Are Car Headlights Brighter Than They Used to Be?

An increasing number of motorists are experiencing trouble with car headlights while driving at night. If you’re in this group, it’s natural to wonder if perhaps your eyes are to blame. While issues with bright headlights can be a warning sign of glaucoma, in most cases the answer is simple: car headlights are much more intense than they used to be. Newer vehicle models feature brighter headlights, which can contribute to road safety problems.

Types of Bright Headlights

Vehicles featured halogen headlights in the 1980s and ’90s. These days, they’re being replaced by Light-Emitting Diode (LED) headlights.

Halogen lights are incandescent, but unlike traditional incandescent light bulbs, they contain halogen gas rather than argon gas. Both have a tungsten filament within the bulb that generates light when an electric current passes through.

LEDs are much brighter than their halogen counterparts and on the plus side, last longer. LEDs produce light when electric current passes through the diode.

High-intensity discharge (HID) headlights comprise two electrodes within a glass enclosure. They’re also known as “xenon” lights after the type of gas filling them. HIDs produce more light than their halogen counterparts while providing more energy efficiency. HID headlight colors range from yellow to indigo, a shade between violet and blue. However, some states prohibit headlight colors other than white or yellow.

The brightest headlights include LED and HID lights. LED and HID output, or lumens, measures between 3,000 and 4,000 lumens. In contrast, halogen headlights display less than half that luminosity.

Besides luminosity, human eyes are more sensitive to bluish lights than yellow ones. Bluish lights appear brighter to the eye, thus adding to glare.

How Bright Can Headlights Be Legally?

The federal government oversees the legal limits of headlight brightness, with the Department of Transportation and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) certifying it.

Headlight brightness can legally range from 500 to 3,000 candelas in the US. A candela is a unit of luminous intensity. It differs from a lumen in that it measures the light the bulb emits in a specific direction. In contrast, a lumen is the total light emitted in all directions.

Why Drivers are Using Brighter Headlights

According to Business Insider, regulations over headlight brightness have not changed in decades. What has changed are the lights installed on vehicles. Gone is the soft yellow hue of the halogen headlight. Instead, LED headlights are bluish-white and much harsher.

The auto industry prefers LED headlights because they cast a broader pattern and use less energy. According to Cars.com, many car owners also prefer LED headlights due to their “cool” appearance.

Bright car headlights that sit higher on SUVs and pickup trucks may cause this lighting to become “overpoweringly intense,” according to the New York Times. This intensity results in drivers in vehicles lower to the ground being significantly affected.

Brighter headlights can help a driver see better in the dark. However, the same headlights illuminating the roadway for the driver create visual problems for those in oncoming traffic.

Safety Concerns Over Brighter Headlights

The newer headlights pose serious safety concerns for drivers who encounter them at night. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) headlight ratings take glare into account when assessing safety.

An answer to the safety concerns over brighter headlights already exists. Still, the technology’s regulatory approval has taken a long time in the US. In Europe, adaptive driving beams have been in use since 2012. These beams constantly adjust projected light for glare reduction. For example, the beams shine less light on occupied areas of the roadway and more on areas less occupied. While adaptive driving beams are available in virtually every other major automotive market, they’re not found in vehicles sold in the U.S.

The good news is that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a final rule in 2022 permitting adaptive driving beams on new vehicles. While automakers have been slow to respond, eventually softer lights will be available.

Car Accidents Due to Bright, Blinding Headlights

The number of pedestrian fatalities is up nationwide, and blinding headlights may prove a contributing factor. Roughly half of all fatal car crashes and 75 percent of pedestrian deaths occur at night. While determining how many auto accidents result from the glare of blinding headlights is challenging, anything that limits night visibility is potentially dangerous.

In the UK, government crash data states that “blinding headlights have been a contributing cause in an average of 280 collisions per year since 2013.” Those figures include approximately six fatalities annually.

An NHTSA study regarding glare perception found that 30 percent of respondents found glare from oncoming headlights “disturbing.” Other studies have found that bright headlights can interfere with a driver’s ability to recognize objects. For instance, a pedestrian may be mistaken for a road sign.

Besides serious injuries and vehicle damage, car accidents caused by bright, blinding headlights may raise insurance premiums.

How to Deal With Bright Headlights

While avoiding driving at night is the simplest solution for dealing with bright headlights, that’s not a practical choice for most motorists. Here are some tips to help deal with headlights that are too bright:

• Keep the windshield clean: Dirt on the windshield exacerbates the effect of bright headlights by scattering the incoming light.
• Adjust your headlights: If your headlights are aligned correctly, you should experience less glare from oncoming cars.
• Look away: When faced with bright headlights coming toward you, avert your gaze to the right when it's safe to do so.
• Wear protective eyewear: Consider using night vision or other glasses designed for driving at night. Consult your eye doctor about the best glasses for your needs. Regular eye exams are important to check for conditions that could make your eyes especially sensitive to bright headlights.

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