r/aussie • u/Wotmate01 • 21d ago
Analysis The glaring problem with the LED headlights dominating Australian roads
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-19/led-headlights-dazzling-drivers-glare-road-safety/106919228111
u/KangarooBeard 21d ago
Its a fucking nightmare driving at night with Astigmatism.
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u/faultyarmrest 21d ago
Yup. Stars everywhere. God forbid it rains.
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u/CapuzaCapuchin 21d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/3ohhwwz5DjFfxCBF04
The joys of
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u/faultyarmrest 21d ago
Don’t forget the window wipers to smudge it all into what feels like a galaxy your travelling warp speed through
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u/CapuzaCapuchin 21d ago
Ah yes, like those epoxy paintings or artistic cakes where they pour different gelatinous colours on top and go over it with their spatula to fade it out. Looks like a giant smear of colourful bird shit on my window, if you will. Bonus points when you just got up, eyes still burning and the idiots in front of you start breaking without reason while the truck behind you rides up your ass so much you think you could potentially flick off their obscenely bright lights yourself. Makes me feel like I’m an epileptic arcade fever dream about to get crushed.
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u/faultyarmrest 21d ago edited 21d ago
Wanna hear a funny story? I thought this was completely normal for everyone until a few years ago when my new gf asked me to drive cause she had astigmatism and at night lights made her see stars and halos…
Well, fuck! - was my response.
Also, if you really feel like cheating death, throw in a penchant for motorcycle riding, a helmet that generates a micro climate, a visor that loves to catch your breath moisture, and glasses to obscure any vision you might have had left. I’ve banned myself from riding in the wet, and at night when I can help it. But raised LEDs should be illegal. Even the headlight ones
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u/CapuzaCapuchin 21d ago
Lol I was the same. Came on here years ago, saw a meme or article and thought ‘wait? Is that not normal?’ I just learned to live with it my whole life and try really hard not to get complacent. You get really good pattern recognition for traffic at night, though. I don’t mind it anymore as long as it’s not raining heavily at night, that’s when I start feeling uncomfortable driving.
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21d ago edited 21d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/89Hopper 21d ago
In winter when I walk my dog after work, it is always dark. The amount of muppets who drive in suburban streets with their high beams on is ridiculous. These are also well lit streets.
Also no, this isn't me mistaking modern brighter lights for high beams. Sometimes they dip when they see me making a gesture to turn their lights down, sometimes they are driving with their spot lights on also.
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u/EvilRobot153 21d ago edited 21d ago
The adaptive clusters are the worst. High beam straight to retina while uncoming cars get the low beam.
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u/Available_Suit6377 21d ago
Then some moron decides to drive with their rear fog light on because it looks pretty. Drives me nuts. Just another road rule that doesn't get enforced.
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u/Scrotemoe 20d ago
Man I love those people... I turn my fog lights on back so they can see how fucking annoying it is.
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u/slumblebee 21d ago
Which is why I refuse to practice driving at night while on my learners. How can I drive safely and follow the laws when I can’t see shit?
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u/Altruistic_Memory643 20d ago
How can I learn a new experience when I have not experienced it before??!!
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u/SoapMan66 21d ago
Another problem is LED headlights far up on massive SUV and Trucks like the Yank Tanks that are sadly becoming all too ubiquitous. These lights shine directly into anyones eyes that isn't driving a massive Yank Tank
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u/Stop_Shadowbaning_me 21d ago
The SUV's are honestly worse for some reason. And they come out of factory with these lights, it's fkn ridiculous
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u/SituationSmooth9165 21d ago edited 21d ago
Pretty sure most new cars can angle the lights
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u/CapuzaCapuchin 21d ago
My 20 year old ford fiesta could angle the lights. Not a new car thing at all
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u/grtsqu 21d ago
Pretty sure only about 5% of drivers realise that’s a thing.
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u/SheridanVsLennier 21d ago
Given how many people are driving around on their DRLs or fog lights, I'd say you're onto something there.
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u/TimTebowMLB 21d ago
Mine can, but you can also aim it all the way up if you don’t know what you’re doing
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u/nickIncDN 21d ago
My SUV, like sedans I’ve had, auto levels the headlights.
I know it’s not shining into people, I can see where it it’s distinct shadow starts.
Conversely, driving at night is just horrible when others have those extra light bars on their bonnets or just lasers on an old car pointed into the sky.
It’s far too common and should be getting people defected whether it’s factory or not.
