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Feb 26, 2025

'Most worrying' reason LED headlights are dazzling motorists, according to expert - Daily Record

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LED headlights are dazzling motorists for one main reason, according to an expert. The ultra-bright headlamps have been under the spotlight after a survey said nine in 10 drivers say at least some are too bright and a quarter of motorists said they drive less at night because of them.

The UK Government is investigating the impact of headlight glare on motorists and is due to publish its findings this summer. But a leading bulb manufacturer said one of the key issues with glare from LED headlights is to do with misalignment of the bulbs and the retrofitting of them.

Henry Bisson, marketing director of Ring, explained that if the bulb has not been fitted into the headlight unit correctly the beam will not be focused on the road and is instead directed at oncoming drivers.

He told gbnews.com: "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."

He explained that LED bulbs are not road legal and should and should not be replaced with LED light units that are a non-replaceable component.

He added: "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 said that headlamp aim consistently tops the MOT compliance survey as one of the most likely to be assessed incorrectly. Since 2016, mechanics have been required to check alignment of bulbs during MOTs and it was stated that this should not be "just a quick check".