Driving with Night Vision Goggles anyone?

[s2rsr]

I've been building Night Vision setups for people for a while now and have heard of people using goggles for canyon racing at night in blackout conditions. Anyone heard of these stories?

[BimmerBreaker]

"Yeah, that probably makes more sense then turning your headlights on." -some stupid subaru driver, probably

[s2rsr]

Modern Gen. 3 night vision goggles are superior to headlights by far, so yes as long as there isn't any oncoming headlights you are way better off. Remember these goggles I'm talking about are used for FLYING helicopters and Fighter jets at night. Your field of view although monochrome (green) looks like overcast daylight conditions unless there's moonlight which will create hard shadows. The stories I heard about was guys racing in canyons at night somewhere in Canada.

[montaillou]

What happens when you shimmy around a corner, hit a rock, bump your helmet against the B pillar and your goggles move sideways?

[cheech1]

What happens when other cars can't see YOU?

[BimmerBreaker]

What happens when a car with headlights comes around the corner and messes your vision up?
Or to expand on what was mentioned above, someone racing the opposite direction doesnt see you?

These are things jets and helicopters dont have to worry about... and also why night vision systems installed in certain luxuy cars are still always supplemented with actual headlights...

[beshannon]

Honest Officer, I can see just fine!

[s2rsr]

What happens when a car with headlights comes around the corner and messes your vision up?
Or to expand on what was mentioned above, someone racing the opposite direction doesnt see you?

You will see headlights in a canyon WAY before it will be an issue, like 30 seconds sometimes so you can turn yours on well before it's an issue. These systems can handle headlights just fine it's just annoying for the driver.

These are things jets and helicopters dont have to worry about... and also why night vision systems installed in certain luxuy cars are still always supplemented with actual headlights...

You are missing the point by the way. I'm asking if anyone has heard of the stories of people using these to race at night. I'm not suggesting that it's practical in most situations. Using NVG's in a remote location where there are little to no traffic is a much better option (then headlights) as the situational awareness is greatly improved. It's also mostly used to be covert. Think about cannonball/gumball type scenarios where people install blackout switches to evade detection while speeding at night. Anyone heard of the AUDI R8 "Blackbird"?

Most luxury cars use either thermal imaging (great tech) or low light video cameras which work well but can't hold a candle to Image intensified devices (gen 3 night vision).

[stephenkirsch]

Man... Rough crowd. Half the responders didn't even read the dude's post.

[montaillou]

Man... Rough crowd. Half the responders didn't even read the dude's post.

No, I've never heard of any stories.

[FLYNAVY]

Haven't heard of any stories either, but keep in mind that you have almost no depth perception with the style of NVG's in the picture above (or at least the US lookalike version). Not as much of a big deal in an airplane generally, but somewhat of a bigger deal on the road. My guess is that they are both 1) largely too expensive to be worth it for many a street racer, and 2) not very functional for those that might have tried.

[Yasir]

Yeah I have heard of such stories but then the drivers coming from the opposite sides were also wearing those goggles too not to mention the signs reading " Turn your headlights off as you are now entering the night vision goggles area"

It really is not a bad idea, the only problem is you might not make it back in one piece, but then what fun is it racing at night time.

Better thrill is > racing in canyons with your headlamps off. Now that's what a real man with big balls , would do.

[s2rsr]

Haven't heard of any stories either, but keep in mind that you have almost no depth perception with the style of NVG's in the picture above (or at least the US lookalike version). Not as much of a big deal in an airplane generally, but somewhat of a bigger deal on the road. My guess is that they are both 1) largely too expensive to be worth it for many a street racer, and 2) not very functional for those that might have tried.

Respectfully, that is all wrong. Those goggles are exactly what are used for flying BECAUSE they are stereoscopic (one separate monocular for each eye) binoculars which are the only way to achieve true depth perception.You must be thinking of something like a PVS-7 that splits 1 image into both eyes. That doesn't make sense though as the picture is right there and you can see the guy wearing it is a pilot. I build, service and modify binocular style goggles for people flying and driving at night, which is much more demanding then driving. When one is navigating or flying at high altitude sure, there's nothing to see up close as in a car but don't forget helicopters use the ANVIS system exclusively for night operations very close to the terrain. With a name like "FLYNAVY" I'm kind of confused you wouldn't know this as NAVY pilots of both rotary and fixed wing aircraft use these systems. As for cost yes they run from 4-9k so it's all relative.

You guys aren't getting this, these goggles improve vision at night over any headlight setup. They just aren't practical for most situations due to oncoming headlights(although still usable it's not good for the goggles).

[BimmerBreaker]

No I think we completely understand it. Seeing as you produce and sell these as you've mentioned several times, you would certainly have a vetted interest in seeing these become viable in another marketplace. The fact is, for automotive use it isn't practical for many reasons - many of which have been mentioned.

[DominicDinan]

But, headlights.

[s2rsr]

I'm asking if anyone has heard of any accounts/stories or people racing at night with night vision. In some of the gumbal type long distance races people have used them.

[s2rsr]

No I think we completely understand it. Seeing as you produce and sell these as you've mentioned several times, you would certainly have a vetted interest in seeing these become viable in another marketplace. The fact is, for automotive use it isn't practical for many reasons - many of which have been mentioned.

The fact that you DON'T understand is self evident. The fact is you know nothing of the subject and can't possibly misunderstand my intent, yet you continue to harass me. I'm not competing with your business and you were never invited to my post.

If you were here to contribute something constructive you would have read the first post, which is a QUESTION. If you can't answer it then contribute something in a friendly manner or stay out of the post. This is just plain rude for anyone much less a moderator.

[billyfiction]

maybe find a ralley message board and ask those guys. like your stated goggles aren't good for on coming head lights. probably 99% of the cars here are street cars.

[CblockM3]

The fact that you DON'T understand is self evident. The fact is you know nothing of the subject and can't possibly misunderstand my intent, yet you continue to harass me. I'm not competing with your business and you were never invited to my post. If you were here to contribute something constructive you would have read the first post, which is a QUESTION. If you can't answer it then contribute something in a friendly manner or stay out of the post. This is just plain rude for anyone much less a moderator.

This is a public forum, we are all invited to post in this thread. Since you make nvg's why don't you go out and do this and report back?

[BimmerBreaker]

This is a public forum, we are all invited to post in this thread. Since you make nvg's why don't you go out and do this and report back?

Yeah I mean, I'm sorry you don't like my posts, but what you are asking about here is not only dangerous but illegal

[Sleepyhead97]

I have never heard of it. Sounds extremely dangerous and I bet it is quite the rush. But... Its also extremely dangerous for mainly other drivers. Using these googles could kill an entire family if they turn in front of a car going in excess of 70 mph. I'm not sure its worth the risk to drive on the street. A track, however, this would be totally awesome.

[FastJohn]

Haven't driven on the road, but... I have a set of Litton built PVS-7 NVG's, single tube with binocular rear element, and I have tried driving my 4 wheeler on my farm at night with those. Very dangerous, I just crawled along before I figured out that this was a great way to get hurt. The angle of view is limited, depth perception on the single tube units is zero, and unless there is a decent amount of ambient light, the result is a bit fuzzy. You also run the risk of them being displaced, rendering you effectively blind until you can get them back on, or get your lights turned on.

The latest gen mil spec NVG's are quite a bit better: they have true binocular vision so you get some depth perception, and the better ones have a heat sensing capability for more detailed view. Then again, those units are $25k+, if you can get them at all.

If you hear stories of people racing with NVG's, they're probably just stories.