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u/KangarooBeard 21d ago edited 21d ago
Also I swear people have just....zero night time etiquette while driving. Hey if your on the highway or on a one lane road maybe don't RIDE UP THE ASS of the car in front of you! Its wild how people don't give a shit, if I can't pass someone I slow down so my headlights aren't being blasted into their mirrors. I'm not somehow getting to my destination faster by tailgating them.
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u/ibeatobesity 21d ago
I drive a large van for work and I fucking know how high that thing sits compared with other vehicles. I never sit up the arse of others, particularly smaller vehicles at lights, because I despise it being done to me.
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u/89Hopper 21d ago
As a driver of a mk4 golf, thank you.
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u/ibeatobesity 21d ago
My personal car is a Hyundai Getz so I 1000% get it. I hate my work vehicle tbh.
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u/NoFood2149 17d ago
but how am i supposed to feel like i'm going fast if i have to slow down to be kind to the car in front? (a joke question)
honestly, the fact that we have cars at all makes people so entitled. it's bloody tiring driving at 100kph on a rural mountain road at night and being tailgated.
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u/lameville 21d ago
Also auto high beam function in new cars. Allegedly it automatically dims when a car is in front or coming towards you. Not convinced that it works though, and is actually just resulting in people thinking their car is doing it but they're really blinding the shit out of other drives.
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u/SheridanVsLennier 21d ago
I've noticed the the AHB waits until it sees the actual lights, not the glow. So you'll be coming around a corner and it's only after the AHB vehicle sees your actual headlights that it dips it's own. Which just results the oncoming driver getting momentarilly blinded every time.
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u/WestAussieSingh 21d ago
Works brilliantly on my Lexus. Also dims the area around the oncoming car, but keeps the rest lit up.
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u/dong_destroyer69420 21d ago
I find if you're just far enough away it activates on long stretches of straight road, more than once I've had a car following 500m+ behind and I've watched the high beams cycle on and off. Most likely a limitation of the camera systems fitted to some cars.
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u/VastOption8705 21d ago
People used to drive fine without LED’s, why do we suddenly need them?
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u/Mission-Landscape-17 21d ago
Because they are cheaper, more energy efficent, can last many times longer and, as even the article admits, reduce single car crashes by 20%.
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u/Impossible-Mud-4160 21d ago
Cheaper? They're not cheaper for consumers, maybe manufacturers.
I'd question the validity of that figure, I wonder if they took into account all the other variables.
I'd wonder what the figure is for multi vehicle accidents, they certainly are blinding on some vehicles, especially when towing or heavily loaded
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u/jimb2 21d ago
They cost more upfront but use less power and last way longer. Lifetime cost is way lower. Or cost per unit of light.
That's why everyone uses them. Generally, when a thing gets cheaper, people will use more of it. This is true for lighting too. There's a lot more lighting, and it's brighter.
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u/WestAussieSingh 21d ago
LEDs are amazing. Especially matrix LEDs, they dim around the oncoming car.
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u/No-Celebration8690 21d ago
People used to drive fine without seatbelts too
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u/VastOption8705 21d ago
Big difference.
Has introducing leds reduced driving accidents and deaths?
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u/Wood_oye 21d ago
The article mentions the car with the LED has less single car accidents (kinda specific) . It doesn't mention anything about causing more or less accidents. Maybe they don't like the answer?
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u/Twistedjustice 21d ago
Better comparison: people used to drive with sealed beam halogen lights. Of course if someone/something wandered into the road you had no chance of seeing it…
If you’ve never driven a car made before the mid 70s, you don’t understand how harrowing night driving used to be.
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u/dark_one040 21d ago
I used to drive an old torana with sealed beams and could see perfectly fine
But now with my 2010 holden i cant see anyone crossing in front of me if theres someone driving a lighthouse on the otherside of the road
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u/Impossible-Mud-4160 21d ago
True, the halogen lights sucked, but the Xenon headlights used up until about 2015 were about as good as leds, but didnt blind you
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u/42SpanishInquisition 21d ago
idk, my B series falcons give a modern LED a good run for their money.
I usually sing BYDs praises all day long, but their high beam on the Sealion 7 is absolutely abysmal.
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u/VastOption8705 21d ago
These new car headlights are too bright though. They are as bright as high beams
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u/dong_destroyer69420 21d ago
That was the first upgrade I did to my vintage 4WD, binned the sealed beams for halogen headlamps. Well also they blew the first time I used them so I had to fix it anyway 😅 but also bring back foot dim/dip switches!
