On Tuesday, the Associated Press ran a story that was sure to bring some relief to those of us being blinded by headlights.
More than 740,000 small SUVs in the US are being recalled because the headlights can be too bright. The recall involves the Terrain model years 2010 to 2017.
Few who maintain that an epidemic of headlight blinding is underway were most welcome by this news. The idea that almost a million SUVs have been found to be too bright for the road was proof that we weren't crazy. They would be asked to dim their lights. The driving experience was going to be a bit more relaxing.
The notice from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration shows that this isn't what's happening here. The Terrain's headlights are getting pulled for a weird glitch that causes them to shine brightly to the side of the car at up to a 45 degree angle. The Terrain's headlights are three times too bright.
GM argued that the stray bright reflection couldn't really blind anyone except in conditions of snow or fog. The company was ordered to fix the problem by NHTSA.
These were not the blinding headlights we were looking for.
Some American drivers have been convinced for a long time that there is an epidemic of headlight-impaired driving on the roads. The journalist Jack Crosbie made a statement about the crisis last year.
maybe a controversial take but car headlights are too bright these days. every single SUV is equipped with like military grade halogen retina destroyers. jeep grand cherokee drivin around with the 9/11 memorial spotlights on the front. lighthouse-ass chevy tahoes. grow up
— Jack Crosbie (@jscros) December 11, 2021
Something is happening and this may sound like a simple gripe. John Bullough is a director at the Light and Health Research Center at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Many people feel brighter when driving with a bluer led headlights. Some state vehicle inspections don't try to adjust the position of headlights, which can get bumped out of whack after a couple years of driving.
The share of SUVs and trucks on the road has continued to increase, which means more headlights that are more likely to shine in people's eyes.
The share of light-colored lights is up. Though they can easily be Filters to look warmer and yellowed, these usually have a bluer tinge than earlier generations of headlights. Including the drivers who keep buying them.
Mark Rea is a light scientist at Mount Sinai. The central part of the eye is measured in lumens. The eye is more sensitive to red light than blue light. The very measurement system we use to calibrate headlights is not counting blue light, and so bluer lights will have to feel brighter before they register as equal in lumens.
Imagine a car with two headlights, one halogen, and one light. Both of them meet the requirements. The light meter would say they are the same, but the light source would look different. The lamps may have the same measurement, but the LEDs really are brighter. They are measuring light in the wrong way.
It will be good news for drivers coming face to face with pickup trucks at night if the availability of LEDs continues to grow. The bipartisan infrastructure bill passed last year requires regulators to approve a technology called adaptive driving beam by 2023. The adaptive driving beam headlights use software to adjust the beam to avoid other drivers and illuminate your surroundings.
It will mean an end to headlight glare for drivers on the road as it slowly fills with new cars that adopt this tech. New cars probably will adopt this tech in addition to helping those around you. Pedestrians will be more brightly lit than ever. I suppose it's better to be blind than dead.
Mark Rea commented on the article.
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