Are car headlights are too bright?

The government is to look into the design of cars and growing use of new LED headlights, which drivers argue is making it harder to navigate roads at night.

Four out of five drivers (82%) are concerned about being dazzled by vehicle headlights with the arrival of darker evenings after the clocks have gone back, according to new research from motoring organisation the RAC.

“Unfortunately, for a lot of drivers, the annual onset of darker evenings coincides with another unwelcome arrival – that of overly bright headlights that they believe make driving more difficult due to dazzle and discomfort,” said RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis.

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Have they actually got brighter?

The RAC attributes the increased brightness to modern bi-xenon or LED bulbs, which are becoming more common in new vehicles.

The beam from LED headlights is “whiter, more focused and brighter than the more diffuse light from halogen lamps fitted in older cars”, said the BBC.

Other factors causing problems for drivers include badly aligned headlights and the higher position of SUV lights.

Is it dangerous?

At best, headlight glare can make driving “uncomfortable and more difficult”, said the RAC, “but the consequences can be more severe”.

Half of drivers surveyed said they had been temporarily blinded, while more than a third said they felt less safe driving because of bright headlights on other vehicles. Others reported tiredness, headaches and even migraines.

The problem is worse for older people, whose eyes take longer to recover from glare. Between the ages of 15 and 65 recovery time increases from two to nine seconds, said the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents on its Older Drivers website. A 2018 study published in the Frontiers in Psychology journal also found that headlight glare particularly affected people with cataracts.

In all, dazzling headlights are cited as a factor in between 200 and 300 accidents in the UK each year, said the House of Lords Library, but there is no evidence that brighter lights are causing more collisions than previously.

What can be done?

As the problem has grown more pronounced in recent years, the RAC has joined with other road safety bodies including the College of Optometrists and IAM RoadSmart to campaign for the causes of headlight glare to be investigated.

A Westminster Hall debate on the issue is to be held today, with a government-commissioned report led by consultancy TRL expected to be published in the coming weeks.

The Department for Transport said the findings will help “to better understand the causes and impact of glare, which will inform new measures in the upcoming Road Safety Strategy”.

Alongside this, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has “stepped up surveillance to intercept the sale of illegal retrofit headlamp bulbs”, with anyone caught facing a fine of up to £1,000.

Drivers can also help to minimise the impact of brighter headlights. The College of Optometrists recommends you ensure that your windscreen, and glasses if worn, are clean, avoid looking straight ahead but focus on the edge of the road, and do not wear night sunglasses sold for night-driving, as they reduce overall light, not glare.

While headlight glare is a problem that “needs tackling”, said the RAC, it is “important to remember that brighter headlights can give drivers a better view of the road ahead – so there’s a balance to be struck”.