I looked at the movie as a fun romp that’s a bit inspired by the book and that makes it bearable. The movie took the nerdiness down in a way that was very unrealistic, but understandable to the general public. Anyone actually in the nerd community knows that people find shortcuts and glitches, and do speedrun records competitively; but they removed the entire part about the first key being in the school area (where it would be attainable by all for free) and instead make it “Oh, I was supposed to drive backwards in this race that I need a very expensive car/weapons for”
It’s a very pretty movie with a lot of fun Easter Eggs, but you’ve gotta separate and realize it wasn’t made for them to enjoy it.
I truly believe that in first world countries, it’s because of insanely bright headlights. I remember reading that they’re 3,000x brighter than they were in the 1990s and because trucks are getting taller, they point more at other drivers than they ever have. My library even rents out night driving glasses so people can see if they’re beneficial.