Caught in the dazzling glare of potentially dangerous LED headlights

Vehicles with headlights switched on in fog on the M80 near Stirling. A recent RAC survey of 2000 drivers found 89 per cent think some car headlights are too bright (Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)

I was interested to read the article titled “Bright headlights a glaring issue as probe scheduled” in Monday’s paper. It caught my eye (pun intended) because I had driven down from Nairn that very day and had experienced what many drivers were complaining about.

My journey entailed leaving Nairn, driving over the moor road (the Dava) to Carrbridge, through Aviemore and then on the A9 to Perth. I then took a detour to Glasgow to drop my son off after which I made my way along the M8 (the best thing to come out of Glasgow) and home to Edinburgh.

The weather was overcast and misty and as a result visibility was limited to a matter of yards in some parts – which is fine if driving on a motorway, but not so great if it is an A-road and you have oncoming traffic to contend with – oncoming traffic with bright headlights on that is.

The glare from some vehicles at first made me think that their headlights were on full beam, but no, it was just another example of the potentially dangerous effect that some LED headlights may have on other drivers.

Monday’s paper summed it up in a nutshell when it reported a recent RAC survey of 2000 drivers suggested 89 per cent think some car headlights are too bright and that according to national collision data, dazzling headlights were a contributable factor in 216 incidents in 2023 – which obviously does not take into account the number of near misses that must have occurred.

Apparently, the UK Government expects independent research, examining headlight glare, to be published in the summer. Then we might get to the root of the problem and determine that if there is a safety issue associated with brighter headlights, appropriate steps can be taken to address it.

I, like the AA members who said that LED lights on vehicles are among the factors causing them to be “blinded” while driving, can only go by the evidence of my own eyes (literally) and hope that I will not have to resort to constantly wearing Ray-Bans while driving.