Complaints about LED headlights are common, but are they accurate?

Headlights are getting brighter – maybe too bright. Drivers all over are complaining that brighter LED headlights feel more like spotlights. A new study asked the big question: are these blinding beams actually causing more crashes?

Back in the day, cars used halogen headlights. Then sometime in the mid-2000s, automakers started adding LED lights. Today, most new vehicles come with them as standard.

The differences between halogen and LED headlights are night and day. LEDs are brighter and whiter, lighting up more of the road and using less power. They also last much longer.

As more vehicles switch to LEDs, while drivers of LED-equipped headlights may love the added visibility, there are plenty of drivers squinting and complaining about LEDs and the glare through their windshields or mirrors. More than 70,000 people have even signed a petition asking the federal government to “properly regulate LEDs.”

Soft Lights Foundation, the group behind the petition, leans heavily into what they claim are the negative health effects of LEDs.

“There are many individuals who cannot neurologically tolerate the type of radiation emitted by LEDs.  The adverse health impacts from LED radiation include seizures, migraines, panic attacks, nausea, agitation, fear, anger, eye pain, and eye injury,” the group’s website states. “LED lighting has drastically increased light pollution, which significantly increases the risk of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, mood disorders, and early mortality.”

The petition points to a number of traffic fatalities. But are brighter headlights more dangerous? The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) says no.

Researchers reviewed almost 24 million crash reports from 11 states between 2015 and 2024. Only 0.1% to 0.2% of nighttime crashes were blamed on headlight glare. There was no difference over time.

It turns out the sun is more dangerous than LED headlights.

Most glare-related crashes happen during the day, when the sun sits low on the horizon. More than 90% of glare-involved crashes occurred during daylight.

“The special attention given to headlight glare may partly be one of perspective: the sun affects all road users equally, whereas any specific vehicle’s headlights enhance visibility for only one driver while increasing perceived glare for everyone else,” researchers stated.

Nighttime glare crashes were more common for older drivers and older cars, as well as on undivided, low-speed roads. In most cases, drivers drifted out of their lane.

Not only are brighter LED headlights rarely causing crashes, but previous studies have suggested they might actually be saving lives. A 2022 IIHS study found vehicles with good-rated headlights had 19% fewer nighttime crashes and 23% fewer pedestrian crashes. LED lights usually earn a good rating; halogen lights usually get a poor one.

In other words, the number of crashes caused by glare is offset by the number of crashes avoided by increased visibility.

“Although it can certainly be uncomfortable, headlight glare contributes to far fewer crashes than insufficient visibility,” IIHS President David Harkey said in a statement. “But that doesn’t mean reducing glare isn’t an important goal – one that we’ve long focused on at IIHS in addition to improving illumination.”

IIHS supports adaptive driving beam headlights, which dim only the part of the beam that shines at oncoming cars while keeping the rest bright. While those headlights are used in other countries, there are currently no U.S. vehicles equipped with the new technology. LL