Vocal Voices

At last, somebody has done some research, this time the RAC. 85% of us think the problem is getting worse, 89% think some headlights are too bright and 64% think that they can cause accidents.

I thought it was my eyesight so mentioned it to the optician. He said that I was not alone and that many people were complaining - but it is not an eyesight problem. He also said that polarising lenses would not help as they do not work so well with LED lights. It really is the lights.

The beams are so focussed that they do not refract in the same way as halogen lights, then there are the misaligned lights and those on higher vehicles such as SUVs. They all make the lights worse.

Then came the point totally missed by the DfT spokeswonk: "All headlights must adhere to strict technical standards in order for vehicles to be approved for our roads." Yes, but if those super technical standards are causing problems, and they are, what are you going to do about them?

Workingman wrote:what are you going to do about them?

You really need to ask that?

The LED lights are a nuisance. They dazzle you, there's no question. According to some opticians they can damage your eyes.

Suff wrote:

Workingman wrote:what are you going to do about them?

You really need to ask that?

Yes! Because my taxes pay for these idiots.

I find the LED lights have a halo effect. They overwhelm and then blur the surroundings, even in daylight. There was a time when only Scandinavian cars, Volvos, Saabs etc, had halogen daylight running lights, now LEDs are everywhere.

Some of the worst LEDs are those pulsing lights on bicycles. They are not lights to help riders see where they are going, they are warning lights to let us know they are there, but they are so bright that they blind you.

Agree but I was being sarcastic.

Unless they see a horde of voters coming screaming at them telling them they're not going to vote for them this year they're not going to do anything.

But I do agree it is a problem. I know age is an issue and Mrs S went through this over the years. I've always been able to look "past" the lights but it is getting harder. Certainly some of the lights are a real problem.

I'm very relucant to drive after sunset nowadays for this very reason. If I do, I stick to known roads and try to keep to a 10-mile radius from home.

Even if I try to mitigate the effects of these LED lights (permanently dip the rear-view mirror, concentrate on the left hand side road markings, slow down if dazzled etc), I still find night driving almost dangerous these days, especially on the sort of windy and hilly country roads we have round here.

I don't drive after dark much at all, certainly not on roads I'm not used to, especially if they are unlit. Tbh I found it got worse after my cataract ops, strange as I can see very well in daylight. I did read somewhere that having cataracts does decrease your ability to cope with car lights.

I drive a lot in the dark. I drove nearly 500 miles to Calais on Saturday and most of it was in the dark because I didn't leave till after 4pm. I also drive fast. The Autoroute speed limit is over 80mph. I drive faster than that.

It gets harder though.

On Monday morning, before 7.00 a.m, I was driving to get the paper. Turned into a minor road where cars and vans park. They belong to workers
who are builing a new school. I had to stop as I was blinded by the lights of a large van which had parked but still with the headlights full on. I did
not move until they had been turned off.

I do not do much driving at night. Most of it is on roads I know, usualy with street lights.