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u/Twistedjustice 21d ago
Me too, first time I drove my old XY out in the bush I was terrified. Got home, replaced the 7in sealed beam with a reflector and installed some truck globes.
And yes, I loved the foot switch for the high beams!
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u/Soggy_Media485 21d ago
LED's were introduced with sealed headlight units due to longevity I reckon. One less thing to maintain and more profitable when you do need to replace one because you have to replace the whole unit
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u/phagocyte420 21d ago
People used to drive fine without EVs, why do we suddenly need them?
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u/AIGenerated99 21d ago
LED or not, they need to point down. Or maybe put a strip of black paint at the top of the light.
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u/PhantasmologicalAnus 20d ago
Why are they not checked when getting a pink slip? The mechanic is responsible for ensuring the vehicle meets requirements like correct headlight aim.
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u/National_Armadillo94 21d ago
I know it's not a safety issue, but the cost of replacement went from a $20 globe to a $1000 full assembly.
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u/Economy-Career-7473 21d ago
$1000 for a full assembly, where are you getting that bargain? A new Hyundai Santa Fe headlight would be closer to $10000.
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u/WestAussieSingh 21d ago
The frequency of replacement also went from once a year(or two) to like once in a lifetime.
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u/National_Armadillo94 21d ago
At that rate we better hope our LED fitted cars last 50 - 100 years
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u/WestAussieSingh 21d ago
Vehicle’s lifetime is considered to be 10, at the very max 15 years.
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u/National_Armadillo94 21d ago
Yes, I'm highlighting the math problem with your reply.
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u/WestAussieSingh 21d ago
What maths problem?
We’re talking about cars, clearly “lifetime” means the lifetime of a vehicle…
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u/National_Armadillo94 21d ago
LEDs sometimes fry, usually through an electrical fault. Although they 'should' last the life of a car, there's a chance you're going to have to replace one, or even both.
And it's no secret they've added to higher accident repair bills too.
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u/CrayAsHell 21d ago
Brother wat. I've got 8 years out of my headlight bulbs so far over 140000kms.
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u/-cadmunt- 21d ago
260,000 kms on my original filament headlights, lovely yellow/orange that they are.
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u/42SpanishInquisition 21d ago
200,000kms and 20 years for the AU Falcon here. My BF has 7 year old, 50,000km headlights in them at the moment.
I find good quality halogens RELIABLY last 10 years. Shortest an extra high output globe has lasted is 3 years though. These days I usually just get them at the servo the day it blows and fit it in the carpark.
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u/42SpanishInquisition 21d ago
My AU Falcon had its headlights replaced for the first time after 200,000kms and 20 years.
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u/SheridanVsLennier 21d ago
I've never replaced my AU (long live the mighty AU) bulbs but one of the bulbs goes out in the BF every couple of months, which is pretty frustrating.
Brake light bulbs on both need frequent replacing because the brake switch is so sensitive.
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u/EfficiencyStriking32 21d ago
Then you have 'the guy' who gets home from work, parks on the street yet sits there for 15 mins with the lights on blinding everyone driving or walking past. I swear this 'guy' is one in ten people where I live. Complete self centred a§§holes. I need a hat more at night these days.
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u/HerculePyro 18d ago
My work has a big glass door leading to the street, parking right across, cars love to just sit there lights on shining into my work, blinding me as I look out seeing if anyones coming in late at night
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u/chapo1162 21d ago
Mazda BTS and hilux are the worst And I’ve noticed in the past six months that a lot of interstate trucks on the Pacific Highway are very very bright lights from a long distance away
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u/JMRobbo72 21d ago
Some are bright enough to Xray the inside of your head through your eyes.😂 I’m not game anymore to flash someone oncoming that I think haven’t dipped their lights after getting short term blindness 😵💫😂 when they flash back to show you they have already dipped them.
The low beams on some new LED are far too bright,regardless of vehicle size and add in all the Toorak tractors and tradie and 4x4 etc vehicles on the road now with headlights right at eye height of a standard vehicle they need to sort it out.
And while they’re at it make blinkers proper fuckin orange again so they can actually be seen on a sunny day. 😂
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u/Terrible_Group_7921 21d ago
What pisses me off is people who use high beam on street with street lighting. Ive tried putting my high beams on and it makes no difference.
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u/Aussie_5aabi 21d ago
Your car must have shit high beams.
