A bit of Razzle Dazzle
Headlights that is – do we need them so bright?
Lucy England
I'm worried my headlights are not bright enough :(
Just a quick flip back to the topic of headlight glare, which we have covered before on Wemoto News...well the new Labour government has confirmed that it will be:
“commissioning independent research to better understand the root causes of headlamp glare and help identify potential countermeasures”.
So that is a positive, especially as the nights are drawing in, and the mornings seem to be drawing out, on a daily basis. Darker times exacerbate this problem and cause a lot of difficulties for people who don’t like to drive when it is dark because they fear being dazzled and the dangers which this brings.
As reported by the RAC, House of Lords Baroness Hayter said:
"For anyone who suffers from headlight glare and wonders what is being done about it, this will be a very welcome announcement. We know some drivers have stopped driving at night, and we know concern about dazzle isn’t only felt by drivers in the UK but further afield as well. Getting to the bottom of these issues and deciding a way forward is extremely important.”
In France headlights were always yellow historically, as research from as early as the 1950s, showed that this colour was less dazzling to oncoming traffic. Yellow headlights were also supposed to be able to illuminate the road ahead better through rain, snow and fog, than white or blue lights.
Would it be too simple to just adopt yellow headlights here if that means that they could still be as bright, but could cut the glare? How do you feel about that?
Well let’s hope that something comes out of the research which will offer some solutions to this perennial problem. Doesn’t seem like rocket science to solve it. Any ideas and is this something which bothers you? Or do you think that the advantages of having bright headlights outways the dangers of dazzle from cars?
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