To think that bright LED car headlights need banning?

[BurntBroccoli]

Drive home this evening at rush hour and the overly bright LEDs seem even worse than ever! The red brake lights are awful too.

I cleaned my windscreen both inside and out but it's not made much difference. I've had my eyesight checked in preparation for the dark nights and new glasses with anti- glare coating on but I'm still blinded! Even tried looking to the side but the lights dare still blindingly bright. Any slight hill they are there right in your field of vision.

I really don't think I can drive much longer and I'm really worried as I live rurally.

My son has near perfect vision and he's only 20 and he still complains about the lights being too bright.

I don't think it's us, it's the LEDs. Car manufacturers (and those who design street lights) need to get back to the drawing board on this one.

I agree with PP saying bad design and driver behaviour causes a lot of the problems.
I recently bought my first car with automatic lighting and it doesn't react nearly as quickly as I do. It doesn't anticipate another car in response to a light seeping round a corner or over the brow of a hill. I just don't use the auto function in the dark.
However I regularly drive at night through the New Forest where there is livestock just roaming around, and I wouldn't be without the bright lights that enable me to see them. I know speed is a key factor too but even 20mph didn't always feel safe in my previous car.
I'd rather campaign for better driver education than for a ban.

Try being an absolute short arse. I almost feel like I need sunglasses when these cars are coming towards me or up my arse. I have to drive in the dark and it really scares me that there's going to an accident during those few seconds I'm blinded

I don't find them too much of a nuisance on normal-sized cars, I just glance left and down momentarily and it's fine, but on SUVs they are higher up and right in my eyeline.

I live on the edge of a town in a rural area, so do a lot of driving on small rural roads. They are an absolute menace then, they come towards you and you can't see where the edge of the road is because of the glare. There's one road that I have to use a few times a year that is so narrow it has passing places, and in some sections the tarmac doesn't go right to the edge, so you risk a big drop if you stray too far.

A colleague's husband is a police driving instructor. He recommends just stopping if you can't see in those circumstances.

I bought some yellow-tinted night driving clip-ons to go over my glasses, but I'm not sure they really help.

It's for the winter sun that can be low in the sky and quite dazzling.

I'm not too bothered by them but I think it affects my depth or space perception as it's harder to park at night and see exactly where the other car ends. Just to the point where I'm a little more cautious.

I used to have an SUV about 8 years ago and I got so fed up of people turning their lights on full on rural roads because mine were at their eye level and they wrongly assumed I left mine on full. I've had low cars since then and never had that problem. My current car darkens the mirrors at night but it's actually really annoying as I can't see anything except the cars lights so I'd rather it wasn't there.

...I'm another who won't drive at night because of them.

Yikes. Doesn't that really restrict you? I live rurally and w/o my car I'd be really limiting what I need and want to do.

Agreed. Are these actually in new cars or installed by BMW knobs and the like?

Yeah, rurally it would really be restricting. I live in the suburbs, so it doesn't restrict me too much. And as long as there are street lights, the problem is dealable-with. If pushed I'll drive locally, where I know the road layout, to pick up the kids or get milk. But even then not in the rain, which makes the problem worse.

And if we're going out in the evening to socialise, it'll involve wine, so I wouldn't be driving anyway.

A colleague's husband is a police driving instructor. He recommends just stopping if you can't see in those circumstances

I would have thought that would be just common sense, but I imagine some people might need telling.

Big thanks to OP for flagging this up. I thought it was just me!

For pedestrians, like me, bright lights are dangerous. Look one way, you're dazzled, look the other, and your sight is still blinded.

I've spoken to some car drivers about this, and many seem completely oblivious to the impact of their bright lights on pedestrians.

Are you sure it is LEDs and not lasers.

They are so bright they are effectively banned in the US. They are only fitted to a few types of car though.

"Repairs and replacement will be equally expensive, with a new laser headlamp costing well over £3,000."

Jesus....I balk at paying a tenner at Halfords for a new bulb!

Yep I agree I try to avoid driving at night now and it really limits your life I hate it

I've also noticed how many roads are unlit now- I'm sure it's far more now than say ten years ago

I posted a link earlier.

”Death of the lamp post as better car headlights pave way for removal”

I hate led headlights too. It’s like being blinded by high beams. They should be banned and considered a hazard. I have 20/20 vision and they are too bright for me.

They are a nightmare. How did they ever become legal/normal?

Another factor is that our local council is desperately strapped for cash and one of the things they're considering is reducing street lighting times and brightness. I don't imagine they're the only ones.
I think it's a more complex problem than just the cars.

Because they are nice and bright and help you see where you are going.

They also use less electricity and take up less space than standard bulbs.

Isn’t 20/20 vision just average? Which rather proves your point, I suppose.

Nope. They are the absolute worst thing to encounter on dark country lanes at night. Do you actually want to blind all other drivers? Because I promise that won’t make you safer. Normal headlights on full beam, dipped as soon as you see oncoming traffic, are far safer.

I think 20/20 is normal vision. I don't think we aim to get better than this, though younger people do have better than 20/20.

Yes, a person with 20/20 vision can see at 20 feet what the average person can see at 20 feet.