Why there is so much debate.

[The Real Maverick]

Why is there so much debate over headlamp "brightness"?

This explains... A LOT.

According to Google:

Astigmatism is a common eye condition that affects about 1 in 3 people worldwide:

• Prevalence: In the United States, 33% of people have astigmatism. In a systematic review, the prevalence of astigmatism in adults across the World Health Organization regions was estimated to be 40%.
  
  
• Age: Astigmatism can be present at birth, but most babies outgrow it.

Astigmatism is caused by an irregularly curved cornea, which causes light to refract incorrectly. This condition is difficult to correct by surgery. Symptoms include:

• Blurred vision
• Objects appearing wavy or distorted
• Squinting
• Headaches
• Poor night vision
• Sensitivity to bright light
• Frequent eye strain

Question: Why do LEDs feel so intense?
Response: LEDs often feel intense to human eyes for several interesting physiological and technical reasons:

1. Small Source Size:
- LEDs concentrate light from a very small area (often < 1mm²)o
- This creates extremely high luminance (brightness per unit area)
- Our eyes evolved dealing with larger, more diffuse sources
- When we look directly at an LED, this concentrated light hits a small retinal area

2. Blue Light Content:
- Many white LEDs use blue LEDs with phosphor coating
- The blue component is particularly stimulating to our retinas
- Our eyes are very sensitive to blue wavelengths
- This can cause more discomfort than equivalent warm sources

3. Sharp Spectral Peaks:
- LED spectra often have sharp peaks rather than smooth distributions
- This differs from natural light and incandescent sources
- Can trigger stronger biological responses
- May cause more glare sensitivity

4. Limited Natural Diffusion:
- Traditional sources naturally scattered light more
- LEDs need intentional diffusion added
- Without proper diffusion, the sharp contrast can be uncomfortable

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LED headlights are using LED chips when our eyes, and nervous system, aren't evolved to deal with such a light source. Limiting the intensity and blue wavelength light will somewhat mitigate the LED disaster, but in reality, headlamps must use technology that emits light that our eyes evolved with. This means car headlamps must use halogen/tungsten filament or similar, not tiny LED chips.

See Also:
www.softlights.org

Good news story here:
https://www.dailydot.com/news/led-headlights-astigmatism/

PLEASE READ and PLEASE HELP make a positive change.

PLEASE HELP 33% of the population.



PLEASE SIGN HERE TO CHANGE.
https://www.change.org/p/u-s-dot-ban-blinding-headlights-and-save-lives


This explains the strong opinions on both sides. 1 in 3 are badly affected. 2 in 3 are not.

Hopefully if you are part of the 2 you will have sympathy, compassion, and understanding for the other 33%. Bright LED headlamps are literally causing pain and suffering for 33% of the people out there.

Will you be part of the solution?
Thank you.

https://www.change.org/p/u-s-dot-ban-blinding-headlights-and-save-lives

As of January 16, 2025

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[Glen Baker LLC]

I really disagree with pushing a mandate onto large portion of the population that aren't affected. For the benefit of a few.
For those drones who will regurgitate ADA. I can use a ramp or stairs. I don't mind handrails in stalls or bathtubs. At my age lower urinals is about where the stream is now a days.
I'm old, I don't prefer to drive at night, if I don't have too.
What I prefer, is the bright white headlights on my Maverick, more than the yellow halogen headlights on my wife's Escape.
It's kind of funny that the 'Poor Night Vision' that's mentioned above is helped by having brighter, whiter headlights.

Below link is an opposing view also by experts.
Current Headlights may not be bright enough.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/global/2024/oct/31/headlights-too-bright

 

[AutobahnSHO]

The bigger issue is the USA won't allow "auto adaptive" headlights which can aim away from oncoming traffic etc... Europe has had them for years.

 

[The Real Maverick]

The bigger issue is the USA won't allow "auto adaptive" headlights which can aim away from oncoming traffic etc... Europe has had them for years.

