Lately, headlights seem to be getting brighter. On modern cars, regular headlights may seem like brights and they can be blinding. Local New York citizens aren’t too happy about this new technological development.
As technology progresses, headlights continue to get brighter. People must face the formidable light against the dark roads. This has become a major problem in New York, especially in places like the Hudson Valley.
Car Manufacturers want brighter headlights to ensure a safer car for dark roads, especially in gorge roads or valleys. Many of these manufacturers have been transitioning to LED lights rather tha high-intensity discharge lamps or halogen lamps. But, at what cost? These bright lights come with problems for those
In New York, the tristate region is first-place in the market for sport utility vehicles. SUV’s are tremendously popular, thus, these headlights aim higher. If someone is in a smaller, more compact, vehicle it’s almost as if these vehicles are aiming for the eyes.
Lately, eye doctors in New York have talked about the increased rate of patients confessing trouble driving at night. Local ophthalmologist at Manhattan Eye, Dr. Prachi Dua, states that the “light can become very distracting because it tends to scatter the retina.”
Also, since New York state has an aging population bright lights can cause increasing difficulty. This difficulty comes from a slow recuperation time for eyes exposed to bright lights. The risk of cataracts also increases, limiting eye’s tolerance to lights in general.
For the future…
Even though federal regulation limits headlight’s brightness, it’s not easy to enforce such a regulation. For the future, car manufacturers have been focusing more on how lights are diffused rather than how to make the light dimmer. This might solve headlight driving problems.
