the rule. However, when passing an oncoming vehicle, you must switch to low beams.
2. What is “Auto High Beam”?
“Auto High Beam” was devised as a “safety driving support system” to eliminate this hassle. It is also called “High Beam Assist.”
The basic system switches from high beam to low beam when the sensor detects a preceding vehicle, oncoming vehicle, or pedestrian, and returns to high beam when there are no more cars or pedestrians around.
Furthermore, when it comes to more advanced systems, there are “adaptive types” that “mainly use high beams, but switch to low beams only in areas where there are preceding vehicles, oncoming vehicles, or pedestrians,” as well as “systems that can illuminate a distance of up to 600m when driving at high speeds, which is about twice the distance of the low beam of an LED headlight.”
3. Problems with “Auto High Beam”
As with any machine, there are cases of malfunction. Also, unlike human judgment, there are cases where the machine over-reacts or there is a delayed reaction due to dirt on the vehicle ahead or oncoming vehicles. Also, there are cases where the sensor does not detect motorbikes, bicycles, or pedestrians.
I think it is important not to rely too much on “Auto High Beam” and to drive safely. This is not limited to “Auto High Beam”, but there is a danger that relying too much on machines can damage human sensitivity.