So, just finished reading an article on WaPo about fireflies/lightening bugs and got me thinking further… Car headlights suck. They mess up our night vision when we pass another dickhead running white/blue lights. We mess up the habit(at) of many animals/bugs. So why not red lights? My hiking/camping headlamp has a red light option, which is the only function I use, and I can see fine. Why the FUCK do we still have these ungodly bright white/blue lights?
Red lights don’t allow you to see as well in dark/poor visibility conditions that are needed for driving. You’re moving 30 to 60 mph likely on the road vs walking speed while hiking and that reaction time visibility is much more important. The intensity of red light that would be needed would make the benefit non-existent (as they’d be just as obnoxiously eye-destroying as the super brights and blue lights).
Some states in the US allow “amber” colored lights for headlights/brights though, and I think they’re way less obnoxious and still allow for high levels of visibility.