We heard from a girl who drives and is really popular on TikTok (her username is @kachowski) who told us about a really annoying habit she has. She said her car’s headlights are too bright. It’s not that she has the high beam on, it’s just that her car’s normal headlights are so bright that you can’t see anything.
Kachowski explained a very simple way to get back at someone who has these headlights.
In his video, which has already been watched over 8.6 million times, the Tiktoker talks us through his solution.
He’s put several strips of what looks like reflective tape, which is usually used in safety situations to make things more visible, on the driver and passenger seat headrests in his car.
Tape Jungle says there are different types of reflective tape, like SOLAS marine reflective tape, which can throw beams of light up to 50 metres – that’s pretty impressive! (Via)
It’s great to see that coastguards use this tape to improve the visibility of boats and equipment. It can also be used on life jackets to make it easier to find people lost at sea. There are also standard and technical reflective tapes that can last for many years after being applied to a surface.
You can also put them on “edges and ledges” to help people spot hazards when they’re working or walking in the dark and to avoid nasty falls.So next time you’re out and about, don’t forget to take your reflective tape with you!
Kachowski apparently uploaded a video to TikTok in which she says she’s targeting a group of motorists with her glowing death mirror.
“I’m tired of getting hit while driving from home to work,” she wrote with the video.In another message, she warns, “Watch out for ugly trucks. Your LED lights will blind you.” According to Car and Driver, Kachowski thinks modern headlights are a problem, while Elana Scherr questions whether they are too bright, saying she “loved driving at night”. (Via)
But it seems that, like Kachowski, the experience was ruined by people who seem to have helicopter headlights attached to the front of their cars.
Why?Apparently, many manufacturers have started installing LED headlights on their cars, which have fewer lumens than the old ones. (Via)
Back in 2022, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave the green light to adaptive headlights on cars, meaning your car can now have high beams that turn themselves off when they spot another car in front and also turn themselves off when they detect an oncoming car. (Via)
But let’s not forget that this new approval also means we can have automatically dimmable main-beam headlamps installed on vehicles. So, we’ll probably see more and more cars with these options being fitted as standard straight off the production line.
Commentators were pretty excited about Kachowski’s revenge.
Lots of people who saw the TikToker video liked how clever it was.
Others also said they really like these light-emitting diodes, but “these beacons are incredibly dangerous, especially for people who can’t see straight”, said one.
Another said he hates driving when someone behind him is using the beacons. “I’m annoyed by all these new cars with blue LEDs. Sometimes they’re so bright I can’t see the lines on the road.Stop using LEDs, what was wrong with normal yellow LEDs?
Another person shared another way to get revenge: “I always adjust my mirrors so I can’t see the lights, and I’m driving 10mph under the speed limit.Now we can both get angry”.
Here’s what this person has done to those who shine their headlights into oncoming traffic.
“I put reflective tape on the front bumper.
But some have said Mr. Kachowski’s tape could end up blinding those behind his car.