O/T Headlight glare!

As a night shift worker I've found myself increasingly affected by the above and whilst some of this maybe put down to age, I have also firmly believed that a lot of the problem is down to a combination of both more SUVs on the road with their lights now set at a higher level on the vehicles and far brighter LED technology than the previous halogen lighting. Many times this makes oncoming traffic look like they have their lights on hi-beam and the dazzle is certainly dangerous.

At long last the RAC is now trying to get the government to look into this but I'm sure there used to be laws both regarding the height levels that car headlamps could be set at and the brightness levels of bulbs used for normal road use to prevent this issue? Anyone else feel this is an issue?

Honestly i would check you dont have the start of cataracts in your eyes. This can gradually creep up on you.
Not saying that there is not issue with cars/suv's. I live in a rural area and a few years ago it became a real issue for me. Optician said i had the start of cataracts but its not too bad. I did get a referral but the doctor said they are no bad enough to have them done for free on the NHS, come back when you are almost blind basically.
Went private and what a difference it made, glare almost gone, only the unaligned spots really effect me now or idiots who dont dip their full beam.

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Originally Posted by wbaliquidator

Honestly i would check you dont have the start of cataracts in your eyes. This can gradually creep up on you.
Not saying that there is not issue with cars/suv's. I live in a rural area and a few years ago it became a real issue for me. Optician said i had the start of cataracts but its not too bad. I did get a referral but the doctor said they are no bad enough to have them done for free on the NHS, come back when you are almost blind basically.
Went private and what a difference it made, glare almost gone, only the unaligned spots really effect me now or idiots who dont dip their full beam.

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Thanks for the heads up👍

I'm sure that brighter lighting and higher set headlamps play their part but, as I said, age probably does too so will certainly heed your advice.

My last eye test was a couple of years ago and didn't pick anything up (and I was starting to have the problem then) but, money being tight, I foolishly didn't opt for the anti-glare coating on my glasses. Certainly cannot afford private treatment but will book in to have my eyes checked again soon and will ask about this. Think I'll have to go for the anti- glare treatment this time round if I need new glasses!

I, too, find headlight glare a problem, I’m ok on dual carriageways and motorways but single track roads I find increasingly difficult. I have had an anti glare coating on my distance glasses but the main reasons are age, glaucoma and the beginnings of cataracts. I am told that I will probably need the cataracts to be dealt with in about 3-5 years time.

As for headlights, my car (not an SUV) has LED headlights and as long as they are correctly set, they should not dazzle oncoming vehicles. The problem arises with aftermarket LED headlights, most of which originate in China, and they are cr@p, the beam spreads, unlike OEM lights. Unfortunately, original brand lights, in my case Ford, are expensive, a lot more than the cheap Chinese rubbish. If people set their own headlight level, they will probably set them too high and too straight and thus will dazzle oncoming traffic.

I would sometimes get mild headaches from computer screens usually when the brightness is set a little too high. The wife always has her iphone set on maximum brightness, its blinding

I get what is described as Starburst from street and headlights. Its not bad and is caused by the fact that I had my eyes lasered when I was 50 years old. Up until then without glasses or contact lenses I was blind as a bat. Now other than for reading or close intricate work I can see a gnat's dick at a 100 paces. I am over 70 and still do not need glasses to drive. Its fantastic after wearing glasses from the age of 10.

Only having this conversation in work recently.
A lot of car drivers are unaware of their light settings. By that I mean most cars have there settings positioned on low flying seagulls, that are set so high. If you are driving onto oncoming traffic with lights set high, then you are going to feel like they are on full beam, when they are not.
My own car is a 2012 model but even it has a dial for this setting, 1 been low to the ground and 5 been quite high up and out. This setting most aren't even aware of. Newer cars that I have checked do not have this as an automatic function so it is still something you have to manually set yourself and most dont.

While I will definitely heed the advice about getting my eyes checked, I did notice on my drive back this morning that it was just the odd one or two cars causing glare problems with the vast majority (regardless of whether halogen or brighter LED) being fine. My most recent cars have had safety settings for the lights so that they were not directed at on-coming traffic but it does seem that a few cars either do not have this feature or else the drivers themselves have not adjusted the settings correctly.

My own vehicle does have a minimal manual adjustment wheel on the dash which alters the height of the beam to account for the number of passengers carried but still points away from oncoming traffic. The ones that I noticed this morning clearly did not have this safety feature and their headlight beams seemed to be aimed directly at me. The trick, I guess, is to try and glance away to the left but not ideal on windy country roads with no lighting.