Why does my car shake when I'm stopped at the lights?
A car shaking at idle usually comes down to four causes. Here's how to read what your car is telling you and which ones can wait vs. which ones can't.
What’s up with headlights getting brighter?
Have you had your retinas melted by bright car headlights lately? Same here! The days of dim, warm-toned headlights are long gone, and in their place are bright headlights that appear to send the light of a thousand suns directly into our eyeballs. So why is this the case – and how have we now become the deer?
The short answer is: lighting technology has drastically improved
We’ve gone from acetylene or oil lamps in the very early days of vehicles; to the first high and low beam lights in the 1920s; to halogen and Xenon; to light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser lights today. Where the old halogen lights might have put out somewhere between 700 and 1,200 lumens of light, modern headlight tech is capable of putting out ten times that – though legal limits do apply in Australia.
LEDs, laser and high-intensity discharge (HID) headlights have made it possible to have very efficient, long-lasting and bright illumination when driving at night, so of course people prefer using them. Over time the older and dimmer headlights have aged out, and new cars now typically come with bright lights as standard.
Another factor: cars are getting bigger
Even as recently as 2012, the majority of cars purchased in Australia were low passenger cars that featured headlights at a lower height. Today, SUVs account for 55-60% of car sales in Australia. Taller cars naturally mean higher headlights. So if you happen to be driving a lower-set car like a hatchback or sedan, you’re probably more likely to encounter bright light from a 4WD.
Are strong headlights safer?
