Dear Supporters,
Newsday in Long Island, New York published a story on LED headlights today. I worked with the reporter, Lorena Mongelli, extensively, but she told me that she wasn't authorized to write about the FDA or lack of regulations from NHTSA because they would have to get lawyers involved. So the article is just a typical superficial discussion. However, at least they made a big splash on their front page. Here are some quotes from the article, since it is only accessible by subscription:
“With the blinding lights, whether in front of you or behind you, it can distract you and it causes you to potentially not see something in the roadway,” said Anderson, a Suffolk County resident.
“They're going to be blinking, squinting, looking away and possibly not looking where they should be looking to see things that they might need to see to avoid a collision,” [Researcher John] Bullough said.
“It’s an assault. It seems to be getting worse and worse," said Pizzuto, who signed a petition to ban LEDs created by a national advocacy group, the Soft Lights Foundation. "Now headlights are as bright as spotlights and it’s magnified because it’s not the occasional car or SUV, but it’s so popular you get it coming at you and coming from behind. It’s almost like your vision is impaired.”
In a statement, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group representing major automakers, said the latest headlight technology, which is not limited to just LEDs, helps save lives and avoid collisions. “Headlight technology is a core vehicle safety feature that continues to improve nighttime visibility,” the statement reads.
“I do hear patients tell me, that just anecdotally ... that the lights do seem to keep getting brighter. Everyone has SUVs and so when the lights are higher up, also, I think that impacts people more,” [Ophthamologist Sarah] Weissbart said.
“The actual problem of glare is improving. However, there is the potential for LED headlights to create more glare just because they're brighter in general,” Brumbelow said, adding that if the lights do not point to the road, they will create more glare than other types of headlights.
Village of Old Westbury Police Chief Stuart Cameron said the LED emergency lighting on squad cars, including the light bars, are valuable because they are less of a burden on the battery and provide greater all-around coverage. But they also can create nighttime problems for other drivers. “It can be blinding at night,” Cameron said. He also said LED headlights overall have the general driving public thinking “people are driving around with their bright headlights on the whole time, when they're really not.”
(https://www.newsday.com/long-island/transportation/led-glare-lights-blinding-s5a1n9wc)
Sincerely,
Mark Baker
President
Soft Lights Foundation
www.softlights.org
mbaker@softlights.org