Are headlights getting even brighter or is it me?!

[Riskyrice]

Dear god, the season of night driving is always bad, but it seems headlights are getting even worse? Driving home just now was like being attacked by hundreds of torches right in the eye! I've still got white spots.

I do wear glasses and have mild astigmatism, but it's getting to the point where it feels borderline unsafe to drive at night. Is there anything I can do to reduce the dazzling?

I completely agree, I avoid night driving now. And I wish the bl... SUV / Chelsea tractor drivers would realise that their headlights are dazzling when they’re following me, I drive an i10 🤬

I find it incredible that they are legal. I have a small car and an SUV with LED lights behind me lights up the whole of the inside of my car
Coming towards me they are migraine inducing and blinding
Do the yellow glasses really work?

@KateNicole

I hate it...I only stick to local, street lamp-lit roads at night for this very reason. Country lane, night driving terrifies me.

Yes! I made the mistake of driving along country roads at night the other week. I won't be repeating that in a hurry; it was hideous.

They absolutely are. I drive on an unlit road to pick my DDs up from work at night and its awful. 5 cars came past the other night, one after another, and I was totally blinded.

I tried the yellow glasses and found they made no difference.

I agree OP. My biggest requirement when we bought ourast car was that we didn't get one with anti social headlights.

I live in the depths of the country and do a lot of night driving and most are OK but occasionally I get utterly blinded.

A few days ago I was convinced someone had their full beam on and flashed a couple of times - they then actually put their full beam on.

Not to mention bike lights meant for off road cycling but used on urban roads flashing away , strobe like.

Yes I can see you - good. Yes you are dazzling and distracting me - bad. Especially for the cyclist. Just keep the light on static and you will be noticed.

Oh yeah I hate the strobe lighting mobiles too. Why can’t they be static?

I was very confused last night. Saw what I thought was a cyclist with very bright lights coming towards me on a country lane but the lights looked a bit odd and were moving too much. Turned out to be a dog walker with a mega watt head torch and the dog was wearing a flashing collar.

I totally agree, I have a 60 mile round trip for work, live rural and work in a town, leave in the dark, get home in the dark. And constantly blinded, I've tried yellow tinted glasses. Doesn't make much difference, some cars I've actually flashed as they're that bright I thought they had main beam on, they then flashed me back to show they havnt, and literally burn my eyes out

Flashy bike lights should be illegal too. I walk and often watch them flickering up the road. They're really hard to spot.

Oh and please stop flashing to say thank you. Either dim your lights or don't do anything.
I tense up and look sideways in anticipation. Preferable to being blinded!

Me too.

Unfortunately I now have 60 miles a day on mostly country roads in the dark until about March/April. Hate it, but mortgage needs paying...

I have current glasses, coated - it does help, but not enough to combat the oncoming lights enough.

Yes! I love rurally and had to pull over twice the other night as I could not see due to the height and brightness of the lights behind me 😬. Also as I have “normal” headlights, the brightness of the headlights of the moron behind my who insisted on following as close as possible outshone mine! This meant I couldn’t see the side of the road at all. I also have an astigmatism though and had my eyes tested last week. New glasses coming soon so I’m hoping that will make a difference 🤷‍♀️

“Live” rurally 😑

I completely agree, OP. I’m mid thirties and they blind me now in a way they didn’t when I was 25!

Also new cars can have very tricky light controls. I have a newish Volvo with 7 different headlight settings in rotating dial which you can’t read in the dark. if I’m not careful I can accidentally brush over a very sensitive button which flicks it on to high beam. So different from the cars I learnt to drive in which were so easy to dip.

Definitely much brighter- I thought drivers had forgotten to switch "main beam" off!!!!

Agree OP.

I wish there was a law to restrict the amount of lumens (or whatever) these LED headlights have because it's so dangerous.
Friday night on our way to a restaurant the car behind had full beam on and I couldn't even look in my rear view at all and some of the cars oncoming weren't any better, it's ridiculous.

I’ve noticed this recently - older cars seem to have the duller, yellow lights that I’m used to but newer cars are blindingly white. As others have said, SUVs are a nightmare; recently one stopped behind me at a red light and the headlights were level with my back windscreen, so they almost blinded me as the white light reflected off all of my mirrors

There's been petitions about this but they didn't get much interest

I don't wear glasses and I find the lights on newer cars horrendous.

My friend taught me a trick when approached by a bright light, army trick apparently. Close one eye as you pass, then open it again when you’ve passed. The eye exposed to light will be dazzled, but you can still see with the other one .

They are brighter, but the main issue is that many motorists choose not to adjust their lights properly, why someone would attempt to lighy up air rather than the road in front of them is bizarre.

So glad it's not jyst me, and i am also baffled about how keeping yiur distance from the car infront helps!
I had to slam my brakes on the other day as a car coming over a bridge temporarily blinded me.

I don't have an issue with oncoming lights on older cars and my night vision is good, it is the newer lights and higher positioning on many SUVs that's the problem.

I have to look left to avoid the after effect as my eyes adjust back to the dark again.

It is a safety problem and is in need of regulation.