They are a lot brighter than the ‘old fashioned’ incandescent headlights, even the halogens. Then add in the blue-white glare and they become annoying, if not dangerous to oncoming traffic. When I drive at night I have to wear the yellow “night driving” glasses that do a pretty good job of reducing the LED headlight dazzle. I am not the only one who wears them for that reason. Fortunately they aren’t expensive. But that it is necessary to wear them in order to be able to drive at night is a pain.
The amount of light LED headlights provide do make it easier for the drivers of vehicles equipped with them to see the road at night even though they do tend to blind oncoming drivers. This is an ongoing problem and it’s only going to get worse.
Is there a solution to this problem in the offing?
Now most new cars have the much stronger LED lights. How much stronger? Well, the brightness of light is measured in lumens. A halogen bulb puts out about 1,000 lumens. An LED bulb puts out about 4,000 lumens. Some aftermarket LED bulbs, many illegal, advertise an eye melting 12,000 lumens!I have seen demonstrations of the smart headlights and it’s a solution that makes sense. It would certainly reduce the issues with LED headlights blinding oncoming drivers. I don’t know if it would eliminate the need for the yellow night driving glasses as the blue-white LED dazzle may still be a problem here and there.
Schieldrop says those aftermarket bulbs are a huge issue, but overall LEDs offer a big advantage. "It's a double-edged sword," he said. "The reality is very bright headlights are actually much safer. It significantly improves how much can see on the road."
The size of vehicles is another factor. The three bestselling vehicles in America are pickup trucks and trucks, really all cars, have gotten much bigger and taller.
--snip--
A remedy might exist in Europe where many cars use advanced adaptive headlights. Also nicknamed "smart headlights."
AAA research found they illuminate the road 86% better than what we have in the U.S. without the glare. Basically, these smart headlights make about 5,000 adjustments per second to curve light around the part of the road already lit up by an oncoming car. So, there's no direct beam in the face.
Craig Fitzgerald, an auto writer for many different publications, says those lights being used in Europe are a huge improvement. "So that's the idea with the smart headlights is they dip away a little bit and that is enough to keep it from really bothering your eyes," Fitzgerald said.
But we have been stuck with our "not as smart" headlights because way back in 1967, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ruled all cars in the U.S. must have separate high beam and low beam bulbs.
"So that really negates these smart headlights. You have to have these specific headlights for the United States. So, we are behind Europe and the rest of the world by 10 years at this point," Fitzgerald said.
Two years ago, the NHTSA finally gave the green light to smarter headlights lights but no carmaker in the U.S. has them yet and the switch could take years.
I must admit that I have been tempted to change the halogen bulbs in the headlights of the trusty RAM 1500 to LEDs. Of course that would mean that now my pickup would become a source of the blinding glare other drivers would have to deal with. But that was not the reason I balked at making the change. Instead, it was the cost as it could cost up to $800 to make the change. Replacement halogen bulbs cost just under $40 each.
I have considered replacing the fog light bulbs with LEDs because they cost a heck of a lot less and they do throw a lot more light, but the pattern is much closer to the ground and provides a lot of light along the sides of the road. I don’t use them often, but when I do I am glad I have them.
In the end, I hope the smart headlights do become more common even though I know they are more expensive than regular headlights, be they halogens or LEDs.