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Night vision.

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DavidApp

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Driving at night last week it occurred to me that most cars now have so many screens and other light sources that your night vision is badly degraded. Maybe I am getting old and don't see good at night.
I remember my dad would get mad if someone turned on the interior light for a second saying it ruined his night vision. Older cars had din instrument lights now they are bright screens.

David
 
I've noticed the same problem. On some cars (my wife's Honda) the screen can be turned off. But on others, like the Toyota I rented earlier this year, the dash looks like neon signs on Broadway and there is no way to even turn it down very far.
 
I use my iPhone 7 Plus for GPS and the other night I was driving around sunset and the screen turned into a darker night screen. Never saw that before on all my other phones. Something else that was different is when I approached a toll booth it kept telling me to stay in the left two lanes. Some how it knew I had EZ pass.
 
I am not a fan of newer cars dashes they are too bright, there are too many screens, too much unnecessary information constantly flashed at you, not enough driving; I won't be surprised if some models start sporting HUDs soon.
 
Whenever we drive at night and have someone in the car that uses ASL, i will drive with the dome light on so my wife and the passenger can 'talk'. I guess over the years i have become accustom to it and it really doesn't bother me anymore.
I usually have the dash lights dimmed quite a bit. My Garmin GPS use to change to 'night' display around sunset. I did notice my Apple maps doing the same thing recently.
 
After all those years of PSAs talking about distracted driving, and at the same time cars get even more distracting themselves. I daily drive a 19 year old Toyota, no dash screens or other "toys", and I like it just fine. Had a new rental for an overnight when some work I didn't have tools for was being done that had backup cam and such. Interesting but I thought it was too easy to watch the cam and not look to the sides when backing where the cam doesn't focus. Didn't in the end really care for it.
 
mikephillips said:
Interesting but I thought it was too easy to watch the cam and not look to the sides when backing where the cam doesn't focus. Didn't in the end really care for it.
Click to expand...
The better cams now look around the sides as well, in places you cannot physically see otherwise. Very handy when there is a short post next to you, for example.

The other thing that I really like is when hooking up a trailer. Totally eliminates the drill of guessing at the right spot, then getting out to look; move 2" this way and 3" that way; oops went a few inches too far etc.etc.

I may have to actually look into adding one to the old wagon.
 
On my Altima 3.5, I've got all the bells and whistles (which came with the "sport package" just so I could get cruise control). Oh well.

I can dim all the dash lights *and* the gps/camera screen, no problem, using a small twist-knob near the speedometer.

Altho' I don't use the backup camera much at all, I can see how it would be a real god-send if you've got small children around. Too many stories of backing over a tricycle - or worse.

Have to admit, the Altima is the best daily driver I've had in 50+ years. (Altho' I still miss my 1955 Jaguar Mk VII.)

TM
 
I travel occasionally to Germany on business. One trip I was "upgraded" to a Mercedes CLS wagon... holy nice car, Batman!! On the subject of backup cameras, it literally had cameras all around, and if you push the right sequence of mystery buttons, it displayed an "overhead view" of the car on the central screen. I had to make a u-turn in a really tight space, defined by an easy to see wall on one side, and a row of short poles on the other. Without the camera, I would have had to move the car a few inches, get out, look, and repeat. With the camera - which also indicated where you would end up given the position of the steering wheel, it was a breeze.

Not sure I would want the feature on my car - that I drive often enough to learn where it ends, on roads that I know where I am going (generally - don't ask my wife). But, in a strange car in a strange town - the cameras were the cat's meow!
 
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