It’s amazing that two countries as different as Canada and the U.S. can agree on everything about vehicle regulations, except for daytime running lights. We were the first country to mandate their use back in 1989, while U.S. regulators refused to do so, citing their opinion that, with their traffic density, DRLs would create dangerous distractions rather than improve road safety.

Even though DRLs aren’t considered illegal south of the border, most automakers (but not all) delete this function for their products sold there. Now, a few lobby groups are urging their government to ban them completely, along with exceedingly bright high intensity discharge (HID) and light-emitting diode (LED) headlights. And their focus isn’t just on the automotive sector, but also include LED streetlamps.

Groups such as Softlights and Lightmare cite medical positions from such respected organizations as the American Medical Association, which claim the blue-white spectrum of most LED headlights have measurable negative effects on humans and other life forms. In their 2016 published statement, the AMA says “in addition to its impact on drivers, blue-rich LED streetlights operate at a wavelength that most adversely suppresses melatonin during night. It’s estimated that white LED lamps have five times greater impact on circadian sleep rhythms than conventional street lamps.” This can reduce the quality and quantity of your sleep, among negative effects. But what does this have to do with cars?

Last month, Softlights started a campaign aimed at members of U.S. congress asking them to “demand that NHTSA recall existing LED and HID headlights, to carefully examine the psychological effects of headlight colour temperature and brightness on sensitive persons, to ban Daytime Running Lights, and to set maximums of 2700 Kelvin for colour temperature, and 800 lumens/135 candela for brightness for headlights.”

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) began rating headlamps in 2016 and in order for a vehicle to attain their top safety rating, their headlamps had to perform well while minimizing glare to oncoming drivers. In that year, of 80 systems tested, only one received a ‘good’ score. In 2019, headlights improved somewhat, with 14 per cent of vehicles reaching that plateau, but over half still received marginal or poor ratings due to inadequate visibility and excessive glare.

Improper and illegal headlamp modifications aren’t the only reasons for excessive glare. When you install a lift kit on an SUV or a pickup truck, headlights can become blinding hazards unless you re-aim them. Ontario outlawed HID conversions in 2017, and other jurisdictions — such as Alberta — consider any headlamp outfitted with bulbs other than what the manufacturer specifies to be in non-compliance.

When shopping for a new vehicle, a nighttime road test is the only way to learn if your short-listed choices can meet your vision needs. This should also include a good look at how headlights appear to oncoming vehicles; it’s no use having great headlamps if they blinding other drivers, because they may may end up colliding with you.

During winter, it’s also a good idea to regularly clean off any road salt or grime, and if your older vehicle has foggy lenses, you can either replace them — or refurbish them yourself with a restoration kit, as it’s a simple enough DIY job.