Thousands of Brits could possibly be pressured to vary their headlights as new regulation pushed

With increasing dark mornings and evenings, thousands of Brits are complaining about the brightness of headlights on the roads.

However, a new study found that two thirds of motorists have never even attempted the change the bulbs on their cars. Experts are concerned, with several claiming thousands of Brits could be driving around with faulty headlights and no idea they are. Most new vehicles are made with LED headlights, which several complain about, but the old cars are often still using traditional halogen bulbs.

These halogen bulbs often require replacement periodically, with new research claiming this is not being done. Another huge issue facing motorists is the glare of the LED bulbs, which many claim is blinding.

Around 85% of drivers say they are negatively affected by headlight glares while driving. Adding to this, nine in 10 say some car headlights are too bright, which makes it difficult to drive in the mornings and evenings especially since the clock changes in Autumn.

Another negative aspect to these statistics is the affect on elderly drivers, who are said to be most at risk when confronted with bright headlights. The latest DWP figures show that in February 2024 there were 49,677 people receiving either £68.10 or £101.75 each week for a Visual Disorder or Disease.

The Government website adds: “As of March 2023, there are 5.97 million people in the UK with a full driving license who are aged 70 or older, including 510 who are 100 or older. This means that around 4% of all full license holders in the country are aged 80 or over.”

Officials are aware of the issue and are looking into ways to help curb the dazzling headlights. The Department for Transport has commissioned the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) to carry out a full-scale investigation to see the short and long-term affects of bright bulbs.

It will take place in Berkshire from now until Spring 2025. There, authorities will use vehicles with varying headlight strengths to measure light levels which real-life motorists have to experience daily on the roads.

From the results, researchers will analyse how several factors, including other vehicles, street lighting and other conditions, affect drivers visibility. They will feed back their results and changes could be pushed in new laws to improve road safety.

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