Blinding headlights are growing problem on US roads

Ultra bright headlights in newer vehicles were designed to improve visibility but now they are having unintended consequences — blinding other drivers. NBC’s Vicky Nguyen reports for TODAY.

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#car #safety #driving

[lesliewellbrock]

It’s about time someone addressed this! I hope people will start trying to do something about it!

[EvanFisch]

Emergency Physician here (and nocturnist). In interviewing my MVC patients nearly ALL of them mentioned blinding headlights were a factor, with many mentioning it was the SOLE factor in their collision. Headlights like this are seriously injuring and killing people. Many more than these few anecdotes

[Gala-ypnx]

There absolutely needs to be legal limits for how bright headlights can be.

[MOfTheNorth]

I thought I was going crazy that other vehicles headlights always seemed brighter than mine.

[agarvin]

Glad people are now talking about this - I have astigmatism and the bright LED lights make it incredibly difficult (if not impossible) to see the road without being blinded

[facelessman]

It's about time someone addressed this issue. When I last went to the auto parts store to pick up some new lights, they actually encouraged me to get brighter blue ones. Telling me you could see so much better. Sure, but I'm also blinding everyone else on the road.

[akeleven]

Trucks are so tall their headlights are directly in our faces, no matter whether high or low beam.

[ros]

As the driver of an older Honda…this video hit home so true. I’m sure glad all the new big SUV’s can see like it’s daylight but makes it downright dangerous for me at times

[RedHood]

This is just now hitting the news? This has been a problem for years now

[nugsymalone]

As a normal car driver, I really hope they do something about this. Its insane driving at night

[jacobdzu]

One of the biggest issues I see are people installing led bulbs into reflector housings designed for halogen bulbs and not doing a proper retrofit like projectors and then aiming properly. This is more so for older vehicles or vehicles with replacable bulbs, new vehicles are pretty much going "non replaceable" led.

[Sierra]

I remember being at a stoplight and a truck from the opposite side had those lights. I brought my hand up to my eyes to shield them enough so I could see the stoplight if it turned. The driver in the truck saw this happening and decided to turn on his high beams to blind me even more as my blocking of his headlights shining in my eyes somehow seemed to deeply offend his fragile ego. I will never understand the thought process of these pieces of trash.

[solitarelee]

This really needs to be regulated. I used to be a trucker (and am only 32 now) and never had an issue driving at night my whole life. These days, I'm scared to drive at night, especially on back country roads (which is all we have where I live), because people use blinding lights, and now trucks have these insanely bright gold-yellow flood lights they use any time it rains for some god-forsaken reason that keep anyone in their cone from being able to see anything at all, and also burn right through the "night time" dimmer on rear view mirrors. It's made worse by the stupid """light trucks""" that are the only thing american car manufacturers will sell anymore. They don't even fit in parking spots, and they're so high up that anyone driving even a normal van is getting blinded as their low beams act like high beams.

[humanothumqn]

As somebody with glasses, i agree. The government might as well legalize drunk driving with how much lights like these impair somebody with a stigmatism from being able to see/drive well. Also, i do look at the right line, but sometimes the lights are so bright it blurs into those as well

[hawkeyepierce]

I refuse to drive at night. It is total BS that these vehicles lights stock headlights from the factory or allowed to be this bright. It should be illegal.

[gtajeu]

We also need to discuss how poorly painted the lanes are on a lot of highways and backroads too. It’s like driving on a road without lanes sometimes.

[jaci]

This has been angering me for so long now. It’s so frustrating to be blinded by the lights around me nearly every time I’m driving

[xxuncexx]

Finally someone’s talking about how ridiculously bright new headlights are. 20 years ago you could comfortably look at any low beams. Now they all feel like high beams.

[funathome]

This needs to be on every car. Last night an SUV following me was blinding me so bad I couldn’t see anything. Even after I covered my mirror, I was already blinded that it affected my vision for 5 mins. Luckily there was a lot of street traffic so I didn’t need to drive fast.

[dragons_red]

I knew it was the stupid LEDs. Glad to see I am not the only one experiencing this.