Will we need sunglasses to drive at night?

by Gareth E on 26/09/2022   

A driver approaching a narrow entrance to an underpass is blinded by oncoming headlights.

It's ridiculous at times and it's getting worse. There seems to be a contest happening to see who can shine the brightest headlights in the eyes of oncoming motorists. That's of concern to elderly citizens because their retinas don't contract as rapidly as those of younger people.

My own vehicle has standard, factory-fitted globes. Despite that, I have never encountered a problem during suburban driving due to my headlights not being bright enough. I am not aware of crashes occurring due to lack of illumination on cars driving around town. Surely we would have heard about that.

So, why do motorists need a significant increase in headlight brightness? Not only do these globes assault our eyes while driving. Pedestrians can also find super-bright car headlights coming toward them at an angle that blinds them while they're walking along the footpath at night. That's a hazard.

It's extremely uncomfortable and completely unnecessary. Frankly, I believe the fitting of these pest accessories has little to do with anything beyond feelings of personal power. It's an ego boost.

On rural roads or when there is no oncoming traffic it's legal to use high beams. Some of those are crazily bright and clearly dangerous. However, while driving around town we are now forced to endure approaching headlights nearly as bright as high beams used to be.

There needs to be an enforceable maximum lumens limit. Constant subjection to alternating bright and dark can make your eyes tired. That's not helpful when driving long distances at night, especially given that fatigue can be an issue at the best of times.

I have also sat at a red light behind a vehicle clearly fitted with non-standard indicator globes. I found myself confronted with a brightly flashing orange light that was so uncomfortable I had to look away. Surely that's not what the police want us to do.

I believe boomers should lobby the government to introduce laws restricting the use of car light globes which are strong enough be a nuisance or a danger.