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Is Headlight Glare Making Night Driving Harder?

Lisa Miles

As the clocks went back at the weekend and we're now driving home in the dark, I've noticed that driving at night feels a lot harder lately, and I’m not alone. Many people I speak to all say they find driving at night harder as each year goes past and it's not just because we're getting older! Many of my younger colleagues are feeling the same! 

A recent article on the BBC News highlights how modern LED headlights, while great for personal visibility, are causing serious glare issues for many drivers. 

Some key points in the article stood out to me:  LED lights are much brighter and more focused, but not always well-aligned. Glare recovery takes longer as we age and the RAC says that a recent survey suggested that 75% of drivers find night driving harder now.

I have to admit that there have been times when I've almost had to bring my car to a stop as the light of the car ahead have been so bright that I've been blinded and simply can't see the road in front of me! It's getting to the point where I really don't like having to go out in the car at night and of course as we're in the 'dark' seasons, driving in darkness is pretty much unavoidable. Pensive

So how can engineers help here? Better design? Smarter regulations? More adaptive tech?

Would love to hear your thoughts! 

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  • +1

    It's not just a problem for drivers either - simply crossing a road at night as a pedestrian can be hazardous when one vehicle's lights are so bright it becomes almost impossible to spot a smaller or less well lit hazard that's closer but approaching from the same direction.

    Sometimes I wonder why we need headlights at all on roads with decent street lighting - the number of cars I see pulling out of petrol stations at night without noticing that all their lights off until someone else flashes them suggests that the extra illumination isn't really needed.

       - Andy. 

  • in reply to AJJewsbury

    But where does the problem lie Andy? Is it with car designers or manufacturers or with government legislation? 

    Personally I do feel that sometimes the designers suffer from blind enthusiasm for their designs to the point where it becomes design for design sake rather then necessity or practicality.

    For example there's one car I've noticed (can't remember the make or model) that has it's indicator bulb in the centre of the rear lights. So the orange indicator light is surrounded by a red rear light /bright red brake light  when it's activated. Orange and red are very close on the colour spectrum meaning that it can be really hard to distinguish between the two especially when the brake lights are also applied with a tiny little orange flashing light in the centre! 

    Surely someone at some point in the design process and sign off would have picked up that it could potentially be a visibility problem? 

  • in reply to Lisa Miles
    Lisa Miles said:
    Surely someone at some point in the design process and sign off would have picked up that it could potentially be a visibility problem? 

    I agree but I think you might find that some designers will sit in the vehicle they design rather than in the vehicle behind or in front.  Personally I think vehicle designed/manufactured/distributed or sold in the UK need to have the indicators on the outside edge of the vehicle as has always been the case.

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  • in reply to Lisa Miles
    Lisa Miles said:
    Surely someone at some point in the design process and sign off would have picked up that it could potentially be a visibility problem? 

    I agree but I think you might find that some designers will sit in the vehicle they design rather than in the vehicle behind or in front.  Personally I think vehicle designed/manufactured/distributed or sold in the UK need to have the indicators on the outside edge of the vehicle as has always been the case.

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  • in reply to Sergio Fernandez

    I agree Sergio!

    As Andy mentions even as a pedestrian it can be difficult to determine where a car is going if the indicators aren't clear. Again I saw one the other day where the indicator was a pulsing/chasing orange beam of light type affair (much like the red light on KIT from Knight Rider if you're familiar with that TV show)  along the top of the headlight and rear lights again making it not only confusing but reducing its visibility not only to pedestrians but also to other road users. 

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