Blinded by the Light

Blinded by the Light
Want to stir things up at your next cocktail party or neighborhood barbecue? Try mentioning behind-the-wheel glare. Few topics provoke a more passionate response among people who drive. Over the past few years, the federal government found out just how passionate, as regulators fielded hundreds of angry letters and e-mails complaining about headlights, fog lights and a variety of other sources. Here's a sampling of what they heard:
"I have driven since 1961 and have seen the amount of light hitting the oncoming driver goes up by a factor of 10 or more. With the use of more lights, greater strength of lights, tighter focusing of lights and blue-white spectrum lights, the result is momentary blindness, day, dusk or night…. This very real driving distraction…is being allowed to run wild."
"Some of these SUVs and small trucks have six or seven lights in front, all of them bright and blinding."
"You have a wall of light either coming at you or filling your mirrors from behind."
The cries of protest haven't let up. In January of this year, the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA) released a report showing that nearly one in three drivers found nighttime glare "disturbing." And for analysts who dismiss glare as a problem that bugs only seniors, NCSA had even more surprising news. "The ratings of discomfort from glare for older drivers were not significantly different from that for younger drivers," said the report. In fact, researchers found the highest percentage of glare-disturbed respondents among middle-age drivers--those from 35 to 44 years old and from 45 to 54 years old.
Obviously, glare is making a lot of folks see red these days. What are government regulators doing about it? What are carmakers doing about it? And, perhaps most important, what can you do about it?
Where Glare Comes From
Generally, complaints about glare fall into four broad categories:
1. High-tech lights. Many observers trace the public outcry against glare to 1996, when automakers first introduced high-intensity discharge (HID) headlights on the U.S. market. These lamps use ionized xenon gas to produce not only more light, but also a different kind of light. It looks blue-white compared with the yellowish beams from halogen or conventional bulbs. Drivers often find the amount of light and its color blinding.
Size matters, too. On many newer models, automotive designers have taken advantage of HID technology to shrink headlights and give the cars a beady-eyed, almost birdlike look. Although the style seems hip, the tiny projector HIDs increase beam strength and glare as well. Studies show that smaller lamp areas create more bothersome glare than larger ones of equal luminance. Current federal regulations don't cover headlight size or shape at all.
While acknowledging that HID headlights take some getting used to, safety experts and automakers are quick to point out their advantages. For example, drivers in cars equipped with HID headlights can see more of the road, and they can see it better.
"It is important to note that some sources of potential glare provide significant safety benefits," noted the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM) in its response to the federal government's request for comments about glare. "HID headlamps more easily allow for broader and brighter beam patterns than their halogen kin."
Automakers also insist that U.S. drivers will adapt to high-tech lights in time, just as they've adapted to other innovations. AAM cites complaints about glare when U.S. carmakers introduced halogen headlights in the '80s, when Europeans first encountered HIDs, and when Canada and Scandinavian countries mandated daytime running lights. As the industry group notes, "The consistent pattern…is an initial spike in complaints, which virtually disappear once the public becomes accustomed to these lamps and the safety benefits they provide."
2. The "Hummer effect." The sheer number of sport-utility vehicles on the road presents a real problem for drivers in passenger cars. Designed with high ground clearance for off-reading, the typical SUV sports headlights about 9 inches higher than the average car's. That's just tall enough to shine directly into the eyes of oncoming drivers in lower-slung passenger cars. Call it the "Hummer effect," and it's one more reason why lots of people hate big SUVs. On the other hand, proponents claim higher vehicles provide a more commanding view and high-mounted lights project farther down the road, giving drivers more time to react to potential hazards.
Current federal safety standards dictate that the optical center of all vehicle headlights measure no higher than 54 inches. AAA and other safety groups have called for lowering the maximum allowable height, and AAM concedes that a slight reduction might benefit most drivers.
3. Misaimed lights. Even low-tech lights can contribute to glare. According to research sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers, headlights off by as little as one degree will affect oncoming drivers. And the obvious remedy--regular state inspections such as those required in New York--don't always work. Studies show that nearly half of cars in states requiring inspections have at least one badly aimed headlight--a result only slightly better than states with no inspections at all. The older the vehicle, the more likely it is to have off-kilter lights.
Meanwhile, Honda, General Motors and other carmakers have been developing super-sophisticated "adaptive lights" that swivel around curves, adjust for hills and other terrain, and modify their beam patterns to suit other driving conditions. Although such systems promise better visibility, whether they'll make glare better or worse remains to be seen. As AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety researchers recently noted, "If we have not been able to maintain proper aiming of a fairly simple mechanical device such as the replaceable-bulb headlamp, what new problems will occur with a more complex system that relies on multiple sensors and a computer?"
4. Auxiliary lights. Many vehicles, particularly SUVs, sport fog lamps and other extras in front. Used properly in conjunction with low-beam headlights, fog lights cast a low, broad beam that really does improve visibility on foggy nights. Unfortunately, many drivers use them on clear nights and seldom if ever check their aim, which contributes to glare. Furthermore, current federal safety standards don't cover fog lamps or other auxiliary lights.
To be Cont.
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