Four 推論する/理由s why drivers are dazzled by headlights more than ever before - as 大臣s 開始する,打ち上げる 公式の/役人 調査(する) into the problem
- DfT 確認するs new review of brighter?car headlights over dazzling 関心s
- There are four main 与える/捧げるing factor to why drivers are 存在 部分的に/不公平に blinded
- We 明らかにする/漏らす which 運転者s are worst 影響する/感情d - as a third of drivers say they've 減ずるd - or 完全に stopped - their 運動ing at night
大臣s have 確認するd they will 開始する,打ち上げる a review into the rise in 運転者s 存在 dazzled by headlights?after nine in 10 complained they've become too 有望な and up to a third have やめる 運動ing at night over 恐れるs of 存在 一時的に blinded and 衝突,墜落ing.
The move by the 政府 follows a (選挙などの)運動をする by the RAC and 嘆願(書) 調印するd by more than 11,900 people who are 関心d about the dangers headlight glare is 原因(となる)ing for road 使用者s.
With the Department for 輸送(する) (DfT) 約束ing a 調査(する) into the growing 問題/発行する, we take a closer look at the four main 与える/捧げるing factors for why dazzling is becoming a more 目だつ problem.
1. Brighter LED lights 取って代わるing 'yellower' halogen bulbs
Some 87 per cent of the 2,000 drivers 投票d by the RAC earlier this year as part of its 年次の 報告(する)/憶測 into dazzling think it is becoming an 増加するing iss ue because headlights are 簡単に getting brighter.
This is a result of the 増加するing prevalence of modern cars featuring LED (Light Emitting Diode) headlights.
In 最近の years, they have 完全に 取って代わるd the 伝統的な 'yellower' halogen bulbs in the 最新の new cars.
Arguably the biggest contributor to the rise in dazzling is the switch to brighter LED headlights instead of halogen bulbs. The former are often whiter and more likely to 一時的に blind oncoming 運転者s, while the latter are yellower and いっそう少なく likely to 原因(となる) glare
LEDs?produce a whiter - or いつかs bluish - beam. They also last longer, use いっそう少なく 力/強力にする and are usually smaller than halogen bulbs, which enables 乗り物 製造業者s more 柔軟性 when it comes to designing cars and 先頭s.?
LED lights 供給する a more 激しい and 焦点(を合わせる)d beam that is?広大な/多数の/重要な for 改善するing a driver's 見解(をとる) by illuminating more of the road.
However, the human 注目する,もくろむ 反応するs to this light 異なって than to a halogen beam.
This is why drivers often complain of 存在 部分的に/不公平に blinded by their brightness.
Cheap aftermarket LED bulbs sold online are also 与える/捧げるing to the problem. Only bulbs 示すd with an 'E' are みなすd 合法的な in Britain, though it is hard to police when 違法な 製品s are used
2. Cheap LED aftermarket bulbs
One other 原因(となる) of the rise in dazzling on the road is the use of sub-基準 LED bulbs that can be 購入(する)d online.
Cheap 交替/補充s - 特に those advertised to 取って代わる halogen bulbs in older cars - can be 危険に 有望な or produce the wrong beam pattern, both of which can 一時的に blind oncoming 運転者s.
Only bulbs with an 'E' 示す are みなすd 合法的な in Britain, but aftermarket LED 昇格s cannot be 問題/発行するd one of these certified 示すs.?This is because no 法律制定 現在/一般に 存在するs for the use of LED 科学(工学)技術 in a headlight 部隊 built for halogens.
However, this is difficult to police.?
Even MOT testers are not 要求するd to check if a bulb is 'E' 示すd, which is 予定 to the time-消費するing nature of having to 接近 the item by 除去するing the headlight cluster, which in some models can be a painstaking 過程.
This is why it is always recommended to 購入(する) 交替/補充 bulbs from your car from reputable 製造業者s, such as Osram and Philips.
3. Drivers failing to adjust their lights 正確に
More than two in five of the 2,000 運転者s 投票d by the RAC in January think the rise in dazzling is 原因(となる)d by 運転者s failing to 提携させる their headlight 正確に.
