Can Anyone Answer This With Certainty?

[Richie La.]

I am really at a loss to square the following in my head. We all have read the gamut of experiences concerning the headlamps on Mavericks and the reaction to them from oncoming drivers. Some said, even when their high beams are on, they never get ‘flashed.’ I have experienced the opposite. My low beams are always getting blasted like they are on high. Kinda confused about the different reactions occuring during nighttime driving, but I guess I can write that off to varying angles of the light housings.
So, now to my ‘deeper confusion.’ I have a Cyber Orange Mav because I do love the color and I also want to be seen. I have never been charged with an accident in my 52 years of driving, but I have been hit by others 3 or 4 times. To possibly corral the attention of oncoming drivers, I was running my high beams during the day. And I was getting ‘flashed’ a lot!!! Isn’t the flashing after dark because the oncoming drivers are having a hard time visually? Am I really affecting their ability to see the road?? Are they angry when they see I have my high beams on? Are they trying to tell me they are on, to save me from wasting battery power? Do lense implant drivers see halos?? Do cataract sufferers have a hard time seeing the road because of distorted lenses?
All these possibilities cycle through my head, but I have no idea which, if any are the real reason. It truly baffles me that a few can drive at night with highs on and not illicit a reaction. I cannot even drive on a sunny day with my high lamps on and not get flashed.
I hope there will be a consenus here on MTC to my dilemma. On the other hand, my ‘plan’ to be noticed by distracted drivers was definitely working to some degree, because the reaction I was getting was pretty stark. I would say that 5 to 10% of oncomers were ‘flashing’ me. I will tally your opinions and go with whatever the vote says! Thanks to all you lucky Maverick owners!!!

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[lavaspill]

I get flashed in the older headlight style and in the new 25+ headlight style. The Maverick just has bright lights. You can always adjust them down if you want to. It’s a simple Phillips screwdriver, but then you won’t be able to see as well. I think modern headlights are just bright all around and that won’t be changing anytime soon.

 

[lonewoof]

Don't have exact answers but is it possible that having high beams even during day time, if the light hit the person across at the right angle, could still cause discomfort? Something similar to holding a flashlight in your eyes even during day can be annoying?

Honestly I don't see your point about using high beams as a visibility improvement aid. At that point light is light, high beam or low beam. I would never use high beams to catch someone else's attention - I firmly believe they are meant only to improve your own vision. To each his own.

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

Sorry to say. If you're looking for absolutes or "certainties" expecting it to come from people's experiences. You're going to be disappointed. The best you're going to get are variables.

@lonewoof
When I rode motorcycles. I would always ride with my high beams on in the daytime.

 

[Chops]

You can always adjust them down if you want to. It’s a simple Phillips screwdriver, but then you won’t be able to see as well.

Below is my 25 EB headlight adjustment screw.

I would like to lower & use my low beams during the day - proven safety benefits…

 

[Mavster Mechanic]

I am really at a loss to square the following in my head. We all have read the gamut of experiences concerning the headlamps on Mavericks and the reaction to them from oncoming drivers. Some said, even when their high beams are on, they never get ‘flashed.’ I have experienced the opposite. My low beams are always getting blasted like they are on high. Kinda confused about the different reactions occuring during nighttime driving, but I guess I can write that off to varying angles of the light housings.
So, now to my ‘deeper confusion.’ I have a Cyber Orange Mav because I do love the color and I also want to be seen. I have never been charged with an accident in my 52 years of driving, but I have been hit by others 3 or 4 times. To possibly corral the attention of oncoming drivers, I was running my high beams during the day. And I was getting ‘flashed’ a lot!!! Isn’t the flashing after dark because the oncoming drivers are having a hard time visually? Am I really affecting their ability to see the road?? Are they angry when they see I have my high beams on? Are they trying to tell me they are on, to save me from wasting battery power? Do lense implant drivers see halos?? Do cataract sufferers have a hard time seeing the road because of distorted lenses?
All these possibilities cycle through my head, but I have no idea which, if any are the real reason. It truly baffles me that a few can drive at night with highs on and not illicit a reaction. I cannot even drive on a sunny day with my high lamps on and not get flashed.
I hope there will be a consenus here on MTC to my dilemma. On the other hand, my ‘plan’ to be noticed by distracted drivers was definitely working to some degree, because the reaction I was getting was pretty stark. I would say that 5 to 10% of oncomers were ‘flashing’ me. I will tally your opinions and go with whatever the vote says! Thanks to all you lucky Maverick owners!!!

With about 98% certainty your beam angle is too high.

It can come too high from the factory.
Mine did.

All you need is a + screwdriver and a flat wall. Shine your lights on the wall from 3 to 6 feet back. You'll see a distinct line. Turn the screw the direction that makes the beam go down. Try 2" at that close range. Then make the other side match.

Adjust more as necessary after some test drives at night.

 

[Ecorydr]

On small width rural windy/hilly roads like lake roads (in my case Lake of the Ozarks in MO), high beams can be very bright to oncoming traffic. Especially around tight curves and hills at night time on those types of dark roads doing 55mph (limit). Lots of deer, dogs, cats, possums, armidillos, skunks, and even a few pedestrians at times in the road occasionally which can make it even trickier.

Also, some folks have night blindness or light sensitive eyes (me) and may have trouble adjusting to high beam glare. However, you wouldnt be the only one, lots of folks due to the deer population (that ends up in our MO ditches and bodyshops busy) makes folks run them on high all the time too at night.

