Sick of Being Blinded by LED Headlights? New Vehicle Lighting Standards Could Be Released Soon

I have two vehicles. One is an old 2007 Ford Edge. Back in 2007, she was state-of-the-art. Crossovers were a brand-new concept. She came with a panoramic roof, backup sensors, and leather interior. I couldn't have been happier.

A couple of years ago, my husband decided we needed a bigger family car. So, he bought me an Escalade. Okay, yeah, I didn't know what I was missing. Voice command, 360 cameras and sensors, Bluetooth, suede, even back and butt massagers! Yeah, that's a nice car, but I kept my oldie but goodie.

I put the miles to and from work on the Edge and let the kids eat all their junk food in it and trash it as much as they want. I call it The Barn Burner because we go out to the barn to take care of our horses in it. It's muddy, messy, and mine all mine. She's old and has 215,000 miles, but I hope I can get 215,000 more out of her. At this point, the Barn Burner is kind of like an extension of me.

My Old Ford Edge Doesn't Blind Other Drivers

Now, a lot of times we get done at the barn when it's dusk or dark out, and I have the long trek home. When I drive the Edge at night, no one ever flashes me because my headlights are too bright.

That car has the old standard halogen lights. Even when I replaced them a few years ago because the originals got foggy, they still don't make oncoming drivers think I'm running my brights. Now, my Escalade? Different story.

Every time I get behind the wheel in the evening, someone thinks I have my brights on even though they are just my standard lights. I don't even have to switch between the two. My truck does it for me.

I know it's because the LED lights are so bright and the truck sits up high, so they're right in people's eyes. And I'm not the only person who has noticed this.

black car on gray asphalt road during daytime

NHTSA Is Looking at Headlight Glare

The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that it is modernizing its vehicle lighting standards to make America's roads safer for all drivers.

“Today���s standards do not allow automakers to deploy the latest safety-improving lighting technologies, so we are bringing key experts and stakeholders together to modernize our standards and address potential causes of glare,” said NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison. “This collaborative approach will allow us to update outdated regulations, foster innovation, and keep everyone on our roads safer.”

NHTSA is working with industry stakeholders, safety advocates, and technical experts to tackle safety and engineering challenges involving vehicle lighting. And apparently, the problem isn't simply that LED headlights are bright.

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It's Not Just About How Bright Your Headlights Are

NHTSA is also looking at things like the height and aim of headlights and how those factors contribute to glare. With the rise of bigger, taller vehicles, it makes sense to think about how it affects oncoming motorists. Bigger trucks with LED lights are blinding folks left and right. When I'm driving the Escalade behind someone in a smaller car, those headlights are much closer to their eye level than if I was in the Edge.

And that's something NHTSA is specifically looking at as it works on updating the standards.

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The Current Headlight Rules Are Pretty Old

NHTSA is looking at modernizing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108, which covers vehicle lighting and reflective devices. This is the first time in more than 25 years that it has updated the vehicle lighting standards.

I mean, think about how much headlights have changed in the past 25 years. I was curious when LED headlights became a thing and here's what I found.

My Edge and my Escalade don't exactly live in the same technological universe.

One has a broken panoramic roof and leather seats that I thought were the coolest things ever. The other can practically drive itself, has cameras everywhere and gives me a back massage.

Also, I'm obviously blinding oncoming drivers every time I drive the Escalade and there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. So, yeah, maybe our lighting standards could use a little updating, too.

A black cadillac parked in a parking lot

What About the Cars Already on the Road?

So, what about people like me who already have vehicles that will probably fall under the category of "this will no longer be acceptable"

NHTSA's announcement is about modernizing the standards for vehicle lighting for new vehicles but what about us who already have really bright LED lights?

Though the news release doesn't stipulate or come out and say that you'll be getting a ticket by law enforcement, my guess is that they won't do anything to current vehicles. They'll just have more standards moving forward.