A Freedom of (警察などへの)密告,告訴(状) request submitted to the Driver and 乗り物 基準s 機関 in November 2023 shows that since 2019, an 普通の/平均(する) of 1.6million, or 5 per cent, of cars failed their MOTs 予定 to poor headlight 目的(とする).
What's more, with the DVSA 明言する/公表するing in 2016 that 'headlamp 目的(とする) 終始一貫して 最高の,を越すs the MOT 同意/服従 調査する as one of the most likely items to be 査定する/(税金などを)課すd incorrectly by testers', the actual 人物/姿/数字 could be much higher.
The RAC also believes the 増加する in the number of high-riding SUVs on the road is 増加するing 事例/患者s of drivers dazzled
4. 増加するing 人気 of SUVs
The rise in sales of SUVs is also a 与える/捧げるing factor in the 増加する in 危険 of 存在 dazzled at night, によれば 回答者/被告s to the RAC 報告(する)/憶測 in January and a separate 調査する of 12,000 drivers by the AA a month later.
Because SUVs are raised higher up than most 伝統的な cars, their lights are positioned higher than that of a 従来の hatchback or saloon.
It means those 運動ing 非,不,無-SUV models are at 危険 of having the headlights of these jacked-up family cars 向こうずねing 直接/まっすぐに into their 直面する.
Three in five (62 per cent) of RAC members who 運動 非,不,無-SUV models 非難する the spike in dazzling on higher 乗り物s, 反して only a third (35 per cent) of those who own an SUV believed they were 原因(となる)ing an 増加する in this particular 支配する.
What the 政府 has said about 調査/捜査するing dazzling 問題/発行する?
It's becoming ますます 明らかな that more drivers are 存在 troubled by the brightness of other 乗り物s' headlights, raising 関心s about safety.
As such, it has been the 支配する of an 広範囲にわたる (選挙などの)運動をする by モーターing groups.
The RAC's 年次の headlight dazzling 報告(する)/憶測 on the 支配する 設立する that 85 per cent of drivers have been 部分的に/不公平に blinded by the glare of 有望な car lights and believe the problem is より悪くするing.
Of 2,000 UK licence 支えるもの/所有者s quizzed by the モーターing group,?89 per cent think at least some headlights fitted to 乗り物s are too 有望な, of which three in 10 ? a higher 割合 than ever ? think most are.?
The 政府 has committed to 開始する,打ち上げるing its own 独立した・無所属 review of brighter headlights to understand why more drivers are 存在 dazzled on the road - and, importantly, how to 取り組む the 問題/発行する?
In February, a 類似の 熟考する/考慮する by the AA 設立する that three 4半期/4分の1s of 運転者s often feel 一時的に blinded behind the wheel after 存在 dazzled by other 乗り物s' headlights.
Some 76 per cent of 12,100 licence 支えるもの/所有者s 投票d said they are often impaired by oncoming car lights, while half (52 per cent) struggle to see 予定 to the glare from モーターs に引き続いて behind that 反映するs in their 後部-見解(をとる) mirror at night.
This has led to calls for a?review of brighter headlights 経由で a 議会の 嘆願(書) submitted by a member of the public on 15 January, which has (at the time of publishing) received almost 12,000 署名s.
The DfT said the 政府 recognises there is a 'need for その上の 証拠' as it 約束d an 独立した・無所属 調査(する) into headlight dazzling 'すぐに'.
Blinded by the lights: Three in four drivers say they are often dazzled by the headlights of other 乗り物s on the road, a 最近の 報告(する)/憶測 設立する
The department 追加するd that it is 井戸/弁護士席 aware that more people are raising 関心s about the intensity of headlight glare but caveated the point by 明言する/公表するing that police 衝突/不一致 統計(学) 'don't show any underlying road safety 問題/発行する'.
With that said, 公式の/役人 人物/姿/数字s show that since 2013 there have been an 普通の/平均(する) of 280 衝突/不一致s on Britain's roads a year where dazzling headlights were a contributory factor.
Of these, six per 年 伴う/関わるd someone losing their life.
The 政府 department continued: 'Because of that 欠如(する) of 証拠, the Department for 輸送(する) raised the 問題/発行する at the 国際連合 international 専門家 group on 乗り物 lighting.?
