Originally Posted by
ironwood
Another problem with riding at night on roads with two way traffic is that older drivers are often blinded by the lights of oncoming cars. This is something that happens in your sixties. SUVs and pickups have high headlights that are about the same level as the eyes of a driver of a sedan. These lights are now very bright with halogen bulbs or LEDs. When a driver is blinded like this, a cyclist or a group of cyclists becomes invisible.
Organizers of night events should be aware of this when planning a route.
I think they actually are HIDs, and because they scatter light with such intensity unless they are matched with reflectors and lenses, they have been banned here in Australia as a retrofit to older cars.
Of course, this doesn't stop the renegades, and they do present an irritation at best, and a danger at worst to all other road users.