Recent Media/petition Against Ultra-bright Led Lights

[Insert Coin]

I see both sides, to a point. But I tend to think the manufacturers have spent considerable time/effort/money on R&D to work within the boundaries and have come up with a compromise that safely suits all, or most.

I don't struggle to see at night, but I do appreciate the extra field of vision and clarity of driving a vehicle with modern led/hid lamps. (plus LED's look brilliant on T6's)

Perhaps this media petition will start some kind of scientific study, then we'll know for certain how many people it affects and how seriously it should be treated.

Personally I'm amazed there isn't a night version of 'sun glasses' that filters out the very brightest lights. for those affected.

 

[Loz]

Personally I'm amazed there isn't a night version of 'sun glasses' that filters out the very brightest lights. for those affected.

Welders auto mask

What was clever on my previous Touareg was the auto headlights, instead of dipping, they dropped a moving mask over the area that corresponds to where the car is coming towards you so they are fully masked but you still have an appropriate area illuminated.

 

[DPS]

I have LED headlights on my T6. From a driver's point of view they are brilliant and look great etc., but I fully understand why there are concerns about the risk of them dazzling oncoming traffic.

 

[Dieseldonkey]

Remember the yellow headlight thing. Back in the 80's, when I was a mere whipersnaper. Big with the French, I seem to recall. Was it's purpose not to stop glare way back then?

 

[Roadrunner]

Think it was before that. H4 headlights were the big thing then, they were brighter that the sealed beam ones you had in the car

 

[Loz]

Remember the yellow headlight thing. Back in the 80's, when I was a mere whipersnaper. Big with the French, I seem to recall. Was it's purpose not to stop glare way back then?

In the back of my mind, the yellow thing was to do with reflection of the light from the fog before they got really good at reflectors and flat beams etc.

here we go: Selective yellow - Wikipedia

 

[Whizzbiz]

Thanks for the responses, a range of opinions!
I’m sorry to hear some are suffering from what they attribute to oncoming bright leds.
Would I be right in thinking that the third party retro fit leds are largely being blamed for this? Presumably factory-fit lights have to pass standards, in the present case EU rules?
Personally, I am now concerned that a) my forthcoming Vw leds will cause problems to others, and b) I might need to hand them in at a later date to a government amnesty station
Whatever, at the least I will pay more attention to the angle adjustment on those country lanes

 

[Shredder]

Interesting

One of the contributing factors to me getting a new van was irritation with the 'old tech' lights on my Mercedes Vito.

My vision is 100% and I just got sick to death of charging across Europe's poorly lit roads (incl the high speed carriageways) and dark mountain switchbacks with a couple of candles to light the way. OK, it was argued earlier here that you could just slow down to match the 'ability' of your lights but quite frankly, when you've got 600 miles or so to do .... I do not want to be doing 50mph.

When night driving, it is easy to get sub-consciously attracted to looking in the direction of oncoming lights, as it's natural to want to check that vehicle's trajectory. On the very rare occasion I have had a problem with oncoming lights, I was told on an advanced driving course, to consciously avert your gaze and momentarily use the near-side white line / road edge as your guide. Works great for me and my personal view would be that I'd rather have the benefit of being able to see further and wider at night than not.

 

[Generaljake]

Genuinely not trying to cause offence, but if you suffer from being severely dazzled at night by modern headlamps then surely you need to try and minimise driving in dark conditions rather than forcing the majority to fit in with your condition?

I have the problem of narrow, undulating and twisty lanes to get to work, my daily little clio is pretty low down.
plus working shifts, the past 4 months I'm constantly driving in the dark and it's compounded by high end audi/bmws with high power lights and the other 50% in SUV's with the same
I just have to look at the inside verge and hold my breath. still won't be a problem soon when we all have auto pilot