Most drivers have experienced a situation blinded by led or xenon headlights when driving at night. In the worst case, that blinding headlight can prevent a driver from seeing an object in the road or another vehicle have to stop sharply just ahead.
The reason for this issue is that older-style halogen headlight may not be bright enough for the driver to see in front of them, especially on country roads with little lighting. So if there is any good way to prevent this issue occur. Thanks for the invention of LED AND hid HEADLIGHTS. But we need to know that there is a two-fold problem: drivers using bright LED headlights can cut visibility for oncoming drivers, but without bright LED headlights, drivers may not able to see hazards in the roadway with little lighting.
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How Dangerous are LED and Xenon Headlights?
Headlights that shine too brightly in an oncoming driver’s eyes cause glare or light scatter in the eyes. This glare sometimes called “disability glare,” which will lead to the affected driver being unable to detect contrast. When a driver’s eyes are impacted by disability glare, it leads to these issues:
Decreased Visibility – Drivers can’t see objects in the roadway at a reasonable distance.
Increased Reaction Times – Drivers take longer to respond to objects in the road.
Poor Recovery Time – Drivers take several seconds after passing the bright headlights to return to normal vision.
What Headlight Factors Increased Disability Glare?
Drivers may have noticed that the headlights from some oncoming cars affect their eyes more than others. So what makes some headlights more likely to impact drivers than others?
These may include:
Headlight mounting height – larger vehicles may have headlights that are higher above the ground than cars.
Varied headlight aim – headlights that are misaligned may be pointing up so that they shine directly into the eyes of other drivers.
Smaller headlight size – smaller lights may focus light in a way that increases glare.
Color appearance – some drivers report that blue lights increase glare.
Auxiliary lighting – fog lights, when coupled with regular headlights, may have a greater impact on vision.
What Can Drivers Do to Improve Their Vision?
If bright headlights are particularly bothersome to you, or if you’re worried about the reduced reaction time that disability glare can induce, you do have a couple of options.
Keep the windshield clean and crack-free. Dirt and imperfections such as cracks in the windshield can refract light and make it harder to see.
Wear yellow glasses. Even if you can see better without a prescription, the special yellow lens can help reduce or even absorb the glare from night driving.
Do your part. Make sure your own headlights are aligned correctly and you aren’t using bright or blue bulbs.
Focus on the other part of the road, away from the light source.
If you don’t know how to install the headlight correctly, please contact us for the install videos.iEngniek is always committed to providing safe and professional car light services.