To object to being blinded by car headlights

[CrazyOldBagLady]

Is it just me or does everyone else have the problem that many modern cars with LED/xenon headlights, although being great for the driver whose road is well lit, blind any other driver that has to stare at them whether oncoming or beaming straight into the rearview mirror? This is a major safety issue for me at the moment, especially in the dark winter evenings.

Disclaimer: I may have been daft enough to buy a two seater that sits close to the ground, meaning that I'm at the right hight to be staring directly into everyone's headlamps.

People with dazzling 4x4's will probably find that they will fail their Mot if their lights are too high. They shouldn't be any higher than a normal car.

Actually I was talking about driving with full beam (twats) but my post didn't make that clear. That'll teach me to post from bed withou enough coffee.

My second posts about the glasses was more general about the state of the lights. Apologies.

I'm 21 and have this issue! The amount of times I have to pull over coming home because douchebag behind me wants to basically be in my boot whilst doing his light business is posing me off that's with my rear view mirror dipped and my side mirrors turned out

Turn them the shutting fuck down or get yellow ones I have my own lights to see where I'm going I don't need yours for assistance whilst on a 3 mile stretch of country lane at 50mph

The vast majority here aren't on high beam, I know because when I've flashed them they have put theirs ON high beam, tossers.

I read, somewhere?? last year, that part of the problem is people buying these lights for their older cars and the size/shape isn't right, so the light is all wrong.

I'd definitely sign a campaign, though what to do about it in the meantime? I don't want to be having to wear bloody night goggles to drive home!

Yanbu.

I thought it was just me having sensitive eyes!

Hate driving in the dark now.

if you have a bumper rider, the only solution is to go slower and slower until you find somewhere to pull in. Then let them go, hopefully very fast into a tree. Use the mirror adjustment in the meantime.

sunglasses at night is illegal and dangerous.

if you think your lights are out of whack, get off your arse and check them. There are ways to do this by pointing the car at a wall and driving into it no, by measuring where they are centred.

I'm so relieved to read that it's not just me then! I was wondering if my night vision had suddenly deteriorated.

Every week I drive from Portsmouth to Plymouth along the coast road route which is the M27 and then A roads so not exactly little lanes. I frequently have to almost stop (mostly on bends) as I can't see the road ahead due to being compeltely dazzled by the oncoming traffic.

PrimalLass I have a CMax too and the dipped lights are very dim, I can hardly see more than a few feet ahead. That, combined with the dazzle from oncoming traffic just makes night driving a misery.

So glad other people find these stupid lights a problem because it might mean we can bring about a change. They are so dangerous.

my lights are bright. I have adjusted them downwards as if the car was on load, even though they should be higher/centered. sometimes if I go over a bump due to road positiioning, like those with LED lights, yeah, it's a buit bright, but it's momentary.

it's fucking obvious my lights aren't on full beam and yeah when someone deliberately flashes their full beam at me, i'll show them mine ARE dipped by giving a flash back, but flashing me is so passive aggressive, it won't change anything, it's pointless, unnecessary and offensive. it pisses me off. so fuck off with your flashing already!

what boils my piss mostly is the seeming need for some drivers to drive a whole metre behind the car in front.

give people some room ffs! not like it'll speed your journey, eh?

passive agressive flashers and penile deficient bumper riders shouldn't be on the road imvho.

if I were driving with my high beams on, ok, but i'm not, and clearly so.

read this please wrt flashing of lights:

The Highway Code states: 'Only flash your headlights to let other road users know that you are there. Do not flash your headlights to convey any other message or intimidate other road users.'

so there.

Flashing your lights to intimidate or police others is actually the dangerous thing here.

Might have been mentioned but if being dazzled in rear view mirror at night flick the button beneath it. you can see there is car behind but dazzle is deflected

Bright headlights are a problem.

My drive to and from work is rural, and I have to say pretty much everyone is courteous - you can see each other dipping your beams before you round the corner. So very very few people round here drive on full beam when there is oncoming traffic. Having said that, the cars with the newer headlights are a massive PITA - get one of those coming at you and you're temporarily blind, which is terrifying if you are coming up / down the highest hill in the county.

I'm sure when I was a child, my dad had to apply special stickers to his headlights when he went to France, or paint them yellow or something. Something like that would be helpful.

ghosty I know all about DRLs thanks. They shouldn't be blinding anyone at night though as they switch off when headlights are swiched on (some stay dimly light though like Mercs for example). It's the bellends driving around with their foglights on that are part of the problem.

*switched even

My car has driving lights - they are automatic

No your car has DRLs. Driving lights are something different as I have previously mentioned.

Wow so many unanimous replies! Glad it's not just me who feels it's a problem. Thanks to evelynj for posting a link to www.lightmare.org/What_you_say.htm some very interesting reading there.

I am a new driver, well a year now, and I hate driving in the dark because of this. At first I thought it was people keeping their full beams on until my husband told me what it was.

I also hate it when people keep their fog lights on when they don't need them.

Thankfully I don't have to drive in the dark anymore, but after I passed my test I had to drive down country roads in the dark to get home from work and I hated it.

Totally agree, they are terrible for me whether I'm facing, rear view or side mirror. can't believe they are legal. I am starting to really dislike night driving.

YANBU OP, totally agree with you.

I also hate motorbikes with their lights on full beam day or night who dazzle me through my wing mirrors, pet peeve of mine at the moment. I also have a low slung car which doesn't help (especially round here in Chelsea Tractorville).

DH has a cunning rear view mirror which tints green if someone behind has their lights on too bright, it's very handy.

Your husband's mirror sounds like the one in my car clutter. I drive a Ford BTW.

My DFil does have automatic lights on his car. When they are on full beam and they pick up a light ahead they automatically dip themselves. I don't know what it's called but god was he impressed when he discovered it. He kept asking me if my car had it. Um, no. They do turn themselves off and on but they don't dip. I can just about manage that function myself.

I think the problem with automatically dipping headlights is that they dip when they "see" the other headlights, whereas I can see if a car is coming from some way off and would dip my lights as soon as I see the other car, and therefore not dazzle the driver.

The problem is real, and there are physiological reasons why these lights mess up your night vision.

The problem with the LED / xenon headlights is the blue light content - you can see the blue cast to the light, in a different place to the rest of the light source (due to chromatic aberration in your eye, you can't focus blue so well). Your night vision, especially your peripheral vision - the bit you use subconsciously to maintain view of the edge of the road - depends on the rod-type light receptors in your retina (the back of the eye). Essentially the blue light in the LEDs buggers up your night adaptation. They are a complete hazard to road users. Also these lights are so bloody bright in the blue they manage to dazzle in daylight as well, so should be banned forthwith! They are totally unsuited to maintaining good night vision.

The LED headlights are not even that good for giving you good lighting of the road scene, they have the wrong spectral content for good night and mesopic vision, the regular yellowy tungstens are better.

Another source of lights that screw up road users vision are the LED ones they are replacing streetlights with, they also dazzle out your peripheral vision and destroy dark adaptation.

Road vehicle lighting needs to help light your way, signal to other road users that you are there, and not dazzle other road users. The new lights fail badly in two of these aspects and should be banned.

Thank goodness it's not just me! I was seriously starting to worry that my night vision had deteriorated, despite being fine when not driving.