Bright LED headlights make rain driving difficult: Roadshow

Q: Your columns about older drivers call for me to respond as a 74-year-old driver. My driving is not affected except under one condition: nighttime.

Today’s headlights are blinding, so I avoid night driving, except on familiar routes. I wish there were regulations cutting back on the brilliance of headlights in today’s vehicles.

Bob Sutis, Los Altos

A: Drivers have complained about these lights for almost a decade. Keep reading.

Q: One problem that is getting worse is bright headlights at night. Either people no longer dim their high beams, or new LED lights are much brighter.

California should look at them and regulate their wattage so they are a non-glaring brightness AND issue tickets to people who drive around disregarding others’ eyesight. This is annoying, dangerous, and dampens night vision.

I understand that older drivers feel entitled to brighter lights to compensate for their diminished night vision, but disagree that they have the right to blind oncoming drivers. If it is such a big problem for them, perhaps they can stop driving at night or take Uber? They can get food delivered easily now. There are non-selfish solutions to night blindness. I take Vitamin B complex, which seems to enhance night vision.

Vicki Chang

A: Drivers of all ages have cars with these bright headlights. People have complained about the headlights for at least a decade. About five years ago, the federal Department of Transportation hinted that it might investigate, but nothing has been done.

The bluer light, closer to natural daylight than light from halogen bulbs, increases the visibility of pedestrians and street signs. Recent research warns, however, that high-intensity LED streetlights, which emit unseen blue light, can impair nighttime driving vision and disturb sleep rhythms.

For those on the receiving end of these bright beams, the intense blue-white light can be almost disabling. It tends to be scattered by water droplets, reflecting more light back to drivers and making it more difficult for them to see when they most need good visibility.