Girlfriend and I Were Discussing This Earlier Today. Help With 2 Questions

[dncc]

Both of us remarked (we're in a long distance relationship currently) that while we are driving at night, there seems to be dozens of cars driving with their high beam headlights on.

Do drivers education courses stress that you shouldn't do that any longer? When I got my license back in the 1980's, it was stressed that you didn't drive with your "brights" on. Do they do that any more or are headlights just incredibly bright nowadays?

Second question.

She, being far more articulate and nerdy than myself, stated that it felt like she was caught in a "tractor beam". When did/why did sci fi writers call a "beam" that captures another object in space a "tractor beam"? There doesn't seem to be any application where a tractor does any such thing on earth--controls an object that is free floating around it. Nor does the word "tractor" seem to be short for any other word that controls an object floating around it.

 

[Loulit01]

Both of us remarked (we're in a long distance relationship currently) that while we are driving at night, there seems to be dozens of cars driving with their high beam headlights on.

Do drivers education courses stress that you shouldn't do that any longer? When I got my license back in the 1980's, it was stressed that you didn't drive with your "brights" on. Do they do that any more or are headlights just incredibly bright nowadays?

Second question.

She, being far more articulate and nerdy than myself, stated that it felt like she was caught in a "tractor beam". When did/why did sci fi writers call a "beam" that captures another object in space a "tractor beam"? There doesn't seem to be any application where a tractor does any such thing on earth--controls an object that is free floating around it. Nor does the word "tractor" seem to be short for any other word that controls an object floating around it.

​

E. E. Smith coined the term "tractor beam" (an update of his earlier "attractor beam") in his novel Spacehounds of IPC, originally serialized in Amazing Stories magazine in 1931. The hero of his Skylark of Space books (1929 onwards), had invented "attractor beams" and "repellor beams." Repellors can also be emitted isotropically as a sort of defensive force field against material projectiles.
Wiki

 

[dncc]

​

E. E. Smith coined the term "tractor beam" (an update of his earlier "attractor beam") in his novel Spacehounds of IPC, originally serialized in Amazing Stories magazine in 1931. The hero of his Skylark of Space books (1929 onwards), had invented "attractor beams" and "repellor beams." Repellors can also be emitted isotropically as a sort of defensive force field against material projectiles.
Wiki

I get it now..."attractor". Cool.

 

[HIP56948]

Headlights: It may be 2 things. Some of the newer cars may have lights like Ultra Lumens. They tend to look like and feel/see like they ARE on bright even when they're not.
Personally, I can't stand the damn things. Their beam almost cuts your night vision to zero.
OR People seem to have become more selfish lately and have the attitude "I want to see everything in front of me even if it causes the opposite effect for other people".
I hope the last sentence is wrong.

 

[Ug make hammer]

Both of us remarked (we're in a long distance relationship currently) that while we are driving at night, there seems to be dozens of cars driving with their high beam headlights on.

Do drivers education courses stress that you shouldn't do that any longer? When I got my license back in the 1980's, it was stressed that you didn't drive with your "brights" on. Do they do that any more or are headlights just incredibly bright nowadays?

Second question.

She, being far more articulate and nerdy than myself, stated that it felt like she was caught in a "tractor beam". When did/why did sci fi writers call a "beam" that captures another object in space a "tractor beam"? There doesn't seem to be any application where a tractor does any such thing on earth--controls an object that is free floating around it. Nor does the word "tractor" seem to be short for any other word that controls an object floating around it.

Yeah and it sucks. I think the mechanism is that you expect to be dazzled by high-beams, THEREFORE you need highbeams to still see the road.

Then there's a Bad Manners Paradox. If someone dips their high beams for you, that makes you the bad guy who didn't dip first.

Circuits and software in a modern car are easily capable of automating this. Might just need a one-second warning on the dash, since at night and with oncoming glare is a bad time for your lights to 'malfunction'.

On a personal note, it's in the country where you likely know the person, that dipping the lights is most likely. It's almost like touching the hat.

 

[Ug make hammer]

When did/why did sci fi writers call a "beam" that captures another object in space a "tractor beam"? There doesn't seem to be any application where a tractor does any such thing on earth--controls an object that is free floating around it. Nor does the word "tractor" seem to be short for any other word that controls an object floating around it.

Pardon if the previous post seemed deficient in loftiness. I hadn't read the guidelines.

I'm going to guess E. E. "Doc" Smith, and his physics background. Nothing to do with plough-pulling engines, more "tractor or pressor" beams with roots in Latin. When the bad guys developed technology to "cut" a tractor beam, the good guys had to surround them in a triangular prism, a cube, etc and hold them in place with pressors.

But no disrespect, I will quote from memory a line from Grey Lensman:

"... and the Lensman was out of there, on a tower of fire!"

Yes, he really did use an exclamation mark in a novel. I believe he was also the first novelist to be classified as "space opera".

 

[Mason66]

Headlights: It may be 2 things. Some of the newer cars may have lights like Ultra Lumens. They tend to look like and feel/see like they ARE on bright even when they're not.
Personally, I can't stand the damn things. Their beam almost cuts your night vision to zero.
OR People seem to have become more selfish lately and have the attitude "I want to see everything in front of me even if it causes the opposite effect for other people".
I hope the last sentence is wrong.