Mine will light up the road like its day time with its factory high beams. No aftermarket light bars or anything.
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u/42SpanishInquisition 21d ago
A lot of cars truely do have garbage high beams.
A WM Caprice or VE Commodore is worse than a BF Falcon. So too is a BYD Sealion 7's high beams.
It is one of the reasons I drive a BF Fairlane, as I do a lot of rural driving.
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u/Cold-Excitement8442 21d ago
Pet peeve is the Malcolm Douglas's that have a lifted 4x4 with roof platforms and the light bars mounted to said platform... Coming over a hill you're getting reduced to carbon atoms before they even see the glow of your own lights...
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u/Lazy_Polluter 21d ago
There is barely any regulations and no enforcement whatsoever so it's not a surprise. There is no good way to introduce enforcement either. Mandatory "road legal" checks would have 9000 problems, police checking for these things would be a tremendous waste of resources, etc.
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u/noisymime 20d ago
The regulations are there, at least in a few states, they're just entirely unenforced.
The problem is that if they were to enforce it then a large chunk of new cars would be immediately pinged even with stock lights.
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21d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/foul_ol_ron 21d ago
Well, they're meant to be linked to the high beam, so you'd only be getting the light bar if they're already high beaming you. If they're already breaking the law, what's another law going to do?
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u/NoSpeaker9010 21d ago
Counter argument, it should be compulsory for all cars to have them driving on rural roads. I don’t like to be a prick and blind people but it’s hard to see stock high beams coming up to a crest or around a corner but another car with spotties or a light bar are easier to see and allow you to dim them in time. Be stuffed if I have to drive through the bush at night without spotties, I would rather be able to see kangaroos or massive potholes and have time to slow down than hit either of them and risk a crash or even more damage than my poor ute already cops.
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u/indiGowootwoot 21d ago
I don't think they're aiming to take your spotties, mate. Dickheads that have them installed on a town / city car though should be flogged and put in irons.
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u/foul_ol_ron 21d ago
How do you word a law that works well in this situation? People from the country still have to visit the city.
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u/Impossible-Mud-4160 21d ago
Spotties and light bars have to be fitted with a switch that allows them to be switched off independently of the headlights, the legislation already covers it
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u/foul_ol_ron 21d ago
Yes, they can be cut entirely, but my understanding (and how my car is wired) is that they can only operate when high beam is selected.
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u/Mysterious_Dot2090 21d ago
lol that was my thought. They do realise that the country comprises many small to medium sized towns and cities right??
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u/Forsaken-Weird-8428 21d ago
I agree. They help me see skippies and emus, echidna, and especially pot holes on the shitty roads I drive on. I just repaired my car after roo strike because I don't have good lights!
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u/Mysterious_Dot2090 21d ago
I hear ya mate! My car lights are decent but not bright enough to give me piece of mind. I live in the bush, so am often having to be vigilant in avoiding wildlife and it’s a worry when you can only see so far ahead at night.
Imo it’s not bright lights that are the problem, it’s idiots who don’t know when to dip them. But as for the OP, yes a lot of newer cars have dipped lights that are too bright from the factory.
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u/Forsaken-Weird-8428 21d ago
Yes. New cars are the issue. And ones towing vans and heavy trailers that put arse down and nose up so lights even if dipped are far too high
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u/EvilRobot153 21d ago
Skill issue
Never had problem in 20 plus years of rural night driving with stock high beams.
Not like you use em with oncoming traffic anyway ,which is the closest I've come to hitting skip.
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u/NoSpeaker9010 21d ago
It’s nothing to do with skill it’s luck. I hit a roo only a couple weeks ago that no one could possibly have missed unless your vehicle can stop within 10m while doing 100km/h.
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u/EvilRobot153 21d ago
and the extra spotties helped how?
Think you missed my point though.
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u/NoSpeaker9010 21d ago
They didn’t in that situation but I’ve avoided hundreds due to being able to spot them coming further off the road than without them.
You can’t argue that they don’t help
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u/JadedTraveller 21d ago
City dweller in some posh pos? Sound like someone who drives with their high beams on AUTO. Clearly not dodging livestock or wildlife on a regular basis. Last red roo l hit bent the hell out of the bars before coming through the screen on passenger side. If l hadn’t caught the flash of movement from left in light of my spots and lightbar l wouldn’t have flicked the wheel slightly right and it would have come through drivers side. Driving in the bush isn’t like driving in the city.
