Anybody have the techincal reason why the red lighted gauges have advantages over other colors for night driving/flying/piloting?

 

I like the amber/orange lighting in any car. (Corolla, smart, BMWs, some MBs). The new LED white in the HS250h is nice if a bit cold.

 

Because red is low-energy wavelength and doesn't strain your eyes like blue would. Just like looking at those 8000k or 10000k HID's hurt your eyes if you stare at them too long!

 

Is the center stack also white lights? In other words, are the green lights all gone? Pic?

 

Technically (from what they tell us) it is because when you look at lights at night and then look away from them to a darker, non-lighted area, it takes some time for the retina, pupil, optic nerve, etc... to adjust itself to the darker environment and regain sight efficiency. White, being the brightest of all colors, supposedly delays the re-adjustment process for the eye as it looks into darker areas. Red/orange lights, especially at low intensity, is supposed to have much less of an effect on the eye as it tries to re-adjust. In aviation, That makes it easier to spot navigation lights, runway/taxiway lights, city/town lights, aircraft running lights, etc....

However, I didn't quite see it that way (no pun intended). I myself found that I not only didn't have any problems readjusting to the dark with white lights, but that the white light made the instruments easier to see at night, at least in the plane......less so in the car. Still, in the car, I also find the white lights more pleasant, especially the electro-luminescent system which Lexus, to its credit, first invented.

I also suspect (but can't prove) that cars like BMWs and Audis often have red/orange lighting because they are driven at very high speeds at night on the Autobahn.......and it is considered a driver aid.

Yes, that's part of it, but the main concern is the eye's re-adjustment process going from a lit to a dark area.

 

Thanks, that is exactly what I was looking to understand.

Of course the practical reality as to what works for car drivers is another subjective area and we all have personal preferences.

 

The HS? As far I as I remember, everything's white incl. the footwell lighting & power window switches.

In non-nav models, the top screen has a blue hue lit from the bottom centre. On nav-equipped models, the remote touch controller has a blue hue.