By B.N. Frank

Thanks to LED and H.I.D headlights, “Disability Glare” on American roads isn’t just happening to old people. The amount of accidents caused by it has yet to be determined. Health issues associated with LED lights aren’t isolated to temporary vision impairment either (See 1, 2). Exposure can also harm animals and nature.

From WTFS in Tampa Bay, Florida:

Dr. Tom Chester is the Clinical Director at Cleveland Eye Clinic. He says he has seen an increase in patients having trouble driving at night or in the dark.

“Patients often come in talking about difficulty driving at night with glare, headlight,” he said.

The goal behind the stronger L.E.D and H.I.D lights are so drivers will be able to see better in low-visibility situations, but that can affect the other drivers on the road.

“It creates discomfort. It can create irritation. It causes you to want to shy away from it, and so as a result, it can cause a lot of reflexes to kind of close the eye, dim the eye, look away,” said Dr. Chester.

Studies show long exposure to the lights can damage the retina.

“After you look at that you kind of have to shake your head off and it takes a few seconds, and when you’re driving that’s a long time for something to happen,” said Piper. “I think it’s posing a safety hazard to drivers out there.”

A spokesperson with the Ohio State Highway Patrol says they don’t have a way of measuring the brightness of lights when the troopers are taking down crash reports.

There are state and federal regulations that limit the brightness of headlights.