One of the stories mentions this, and the whole High/Low beams is mostly a North America thing.

We are moving away from larger lamps that used to be more or less "flood lights" to smaller, more compact, more focused lamps that are more or less "spot lights" making the problem worse.

 

[Art Vandelay]

American drivers have a blinding headlight problem. It could last for years.

https://archive.ph/jPUd6#selection-1731.0-1731.76

There's a solution, but it's years away

In February 2022, after being required to by Congress' Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a rule officially allowing automakers to install adaptive driving beam headlights onto new vehicles.
Adaptive driving beams automatically adjust the high beams emitted from LED car headlights in real time to avoid blinding pedestrians and other drivers.
The tech has been legal in most countries outside of the US, and experts say they could make a noticeable difference once rolled out.
But don't expect to see it anytime soon on American roads due to the complexity of the NHTSA's regulations around adaptive driving beams, which differ tremendously from Europe.
"We're still not aware of any that are available in the US, so it might take a few years for the manufacturers to make sure that their high beam or their adaptive driving beam technology meets the requirements that the NHTSA has released," Brumbelow said.
But there isn't any legislation or regulations in place that'll force manufacturers to implement adaptive driving beams into their vehicle lines by a certain date.
So prepare for the immediate future to be even brighter, as the blinding glare problem may get worse before it gets better.

 

[The Real Maverick]

My 2022 Maverick came from the factory with grossly mis-angled headlamps. For a long time, I thought they just sucked.

They were angled too high with no load in the truck. I could not see potholes in the road and the paint lines were pretty dim. I got suspicious after I put something in the bed, and the road was absolutely dark, and 18 wheelers were flashing me to lower my beams.

What a simple adjustment.
What a HUGE difference it made.

I had to turn the screw to the farthest extent possible to "barely" get by with 1300 lbs in the truck.

Logically, they should go slightly DOWN after leaving your truck. Not up. And not be level. And with "projector" lamps, aim matters even more. Sadly, small amount of weight can have a big impact on these newer styles.

Measure bulb height.
Shine on a solid wall.
Measure height on wall. It should be lower, even at close range but will of course go down with distance.

All you need is a screwdriver.
And it is easy to access.

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

.

 

[The Real Maverick]

Rule of

On level ground, put the vehicle 6 feet or less from a wall. Turn headlamps on. Mark the top of the brightest part of the beam.

Move the vehicle about 25 feet back.
The brightest part of the beam should be slightly below your previous mark.

Ah... Glen posted the long version as I was typing my "short" version.

 

[JMJB]

I'm quite happy with my Mavericks headlights .
My wife's 17 year old Toyota has headlights that also work well .
But what I think is awesome is this infinite adjustment on the dash .
Besides the typical high and low beam switch you can adjust for loads , weather conditions , or the type of road .....

 

[oysterville]

Buy night driving glasses.

 

[slashsnake]

Why is there so much debate over headlamp "brightness"?


This explains the strong opinions on both sides. 1 in 3 are badly affected. 2 in 3 are not.

Hopefully if you are part of the 2 you will have sympathy, compassion, and understanding for the other 33%. Bright LED headlamps are literally causing pain and suffering for 33% of the people out there.

Night Driving Glasses: What to Know | Pearle Vision

Rather than ban escalators since some people use wheelchairs, I would much rather we give them options as well. That way we can have escalators in large areas where lots of people are moving up and down, but also elevators for those who can't use escalators.

My mother's night vision is not the best. We live in an area with a lot of deer on the roads right around her house. She was unable to drive at night with her older SUV. Ended up after talking to her that it was older lights on her vehicle and fear she couldn't see enough to be safe on the road. Like you say, in winter, especially up here in Minnesota it gets dark early. Even before 5 where I live. So, her ability to go out with her friends for coffee in the evening or go to church on Wednesday would be severely hampered by this movement. Instead with a good pair of prescription night driving glasses, and LED bulbs, she has much improved visibility after dark.

