Photo // Cienna King

HALOGEN HEADLIGHTS. I can see perfectly fine when driving at night without any fancy LED bulbs.

By: Cienna King

Photographer and Staff-Writer

Do you like being able to see while you’re driving? Me too! Are you tired of driving at night and being blinded by the brightness of other people’s LED headlights? I sure am! This is a genuine safety concern for many, myself included. Let’s break it down.

Halogen bulbs were the most common headlight bulbs before the introduction of LEDs. Halogens typically emit 900 to 1,000 lumens of light. LEDs, on the other hand, emit 3,600 to 4,500 lumens of light. There is a stark difference between halogens and LEDs, and this is very evident when facing oncoming traffic.

Don’t get me wrong: LED headlights are great for when you’re driving down dark back-roads that don’t have street lights (which Indiana has plenty of). They are also great for seeing potential hazards like deer and turkeys from far away. These headlights can also help you win at driving by momentarily blinding other drivers. Sweet deal, right?

LEDs aren’t only dangerous when you’re facing them. Cars with bright lights driving behind you can also be hazardous, as their lights can reflect off of your side- and rear-view mirrors, causing the inside of your vehicle to light up and impairing your vision. I have had this happen to me many times, and it’s almost as bad as the lights of oncoming drivers. 

It can get especially dangerous when it’s raining. I find it hard to see when driving in the rain in the dark, and if you add some LED headlights coming towards you to reflect off the shiny, wet road, then boom – say bye bye to your vision.

There currently isn’t a legal limit on how bright your headlights can be. Why not take it further than LEDs? Has anybody tried to harness the power of the sun yet?

The bottom line is, you can’t drive safely if you can’t see. It’s dangerous. It’s scary. It’s excruciatingly frustrating when you’re trying to drive at night and you’re met with blinding lights and can’t see where you’re going. I think there should be a limit on how bright your headlights can be, and that limit would hopefully bring us back to halogen bulbs. 

The rate of automobile crashes is already too high, and LED headlights pose an unnecessary hazard. The solution to poor visibility is better infrastructure and lighting on the road, not brighter and brighter headlights.