Dazzling LED car headlights

AdrianC

Swipe wrote: »

They are not too close, it's just their lights are too high. Slowing down won't resolve that problem.

If their lights are so bright in the mirror that you're being distracted from the road ahead, and dipping/adjusting the mirror doesn't help, then slowing down both allows you more time to react to anything ahead, and gives them an incentive to overtake.

Swipe

AdrianC wrote: »

If their lights are so bright in the mirror that you're being distracted from the road ahead, and dipping/adjusting the mirror doesn't help, then slowing down both allows you more time to react to anything ahead, and gives them an incentive to overtake.

There are very few places to safely overtake on these windy, country B roads. All slowing down would do is annoy the driver behind. It's not distracting once the rear view mirror has been inverted.

sevenhills

Primrose wrote: »

I think there have been various eye specialists who have said that over time these bright lights can cause damage to the retina.
I,m surprised that the AA and other motoring organisations are not campaigning for the issue to be looked at again.
Maybe if enough motorists started complaining to the right bodies some action might be taken. .

A row is developing among car enthusiasts and road users about the potential risks of super-bright headlights.
Mr Perham, who is being backed by the Driving Instructors Association and the British Motorcyclists Federation

And that's a view backed by some eye experts, including Geoffrey Roberson from the Association of Optometrists.

The headlamps - called HIDs and commonly referred to as bi-xenon - are much brighter than traditional headlights and are sold as a safety feature. But some road-users claim they are often dazzled by the lights, making pedestrians and cyclists difficult to see.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13143206

Mercdriver

BananaRepublic wrote: »

I wear glasses for general use, and contact lenses for ice hockey. When buying glasses and contacts, you have an exam. Many people may have a concern about their eyes which requires a check. I had a concern about retinal detachment, which is serious. None was found. Perhaps if you had thought a bit more before posting, you could have found many reasons why healthy eyes might be checked.

If I put my healthy leg into plaster and go to see an orthopaedic consultant, that would make me a hypochondriac. If I am examined and am told that my leg needs to be in plaster, then something isn't in perfect working order and has to be corrected.

You saying you have excellent eyesight, yet following examinations require glasses for normal vision is something of an oxymoron.

There is nothing wrong with needing eyesight corrected. Don't take on so!

BananaRepublic

Swipe wrote: »

There are very few places to safely overtake on these windy, country B roads. All slowing down would do is annoy the driver behind. It's not distracting once the rear view mirror has been inverted.

That’s the problem, it is distracting even when the rear view mirror is adjusted for bright lights. These headlights are so bright the while cabin is filled with light, including bright reflections from side mirrors.

AdrianC

sevenhills wrote: »

Mr Perham, who is being backed by the Driving Instructors Association and the British Motorcyclists Federation

60yo at the time of the article, which is now nine years old.

And that's a view backed by some eye experts, including Geoffrey Roberson from the Association of Optometrists.

Who retired in 2016.

The headlamps - called HIDs and commonly referred to as bi-xenon - are much brighter than traditional headlights and are sold as a safety feature.

HIDs and LEDs are different things. Not all HIDs are bi-Xenon - which refers to Xenon/HID for both dip and main beam. HIDs have been in production cars since the very start of the 90s - thirty years... 1991 BMW 7-series was the first production use.
LEDs are a more recent development - but even they've been around for nearly a decade and a half. 2007 Audi R8 and Lexus LS.

roddydogs

Arklight wrote: »

For some reason they are legal. I was driving down my road the other morning before sunrise and could barely see for being blinded by an oncoming vehicle. I flashed my lights a few times to tell him / her they'd got their full beams on, to which they flashed theirs back. The flashes being even more blinding. They were driving with their "dipped" headlights.

Full beam or dipped ?

DoaM

roddydogs wrote: »

Full beam or dipped ?

By whom? The post you've quoted (taken in isolation) is very clear ... the poster thought the other vehicle had full beams on - when the poster flashed their own full beams the other vehicle did likewise ... making it clear that the "dipped" headlights were so bright and high that they appeared like full beam.

Norman_Castle

This is often dismissed as an ageing eyesight problem affecting drivers over 50 but over 50s are a large proportion of drivers so the problem should be acknowledged.

My car is known for having poor headlights and is now over 20 years old, clearly its lights haven't improved. In cities I can drive without headlights, why do people need these overly bright lights, do they need their eyes testing?
A solution would be to reintroduce a version of dim dip headlights which allowed vehicles to be seen without producing unnecessary light.

I recently had a new windscreen which has made night driving easier, is it possible the light from led lights is harder on the eyes through anything other than perfect glass?

Norman_Castle

AdrianC wrote: »

UNECE standards. NHTSA standards. JASIC standards.

They're the three basic sets which pretty much cover the entire globe - and none of them see a great issue.

But the problem is widely commented on which questions the standards they set.


http://www.lightmare.org/docs/MotoristsdazzledbyheadlightsMarch2018.pdf


The RAC Opinion Panel survey of 2,061 motorists found that six in 10 (58%) motorists think modern vehicle headlights are so bright they risk causingother motorists to have accidents.



Only one in 10 drivers (12%) think the brightness of headlights on most newer cars is about right. Two-thirds (66%) believe some are too bright and a fifth (22%) claim most are too bright. Among those who think modern car headlights are too bright, half (49%) claim they even get dazzled by headlights in their rear view mirror. This has led to 62% constantly having to click their mirrors up and down to avoid being dazzled, 21% relying on their wingmirrors more and 16% not using their rear view mirrors as much as they would otherwise have done.Due to brightness of some modern-day headlights a worrying two-thirds of motorists (66%) say they now struggle to tell if oncoming lights are on full or dipped beam. In a situation after dark at a T-junction when waiting to pull out, 68% admitted to finding it difficult to tell whether or not some approaching vehicles had their indicators on due to the brightness of the headlights.Asked if there should be better regulation in place to prevent manufacturers fitting vehicles with headlights that are too bright 80% of motorists questioned by the RAC felt this was necessary. Twelve per cent were undecided, and only 8% disagreed.