How to keep away from being dazzled on the street: Our 10 suggestions that can assist you sort out being blinded by oncoming drivers

Being dazzled by oncoming headlights is an increasing problem for motorists.

Speak to anyone who drives regularly and they’ll complain about the intensity of vehicle lights. 

An RAC poll this year found nine in 10 drivers have been temporarily blinded on the road in the previous year.

Brighter LEDs and the rise in popularity of SUVs are among the factors that have been blamed for triggering this increasing issued. 

And the problem escalates at this time of year, with shorter periods of daylight, nights drawing in earlier and rush hour journeys usually undertaken in darkness.

The Government admits it is a problem and has committed to an independent review to understand what is causing a rise in dazzling and how to tackle it. However, it is unlikely we’ll see any meaningful result of this probe any time soon.

So, how can motorists go about limiting the impact of being dazzled right now? We’ve compiled 10 top tips from driving experts…

Avoid being dazzled: Our 10 top tips

1. Reduce your speed at night

For drivers who find the glare of oncoming headlights too intense, to the point it is making them want to stop driving entirely, the best tip is to reduce your speed, according to the RAC.

Making an adjustment to the speed you drive will see you cover less distance in the time it takes your eyes to react and recover from any temporary blurred vision after being dazzled.

This additional safety net should instill some extra confidence that you can cope with oncoming headlight glare and not have to hang up your keys for good.

But while we recommended lowering your speed, drivers should never stop abruptly, even if they are suffering a short spell of limited visibility at the moment they’re dazzled.

Slamming your brakes on could cause the car travelling behind you – who might not have been dazzled by the same oncoming vehicle – to run into the back of you.

2. Don’t look directly at oncoming headlights

One of the biggest mistakes that leads to being dazzled is staring directly at the headlights of cars approaching. 

Motoring charity and advanced driver group IAM RoadSmart says drivers can be affected by headlight glare as far as 3,000 feet away, so it’s easy to be caught looking straight into the glare.

However, experts say there is a way around this without taking your eyes off the road.

Instead of looking directly ahead, divert your eyes lower on the road and to the left-hand side of the carriageway so you can follow the white line marking the edge of the road – if there is one, of course.

This will help you keep track of your position in the lane while not having to look directly into the bright lights of a vehicle coming the other way.

3. Make sure your windscreen is clear and clean

Windscreens are particularly susceptible to steaming up on the inside, especially in the winter months when the outside temperature is lower, so ensure your screen is completely demisted and defrosted before setting off. 

It’s also worth remembering that car heaters – while effective at clearing a windscreen – can also blow dirty air at the glass. This causes a hazy film to build up on the inside. 

This can increase glare from oncoming headlamps, so ensure yours is clean and clear.

Drivers are instructed to keep a very close eye on their window washer fluid to ensure they also have ample solution for clearing dirt and grime off the outside of the glass, which can be a regular issue in the colder and wetter months, especially when roads are being salted to prevent ice.

4. Adjust your rear-view mirror if it doesn’t automatically dim

Drivers at night should dip the rear-view mirror to reduce the risk of being dazzled by motorists following them.

Almost every new motor in showrooms today should have an auto-dimming rear-view mirror function. If your car doesn’t have one, then you should be dipping the mirror manually.

5. Take more breaks when driving at night

The longer time spent driving in the dark, the more you’re likely to suffer from the effects of dazzling.

IAM RoadSmart says long business hours spent driving, especially at night, can strain your eyes, making them prone to headlight glare – even from light beams that are less bright.

If you fall into this category of driver, it’s highly recommended that you take more breaks than you would in the summer. 

Driving with headaches and while tired will also magnify the impact of dazzling.

6. Have regular eye tests

The impact of headlight glare increases when you have vison problems. This is why it is a greater issue for older drivers in particular.

Mike Bowen, director of knowledge and research at the College of Optometrists, has warned that senior motorists are far more susceptible to being dazzled on the road.

‘Older drivers are likely to be disproportionately affected by headlight glare, so may be more likely to experience difficulties or to decide not to drive at night at all,’ he said.

If you do notice headlight glare is having a profound impact on your driving, IAM RoadSmart recommends visiting an optician to have your eyes checked.

7. Wear anti-glare glasses

For those suffering badly from dazzling, an optician might suggest a pair of anti-glare glasses for driving at night.

These are not simply glasses with yellow tints, which can help reduce glare by also make darker areas of the road less visible and are therefore not recommended.

Genuine anti-glare lenses are available – and you can get them for prescription glasses. 

Specsavers has a product called SuperDrive lenses for varifocal wearers, while all of its glasses can be fitted with a clear ‘SuperClean Smart’ treatment, which is specially designed to help reduce reflections and dazzle caused by oncoming headlights and street lighting — helping you have a safer journey. 

Motorists suffering from glare at night should consult with their optician. 

8. Consider getting help from an advanced driver

Most licence holders don’t experience any form of additional driving coaching once they’ve passed their test. However, booking a course could really help you tackle dazzling effects and become very valuable to your experience on the road.

The Pass Plus course has an entire module dedicated to night driving where an advanced instructor will coach you how to deal with difficulties the darkness can cause behind the wheel.

9. Use low beams where possible to safeguard other drivers

Use your low-beam headlights instead of high beams when driving in well-lit areas or when approaching other vehicles as high beams can significantly increase glare.

