Car lights have become far too bright and are damn dangerous.

peter021072

For the first time for a few years I had to drive long distance at night, mainly on the motorway. My eyes are good for long distance so I don't wear glasses.

One issue which stood out for me was the brightness of headlights, both head on and in the mirrors. When dazzled, what we should be concentrating on (other vehicles, cyclists, signs, pedestrians) are far less visible. Perhaps the length of time since my last night driving makes it more obvious to me, because all the culprits are modern cars with bright LEDs. Older cars like my own don't dazzle at all, but of course neither do they light up the road ahead to the same degree.

What seems to have happened is that manufacturers (presumably unburdened with meaningful regulations on dazzle other than direction), believe that new customers desire brighter lights.  However, I don't think having brighter lights would have helped me with the contrast problems, especially to the side and rear. 

What is needed is a form of turning down the headlight brightness, at least on well lit roads, where bright car lights are more likely to hinder rather than help society in general.

The RAC recently found that Nine-in-10 drivers (89%) think some or most car headlights on the UK’s roads are too bright, with an overwhelming majority of these (88%) saying they get dazzled by them while driving, and it’s younger rather than older drivers who are more likely to complain. 

400ixl

Nope, but there are those with badly adjusted lights or just have to much weight in the rear and no auto levelling and they haven't used the adjuster on the dashboard.

If set up correctly then they shouldn't glare anyone.

Lights have become whiter but the space they fill has not changed and is still regulated. Having whiter lights is a huge improvement over the old yellow ones.

As cars now move to laser lights the control will be even greater allowing for more accurate direction and with AI they can single out items to not be illuminated.

The RAC report is meaningless. Most people have been dazzled by badly adjusted lights, but that is not the brightness, its badly directioned. 

Keep_pedalling

I do drive one of those modern cars with LED headlights. These are the type that automatically direct the beam to avoid dazzling oncoming car drivers or of cars you are following and I have to say they work brilliantly, and in the 2 and a half years I have not had anyone flash me. 

Tony5896

White light destroys night vision, me personally doesnt seem to make a difference if that is through dazzle or looking in the same direction.. which is difficult to avoid when they are coming at you .. it has got worse as lights have got brighter .. 

sevenhills

peter021072 said:

For the first time for a few years I had to drive long distance at night, mainly on the motorway. My eyes are good for long distance so I don't wear glasses.

Have you had your eyes tested? Driving at night does become harder as you get older.

I find cyclists etc with poor lights very difficult to see, more concentration is required.

Most of us are aware that driving at night is more demanding and stressful than driving in the daytime. We make natural compensations for this as we drive but it is a fact that the number of night and road accidents is much greater than those that occur during the day.

In this study, they demonstrate that contrast sensitivity(CS) in the healthy eye deteriorates between 50 and 80 years old (at a rate of ∼0.45 logCS/decade) and that these natural variations in CS are associated with poorer hazard detection performance within a night driving simulator.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9373794/

Veteransaver

Some newer cars have chromatic/electric rear view mirrors which do eliminate the dazzle from behind.

EnPointe

the first Questions to  ask the OP are  whhen did they last have an eye test ?   and even if they can meet the DVLA  standard for distance visaions that doesn;t mean they don;t have astigmatism or other (age related or not)  vision issues which means they get more dazzle 

 they may also want to consider cleaning their  screen , wipers and ethe like fully and throughly  

jimjames

We've had this conversation in our house and from 20 year olds upwards agree that many lights are too bright for oncoming traffic

motorguy

Lights are set on cars, so as not to dazzle oncoming drivers.

Most of the latest cars - particularly those with LEDS - auto level adjust.

I think part of the problem is an element of people - driving both old and new cars - who dont bother dipping their headlights.  No courtesy on the roads these days.

Also worth noting, as we get older, driving at night starts to become problematic with glare and dazzle, etc, but thats an age thing and not the fault of other cars.

Its also an MOT requirement that lights are set to ensure they dont dazzle other drivers.

Money_Grabber13579

I certainly find that I get dazzled by many cars with modern LED headlights. I’m 35 and had my eyes tested last year, and glasses updated to match the prescription before anyone asks.

I don’t bother flashing my lights at them because I know they don’t have full beam on, they just have really bright lights and it does create a blind spot where nothing can be seen and there is an element of driving in hope that nothing has moved into the area since you were last able to see it.

I think the problem is caused by two things. One is that LEDs are just brighter/more focused and so are more likely to blind if you catch the beam. The second is the increase in SUVs on the road, such that anyone in a standard car is more likely to have the light beam shine into their eyes.

Let’s not pretend that it’s caused by badly adjusted lights. There have always been cars with badly adjusted lights, but it’s only recently that lights have started to dazzle people.

WellKnownSid

I've been driving cars with Xenon and more recently LED headlights for over 20 years.  It was a £900 option on my Mercedes back in 2000 but my Dacia has it as standard.  They are amazing at night - far better than having a weedy filament bulb from the 1960s.

The main problems:

1) Lack of cleaning.  Xenon headlights used to come with washer systems to stop glare being caused by salt and dirt this time of year - many LED systems don't have that.  Keep those lights clean.

2) The 'auto-main-beam-assist-self-dipping-bot'.  I've driven multiple brands with this - it's pants.  Any country road and the car wants to dip your headlights so you don't dazzle some random floodlit farmhouse 10 miles in the distance leaving you in darkness.  Drive up to a reflective sign and it's ON-OFF-ON-OFF-ON-OFF because it cannot make up its mind.  Drive along an actual straight road and any car more than a few hundred yards away will be automatically dazzled - especially if they are dipped.  Lorries?  Let me just apologise right now...  I'm always intervening with these systems to avoid dazzling oncoming drivers but I should imagine many other drivers do not.