> I have always thought it was poor design in many of the GM (and other)
> cars/trucks that turning on the high-beams disables the low...
I disagree ... low beams put all their light onto the road right in front of
you. All that extra light causes your pupils to contract, which makes it
harder to see the weaker light from objects in the distance. If you have
your high beams on, you shouldn't have to worry about anything that is only
20 feet in front of you, but want to know everything you can about what is
1/4 mile in front of you. Having the low beams on makes it harder to see
what's important.
The old (?) 4-headlight systems changed the focus of the outer/upper bulbs
on high beam, just like the 2-beam systems do.
AFAIK, at the moment there are no limits on how bright your headlights can
be, at least not at the Federal level. Headlights are no longer required
to be "DOT approved". They are supposedly considering limits, to keep from
blinding other drivers ...
Randall
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