Blinded by the headlights? Transport Canada wants to know

Listen to this article

Estimated 5 minutes

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.

High school student Alec Hodgson has been driving behind the wheel for about four months, but there’s one thing that still makes him uneasy.

“Especially when driving at night, the headlights — especially the white ones — can make it very hard to see,” said Hodgson, a Grade 11 student from London, Ont. “Sometimes I get scared or nervous while I’m driving.”

“As a new driver, it can be nerve wracking when all you can see is headlights coming at you.”

Conversations about headlight brightness have prompted Transport Canada to collect data on Canadians’ experiences with headlight glare through a survey on its website.

The survey is open to drivers, pedestrians and cyclists, and includes questions about travelling at night, driver behaviour and possible changes.

More than 142,000 Canadians have participated in the survey so far, according to an emailed statement from the government.

A woman sits in a chair at her desk within an optometrist's office — Dr. Christina Schropp is an optometrist with West 5 Optometry, and says her patients frequently tell her about challenges driving in the dark due to bright vehicle headlights. (West 5 Optometry)

Dr. Christina Schropp, an optometrist with West 5 Optometry in London, said patients are talking to her about vehicle headlights more than she’s ever heard in her 35-year career.

“The chief complaint is that the headlights seem brighter than we’re used to,” Schropp said. “We have a lot of new types of car manufacturing happening and the light technology has changed. There’s LED, there’s halogen, and both of those formats of lighting have definitely brightened the headlights on vehicles.”

Schropp said some of her patients have reported difficulty driving due to headlight glare, specifically at nighttime and while on highways.

Drivers, pedestrians affected

In addition to brightness, Schropp said the direction the lights are pointed can also cause a problem.

“Historically, car lights were designed to lighten the way on the road, but vehicles have increased in size,” she said. “It sometimes seems the headlights are focused directly ahead in front of cars.”

WATCH | Why vehicle headlights are brighter than ever:

Headlights are brighter than ever. What’s changed?

The bulbs used in headlights have evolved, and there are common mistakes people make when they install their own. CBC’s Jo Horwood explains why newer headlights seem so uncomfortably bright, and what’s being done about it.

New driver Carter Smith said sharing the road with large cars is especially difficult due to the angle of their headlights.

“I drive a smaller car, so it’ll get right into your eye when you’re driving,” he said.

Others told CBC News it’s not just drivers who are affected by bright headlights, but also pedestrians.

“When I’m walking, I have to avert my gaze to the right. Anytime I go up a hill, the lights are always too bright,” Praise Soewu said.

The good news, according to Schropp, is that bright headlights do not affect eye health since drivers are protected by their vehicle’s windshields. They can, however, create safety concerns.

Six high schoolers smile at the camera — Alec Hodgson, Carter Smith, Finn Maisonville, Fola Adu, Praise Soewu and Iain Naudie are high school students who are either new drivers or are gearing up to learn. Some say the brightness of modern headlights makes them nervous to get on the road. (Kendra Seguin/CBC News)

“We call it ‘the startle.’ A bright light can startle the visual system and cause it to sort of lose its ability to focus because of that very bright light suddenly coming into the eye,” she explained.

“Then you get to the question of what’s the reaction to that visual startle? Would they pull their steering wheel, put on their brakes and then have that erratic driving pattern, or could they have a radical pattern if they’re able to re-fixate?”

Hopes for new guidelines

The Transport Canada survey is the latest piece in the government’s ongoing research into headlight glare. Last year, researchers conducted a test-track study to examine the relationship between modern headlights and driving performance, and results are expected to come out in May, Transport Canada said.

Once the current survey closes, the government will publish a summary of feedback to its website.

Some told CBC News they hope the survey findings will lead to new headlight guidelines.

“Through regulation, maybe bring back the older headlights that we had in the early 2010s to 2015, where they were less bright and it was a lot easier to drive,” said Smith.

LISTEN | Throwing shade on super bright headlights :

The Current24:42Throwing shade on those super bright headlights

Recently Vancouver city council passed a unanimous motion calling on Transport Canada to do something about LED headlight glare. Saskatoon optometrist Rachael Berger welcomes the motion because she’s seeing more and younger patients who are finding it difficult to drive at night. Vehicle lighting expert Daniel Stern says Canada needs to change its current regulations because they had halogen bulbs in mind, not modern LED lights.

However, not everybody agrees that regulations should change, with some saying the bright lights make them feel safer

“I disagree that the lights need to be changed. I think they’re there for the safety of the car and they’re very good at illuminating the area in front of you,” said high school student Iain Naudie.

For the time being, Schropp said both drivers and pedestrians should avoid looking directly at car headlights, instead trying to look just to the side of the lights and still ensuring they follow the lines on the road or path of the sidewalk.

The Transport Canada survey is open until April 20.