Visualeyes Rayzer in-car HID lights illuminate road, dorkiness

It's pretty streetlight-heavy around Engadget HQ, but for those of you in less-populated parts of the world, Visualeyes' new Rayzer in-car auxiliary light system might actually come in handy. The unit clips underneath your rearview mirror and features two HID Xenon bulbs, which are activated automatically when you flip on your brights by a wireless controller, and dimmed when the unit senses the headlights of oncoming traffic. Of course, all the auto-sensing tech in the world won't make up for the fact that you've got a big goofy light shining out of your car, but at least the Rayzer is a little more discreet than a set of rally lights.

[asdf asdfds sd @ Dec 12th 2007 1:38PM]

mount on the rear window.

perfect for flashing assholes driving behind you with high beams on.

[Flashpoint @ Dec 12th 2007 1:47PM]

When I was a kid my mom wanted me to invent a device that would allow her to do that with the push of a button.

I settled on a 12Volt HALOGEN plug-in lamp.

[Fist Of Allah @ Dec 12th 2007 2:12PM]

Yeah that's "REAL smart", to escalate a situation into potential road rage and quite possibly have a bullet come flying through your rear window as the other driver's answer to your cute flashing light. Remember there are all kinds of crazy people out there on the road, and playing games is playing russian roulette.

[andyo @ Dec 12th 2007 2:34PM]

Fist of Allah,

You need to remember that not everybody lives in trigger-happy U.S. I live in L.A., and sympathize with your comment, though here the assholes don't usually do the high-beam thing, but do the tailgating instead.

Though I come from another country where it's perfectly safe, at least in the bullet-hole sense, to taunt assholes like that.

[Scott @ Dec 12th 2007 3:41PM]

No, the worst is the people who continue to drive every night with their brights on because they refuse to replace the burnt out low-beam bulb and don't want to be pulled over. They're endangering everyone's lives out of sheer laziness.

If I was a cop I'd pull every one of those idiots over and give them TWO tickets. One for burnt out low beam and one for driving with high beams on in the city!

[Neoprimal @ Dec 12th 2007 3:49PM]

I 100% agree with FoA. I don't live in 'trigger happy US' either, but in a world where it 'CAN' happen, I think it's ridiculous to 'provoke' someone who is behind you with their brights. Guns aside...there's an alarming number of people out there with real, bonafide road rage that will do the unthinkable if you piss them off.
There are so many options to get around that....I havent had that issue in forever since my rear view and door mirrors adjust when lights hit from behind, but I remember back in the day - it's very simple to either slow down and let the person pass you or adjust your mirrors. It's not worth it to heat up the situation.

As for these lights....Not quite sure what to think. I'd like to see them in action before I judge them. The fact that they showcase them in a bmw suggests there'll be a 'premium' asking price for them too.

[whatsdamattau @ Dec 12th 2007 9:51PM]

One of my favorite things to do when someone behind me has their high beams blasting into my rear view mirror is to move my rear view mirror so it reflects back into their eyes. They normally don't turn their high beams off, but they do pull to the other lane so they don't need to be blinded by their own lights.

[ddsfdsfsdf @ Dec 13th 2007 6:22AM]

There is a much easier (and cheaper) solution for this: Use your fog backlights (or however they are called in English). Always works.

[matthew @ Dec 12th 2007 1:39PM]

why are we giving people more ways to be assholes when they drive?

[Lein @ Dec 12th 2007 2:21PM]

...and they certainly picked the perfect make of vehicle to demonstrate its placement on, too.

[Bloobie @ Dec 12th 2007 2:32PM]

Lein: don't be hatin'. :)

[randy @ Dec 12th 2007 2:56PM]

Maybe so your anus doesn't end up with 3000 lbs of plastic and metal in it?

[Andrew @ Dec 12th 2007 3:44PM]

No joke, I'm a very courteous driver in my Roundel clad vehicle. I feel weird using this terminology, but quit hatin!

[matthew @ Dec 12th 2007 4:05PM]

i'll quit hatin when people stop putting HID wanna be blue lights on honda civics that are so bright they don't need high beams and blind everyone coming the other direction, and people with SUV's that dont' tow anything that put those huge lights under their tailgate so they can blind anyone who they think could possibly be coming too close to their penis mobile

[Andrew @ Dec 12th 2007 7:16PM]

Matthew, those "quit hatin'" comments weren't directed towards you, rather, the guy who's stuck with cookie cutter 1982 "I hate BMW owners" cliche.

[matthew @ Dec 12th 2007 7:40PM]

now i just feel silly

[debugy2k @ Dec 12th 2007 1:39PM]

now if only they come in flashing red and blue....hehehe

[mmh @ Dec 12th 2007 3:29PM]

They sure will come in flashing red and blue if you installed that on the rearview mirror here. It's kind of above the legal limit.

