85% of KentLive readers would support a ban on LED headlights in vehicles, our poll shows at the time of writing. Hundreds of readers took part in a poll on the KentLive website, with an overwhelming majority calling for a ban.
It comes after figures showed dazzling headlights contributed to 216 crashes in 2023, with Kent one of the worst affected areas. In our poll, 95% of readers said they had been affected by dazzling LED lights from other vehicles while driving in the past.
Over on our Facebook page, readers continued to have their say. Mandy Wyatt said LED headlights are ‘blinding and dangerous’. Karen Rockhill agreed, writing: “They’re dreadful – blinding vision is an absolute disgrace.”
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However, not everyone agreed they were a problem. Jeremy Temple wrote: “If you don’t want to be blinded by headlights, don’t buy SUVs that raise them to eye level.”
RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said: “Few issues we deal with have triggered quite as much of a reaction among drivers as the brightness of headlights. It’s clear that, for a proportion of the driving public, glare affects them profoundly on the roads at night.”
Lilian Greenwood, Parliamentary under-secretary for Department for Transport, stated: “National collision statistics, which can record headlamp dazzle as a contributory factor, do not show any discernible trend to suggest that advances in lighting technology are contributing negatively to road vehicle collisions.
“However, noting increased public concern, Government has commissioned independent research to better understand the root causes of headlamp glare and develop potential countermeasures. This work is under way and is due to deliver in summer 2025.”