Too often drivers are being blinded by the (head) light

As usual, I am late to what may already be obvious. These powerful LED headlights on new cars and trucks, especially, are blinding. I know, I sound like a grumpy old man!

While my wife and friends have commiserated with me about this, I recently read a story that stated many AAA members ask their local offices about bright headlights, a lot. A spokesperson said, “People aren’t imagining things; headlights are much brighter than they used to be even just a few years ago.”

In the old days, headlights used halogen bulbs. You could even buy them at Benny’s! They had a more yellowish light. I remember complaining they weren’t bright enough. These days LED lights are the standard. And they are powerful. It has been reported that a halogen bulb puts out +/-1,000 lumens. Now, contrast that with an LED bulb that puts out about 4,000 + lumens. A car dealer friend of mine said some customers even ask about how to get higher intensity.

CBS News did a story a few months ago that revealed aftermarket LED bulbs can even produce 12,000 lumens! Those are illegal, I think. But I’ve seen lots of pickup trucks, especially, with lights and even extra lights that could light up Gillette Stadium.

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The scariest part of all this for me is when one of these big trucks or huge SUVs come up behind me, whether it’s on Route 95 or Atwells Avenue — it’s like the desert bomb testing scene in “Oppenheimer.” Or “Close Encounters of The Third Kind.” The light is overwhelmingly intense.

Listen, I get it. We want it both ways. As drivers we want to see the road better at night, and LEDs do that. Yet, as the drivers on the receiving end of the powerful lights, we just want to be able to see and be safe. Ironically, these days, we are often the same person!

Now that I have vented, I’m not sure what the solution is. It’s one of those strange things that is both good and bad. Helpful and hurtful. I would be interested in knowing what, if anything, car manufacturers are doing to address this and if AAA and/or law enforcement have any opinions, recommendations or pending actions based on data or even anecdotal information they have.

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At the end of the day, it’s progress, I guess. But in the meantime, I might have to wear sunglasses at night and yell at the neighborhood kids to get off my lawn.

Dante Bellini Jr. is the Chief Hooligan at Hooligan Film Productions and uses his blinker and yields at on-ramps.