Blinded by the light
How new LED headlights are making driving at night more difficult
The law of unintended consequences
In 1975, economist Sam Peltzman realised that the novel automobile safety feature at the time – the seatbelt – was not even making a dent in the rates of driving deaths. His theory, which became known as ‘The Peltzman Effect’, was that drivers felt safer and therefore felt comfortable taking riskier decisions on the road. The result: more accidents, and no immediate benefit despite leaps in safety technology.
In the spirit of this backwards logic, motorists are now complaining about a new problem caused by features that should make driving safer. LED headlights – the brighter, bluer and more directional main lights fitted to modern vehicles – are making driving at night challenging for thousands of people.
A freedom of information request to the Department for Transport has revealed the number of complaints received about being temporarily blinded by these lights is doubling every year, from 16 in 2023 to 59 in 2025.
But why are better lights making it harder to see the road?
And as rumblings of concerns spill from online car communities into the halls of Westminster, what is being done to change this?
A glaring issue
‘Headlight glare’ is when the lights of a car dazzle (or temporarily blind) another road user – often a car travelling the other direction.
RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said: “Sadly, we’re not surprised complaints to the Government about dazzling headlights are on the rise - we know this is something drivers and other road users feel strongly about, and we’ve worked hard to get the Government to act."
Research released by the RAC in February 2026 showed that almost all drivers surveyed think at least some car headlights are too bright. Of the drivers who had been affected by headlight glare, more than half believe the problem has got worse in just 12 months.
A quarter of those affected are either driving less at night or have given up altogether.
And to make matters worse, the drivers most impacted are the oldest and youngest on the road.
Drivers who drive less at night because of headlight glare
Source: RAC 2026 headlight glare study
Under 35's
Source: RAC 2026 headlight glare study
Aged 75 and over
Source: RAC 2026 headlight glare study
Blinded by the light
Elliot has astigmatism, a condition when the eye’s lenses are irregularly shaped.
This can cause distracting glares and halos around lights whilst driving at night.
From up in the cab, headlight dazzle is often quite literally beneath him.
As an HGV driver, he travels over 1,000 miles each week across the UK.
Elliot commutes to work in the early morning darkness.
“In the car, it’s a lot harder.”
It is still pitch black outside when he leaves his home in North Bedfordshire.
He adores his Vaxhaul Corsa VXR, but in its low driving position he is susceptible to headlight glare from other cars.
His astigmatism turns this glare into bright streaks across his vision.
He ‘really hates driving at night now’, and points to the combination of LED headlights and new bright streetlights making his commute challenging.
“With the state of the road markings and potholes everywhere, I’m terrified of hitting a hole when dazzled."
“It’s not getting better, is it?”
Flashpoint
In 2024, the Department for Transport commissioned a study into headlight glare, its causes, and how to go about tackling the issue.
The research project was run by Berkshire-based company TRL, which conducted on-road testing and extensive surveys, eventually releasing their results in October 2025.
As part of the testing, drivers were told to press a button to record every time they experienced glare from an oncoming car.
A left-hand-drive test vehicle was also used on UK roads with a light sensor set up on the passenger seat (where the driver on a left-hand-drive would sit) to record scientific data on luminosity of headlights.
A luminance camera was installed at driver eye level in the trials car as part of the study. Credit: TRL
The results confirmed what the British public had been voicing their concerns about: Brighter headlights are associated with increased likelihood of experiencing glare, and most drivers think that headlights are too bright.
TRL’s report revealed that more than half of drivers have stopped or reduced driving at night (or would if they could) due to their perceptions of headlamp brightness.
“Glare is therefore an issue for which action to improve the situation for the driving public would be welcomed,” the report said.
Favoured by manufacturers for increased efficiency, lifespan and visibility compared with older halogen lights, the onset of LED's has been part of a trend of increasing brightness in vehicle headlights.
Denise Voon, clinical adviser at The College of Optometrists, told the RAC: "LED lights differ to traditional halogen headlights in a number of ways.
“Firstly, LED lights are much brighter, exhibiting 200 lumens per watt compared to 24 lumens per watt in traditional halogens.
“Secondly, the colour temperature of LED lights are much bluer and whiter and mimic natural daylight much more closely than the warmer yellow/orange of halogens.
“Lastly, LED lights are much more directional than halogen lights, whose light tends to be a lot more scattered."
LED headlights are not the sole reason for headlight glare. In fact, any car’s headlights can dazzle other road users if they’re trimmed too high.
Another culprit often cited for making driving difficult at night is the rise of SUVs. A third of all new cars registered in the UK in 2024 were Sports Utility Vehicles, with a raised driving position and headlights that can often shine straight into other cars windscreens if not angled correctly.
Motorists were asked about their experiences with headlight glare and how to tackle the causes on Reddit.
"The main issue (beyond being actually blinded) is that the constant super bright lights also ruin your natural night vision. So you find it harder to see and focus in the dark, even with your own headlights, because every few seconds you’re blinded by someone driving an SUV with two mini-suns mounted on the front."
"It’s awful and incredibly dangerous, especially driving late at night or early AM on country roads. This is a much bigger issue on SUVs. I think if you want a huge vehicle (without any commercial requirement) you should be taxed massively."
"Lights are indeed too bright generally now. Obviously not all cars, but every single night time drive, at least one will dazzle me."
Seeing the light
The debate around the causes of headlight glare has become a nationwide issue, finally being debated in parliament on 29 October 2025.
Peter Lamb, MP for Crawley, said in parliament: "Brighter headlights may well be attractive to those purchasing a car; they can be more aesthetically pleasing, and drivers benefit from increased visibility, but that all comes at the cost of other road users."
Shockat Adam, MP for Leicster South, added: "Modern vehicles are brighter than ever. LED and xenon technologies have replaced many older halogen bulbs. They are much brighter and more efficient, and provide better clarity on the road for the driver, but unfortunately the increased brightness comes at a cost, which is a rise in glare and dazzle for other road users.
"The RAC, drawing on Government collision statistics, reported that since 2013, an average of 280 crashes a year in Britain have involved dazzling headlights as a contributing factor. Six of those crashes a year involve a loss of life. Campaigners believe that the real figures could be a lot higher."
The new Road Safety Strategy, announced in January, aims to reduce deaths and serious injuries on the road by 65% by 2035. For the first time, this will incorporate new measures to tackle headlight glare.
RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said: “We’re pleased headlight glare features in the new national Road Safety Strategy, and understand further research is planned for later this year. There's also work underway on an international level that should help inform future vehicle headlight design.
"In the meantime though, we’d very much like to see what can be done to tackle the problem that exists today – such as whether the MOT test could more effectively pick up instances where headlights are likely to cause glare."
"He was blinded by the light.
Oh, cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night!"
Video & Animations by Louis Greaves
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