Are LED Headlights Legal?

In this video, I interview a police officer about the legality of aftermarket car mods, specifically converting from Halogen to LED headlights. People seem to love them or hate them, so I sat down with my friend and neighbor, Officer Mike, to settle this argument.

[eastcostzen]

No care in the world of the people your blinding the F out of! The new drivers, the elder people. The times the divided highway is not even and others are head-on below the cutoff. The whole "I can see just fine" attitude is sickening. This will not stop.

[georgeprime]

I think the problem is most prominent if you have a standard size car and you have a 4x4 size coming at you or is behind you. The height difference is a major factor in getting blinded by LED' S.

[kapuraftw]

Just for context.... im just shy of 30 and have never had any vision problems... yet i have an extremely hard time at night with oncoming traffic as well with specific cars. The old "stare at the white line" on the outer side of the road trick to prevent visual delays due to drastic changes in lighting doesnt seem to work with LED lights the way it does with the softer yellow lights. Ive had more than a few times where ive been high beamed by an LED light, or just passed an elevated car with LED lights and had to punch the breaks due to a total loss of road view. Its not super often, and I plan for it to happen to try to map out my windy backroads before it can happen....but my point is... i dont think this can be chalked up to a problem for seniors with bad vision (as discussed at 3:27) ....i have always thought that there need to be clear requirement on what range of lights can be used (min/max)- or at the very least- some studies into the risk factor of increasingly brighter headlights.
Maybe we wont even have to worry about new regulations....if we just give it a few more years for autonomous vehicles to take over the roads. Its a sad an obvious solution.

[johnharrison]

In the UK (and the rest of the EU), all LED replacement bulbs on any exterior light are illegal to use on the public highway. You may fit an LED headlight, but the whole lamp that has been specially made for LED bulbs has to be fitted. This is because replacement bulbs do not carry the E mark.

HID replacement bulbs on the other hand, are a grey area. This is because the test station has to be sure that the light output is greater than 2000lm and over 6000K before he could fail the car. Officially, if over 2000lm, the car must be fitted with self-levelling headlamps and headlamp washers.

I hope that clears things up for UK drivers.

[michaylalovitt]

This isn't just an issue for old senior citizens with vision problems, I'm a young 20 year-old in good health and I am just completely blinded by incorrectly installed LED headlights. When installing LED headlights, one must be very careful to install them tilted slightly down towards the ground, so as not to blind incoming traffic.

[SEAWEEDER]

Had Nighteyes LED headlight installed and car just failed it's MOT in the U.K. New rules were brought in on March 2021 regarding aftermarket lights. It must be original bulbs.

[benking]

I've changed my views on this, I live in the UK ( england) and I fitted led bulbs to my wife's car and oncoming traffic started flashing at me so I took the car to auto repair shop I know and we put the car on the light testing machine they use for the anual inspection and found the led bulbs where off the scale,
They told me I was to put the halogen back in because the car would fail the inspection and dazal outher drivers, they where not legal on British roads period

[mrrdsully]

I like you video and have a few thoughts as to my understanding of the Law on this. As the former Chief of Field Operations and Enforcement for the California Bureau of Automotive Repair we had issues like this come up often, mostly with smog equipment. First, Federal Law (Then State Law) When a vehicle is built and offered for sale in the U.S. it must be approved and certified for safety by the Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) Lighting is a big part of that approval and once certified, ANY modification would technically be non-compliant, unless the aftermarket manufacturer got DOT approvals (Some do get DOT Apr) . However, no one that I know of actively enforces this. As far as the law on lighting Mods at the state and local levels.. its a VERY mixed bag, depending where you are. Here in California (the most regulated place on the planet) the motor vehicle code has a lot lighting but is a bit vague on the issue. The "Spirit of the law" is on public safety. I think if a up grade is done properly, improving you vision, WITH OUT annoying or jeopardizing the safety of others, your probably OK. I wish the LED bulb manufactures would address and clarify the issue better.

[lordleonusa]

Great Video, Please note though, that not all LED headlights are created equal. They are constantly improving. and are now on the third generation. I've watched a LOT of comparison videos done by all kinds of people, and I would say that roughly 90% of LEDs out there so not have a good beam pattern, although some are very good. I am older and really appreciate driving with LEDs at night, but I do not wish to blind oncoming traffic.

[charlieforshaw]

I hate led lights as when I am in the car I just can’t see, especially when it is on e.g a Range Rover

[NipplesOfDestiny]

when my man hits you with a "for pete's sake" you know he's mad

[gatorage]

IMO it's more the light color that needs to be a law. to me, 4000k color should be the highest you can run at low beams, and at high beams you should run what you want... if other cars are not around.

[dankmemes]

My car did come from the manufacturer with LED lights so I'm assuming I'm exempt from being pulled over?

[TopiasSalakka]

Retrofit LED bulbs are illegal where i live, but cops and inspection don't really care. Cops just check that they work, inspection only checks the aim.

[ourmundo]

Officer Mike has some big "guns" in his sleeves.

[Paul-gzdp]

The only problem with all lights is when they are either adjusted wrong, or people driving with their high beams. It is easy to know if someone is running with high beams, as all of their headlights are on, not just the low beams. The part of the vehicle code about bulbs is that they have to be of a certain brightness.

[RacingRaptor]

As long as you have nearlight patern as it produced in factori and not go over it and the light height is correctly adjusted, it should be no problem. But if you mod your light bulbs, be sure to adjust them to the hight that it does not go over the other car hood .

[johnlyons]

Problem is people just put the led bulbs in but don't adjust their headlights after installation

[byhislove]

The problem is not the modification, it is like staring into brights from a car coming in my direction and blinds me. It is dangerous and I have a small car. The bigger problem is the SUV's and trucks, they are worse. When they are behind me, I have to flip my rearview mirror and hold my hand to block the lights from my side mirror going directly into my eyes. I don't like the idea to be forced to buy another vehicle and/or truck because of safety with LED's.

[gamalielmosqueda]

Issue is not whether you can install LED lights, it whether you SHOULD install LED lights in your car. It’s not ok when you are putting other people in danger by blinding drivers on the road. Surprised the former officer did not make this point even though he said it himself LEDs have blinded him on the road.