Elderly drivers are not using their cars at night because they are dazzled by ultra-bright headlights.
An increasing number of motorists have reported they don’t feel safe driving towards vehicles with LED lights.
An RAC report has found 16 per cent of all drivers avoid going out in the dark.
More than 25% of drivers aged over 65 have opted against a night drive.
In the last ten years bright lights have been a contributary factor in 56 fatal road accidents.
Rod Dennis, RAC spokesman, said:
“Badly angled headlights might be something to do with it, but drivers tell us they also believe it’s the increasing number of cars on the roads fitted with piercingly bright LED headlights that’s to blame.”
Many drivers illegally fit LED headlights to replace halogen lights on older vehicles.
There is no regulation on how bright the lights can be.
Halfords estimate more than 860,000 “illegal” LED lights have been fitted.
A Halfords spokesperson said:
“The regulations have not caught up with the market, and as things stand these bulbs can only be fitted legally to off-road vehicles.
“We want to see the regulations updated, not just so that people can fit LED bulbs to road vehicles legally, but to make it easier for motorists to distinguish between compliant bulbs that don’t dazzle and bulbs that do not meet standards of quality and safety.”
Denise Voon, clinical adviser at the College of Optometrists, said:
“The majority of people over 60 have some level of cataracts, which results in your intraocular lens, which judges distance, getting more cloudy with age.
“If you make that slightly more foggy, you’ll get increased light scatter and increased glare and it will be just more difficult for drivers to see.”
Government collision data between 2012 and 2022, shows that on average 270 collisions each year had “dazzling headlights” given as a contributory factor; 56 casualties across the period were fatal.
Baroness Hayter, who has campaigned on the issue, said:
“The CO and the RAC report numerous cases of headlight glare, any many drivers – like myself – are increasingly choosing not to drive at night because of the dazzle from these new, white and bright lights.
“The Government should act now rather than see people driven off the road or accidents happening.”
A DfT spokesperson said: “Safety on our roads is paramount. All headlights must adhere to strict technical standards and there are regulations in place to minimise the impact of LEDs.
“While data doesn’t link new lighting technology with specific road safety issues, our engineers raised these concerns at an international expert group in April, where it was agreed for new standards around headlamp aiming and levelling systems to further reduce glare.”