10. Regularly adjust your headlights

Ensure that your headlights are correctly aimed, especially if you are often travelling with heavy loads, which can impact the height of your lights beam. 

Misaligned headlights not only contribute to blinding other drivers but will also reduce your own visibility.

Why are you being dazzled? FOUR contributing factors

1. Brighter LEDs

Some 87 per cent of 2,000 drivers polled by the RAC earlier this year the cause is simply a result of headlight technology becoming increasingly brighter, especially with car makers switching to LED (Light Emitting Diode) headlights.

In recent years, they have completely replaced the traditional ‘yellower’ halogen bulbs in the latest new cars.

LEDs produce a whiter – or sometimes bluish – beam. They also last longer, use less power and are usually smaller than halogen bulbs, which enables vehicle manufacturers more flexibility when it comes to designing cars and vans. 

LED lights provide a more intense and focused beam that is great for improving a driver’s view by illuminating more of the road.

However, the human eye reacts to this light differently than to a halogen beam.

This is why drivers often complain of being partially blinded by their brightness.

2. Unregulated aftermarket bulbs

One other cause of the rise in dazzling on the road is the use of sub-standard LED bulbs that can be purchased online.

Cheap replacements – especially those advertised to replace halogen bulbs in older cars – can be dangerously bright or produce the wrong beam pattern, both of which can temporarily blind oncoming motorists.

Only bulbs with an ‘E’ mark are deemed legal in Britain, but aftermarket LED upgrades cannot be issued one of these certified marks. This is because no legislation currently exists for the use of LED technology in a headlight unit built for halogens.

However, this is difficult to police and is widely unregulated.

Even MOT testers are not required to check if a bulb is ‘E’ marked, which is due to the time-consuming nature of having to access the item by removing the headlight cluster, which in some models can be a painstaking process.

This is why it is always recommended to purchase replacement bulbs from your car from reputable manufacturers, such as Osram and Philips.

3. Drivers not making adjustments

More than a fifth of the 2,000 motorists polled by the RAC in January think the rise in dazzling is caused by motorists failing to align their headlight correctly.

A Freedom of Information request submitted to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency in November 2023 shows that since 2019, an average of 1.6million, or 5 per cent, of cars failed their MOTs due to poor headlight aim.

What’s more, with the DVSA stating in 2016 that ‘headlamp aim consistently tops the MOT compliance survey as one of the most likely items to be assessed incorrectly by testers’, the actual figure could be much higher.

It’s worth having your headlight beams checked by a mechanic, as a year of repeatedly driving through potholes could also have juddered bulbs out of alignment. 

4. Popularity of SUVs

The rise in sales of SUVs is also a contributing factor in the increase in risk of being dazzled at night, according to the 12,000 drivers poll by the AA a month later.

Because SUVs are raised higher up than most traditional cars, their lights are positioned higher than that of a conventional hatchback or saloon.

It means those driving non-SUV models are at risk of having the headlights of these jacked-up family cars shining directly into their face.

Three in five (62 per cent) of RAC members who drive non-SUV models blame the spike in dazzling on higher vehicles, whereas only a third (35 per cent) of those who own an SUV believed they were causing an increase in this particular gripe.

Is dazzling getting worse? Drivers unanimously say yes 

The RAC at the end of 2023 polled 2,000 UK licence holders about headlight glare and the impact it has on them. 

Of all the drivers who complained about the brightness of car headlights, some 91 per cent say they have been dazzled when driving in the last 12 months.

Meanwhile, three quarters said they are partially blinded by other vehicles on a regular occasion.

The issue has become so bad in recent years that two in three of the panel said they have to slow down considerably after suffering from glare from another car’s headlights – and can’t pick up speed again until a few moments later when they can see clearly.

And 68 per cent said they are unable to see clearly again for between one and five seconds, and a further one in 10 said it takes six or more seconds to get recover their full vision.

Worryingly, only momentarily losing full visibility for such a duration is enough for a driver travelling at 60mph to cover 160 metres – which is the equivalent of 40 cars lengths – without being able to see properly.

More than three in five drivers say it has reached such problematic levels that dazzling is becoming a cause of accidents.

In fact, five per cent of these drivers told the RAC they have nearly been involved in a collision themselves as a result of having their eyesight temporarily compromised by bright headlights.

Alarmingly, 7 per cent said they find headlight glare so bad on the roads today that they avoid driving at night altogether, a figure that rises to 14 per cent for drivers aged 65 and over.

Having annually researched and published reports on the number of motorists suffering from dazzling on the road since 2018, the RAC says there is plenty of evidence to show this is becoming a growing concern. 

Separate research by IAM RoadSmart shared with This is Money suggests one-in-three of its members had either reduced their night-time driving or even stopped altogether because they can no longer cope with being partially blinded by the lights of other vehicles.

The rising cases of drivers reporting being dazzled in recent years means this is a ‘major road safety issue’ as well as having a ‘knock-on impact on the nighttime economy’, the road safety charity said.

Labour has promised to push ahead with an independent review into the rise in drivers complaining about being dazzled by headlights.

The former Tory regime had previously confirmed a full probe into the problem after the RAC’s campaign triggered a petition – signed by more than 14,000 people earlier this year – which forced ministers to agree to look into the root cause.

Lilian Greenwood, Minister for the Future of Roads at the DfT, confirmed in September that the review would still be going ahead despite the change of power.