Where I live your second sentence is how it is. Mexicans are selfish, it is just the culture they are brought up in.

If they have a headlight out, they drive with the bright son.

I see it multiple times every time I go out at night. They don't care they are blinding other people. Also the police do nothing about it as I have seen them do the same.

 

[Mason66]

Yeah and it sucks. I think the mechanism is that you expect to be dazzled by high-beams, THEREFORE you need highbeams to still see the road.

Then there's a Bad Manners Paradox. If someone dips their high beams for you, that makes you the bad guy who didn't dip first.

Circuits and software in a modern car are easily capable of automating this. Might just need a one-second warning on the dash, since at night and with oncoming glare is a bad time for your lights to 'malfunction'.

On a personal note, it's in the country where you likely know the person, that dipping the lights is most likely. It's almost like touching the hat.

Circuits and software is not needed. my 1967 Cadillac had the dimming feature and it always worked even though the rest of the car was in bad shape.

 

[Juks]

Most new cars sold in my country has high beams that do not dazzle and drivers leave them on when meeting another car

 

[Rexedgar]

On a tangent; I find it amazing how many drivers drive with no lights on during the early morning, evening or when there is rain or mist. It especially noticeable on certain auto colors. I have driven in a few countries and US drivers are some of the worst, in broad-brush terms…..imo.


The lights are not so much for them to see, but to be seen…..

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Of course states prohibit the use of high beams at oncoming traffic.
Of course driver ed teaches folks not to use them at oncoming traffic.
People just think they're entitled.
Don't forget, we can't even get people to stop looking at their damn phones while behind the wheel.
It's part and parcel of the larger problem.

 

[WillyPete]

On a tangent; I find it amazing how many drivers drive with no lights on during the early morning, evening or when there is rain or mist. It especially noticeable on certain auto colors. I have driven in a few countries and US drivers are some of the worst, in broad-brush terms…..imo.


The lights are not so much for them to see, but to be seen…..

I've found that the quality of driving instruction varies wildly. When I was 15 in rural Ohio, I attended state-provided classroom instruction for a week or two, and then 2-3 sessions with an instructor in a car before I took the test. Defensive driving was the overarching strategy.

In California, they appear to mainly use private instructors, and I suspect this leads to many pay to pass situations. Defensive driving isn't a familiar concept. The one time I mentioned it to a Californian they thought I meant combat driving, like a James Bond movie, and they were all "That's what I'm doing!"

Enforcement is a big part of it. Compared to Ohio, California doesn't enforce traffic laws. They just don't bother. And so all their worst habits are reinforced, because there's no one correcting them.

 

[Phys251]

Both of us remarked (we're in a long distance relationship currently) that while we are driving at night, there seems to be dozens of cars driving with their high beam headlights on.

Do drivers education courses stress that you shouldn't do that any longer? When I got my license back in the 1980's, it was stressed that you didn't drive with your "brights" on. Do they do that any more or are headlights just incredibly bright nowadays?

Second question.

She, being far more articulate and nerdy than myself, stated that it felt like she was caught in a "tractor beam". When did/why did sci fi writers call a "beam" that captures another object in space a "tractor beam"? There doesn't seem to be any application where a tractor does any such thing on earth--controls an object that is free floating around it. Nor does the word "tractor" seem to be short for any other word that controls an object floating around it.

It is a real problem around here. I've had drivers keep their high beams on even as they pass me.

Thank god for the white stripe on the right side of the road, otherwise it would be nearly impossible to keep oriented with the road.

 

[Bok Tuklo]

I am a sci-fi nerd and I always thought of it as "tractor" as in farm equipment. Learned a new thing.

 

[Fishking]

Both of us remarked (we're in a long distance relationship currently) that while we are driving at night, there seems to be dozens of cars driving with their high beam headlights on.

Do drivers education courses stress that you shouldn't do that any longer? When I got my license back in the 1980's, it was stressed that you didn't drive with your "brights" on. Do they do that any more or are headlights just incredibly bright nowadays?

I think a lot of the lights that seem to be on high are actually just the types of headlights that are being used now are too bright.

It's not just you, blinding car headlights are a 'constant concern' for drivers

Hundreds of ABC Radio listeners tell us they're frustrated with "blinding" headlights, and they're not alone, with Queensland's peak motoring body saying headlights on newer vehicles are consistently "dazzling" drivers.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

I've found that the quality of driving instruction varies wildly. When I was 15 in rural Ohio, I attended state-provided classroom instruction for a week or two, and then 2-3 sessions with an instructor in a car before I took the test. Defensive driving was the overarching strategy.

In California, they appear to mainly use private instructors, and I suspect this leads to many pay to pass situations. Defensive driving isn't a familiar concept. The one time I mentioned it to a Californian they thought I meant combat driving, like a James Bond movie, and they were all "That's what I'm doing!"

Enforcement is a big part of it. Compared to Ohio, California doesn't enforce traffic laws. They just don't bother. And so all their worst habits are reinforced, because there's no one correcting them.

