Almost all UK drivers surveyed said that they felt that headlights are too bright, having been dazzled by oncoming vehicles. The government recently announced that it would take a look at the design of cars and their headlights following concerns about lights dazzling.
A study commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT) found that 97% of UK drivers surveyed found that they were regularly or sometimes distracted by oncoming vehicles, with 96% feeling that some headlights on cars were too bright.
This provides “compelling evidence” that lights’ glare is a “genuine issue for UK drivers,” Dr Shaun Helman, who led the research for Berkshire-based Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), said.
New measures will make up part of the upcoming Road Safety Strategy from the government.
The data from TRL suggests that LED and whiter headlights could be connected to glare, with drivers finding their white colour harder to deal with. Some may remember a time when cars in France were required to have yellow headlights.
Of the drivers surveyed, around a third said that they either stopped driving or drove less at night because of the issue, while just over a fifth said that they would prefer to drive less at night if they had a choice. 1,850 drivers, matched to the age and gender split of licence holders in the country were surveyed.
LED lights in vehicles are brighter, concentrating and emitting more blue lights, TRL said, which cause more of a struggle for our eyes at night.
“Having campaigned hard for this study, we welcome its findings which independently confirm what drivers have been telling us,” the RAC’s senior policy officer Rod Dennis said, “that rather than being an imagined phenomenon, some bright headlights do cause a glare problem.”
Stay tuned to EyeOnLondon for the latest news and expert opinions.
Follow us on:
Subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest videos and updates!
We value your thoughts! Share your feedback and help us make EyeOnLondon even better!
