What is the purpose of high beams?
4 Answers
High beams can improve visibility and expand the field of view. On dark roads without streetlights, the visible range with high beams is much greater than with low beams alone. High beams not only provide illumination but can also convey messages to other drivers through different flashing patterns, which is a default driving rule. Scenarios for using high beams: 1. Do not use high beams when driving at night with streetlights; 2. Use high beams only when there are no streetlights and very few vehicles on the road; 3. When using high beams and encountering oncoming traffic, switch to low beams. The specific distance for switching depends on the situation, typically 150 to 200 meters away. After the vehicles pass each other, you can switch back to high beams; 4. When driving at night with high beams and needing to overtake, switch back to low beams and activate the overtaking signal (flashing the high beams 2 to 3 times by quickly lifting the light lever) at least 100 meters in advance.
Driving on the highway late at night really made me appreciate the power of high beams. Regular low beams only illuminate about thirty meters, but switching to high beams makes road signs a hundred meters away clearly visible. When overtaking on dark stretches, turning on the high beams in advance helps you see if there are any cars in the opposite lane. On rural highways without streetlights, high beams are indispensable—when a stray dog suddenly darts out from the roadside, those extra few dozen meters of visibility can mean the difference between safety and danger. However, using high beams in well-lit urban areas is actually risky, as they can dazzle oncoming drivers, leaving them seeing nothing but white—I’ve been infuriated by such reckless drivers before. And in rainy or foggy conditions, extra caution is needed, as the glare from fog can turn all drivers into 'blind drivers.'
Those who frequently drive long distances at night understand how crucial high beams can be. Last week, while delivering goods through mountainous areas, the unlit winding roads relied entirely on high beams to illuminate the path—especially around sharp turns, where they highlighted warning posts near cliffs in advance. Once, spotting a rockfall over a hundred meters away allowed me to change lanes early and avoid disaster. The brightness of these lights cuts through heavy rain, giving an extra two or three seconds of reaction time on highways during storms. But some folks who install modified LED high beams are downright inconsiderate, with lights as blinding as welding torches, forcing even elderly motorcyclists on rural roads to stop. Using high beams responsibly is both self-protection and respect for others. If you encounter someone misusing them, flash your hazards as a reminder—don’t retaliate by blinding them back.
The car's high beam is essentially a high-angle, high-intensity light cannon. It extends the lighting range from the low beam's 50 meters to over 150 meters, with the light beam projecting straight ahead like a flashlight. The light pattern design is meticulous, featuring steep cut-off lines at the beam edges to prevent large-area scattering that could dazzle oncoming traffic. When driving in remote areas at night, reflective road markers in the distance can be precisely illuminated by the high beams. However, standard halogen high beams typically start at 55W, consuming ten times more power than daytime running lights. Nowadays, high-end vehicles come equipped with automatic high beam functionality, using a windshield-mounted camera to detect road conditions and toggle the lights automatically. But remember not to use high beams in dense fog—the scattering of light by fog droplets can turn the beam into a blinding white wall.