[Flashpoint @ Dec 12th 2007 1:50PM]

Have any of you ever been in a BMW 7 series?
I was shopping for a car earlier this summer and tested the 750li. while its performance around corners was nice, its dashboard and instrumentation was ridiculously cluttered - making the cabin feel smaller than what you'd find in the Chrysler 300C.

I settled on leasing the roomier, slightly more expensive MB S550.

selling this style of headlamp in American cities is just asking for trouble. These damn things flash you in your eyes at standing-level so you'd run the risk of flash blinging SUV drivers.

[David @ Dec 12th 2007 3:52PM]

get a load of richie rich..

[o rly @ Dec 12th 2007 2:37PM]

My cat's breath smells like cat food.

Sure, that Ralph Wiggum quote has nothing to do with the topic, but nor does your useless post on what you ended up leasing. Try Engadget's sister site http://www.autoblog.com/ , they might actually care.

[andyo @ Dec 12th 2007 2:40PM]

Wow, though I live in the U.S. I never met a douchebag before. Nice to meet you.

[Pavan @ Dec 13th 2007 1:14AM]

What's the difference between a porcupine and Flashpoint's Kia? The pricks are on the outside of a porcupine...

First of all, we all think you're an idiot, but here's one more reason: The S class and the 7 series have a COMPLETELY different key demographic...it is very rare for someone to walk into a combined dealership and test-drive both of those cars (source: European Motorcars - I used to work at the DSM one). Not only that, but the 7 series is VERY uncluttered...there's a little knob called iDrive that eliminates most of the switches, knobs, etc... The Mercedes on the other hand...it's clean-ish, sure, but wtf do you need a button right there on the dash to put it in "tow-truck" mode? That's about as unnecessary and pointless as you are. BMWs knee airbag reduces the amount of padding needed on the dash, which, in addition to other things, actually makes it roomier than the S (this is a fact, not opinion)

Also, you do know that it's nearly impossible to get a lease on a S550, don't you? The poor residual value combined with the whole made-to-order thing=lease rates that aren't much better than just financing the thing for 3-4 years, unless your credit rating (and this APR) is so bad that you couldn't qualify for the lease anyway.

Next time, instead of spending time making up stories about cars that you can't even afford to spend the electricity to Google on, work on the whole spelling, grammar, and uppercase letter thing.

[Flashpoint @ Dec 12th 2007 1:50PM]

Have any of you ever been in a BMW 7 series?
I was shopping for a car earlier this summer and tested the 750li. while its performance around corners was nice, its dashboard and instrumentation was ridiculously cluttered - making the cabin feel smaller than what you'd find in the Chrysler 300C.

I settled on leasing the roomier, slightly more expensive MB S550.

selling this style of headlamp in American cities is just asking for trouble. These damn things flash you in your eyes at standing-level so you'd run the risk of flash blinding SUV drivers.

[Erick @ Dec 12th 2007 3:16PM]

No offense Fist O' Allah, do you think us cowboy 'mericans just tote guns all mean and stuff ready to pop caps in anyone not going fast enough for our liking? Sure we have idiot road ragers but its really not as bad as you make it.

[Fist Of Allah @ Dec 12th 2007 2:15PM]

Hey you forgot to mention where you went on vacation last summer and also what you had for breakfast. What color are your bedsheets? Might as well throw that into your pile of off-topic useless information.

[Flashpoint @ Dec 12th 2007 4:39PM]

I went to yo mama's house.

[Landon @ Dec 13th 2007 6:58PM]

@Flash
Wow...I mean really you did? Seriously that's all you could come up with. You went in to detail about your car and pointed out how much of a snob you are and that's all you came up with? Damn....that's sad....

[Mikey @ Dec 12th 2007 2:42PM]

Is this street legal?

[spaceb @ Dec 12th 2007 2:49PM]

Look at that pic, this is extremely dangerous I gives you a huge blind spot.

[Ninja Man @ Dec 12th 2007 2:58PM]

The next best method of birth control?

[Rob Fleming @ Dec 12th 2007 2:59PM]

anyone care about the heat that will produce?

[Andir3.0 @ Dec 12th 2007 3:01PM]

If you have xenon lights in your headlights, you don't need this. If you don't have xenon, think about it if your next car supports it. They are spectacular for night driving.

I wouldn't recommend them at eye level though...

[drocpsu @ Dec 12th 2007 3:02PM]

so you're taking an HID spotlight and adding it to your car right below the roofline? There's no way this is street legal.

