LED headlights are frequently lambasted for blinding upcoming motorists – and recent studies show most want them gone.

In recent years, light emitting diode (LED) lights have become standard for most car manufacturers.

They have a longer lifespan than traditional halogen bulbs and are also typically brighter as well.

Car with headlights on country road at sunset york yorkshire united kingdom (riddypix / Alamy Stock Photo)

Transport consultant Conor Faughnan told The Pat Kenny Show that drivers across the continent are struggling to deal with headlight glares.

“The AA in the UK did a big survey of motorists, and they found that three out of four drivers are complaining that glare from new car headlights is getting worse,” he said.

“That’s not standalone; I’m aware of a European study that had 10 consumer clubs in various different countries and they said eight out of 10 people said it was a problem that’s getting worse.”

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) surveyed 10 European mobility clubs in 2023 about how road traffic glare affects members.

The results showed that around over 70% of respondents find glares intolerable and believe it is necessary to review and update regulations around vehicle lighting.

Car builds

Mr Faughnan said that the shape of modern cars may be a contributing factor.

“SUVs are now over 50% of the new car market... The lights are higher mounted,” he said.

“So, it’s not so much that there’s more luminosity in these new lights, it’s just the way they’re mounted.

“They’re practically coming in your back windscreen, and it can feel off-putting and intimidating.”

Car LED headlights at night. Credit: DedMityay / Alamy Stock Photo

However, according to Mr Faughnan, bright headlights can be useful to those travelling on rural roads.

“It’s fantastic and they [illuminate roads] at a far lower carbon cost,” he said.

“Actually, the bigger problem with lights is the old-fashioned ones, they go out of alignment, they go kind of cross-eyed – and in Ireland that’s a particular problem.

“The RAA, when I was with them a few years ago, we did a study, and we discovered that the counties that have the most potholes are also the counties that have the most headlight failures for NCT – which is logical enough.

“If you shake the beejaysus out of a car, the headlights will come out of alignment – and actually, there’s new technology now for new cars to self-correct that."

Mr Faughnan said that while some cars have settings that automatically dip headlights, much of the issue stems from driver behaviour.

He said it can be “very intimidating for other road users” to be blasted with “full beams like a pair of cannons”.

Featured image: Bright headlights of a car driving on foggy winter road. Credit: Elena Elisseeva / Alamy Stock Photo