AS a cyclist who uses the major Melbourne bike path to get to work each day, and even though I don’t have them, I don’t blame cyclists for having brutally bright flashing lights, but I wish they’d turn them OFF when they’re going the other way on the bike path!
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So we had issues with a car in front of us today with their LED indicators being almost impossible to see from the surrounding rear lights. Vehicle manufacturers are now using the new found freedom of being able to make shapes out of LED lights to their advantage in the design department. The car in front of us today had the indicators in the arrangement of a ring around a circle of red LED brake lights, but which was also surrounded by a solid square of rear red driving lights. We could barely see the indicators when they were in use, especially when the brake lights came on at the same time and this was during the daytime when the glare is dissipated from the surrounding ambient light. I remember when one of the major factors that went into the design of a vehicle was the safety aspects, which I assume included light placements where they could be prominently seen by other drivers. Apparently this has all gone out the window now and it’s more important to have everything looking fancy instead of safe.
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I sympathise with you on this matter, it is easy to mistake these new lights and think the oncoming vehicle has their lights on main beam. The rules regarding light output should be adjusted in respect of newsance value. Four wheel drive cars and trucks ride at a raised level and cause the most problems for cars riding at a normal ride hight, if you include the increased light output of LED lights and you have a real problem. Has anybody calculated the increased risk of collision because of the driver being blinded by a oncoming driver with this kind of lighting.
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Car manufacturers seem to have gone mad with crazy strings of LED taillights to show how clever they are. Also the shapes of tail/stop lights in wrap-around teardrop shapes and the like. Idiots!
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I believe that with many comments there is a confusion between “brightness” and “glare”.
‘Brightness’ is a function of the light output of the lamp, which is determined by how powerful it is (watts) and the type of lamp. Modern lamps such as LED (Light Emitting Diode) and HID (High Intensity Discharge) are very efficient, much more efficient than the old halogen lamps. They also have a different colour, the halogen has a broad spectrum ‘warm’ colour, usually seen as being yellow; while the LED and HID have a ‘cold’ colour seen as being blue.
The “glare” is what happens when you look directly into a beam of light. Try looking at a household spotlight and compare it with a general diffused light. The spotlight will be very uncomfortable but the general diffused light will be easy to continue looking at. This is the same as the way low and high beams work on a car. The high beam is aimed directly ahead of the car to light the road a long way ahead - how far will depend on the strength of the lamp and the narrowness of the beam. The low beam should be aimed to the kerbside and have a cut-off of the beam a certain distance ahead, which should allow two cars to approach each other without the drivers being affected by glare!
Now, that is the theory, but what I think happens is that with the more powerful modern lamps the headlight on low beam is brighter, there is not more glare. Our eyes are drawn to this brighter light and we stare at it not only distracting us from the road but being annoying plus there is a loss of night vision.
When I learnt to drive many decades ago the aiming of headlights was very haphazard and drivers regularly did not dip their head beam. I was taught to look to the left (kerbside) to avoid being affected - flashing your own high-beam was frowned on as it would result in both drivers being blinded! In those days there were few motorways, so all driving was on narrow one lane roads.
My suggestion then is that when faced with a car approaching with “glaring” lights avoid looking at them, look down and to your left of the road not at the offending headlights.
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Thanks for your reply, I have been involved in the motor industry most of my working life. I have fitted adjusted and replaced halogen, quarts iodine, hid and now Led lamps. It does not alter the fact that the effects of these new lamps are at least distracting and possibly dangerous in certain situations and should at least be investigated by the transport authorities as to the disadvantages to other road users.
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Well stated, especially when the ‘authorities’ cannot be bothered about mandating interlocking switches to inhibit dazzling fog/driving lights on anytime the vehicle is running, which is against the road rules. How hard would it be to mandate a switch that just turned them off when the engine was stopped so they are not unconsciously on all the time?
It seems in these days where every vehicle is an import ‘we’ are happy to import whatever is made in wherever having whatever design rules there. Style wins against function and lighting-related safety issues, or so it seems.
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Yes I could not agree more, most of us will have been behind a Hyundai Excell or some other European car that leves the rear high intensity fog light on when not really required with little thought to the driver behind him.If the off road 4 wheel drive vehicles need a brighter headlight for off road then there should be an urban setting for around town.
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I’ve managed to grow a really good cataract in my left eye in the past six months which refracts light all over the inside of my eyeball, so I’ve got no hope with these bright lights now until I can have an op to remove the thing. That should be fun. 
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The operation is quite straightforward, with very low risk and takes about 20 minutes to actually be done (more time is spent in pre op drops and prep). I have had both eyes done very successfully, it is very important to use the drops and/or ointment that are supplied or recommended afterwards. I found that I needed the “liquid tears” one for a few more weeks than was recommended but the specialist said this was not anything strange and it was a good idea to continue as needed. I now no longer need long distance glasses that I had to have from the age of 14, and I only require reading glasses for close up work. The protective eye pad was removed after a day and the clear cover was used for about a week.
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Some advice on handling bright headlights while on the road:
https://samotor.raa.com.au/the-dangers-of-modern-headlights/
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This seems another case of transferring an obvious problem from the ADRs and standards that suit our conditions, onto the consumer/road user. ‘We’ do that most times, don’t we?
Having been in the EU for a few weeks and now in the USA it continues to surprise how the design rules seem to have given the manufacturers more and more latitude to add marque specific ‘bright shiney objects’ for marketing, that can dazzle and distract as much as using a mobile phone but we get fined and they get more sales.
An increasing number of vehicle lighting is more reminiscent of video games than signals/markers to advise and warn of drivers’ intentions.
Has Choice decided to avoid the line of fire promoting safety rules for common sense vehicle design and joined the ACCC approach in essentially advising us to ‘shop around’ or take care of ourselves on this consumer safety issue?
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I can understand your sentiment, and it is interesting to hear about the situation overseas. In terms of CHOICE’s approach, it’s a more a case of how we invest our time. However, product safety in all it’s form remains a priority.
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Well, it’s been a good 9 months since I had my cataracts removed, and I can honestly say, I no longer have any problem with the brightness of LED traffic lights, brake lights, or indicator lights. Headlights don’t seem to be such a problem either. Don’t know if it’s due to having clearer vision or from having prosthetic lens implants, but whichever it is, I’m fine with the brightness of these things now. All I know is that I was having problems with these types of lights long before my vision started to deteriorate from the rapid forming cataracts that I ended up with, and now I don’t.
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Think of a cataract as being analogous to foil confetti in the eye. When hit by light it diffuses it, hence sensitivity or ‘splashes of bright’.
Great to hear about your good outcome!
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NO you are not the only person. In fact, for freeway driving, I now wear sunglasses to cut down the glare. What a ridiculous state of affairs, and hardly conducive to safety (which theoretically is the point of the brighter lights in the first place …)
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Am I the only one who is constantly blinded by car lights at night?
With the current trend for higher suv style cars coupled with new, brighter led lights I find I am constantly being blinded by cars approaching from the rear. The light is not only reflected from the interior mirror, but also from the driver’s side wing mirror. I thought there was legislation governing the strength and direction of car headlights.
I certainly find it a hazard and have found others are voicing a similar opinion.
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I merged your topic into this years-old one, having many similar posts. Unfortunately many of the ADRs have been ‘harmonised’ to suit international auto companies over the years.
Lighting is one of the many outcomes that essentially gives designers almost unlimited scope to turn lighting into veritable game-like displays that increasingly are also brand specific in the vein of hood ornaments and logos.
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