Are headlights on new cars too bright and dazzling to other motorists?
The rise in popularity of LED lights on new cars has led to motorists complaining that they are too bright and dazzling to oncoming cars or in your rear mirrors.
LED lamps produce light using light-emitting diodes and have a lifespan and electrical efficiency which are several times greater than incandescent lamps and fluorescent lamps.
LED light is more directional and that rather than producing a big spread of light like a halogen bulb, LED light is more focused.
It is also a traditionally brighter light which appears as blue white, hence why it appears brighter in the dark.
LED lights are most commonly found in upmarket cars as well as top-spec versions of mid-range vehicles.
A survey in the U.K. found some 15 per cent of drivers have suffered a near-miss due to the brightness of some new car headlights.
All cars sold have to be fitted with headlamps that conform to standards set by the EU in line with the United Nations’ World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations.
Government guidelines say that's all vehicle lamps and in particular headlamps, yet be designed and tested to ensure that they balance the need to be sufficiently bright to illuminate the road ahead whilst limiting the likelihood of affecting the vision of other road users.
The Royal Automobile Club in the U.K. said headlight technology has advanced considerably in recent years, but while that may be better for the drivers of those particular vehicles, it is presenting an unwanted, new road safety risk for anyone driving towards them or even trying to pull out at a junction.
They said: "Drivers find it very distracting when they have to contend with being dazzled by bright lights in their rear view mirrors.
“While regulations specify that all types of dipped headlights must fall between a maximum and minimum luminosity the night-time driving experience of motorists of all ages is very different with many saying dipped beams of some modern vehicles are too bright."