The impact of bright lights on road users is being independently investigated by the Department for Transport (DfT).
Consultancy firm the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) in Berkshire is set to kit out a car with specialist instruments to measure light levels in the same way drivers experience them.
The trial, which started last month, will assess factors such as headlight glare from vehicles around the instrumented car, the weather conditions and ambient lighting.
TRL will also undertake a review of scientific evidence and, it has said, engage ‘with a range of stakeholders’.
This, in turn, will lead to ‘actionable recommendations’ for the DfT to take forward in international working groups, it added, with the findings due to be reported in the spring.
A recent petition to Parliament attracted so many signatures it prompted the DfT to agree to commission a study into this issue, although it is unclear whether this specific test is part of that wider work.
The latest trial also follows concerns raised by WSP’s Allan Howard, both in Lighting Journal (‘Why I don’t like driving at night’, September 2024), and at the Centenary Lighting Summit in June.
Equally, an RAC survey has suggested that more than four out of five drivers (85%) affected by headlight glare believe the problem is getting worse.
A report by the House of Lords Baroness Dianne Hayter has drawn similar conclusions.
A BBC report into the TRL study also spoke to drivers, many of whom agreed glare, discomfort and dazzle while driving had got worse.
Image: a bright car headlight/Pexels
