An expert says LED headlights are causing drivers to be dazzled for one main reason. The intense brightness has come under scrutiny following a survey where 90% of motorists complained that some LED headlights are excessively bright, with a quarter even admitting to driving less at night due to the issue.
With the UK Government set to report on headlight glare effects this summer, Henry Bisson, marketing director at automative firm Ring, has identified misalignment and ill-advised retrofitting as key culprits. He said: “Retrofitting bulbs is an unregulated market, so anyone can replace their regular bulbs with cheap HID kits or LED bulbs bought online and that are not designed to conform to legal regulations.
“Whilst some comply with the law, others are illegal and may be throwing out too much light in a less controlled way. The final, and most worrying reason, is poor quality bulbs, of which there are many, as brands cut costs by producing cheap and unregulated bulbs with no research, testing or quality control.”
Bisson concluded by stating that LED bulbs are not legally roadworthy and should not be swapped with LED light units, which are non-replaceable components, reports the Daily Record. He said: “Many new vehicles that use these LED light units have been homologated with the headlamp units. These LEDs are road legal. LED bulbs, though, remain not road legal.
“They have not been designed to work with the headlamp units for halogen bulbs and so cause glare.” The DVSA has highlighted that headlamp aim is frequently topping their MOT compliance survey as a frequent offender for incorrect assessment.
Since 2016, mechanics are mandated to inspect the alignment of bulbs during an MOT and it was emphasised that this should never be “just a quick check”.