'提案s to 修正する headlamp 目的(とする)ing 支配するs were agreed in April 2023, together with 必要物/必要条件s for 義務的な (a)自動的な/(n)自動拳銃 headlamp levelling which automatically 訂正するs the 目的(とする) of the headlamps based on the 負担ing of the 乗り物 e.g. when 乗客s are sat on the 支援する seat or there is luggage in the boot.
'The 過度期の 準備/条項s 許す 十分な time for 乗り物 製造業者s to redesign their 製品s and adapt the 製造業の 過程, with the tighter 寛容s 推定する/予想するd to come into 影響 in September 2027.
'Once 器具/実施するd, these tougher 必要物/必要条件s will help 緩和する the number of 事例/患者s where road 使用者s are dazzled.
'In 新規加入, the DfT also 計画(する)s to (売買)手数料,委託(する)/委員会/権限 独立した・無所属 研究 to better understand the root 原因(となる)s of driver glare and identify any その上の appropriate mitigations.'
The RAC has long been (選挙などの)運動をするing for more to be done to 取り組む headlight dazzling, which has become an 増加するing 問題/発行する in 最近の years 予定 to the advent of new tech and the 人気 of higher-riding 乗り物s
RAC road safety spokesperson 棒 Dennis 述べるd the かかわり合い to 調査/捜査する dazzling as a 'real turning point'.?
He said: 'The topic has undoubtedly struck a chord with 運転者s up and 負かす/撃墜する the country, with many people 接触するing us 直接/まっすぐに to call for something to be done.
'Brighter headlights, while giving drivers a better 見解(をとる) of the road ahead, are 明確に 原因(となる)ing other road 使用者s 重要な problems.'
Baroness Hayter said the 政府's fresh かかわり合い to 請け負う 研究 into the 問題/発行する is a 'victory for all those drivers 影響する/感情d by glare who’ve complained to their MP, 調印するd the 議会の 嘆願(書), or indeed sought help from an optometrist ? only to discover the problem was with headlights, and not their 注目する,もくろむs'.
What the RAC's headlight-dazzling 報告(する)/憶測 設立する?
The RAC at the end of 2023 投票d 2,000 UK licence 支えるもの/所有者s about headlight glare and the 衝撃 it has on them.?
Of all the drivers who complained about the brightness of car headlights, some 91 per cent say they have been dazzled when 運動ing in the last 12 months.
一方/合間, three 4半期/4分の1s said they are 部分的に/不公平に blinded by other vehicl es on a 正規の/正選手 occasion.
The 問題/発行する has become so bad in 最近の years that two in three of the パネル盤 said they have to slow 負かす/撃墜する かなり after 苦しむing from glare from another car's headlights - and can't 選ぶ up 速度(を上げる) again until a few moments later when they can see 明確に.
And 68 per cent said they are unable to see 明確に again for between one and five seconds, and a その上の one in 10 said it takes six or more seconds to get 回復する their 十分な 見通し.
Worryingly, only momentarily losing 十分な visibility for such a duration is enough for a driver travelling at 60mph to cover 160 metres - which is the 同等(の) of 40 cars lengths - without 存在 able to see 適切に.
More than three in five drivers say it has reached such problematic levels that dazzling is becoming a 原因(となる) of 事故s.
In fact, five per cent of these drivers told the RAC they have nearly been 伴う/関わるd in a 衝突/不一致 themselves as a result of having their eyesight 一時的に 妥協d by 有望な headlights.
Alarmingly, 7 per cent said they find headlight glare so bad on the roads today that they 避ける 運動ing at night altogether, a 人物/姿/数字 that rises to 14 per cent for drivers 老年の 65 and over.
Having 毎年 研究d and published 報告(する)/憶測s on the number of 運転者s 苦しむing from dazzling on the road since 2018, the RAC says there is plenty of 証拠 to show this is becoming a growing 関心.?
Separate 研究 by IAM RoadSmart 株d with This is Money 示唆するs one-in-three of its members had either 減ずるd their night-time 運動ing or even stopped altogether because they can no longer 対処する with 存在 部分的に/不公平に blinded by the lights of other 乗り物s.
The rising 事例/患者s of drivers 報告(する)/憶測ing 存在 dazzled in 最近の years means this is a 'major road safety 問題/発行する' 同様に as having a 'knock-on 衝撃 on the nighttime economy', the road safety charity said.