To be happy about this...re headlight glare..link attached

[Ihateboris]

Finally something is (hopefully) going to be done about these bloody awful and dangerous headlights. I hate driving at night as these lights literally blind me for a few seconds.

BBC link here:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn971jlpvvro

Nope, DS, by the way. 14 year old Hyundai i10 so a small car.

But of course, road safety experts, optometrists, and 4 out of 5 motorists are wrong .

It's a very big problem. We have an ageing population so if it's a porblem for older people it's a big porblem. But it's a problem across the age spectrum and especially bad for those who drive smaller vehicles. Auto adjusting lights are also a problem because they don't react quickly enough.

Some people seem to have fallen for a car manufacturer claiming the lights just need adjusting downwards. Obviously you haven't been sitting in your car at a junction and felt like you have a spaceship landing behind you or rounded a bend and been blinded . Motorists' lights do to need to light the road up like it's a military landing strip. It's aggressive lighting and unnecessary.

Have you seen the AIBU vote? 97% of people agree with the OP. That is whopping.

The poll here is meaningless and has as much relevance as the outcome of this bullshit review will have.

None.

To note, plenty of small modern cars also have LED headlights - these are on all vehicle sizes - not just SUVs etc.

Didn’t there used to on be rules about lights or is it just modern cars are stupidly bright? (I’m Ireland so may be different). Nearly blinded twice in the way home last night

Yes, they do. But the height of those vehicles mean they are far less problematic. People in the US also complain about the LED lights and their maximum light levels are set far lower.

Why are you so invested? You seem very determined to tell absolutely everyone , fairly aggressively, that they need to suck it up.

Its a discussion forum - is it not?

Why are you so invested? 🙄

As for the US - genuinely couldnt care less what their views are. I am not there, they are not here. Meh.

I have not been aggressive toward anyone at all. Nor have I criticised any poster.

I merely posited that the issue people face is as a result of successive Governmental policy. Look through my posts on this thread. Car makers are following the rules that have been laid out.

Had an interesting drive home with the dc last night. Final bit was down a busy lane, which I know really well. Dc have 20/20 and no astigmatism, so I got them to tell me which ones were really bad. I would say there were 4 categories. The normal lights, the too white and bright, the supernova where you literally can't see anything but lights and are lucky you know the road... and the knobheads too slow to flick off full beam.

It was interesting to see that the young and perfectly sighted are also struggling. Dc1 will be driving this time next year.

It’s just one in a long line of my pet peeves “stupid designs (normally) created by men”!
Why would anyone think that the ability to be able to light up the road like a sports ground should trump the oncoming drivers needs? I can imagine the car design teams sitting around being so impressed by the light levels that are possible, that they don’t even think about how this might affect other road users…

I'm invested along with many others because I am migraine sufferer whose migraines are triggered by these bright lights. I am not alone. If you are not affected, you should be able to stand back and feel for others who are. I also can't help you if you can't spot aggression in your tone (an AS was interesting to say the least).
I can't abide LED lights. I don't even have them on my Christmas tree.
Car manufacturers may be responding to laws but that doesn't mean they can't be challenged. It seems a lot of these ideas about road lighting come from cars in countries like Sweden. The UK is more densely populated , has very different road conditions and so needs to adapt and respond to public concern.

The things that bother me the most is in order : motorbikes with high intensity beams, lorries lit up like they are in 2001: A Space Odyssey, vans with huge intense lights. land rovers lighting up the night sky like it's a competition to be seen from space, outsized minis with oversize lights , indicators that can't be seen anymore because of bright headlights, and then other taller vehicles. The last people who annoy me are the people who tell me it's something we all ought to just put up with because they are one of the few people unaffected.

I suspect the knobheads have 'auto adjust' lights....

Tells you how old my car is, then. I didn't even know that was a thing. I'm still on the quick- draw level of beam to full beam and back.

Your interpretation of my tone doesnt make it fact.

Anyway - car OEMs adhere to legislation. They arent going to spaff money on challenging Governmental diktats that would result in their businesses and jobs being put at risk.

They simply do as they're told. Look at the big EU car makers struggling to sell EVs despite the EU wide mandate. Policy makers arent listening and EV sales just arent where policy makers believe they wouild be and OEMs are cutting production etc.

So going back to powerful headlights - the pace of change has made them more mainstream than before - I dont deny its an issue for many drivers, but as I have said before, this review will do nothing to address the millions of cars on the roads now that have them.

Thats why the review is nothing but fucking horseshit.

You could say the same about getting rid of leaded petrol though? Of course those cars remined on the road - no one took them away. Everyone knows solutions take a while to work their way through.

Some auto adjust lights on cheap cars are slow. On better cars they work well. I think most young people are fine as are the millions that own the cars. What are they going to do - the government sells approved lights for retro fitting? It’s nonsense.

You seem to think that it’s less of an issue if it’s older rather than younger drivers being affected.
Given that people are having to work longer and longer, a problem that makes it harder to get to work / do work involving driving once you’re older is going to impact the economy, it’s not just about retired people not being able to get to their social activities.

The old lights also helped prevent crime as the light spread out over a wider area, into alleys and doorways, etc. LED street lights seem to only illuminate the area immediately under them, so leave far larger "dark spots" which are a haven for low level crime.

I suspect this may be similar to my MIL or a Dickensian character (Louisa Chick springs to mind) who thinks that if only one had sufficient strength of character one would realise one was being a silly weak woman of insufficient character.

Most people complaining are older from what I’ve seen. I’m old! I really don’t think this problem is a huge one. Direction of lights is the bigger issue and having them adjusted properly. I drive a lot and honestly don’t find it an issue other than a few cars. The bigger issue is folk being duped into thinking anything will change. No one can come up with any ideas about changing headlights. Who pays? Mot should check this but most lights are safe and won’t fail.

So there's 1. Congratulations 🙄

Not me that needs congratulating.

Its you, since you claimed you hadnt found one person. Now you have.

So congrats to you.