Car headlight glare affects nine in 10 drivers

RAC says government study provides ‘golden opportunity’ to address problematic phenomenon

GLARE from car headlights is to be studied by the Government after nine in 10 drivers said the phenomenon was getting worse.

A study into why drivers are being dazzled by headlights will go ahead after more than 10,000 people signed a parliamentary petition.

The petition called on the Government to review why some vehicles’ headlights cause problems for other motorists, blinding them to oncoming traffic. Plans to investigate the headlight glare problem were revealed in a Department for Transport (DFT) response.

Officials said they wanted “to better understand the root causes of driver glare and identify any further appropriate mitigations”.

While some cars are already fitted with systems such as automatically dipping headlights, campaigners have said these are not enough.

Moves to commission a study into headlight glare were hailed by the RAC, which has campaigned on the issue for months, as “a real turning point”.

“Brighter headlights, while giving drivers a better view of the road ahead, are clearly causing other road users significant problems,” said Rod Dennis, RAC road safety spokesman.

“An independent study provides a golden opportunity for the Government and industry to get to the bottom of the problem, identify the factors involved and map out a way forward.”

Baroness Hayter, who has previously asked questions in Parliament about dazzling headlights, said she was “delighted” that officials were taking the issue seriously.

“This is a victory for all those drivers affected by glare who’ve complained to their MP, signed the parliamentary petition, or indeed sought help from an optometrist – only to discover the problem was with headlights, and not their eyes,” she said.

Led-powered head and tail lights in modern cars have been blamed for dazzling drivers.

Research from the AA earlier this year highlighting that brake light glare causes problems for one in four motorists.

Problems with vehicle light brightness were first reported when the car industry began changing from traditional incandescent bulbs to brighter xenon lamps in the 1990s.

A survey commissioned by the RAC suggested that more than 85 per cent of drivers who are affected by headlight glare believe the problem is becoming worse.

Just under two thirds believe that headlights are so bright they risk causing accidents. Nearly one-in-10 say they find headlight glare so bad that they avoid driving at night altogether.

The poll of 2,000 UK drivers also indicated that 89 per cent think some car headlights are too bright.

Mr Dennis added: “We’re aware of regulatory changes being made at an international level that will hopefully make a difference in many years to come, but are concerned that these alone may not be enough to address headlight dazzle.”

In its response to the parliamentary petition, the DFT also said international rules requiring new cars to have mandatory automatic headlight levelling based on the weight being carried were agreed by the United Nations in April last year.

They are set to come into force in September 2027.

The department expressed its belief that “these tougher requirements will help alleviate the number of cases where road users are dazzled”.

Government figures show that since 2013 there have been an average of 280 collisions on Britain’s roads every year where dazzling headlights were a contributory factor.

Of these, six a year involved someone losing their life.

The DFT did not say how much funding would be allocated to the study, but a spokesman said plans were still at a very early stage.

‘Brighter headlights, while giving drivers a better view of the road, are causing significant problems’

‘International regulatory changes alone may not be enough to address the issues of headlight dazzle’