The headlights of vehicles are extremely important, as they ensure that you have the clearest possible view even in poor lighting conditions and ensure your own visibility.
However, the LED headlights are now said to be so good and bright that they are becoming a problem and pose a danger, such as, among other things ADAC now want to have found out.
The General Europe Automobile Club and nine other associations in European countries have asked some of their members about this – in addition to the ADAC, for example, there is the Dutch Transport Club ANWB to call.
In what the ADAC calls a representative survey (how many participants there were is not clear from the report), 76.2 percent of respondents from Europey stated that they were sometimes, regularly or constantly blinded by the bright lights of other vehicles to become.
What does the ADAC study say in detail?
The ADAC study shows that 82.1 percent of drivers surveyed are blinded primarily by high beams. At least 41 percent say that the low beam is also much too bright.
The study breaks down the numbers further: According to this, 4.8 percent of those surveyed stated that the glare from high and low beams is unbearable, and 61.7 percent find it annoying.
What are the consequences?
As the study reveals, the glare results in: Every second driver surveyed (47.5 percent) squints or looks away. 2.4 percent close their eyes completely, another 3.1 percent look directly at the light source.
Only 14.1 percent of survey participants do not react to the glare at all or are able to ignore it.
Of the drivers surveyed in Europey, six out of ten also stated that everything around the light source of oncoming traffic is difficult to see. 32.7 percent are irritated 23.3 percent perceive a spot of light that only slowly disappears from their field of vision4.3 percent even have pain from the bright light.
What are the causes of glare?
According to the ADAC, the luminance of modern headlights is too high. This applies to both the high beam and the low beam. Other reasons given include defective or poorly adjusted headlights. However, the latter could be remedied relatively easily through regular checks.
The conclusion of the ADAC
The ADAC comes to the conclusion that the Glare caused by headlights that are too bright is a traffic hazard. Afterimages, hazes of light and feelings of pain expressed by several survey participants are seen as evidence that this is not only a psychological but also a physiological phenomenon.
Reactions such as intuitively squinting or even closing the eyes as well as looking into the light source should therefore be classified as dangerous to traffic.
Prof. Dr. Dr. Bernhard Lachenmayr, specialist in ophthalmology, comments on the results of the survey as follows:
The results of the survey don’t surprise me. The ever-shrinking light exit area and the increasingly higher luminance increase psychological and physiological glare.
What is the ADAC doing to combat glare from headlights?
According to ADAC, one of the most important measures against glare in road traffic is to: to limit the luminance of headlights.
Several European transport clubs have contacted the European Commission about this. It goes on to say that limit values must be created based on scientific findings from human biology.
In addition, adaptive high beam systems should be designed so that neither drivers, cyclists nor pedestrians are blinded.
The automobile club also stops Mandatory headlight cleaning systems and automatic headlight range control systems makes sense if a certain luminance is exceeded.
You can do this individually to combat the glare
According to the ADAC, it is advisable not to look directly into the lights of oncoming vehicles. Instead, drivers should concentrate on the road in front of you or the right edge of the road.
The ADAC also recommends clean vehicle windows to pay attention and Wearers of glasses should ensure that their lenses are anti-reflective and clean. Regular checking of your own eyesight is mandatory.
This is what you can do for others to combat the glare
But you can’t just do something for yourself. It is therefore advisable to switch off the rear fog lights as soon as possible Regularly check the light settings and the headlight range of your own vehicle and if necessary, improve it (or have it repaired).
When carrying a load, drivers should also make sure to correct the headlight range by hand if this does not happen automatically.
You can find out what it’s like to drive a state-of-the-art Tesla Model 3 and what the car can do in the following article:
What are your experiences? Are the LED headlights of modern vehicles also a thorn in your side and can you therefore confirm the survey results? And if so, which group would you consider yourself to be? Do you perhaps even close your eyes or are you more of a pinch person? Or can you not understand the survey results at all? Feel free to write it to us in the comments!
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