Why 83% of Drivers Worry About Headlight Glare as Nights Draw In, RAC Finds

• An RAC survey of 1,208 drivers found 83% are concerned about how glare will affect their driving as evenings darken, and 76% of those affected think the problem is getting worse.
• Among dazzled drivers, 14% say they have narrowly avoided a collision, 21% plan to drive less after the clocks go back and 3% plan to stop night driving altogether.
• Government research has confirmed brighter modern headlights are more likely to cause glare, but the rules on brightness have not changed, and automatic headlamp levelling is due on new cars from September 2027.

Glare Is Costing Drivers Their Confidence After Dark, and Some Are Staying Home

The clocks went back on 25 October, and for millions of drivers the evening commute now happens in the dark. An RAC survey published on 23 October shows how many worry about what comes with it: the oncoming glare of headlights that seem to get brighter every year.

The RAC asked 1,208 regular drivers in October. It found that 83% are concerned about how glare will affect their driving as evenings darken. Of those who are dazzled, 76% believe the problem is getting worse. The RAC says the findings point to a gap in how vehicle lighting is regulated, and it wants the next round of government research to look at cars already on the road and models yet to go on sale.

What RAC’s October Survey Found

The detail shows how much glare changes the way people drive. Among drivers who are affected, 50% say it is harder to spot other hazards, 49% struggle to see road signs and markings, and 47% find it difficult to judge where oncoming vehicles are. Some 43% cannot easily judge the speed and distance of other vehicles, 35% say they are temporarily blinded and 63% find it hard to see the flashing amber indicators of oncoming cars. Another 14% say they have narrowly avoided a collision.

Drivers are changing their habits. Some 21% of affected drivers plan to drive less once the clocks go back, and 3% plan to stop driving at night altogether. Among people who already drive less after dark, 28% see friends less often, 20% see family less often and 21% feel much more isolated. Some 6% have cancelled medical appointments, and another 6% have postponed them.

Rod Dennis, the RAC’s senior policy officer, said: “We badly need to establish the correct amount of light needed to give drivers the best view of the road ahead.”

Glare reaches beyond drivers. According to the RAC, 57% of people experience it as pedestrians or wheelchair users and 20% while cycling after dark. Among parents and carers, 77% are concerned about their children’s safety in the darker months from dazzling headlights.

Which Vehicles Drivers Blame, and What Government Research Says

Drivers in the RAC survey pointed first at size. Of those affected, 52% blame larger vehicles that sit higher on the road, while 20% blame hatchbacks, saloons and estates. Another 38% say the problem is not tied to one type of vehicle. Drivers also report more glare from white headlights, mostly linked to LEDs, than from the yellower light of older halogen bulbs.

That matches the findings of a study by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT) and published in late 2025. TRL surveyed 1,850 drivers and measured light levels from an instrumented car on real roads. Auto Express reported that 97% of drivers said they were regularly or sometimes distracted by oncoming vehicles, and 96% said most or some headlights are too bright. More than half had stopped or reduced night driving, or would if they could. Whiter and brighter lights were linked to more glare, and the study found that road position, such as hills and bends, and vehicle pitch and roll also played a part.

TRL gave the DfT five suggestions: better public understanding of glare through surveys and information campaigns, research into the vehicle design factors involved, improvements to lighting regulations, more research on glare in driving, and a new way of measuring how bright a light looks to an observer, rather than only its luminous intensity, which is what manufacturers currently test.

Which? looked at the same issue on 21 October. Its survey of 1,105 members in August found 83% think at least some headlights are too bright. Of those who are dazzled, 41% avoid night driving, and 3% have stopped altogether. Which? also reports an RAC analysis of 2024 showing that dazzling headlights contributed to an average of 280 accidents a year from 2013, including six fatalities.

