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When approaching a car from behind at night, lower your high beam headlights when you are within:

User Dgil
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2 Answers

3 votes

Final answer:

The question relates to the optical resolution limits of the human eye concerning car headlights, which is a physics problem related to light and human vision. It does not provide traffic rules for lowering high beam headlights, which are usually determined by local laws and safe driving practices.

Step-by-step explanation:

When approaching a car from behind at night, you typically should lower your high beam headlights within a certain distance to avoid blinding the driver ahead of you. The question pertains to the resolution capability of the human eye and how headlights on a car are involved in this.

The relationship between the pupil size of the human eye, the wavelength of light, and the distance at which two headlights can be resolved depends on the Rayleigh criterion. The question, however, doesn't align with the usual traffic regulations but appears to aim at understanding the optical limits of the human eye, hence, the question does not provide practical advice for safe driving practices.

The maximum distance at which the eye can resolve two headlights that are 1.3 meters apart, with the pupil diameter being 0.40 cm, can be calculated using the formula derived from the Rayleigh criterion. However, the exact safe following distance or when to dim headlights is not provided by this calculation, as it typically depends on traffic laws which vary by region.

User Gugge
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8.8k points
2 votes

Answer:

High beams must be dimmed when approaching traffic is within 500 feet. High beams must also be dimmed when following within 200 feet of another vehicle.

User Chema
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8.4k points
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