 

[Chops]

I edited my post #5 above - incorrect info!

I just adjusted my headlights. Turning the screw righty tighty lowered both the low beams and the high beams too.

Lefty Loosey raised them both up.

Lowered mine a fair bit…

 

[SafetyGuy]

Good day

We have a 2025 Lariat, and can not remember being flashed at night. I can see the low beam light cut off when we go over bumps on the highway and mine seem to be well adjusted from factory.

I would not recommend using high beams in daylight as I have seen others using them, and even in daylight they can dazzle an oncoming drivers eyes.

I agree with the above posts as to first checking your headlights while parked on a flat surface and shining headlights onto a flat wall to see where your low and high beam cutout lines sit.

Remember that your left (driver side) low-beam headlight should be aimed lower then the right side low-beam light...this is to help prevent the accidental dazzling of oncoming drivers, while the RH low beam shines a bit further ahead for safer highway-speed driving, and again, hopefully not dazzling other drivers.

Park on a flat surface, say 30 or 40 ft from a flat wall and put tape on the wall indicating where you top light cutout lines are and then slowly adjust your low beam down. Don't worry about your high beam setting, you shouldn't be using them with oncoming vehicles present, day or night.

You can Google for exact distances etc.

As some do not like brighter headlights on vehicles, remember you have many very high-speed highways and better light projection is mandatory to drive safely at night at the speeds many are driving.

I recommend that all highway speed limits be immediately reduced to a maximum of 100Kph/62mph and then you can drive more safely with the old yellow headlights as they don't blind other drivers as easily...

Have a great day,

Andy

 

[Richie La.]

I edited my post #5 above - incorrect info!

I just adjusted my headlights. Turning the screw righty tighty lowered both the low beams and the high beams too.

Lefty Loosey raised them both up.

Lowered mine a fair bit…

Thanks for all your replies. I would really be hesitant about lowering my headlamps. The wildlife around here is a constant threat to my Maverick’s good looks. I see all the deer on the roadsides and in ditches, lifeless. How many make it just out of sight and die? A deer ‘kill’ would have to cause, at minimum, $2,000 in insurance costs to body shops. Are deer credited for keeping a lot of repair shops profitable. Around here, definitely. I see a new carcass almost every day.

 

[Ecorydr]

......
I recommend that all highway speed limits be immediately reduced to a maximum of 100Kph/62mph and then you can drive more safely.....

Yup.... here in Missouri the state congress just passed a law upping the speed limit from 70 to 75 on rural interstates and freeways - which folks mostly drive that fast already anyways.

 

[SafetyGuy]

One more thought...

A good way to help yourself and not be dazzled as easily by oncoming headlights at night, was taught to me by my dad.

Whenever closing in on an oncoming vehicle at night (especially if they have headlights set badly or on high-beams, or towing a heavy load), just look and focus on the white line to the immediate right and well forward of your vehicle.

If you do this, you can see where you are on the road so you can make sure you are positioned correctly in your lane until the offending vehicle has passed....and you don't get blinded nearly as easily.

Just a thought, as it has helped me many, many times over the years.

Cheers and I hope this helps someone else!

Andy

 

[Carlitos_92]

I hope there will be a consensus here on MTC to my dilemma.

Not a chance.

That said, running high beams during the day is kindof a jerk move IMHO. Unlike some DRLs that use the high beams, your "normal" high beams are running at 100% power. That can be uncomfortable for oncoming traffic to look at, even in broad daylight.

I do see a lot of motorcycles running high beams during the day (I ride, and I don't do that...), but to be fair, they have a lot more to lose if they aren't seen than someone in a passenger car with crumple zones and airbags, etc. In short, I think the daytime high beams are not really a solution for cars, trucks, or bikes.

As far as the adjustment of the low beams, running them "tilted up" isn't really a solution either. Deer or no deer, your headlights are either properly adjusted, or they aren't. Too high is no better than too low. I would make the effort of confirming the adjustment to at least rule that part out.

Finally, in theory... say you weren't antisocially running your high beams non-stop, and that you had confirmed your headlights are properly adjusted: you're still going to get flashed occasionally. I wouldn't call it "consensus," but if the many threads already started on this topic tell any common story, it's that people seem to just take offense to these trucks' headlights. It might be that they are LEDs, it might be the number of LEDs per side, it might be a huge concentration of cataracts/astigmatism that coincides with where Mavericks are. Who knows.

 

[710-oil-614]

The high beams bug me during the day but I don't go around flashing my brights at people who have them on.

But think about it OP your complaint is about people flashing you but you're keeping your high beams on during the day - basically doing the thing that is getting you riled.

 

[Chops]

Thanks for all your replies. I would really be hesitant about lowering my headlamps. The wildlife around here is a constant threat to my Maverick’s good looks. I see all the deer on the roadsides and in ditches, lifeless. How many make it just out of sight and die? A deer ‘kill’ would have to cause, at minimum, $2,000 in insurance costs to body shops. Are deer credited for keeping a lot of repair shops profitable. Around here, definitely. I see a new carcass almost every day.

Makes total sense.

I rarely drive at night though. Will keep a Philips Head in my glovebox to set them back to normal before a night drive. Very easy to access and adjust the setting.

Drove today with low beams & amber fog lights turned “on” in busy city cross streets. No one flash me

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