What the Law Says About Headlight Brightness

Few drivers know that the rules do not limit headlight brightness by technology. According to Which?, headlamp regulations are based on output, meaning where the beam lands and how bright it is, and they are harmonised across dozens of countries. Any manufacturer can use any technology that meets the standard. Bonnet light bars and glowing badges are described by Which? as “all perfectly legal.”

Enforcement is thin. Which? sent Freedom of Information requests to every police force asking about fines and rectification notices for dazzling headlights between 2018 and 2025. The numbers were tiny, and for most forces in most years they were zero.

The test that does catch badly aimed lights is the MOT. Which? found about 494,000 vehicles failed in 2019 for headlights aimed too high, and about 424,000 in 2023. From 2020 onward the figure stayed between 420,000 and 440,000 a year, which is roughly 1% of vehicles on the road.

Changes are on the way. Which? reports that automatic headlamp levelling becomes compulsory in cars sold from September 2027, alongside updated rules on headlamp aim. The DfT will commission further glare research later this year, and the January Road Safety Strategy committed the Government to follow-up work. Auto Express reported that the DVSA is also cracking down on illegal retrofit LED and xenon bulbs, which scatter light into oncoming eyes, with fines of up to £1,000 for offenders. The Which? analysis adds that the DfT is unlikely to force owners of existing cars to retrofit less dazzling lights.

Baroness Dianne Hayter, a peer who campaigns on the issue, said: “The loss of confidence and sense of safety caused by dazzling headlights should be reason enough for action.”

The Social Cost of Driving Less After Dark

Older drivers have the most reason to book a sight test now. Dr Paramdeep Bilkhu, a clinical adviser at the College of Optometrists, said: “Being dazzled by bright headlights can temporarily affect a person’s ability to see clearly.”

The RAC figures hint at the knock-on effects. A driver who stops night trips loses evening visits to friends, family time and appointments. Cancelled and postponed medical appointments are a cost that accident statistics never record. If 3% of dazzled drivers stop driving after dark altogether, the loss is measured in independence as much as in accident numbers.

The RAC also points to a gap in timing. Government research on vehicles not yet for sale could help the next generation of cars. Only 14% of the drivers it surveyed want future research to focus solely on vehicles not yet on sale, while 73% want it to examine both existing and future vehicles. The cars causing today’s complaints will be on the road for a decade or more.

What Drivers Can Do Tonight

The RAC and Which? both give practical steps for drivers who are dazzled. Keep the windscreen and your glasses clean, and make sure your prescription is current. Have regular sight tests. If you are dazzled, avoid staring at the lights, look briefly to the kerb until your vision recovers, and slow down safely. At night, adjust the rear-view mirror, or use a self-dimming mirror if your car has one. Stop somewhere legal and safe if you need to. Which? says yellow-tinted night-driving glasses are unproven and could hide hazards, while an anti-reflection coating on ordinary glasses can help.

Be ready for the moments when glare is worst. Hill crests and right-hand bends are the places where oncoming lights hit hardest, so ease off before you reach them.

Drivers can also reduce the glare they cause. Dip headlights when required, and learn how to dip them manually if the automatic system is slow to respond. Check headlight alignment when you carry heavy loads or passengers and adjust the levelling control if your car has one. If the top of your beam lands on the rear window of the car ahead, it is probably aimed too high, and a garage can check it. If other drivers often flash at you, ask for the same check. Keep lenses clean, and treat high-beam assist as a helper rather than a substitute for attention, taking manual control near pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists.

Queueing drivers have one more option. When stationary, apply the parking brake and release the foot brake once the vehicle behind has stopped, which cuts brake light glare for the driver behind.

With roughly 420,000 or more MOT failures a year for headlamp aim, it is worth asking a garage to check alignment before the test rather than after it.

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Sources:

• RAC Media Centre: Headlight dazzle leaves drivers struggling to see the road ahead
• Which?: Full beam ahead? The truth about car headlights
• Auto Express: Are car headlights too bright? Dazzled drivers say yes in new Govt study
• Optometry Today: On the road: headlight glare study published