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Are bright headlights forcing you to squint and pull off the road?


Julie Wilson does a lot of night driving as she travels highways to and from ballroom dance competitions in cities like Milwaukee and Chicago.To get more news about auto parts, you can visit iengniek official website.

More than once she’s been forced to take drastic measures and pull off to the side of the road in her GMC Envoy to avoid the ultra-bright headlights of an oncoming vehicle.

“I know it isn’t safe but it’s better than being blinded,” Wilson said. “On two-lane roads I freak out every time I see them coming because I know, for a split second, I won’t be able to see.”

The Fond du Lac woman isn’t the only one bothered by the high intensity Xenon (HID) and LED (light emitting diode) headlamps with which many newer vehicles are equipped. Squinting, looking away from the road – even a migraine headache attack – are typical reactions, particularly from older drivers as they navigate dark roads.

The American Medical Association reports this type of light can cause severe glare and extreme discomfort to the human eye because of its constricting effect on pupils, and a petition at Change.org titled “Ban Blinding Headlights and Save Lives!” keeps gaining ground.

Concerned drivers have even formed websites like lightmare.org and headlight-reform.org — sites devoted to dimming down these blazing headlights that frustrate to the point some motorists have given up driving at night."I try to avoid going out after dark as much as possible because I can't see when someone with these crazy lights is coming at me or driving behind me," said retiree Gil Rodgers of Oshkosh. "I just don't feel safe anymore."

Car manufacturers, however, say the newer lights are more energy efficient, last longer — sometimes for the life of the vehicle — and provide for safer night driving.

Canadian-based Mission LED Lighting Company goes so far as to claim its a myth LED lights are too bright for the road. It says vehicles with difficult-to-tolerate headlights are add-ons purchased from aftermarket suppliers.

"Car companies take their jobs seriously and test a vehicle thoroughly before releasing a final product. When they fit a car with LED lights the output is bright but tolerable and above all road-safe," the company's blog states.

Old school halogen bulbs motorists are used to produce a yellowish light that gets dimmer and yellower as the bulb ages. Compared to modern technology, these bulbs burn hot and require a significant amount of electricity from the vehicle to operate.

HID headlamps appear whiter and five times more powerful, said Fond du Lac County Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt. These are generally the brightest headlights on the highway today and produce the furthest visibility.

The sheriff says auto manufacturers are starting to respond to ongoing complaints and are shying away from using HID bulbs in favor of LEDs, which burn cool. They don't require much electricity and generally do not need replacement.