[Student Driver @ Dec 12th 2007 3:09PM]

Really, the only use for this will be to blind stoplight and speeding cameras and obscure the driver while the picture is being taken. Wait, wait a second...

/me grabs CC and looks for website...

:-)

[fistpittingnork @ Dec 12th 2007 3:55PM]

For those of who you keep commenting on how this will blind oncoming traffic, did you even read the article?

Please note the following "dimmed when the unit senses the headlights of oncoming traffic." pulled right from the above article.

Rob Fleming, you're right, these could produce head that might damage wiring, found in a lot of modern mirrors, for the compass, thermometer, auto-dim, etc.

I'd be interested in these if the price is right, if you're alone on a dark road, the more you can see, the safer you are.

[fistpittingnork @ Dec 12th 2007 3:58PM]

"produce head" should say "produce heat".

Now if only that were the case...

[djmatty @ Dec 12th 2007 4:06PM]

Isn't this illegal? I thought that only two sets of lights can be on (front-end) at any given time? Hence why, if your low beams stay on when your high beams are on, your fog lights will turn off. If you have these along with highs and lows, I'm pretty sure you can get a ticket.

[fistpittingnork @ Dec 12th 2007 4:16PM]

Laws will differ from State to State (US), but in Oklahoma, it's not illegal to have your high beams and low beams on at the same time. They even sell kits for 4-beam cars to accomplish this if they already don't (most modern don't).

Here it's only illegal to leave your foglights on within 200 feet of oncoming traffic, though it's rarely enforced as it seems more often than not, cars roll off the assembly line today with foglights that come on automatically with low beams.

As for fog lights turning off with high beams, I'm not sure if it's because of the whole low beams/fog lights staying under the fog and down below eye level or what.

If these were constant running lights, I'm sure you could get a ticket, but they automatically dim (not sure if by "dim" the company means "completely disables" or not) when oncoming traffic light is detected.

Not to sound like a Jegs catalog, but anybody interested in these might want to check with their local/state laws first, if you're concerned about the legalities.

[Naegling @ Dec 12th 2007 4:30PM]

this thing better have a pretty solid seal on the windshield, otherwise your going to get some serious light pollution in the cab of the vehicle. And it will gust get worse with rain or any other material on the windshield.

...On the bright side, if you added a strobe feature you could use this as a traffic preemption device ;)

[Erick @ Dec 12th 2007 4:32PM]

Sounds like a good fit for a Scion. I hear those come with a CD full of house music so its a perfect match

[knowsbetter @ Dec 12th 2007 5:02PM]

I would assume these are really meant for driving in rural areas or on the interstate/highways at night and therefore think they're a GREAT idea!

For around town of course they could cause issues with blinding out of drivers.

Otherwise I think this is a great product!

[djmatty @ Dec 12th 2007 5:47PM]

fistpittingnork:

I think you're misunderstanding me. It probably does vary from state to state, but I know that in many states, you can't have your high beams, low beams AND your fogs on at the same time. You can have two sets on at the same time (low and high OR low and fog), but you can't have all three on. Having this set, lows, and highs on would most likely be illegal in many states.

I'm 90% certain this is why fog lights turn off when high beams go on...

[fred @ Dec 12th 2007 6:13PM]

worst are tall trucks or esp RAISED trucks which shine their lights straight through your rear window and blind the @#% outa ya.

[Kevin @ Dec 12th 2007 8:01PM]

I drive a sedan, and I constantly have some big truck or SUV riding my bumper, with it's headlights right at the level of my mirrors. It's gotten to the point that I took the rearview mirror off (Yes, it's legal in my state, I checked) because I can't see what's ahead of me due to what's behind me. Even having done this, I have to put my hand over the side mirror on occasion.

My point is this: You Don't Need More Light. If you can't see, get your eyes checked.

I fail to see the point in creating another device that allows for continued and increased asshattery on the road. Why can't people just use their plain old ordinary headlights?

[raider @ Dec 12th 2007 9:20PM]

hmmm, obviously not a country driver :)

[Kevin @ Dec 12th 2007 10:00PM]

As a matter of fact, it takes 25 minutes to get from my house to town. My nearest neighbor is about 3/4 of a mile away. Two miles of dirt road between here and asphalt.

[Shoeb KHAN @ Dec 13th 2007 12:29AM]

wats wrong with rally lights?!?

[Rocketboy @ Dec 13th 2007 9:04AM]

For someone who lives in deer country, this is a pretty darn sweet concept. I like the look also. I just wonder how practical this actually is. Sure, if fits just fine in the BMW shown, but would it fit in a MINI?

[dave @ Dec 13th 2007 11:14AM]

does anyone have photo showing the car at night with the light on (i only found photos of the road). I want to see what the car would look like.