I live in Cali and I agree.

PS: Triple my money back? Really??
OMG you're right, Rev. Stang really DOES promise triple your money back!!

 

[Old 'N Chill]

Headlights: It may be 2 things. Some of the newer cars may have lights like Ultra Lumens. They tend to look like and feel/see like they ARE on bright even when they're not.
Personally, I can't stand the damn things. Their beam almost cuts your night vision to zero.
OR People seem to have become more selfish lately and have the attitude "I want to see everything in front of me even if it causes the opposite effect for other people".
I hope the last sentence is wrong.

I agree about some of the newer cars having extremely bright headlights, I hate it too. Luckily I rarely have to drive at night, but I think it's dangerous because it does tend to 'blind' you.

 

[dncc]

It is a real problem around here. I've had drivers keep their high beams on even as they pass me.

Thank god for the white stripe on the right side of the road, otherwise it would be nearly impossible to keep oriented with the road.

I had that thought the other evening when driving home.

 

[Risky Thicket]

Where I live your second sentence is how it is. Mexicans are selfish, it is just the culture they are brought up in.

If they have a headlight out, they drive with the bright son.

I see it multiple times every time I go out at night. They don't care they are blinding other people. Also the police do nothing about it as I have seen them do the same.

You assume it is cultural, and it may be, but you assume that Mexican drivers are selfish for leaving their bright lights on. But if it is cultural, what could have made it so?

Driving in Mexico at night can be dangerous due to livestock and other animals wandering on the roads unless you are in a town or city. It could well be that people driving at night are accustomed to driving defensively - with their bright lights on.

In Arizona driving in the desert at night animals on the road can be a safety issue. A little over a month ago on two consecutive nights up near Black Canyon City (city it isn't) it happed to me. The first night just after dark I had to quickly slow down and swerve to avoid 3 burros ambling down a two lane road. The second night it was a coyote. And, yes, I had my bright lights on to avoid animals.

 

[Mason66]

You assume it is cultural, and it may be, but you assume that Mexican drivers are selfish for leaving their bright lights on. But if it is cultural, what could have made it so?

Driving in Mexico at night can be dangerous due to livestock and other animals wandering on the roads unless you are in a town or city. It could well be that people driving at night are accustomed to driving defensively - with their bright lights on.

In Arizona driving in the desert at night animals on the road can be a safety issue. A little over a month ago on two consecutive nights up near Black Canyon City (city it isn't) it happed to me. The first night just after dark I had to quickly slow down and swerve to avoid 3 burros ambling down a two lane road. The second night it was a coyote. And, yes, I had my bright lights on to avoid animals.

We don't have livestock wandering around on the streets, even if the US media has convinced you we do.

It is cultural because there are no consequences for their actions.

Another example of selfishness is they stop on the street and block a lane to talk to somebody else or order food at a road side food cart even when there is clearly room for them to pull over and park. Nope, what they need is the most important and to hell with anybody else.

I have many more examples.

My point on the high beams is instead of getting their lights fixed, for one that is not working, they will use the high beams and blind everybody else. The police do nothing about it so they do it.

 

[HIP56948]

I agree about some of the newer cars having extremely bright headlights, I hate it too. Luckily I rarely have to drive at night, but I think it's dangerous because it does tend to 'blind' you.

Yep, the damn things have the Color Temperature of the Sun. (Color Temperature is the wavelength of the light...like a stove burner is, of course, red/very low wavelength)
Those lights, being used on cars and also used on some street lamps ....being the Color Temperature of the Sun.. screws up birds nesting patterns and plays holy hell with the leatherback turtles that nest on the beach. Been many cases when the baby turtles hatch, they crawl toward the street lights or hotel lights close to the beach....and then the poor things die. They can't tell the difference between the artificial lights and the Sun. I'm sure if the turtles could talk, they'd say: "Thanks a lot, Asshole"

 

[Peter]

I am a sci-fi nerd and I always thought of it as "tractor" as in farm equipment. Learned a new thing.

That's what I thought as well as it makes sense in that tractors are used to push and pull things.

 

[Old 'N Chill]

Yep, the damn things have the Color Temperature of the Sun. (Color Temperature is the wavelength of the light...like a stove burner is, of course, red/very low wavelength)
Those lights, being used on cars and also used on some street lamps ....being the Color Temperature of the Sun.. screws up birds nesting patterns and plays holy hell with the leatherback turtles that nest on the beach. Been many cases when the baby turtles hatch, they crawl toward the street lights or hotel lights close to the beach....and then the poor things die. They can't tell the difference between the artificial lights and the Sun. I'm sure if the turtles could talk, they'd say: "Thanks a lot, Asshole"

I've read about light pollution, and it does do so much harm to animals, very sad they have this killing them alongside pollution of air and water, ocean plastics, etc.

 

[Mason66]

Why do humans believe change for the sake of change is good.

headlights don't need to be so bright and light up way down the road. You shouldn't be driving that fast anyway.

 

[Rumpel]

headlights don't need to be so bright and light up way down the road. You shouldn't be driving that fast anyway.

Definitely not!