I get that misaligned LED headlights stink, and some aftermarket led upgrades are illegal but that isn't ever really prosecuted. Target that. Misaligned lights of any type should be ticketed. But brighter headlights save lives. They keep people like me alive when I go for a walk in the evening. The IIHS had a study recently that LED headlights have single-vehicle nighttime crash rates per mile that are 19 percent lower than those of poor-rated headlights. That's a better chance that when my son gets older I have less worry that someone is going to hit him if he's out past 5 over at a friends house.

The reason it's a debate is I want my mom to see that deer rather than hit it and end up in a ditch. Like you say, up to 1/3 of people driving at night have poor night vision (one of the symptoms of astigmatism). I want those people to be able to see my son on his bike coming home from his friends and have him lit up with a better light making him easier to see.

I would much rather a change.org requiring necessitating a standard easily adjustable headlight adjustment for all new cars sold, or maybe headlight alignment being a check required when selling a vehicle (kind of how smog requirements are in some states/cities). Something along those lines. Maybe make ticketing those with misaligned headlights or illegal modifications more of a focus. Maybe a requirement for those who suffer from astigmatism and have worse night vision to be required to use a pair of high quality night driving glasses after dark and a program to help offset the out of pocket costs if they aren't insured for glasses.

I think there may be better ways to solve the problem rather than take away more effective lights, especially as you note, nearly 1/3 of drivers suffer from poor night vision.

 

[Tbone289]

PLEASE HELP 33% of the population.

I am only 50. I have astigmatism that cannot be corrected with surgery at the current technical state of the art. I really am horribly affected... literally blinded for 30 seconds by each projector LED headlamp on the road. I have stopped driving at night unless I have to. But in Winter, it is dark at 5pm just coming home from work. This is literally a new "handicap". One formed by technology.

I'd say it's less than 33%. I have astigmatism in both eyes and I'm not blinded by oncoming headlights.

 

[d7602002]

I had an issue with headlights and the optometrist said I had a cataract, but I laughed and said, "you idiot, it's a Ford Maverick.". Little levity today. And to beat you to it, very little!

 

[NotARealTruck]

I really disagree with pushing a mandate onto large portion of the population that aren't affected. For the benefit of a few.
For those drones who will regurgitate ADA. I can use a ramp or stairs. I don't mind handrails in stalls or bathtubs. At my age lower urinals is about where the stream is now a days.
I'm old, I don't prefer to drive at night, if I don't have too.
What I prefer, is the bright white headlights on my Maverick, more than the yellow halogen headlights on my wife's Escape.
It's kind of funny that the 'Poor Night Vision' that's mentioned above is helped by having brighter, whiter headlights .

Fun fact, headlights have always had restrictions. But they were based on wattage instead of lumens. Now that we have led headlights that are way more efficient, the old restrictions make no sense and don't apply anymore. so oems can effectively make them as bright as they want in a completely individualistic "WELL ITS FINE FOR ME" mentality that is the bane of our society.

I've got antistigmism and my wife doenst. She complains more than i do. We both drive low-ish vehicles and live in country back roads and there is absolutely 0 reason these headlights need to be so bright. Thats why high beams exist. I will go almost completely blind for 3-5 seconds after passing some vehicles, and no I'm not staring into the headlights. They're just laser beams directed at your skull. Pair it with a tall vehicle and it's annoying as hell. All they need to do is restrict the peak lumens at xyz distance and I can stop getting eye f*cked by every new car that passes me at 6pm.

TLDR: restrictions already exist but are outdated, your day lights DO NOT NEED TO BE SO BRIGHT because that is why highbeams exist.

 

[Darnon]

The bigger issue is the USA won't allow "auto adaptive" headlights which can aim away from oncoming traffic etc... Europe has had them for years.

Adaptive/matrix headlights have been legal for a few years now.

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