> Out in the country, you still don't really need brighter headlights.

I guess you don't actually drive at night in the countryside then.

You need lights to see where the road is, not where pedestrians might be - on none existent footpaths

I live in the woods in the northeast US, and also grew up in the 80s-90s in a very rural area and I've owned a number of cars when I was young, some with comically dim lights.

You really don't need the bright lights. You never have. Slow down, look for movement, and use your brights intelligently.

Not to be pedantic but you do need to be able to see pedestrians at night too, who can legally walk on country roads on either side, without reflectors or illumination.

It’s the car drivers responsibility to not mow pedestrians down wherever or whenever they are walking.

A lot of smaller US cities also have areas with no lighting and worn-out lines, which contrast with brightly lit areas and suddenly you're basically blind if your lights are too dim. Couple that with a wet road, which reduces visibility, and it can be hard to see where to drive.

Then we have pedestrians walking with no sidewalks or crosswalks, because city planning actively hostile to people walking.

I just realized I bet it’s sometimes a speed issue. I don’t need bright lights, maybe because I’m a slow driver.

Drive faster and you have to have brighter lights shining farther into the distance to be able to see at least a couple seconds ahead.

I do, and old school yellow high-beams were plenty on a 205 to do 80+mph down b-roads back in the 00's, I would happily go back to that if it meant I could avoid being blinded every ten minutes.

All cars in the U.S. used the same headlights up until the early 80s. You could literally walk into the auto parts store and buy a headlight to replace yours, regardless of make and model

Somehow we all did ok back then with standard high/low beams from lights which are very dim and warm compared to the harsh white LED lights of today

It seems to me that this is just another example of the arms race of modern cars. You need a big SUV to feel safe on a road full of SUVs and trucks. You need an array of dazzling LEDs to compete with every other car out there. And we all lose.

Well this is why headlights have dipped beam and full beam. The issue is the dipped beam is getting as bright as the full beam used to be, and is mounted higher on the car as well.

It’s not what’s meant by pedestrians but usually you’re also looking for wildlife, like deer, that you could hit.

The parent is talking about needing _brighter_ headlights, not headlights in general.

I need to drive through the countryside to get to other towns.

A lot of it is A roads - few pedestrians and they are on pavements.

On country lanes, I think traditional lights are usually bright enough. if not, slow down at might.