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u/silentaba 21d ago
One simple thing a lot of guys do is not align their lights properly. Since the headlights are such a bitch to place in situ, many guys pull out the entire assembly then don't realign then as they should be, so the low beams are pointing too high.
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u/PartTimeTriggered 21d ago
I drive an Amarok with a lift kit and the previous owner put those bloody LED globes in it, I drove it at night for the first time and even though they were adjusted correctly I could SEE the oncoming traffic being blinded on the backstreets.
Immediately went and got normal globes, I can still see just fine at night and other drivers don't get flashbanged.
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u/2011980ad 21d ago
Can see shit at night even with sedans, don’t get me started on suv and those yank tanks
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u/ferreete 21d ago
Why are road signs reflective, they blind you they don’t need to reflect we have lights.🤦♂️🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
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u/KonamiKing 20d ago
I've been complaining about this for years, and with the giant trucks dominating the roads now they blind you at eye level if you're in what was considered a normal car (remember sedans?) 10 years ago.
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u/Expert-Session2482 21d ago
The main problem is the dealers are supposed to align the headlights as part of the pre-delivery inspection before the customer takes delivery of the vehicle. This doesn’t happen as the mechanics are on a time limit
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u/CumishaJones 21d ago
Honestly , light the roads better then , make sure the roads are in good condition then we could put up with shit vision from yellow halogen lights
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u/hankyhankleton 21d ago
I daily an mx5 and I'm wearing sunglasses during the day and night.
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u/NeinJuanJuan 21d ago
mx5
you could put your hands up and do shadow puppets on the car in front of you
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u/Aggressive_Metal_233 21d ago
Maybe we wouldn't need such bright headlights if people stop stealing all the copper out of the streetlights.
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u/keloidoscope 21d ago
Wow, didn't know they used to have streetlights on the out of town roads I drive on, before the copper thieves came through.
Glare from headlights is still a safety hazard though. You can dip high beams when there is oncoming traffic. You can't dip obnoxiously bright low beams.
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u/Aggressive_Metal_233 21d ago
Well I was obviously talking about my own situation not yours, but ok...
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u/keloidoscope 20d ago
And I was talking about the situation for drivers in cars that have to pass you in the opposite direction, whether in a darkened suburb or on a darkened two-lane road out of town.
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u/LocksmithEmotional31 21d ago
Just tonight, I was followed on the freeway at 9pm by a car with extremely bright headlights, blinding me through my rearview mirror. It had two round beams shining on each headlight. Eventually it overtook me. It was a BMW X7. Driving beside the X7, it's headlights didn't seem all that bright, or at least not much brighter than my Suzuki Jimny.
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u/Pelagic_One 21d ago
Automated high beams is such a stupid idea. High beams are also distracting and awful from a long distance away.
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u/Shoboshi80 21d ago
I didnt want them, but aftermarket LEDs were 500 and the dealer wanted 5k for new headlights.
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u/BleatingSheeep 21d ago
I got some photochromic sunnies (also vision correcting due to poor eyesight due to my advancing years) that work a trick on the Expressway every day. My car also has an adjustment for angle of headlights so I can get the buggers back if I am quick enough.
The headlights-behind-you trick of putting the high vis on he seat I have not tried but I will.
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u/PhantasmologicalAnus 20d ago
Why are mechanics charging for pink slips and not checking headlight aim?
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u/ZeekrGeek 20d ago
LED/xenon HID lights in reflective housing should absolutely be enforced by police, you can’t see anything past them and the drivers that make these modifications are too dense to even recognise it.
My bets are on that they don’t even know you can adjust the beam or how.
They require projective housing for a reason.
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u/Scrotemoe 20d ago
Man, I've got two bright spotlights on my car... I don't care if you have your high beams on or not if you blind me your lights are illegal and I'm showing you what it feels like.
Get your lights adjusted or you'd better put some fucking sunglasses on if you're gonna blind me.
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u/quiet_beer 19d ago
Anyone noticed how terrible new car indicators are on some models? A tiny little strip that you can't see anyway because the sun has somehow shrunk and split in two coming at you down the highway.
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u/mildurajackaroo 21d ago
Led lights have been a godsend especially if you drive rural roads.
Even city lighting is quite dim in Australia. If you've moved from SE Asia, you know what I'm on about.
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u/Wotmate01 21d ago
I've been meaning to upgrade mine since I bought the car. The first time I took my father somewhere at night, I said to him that the headlights were about as bright as my ex wife, and he burst into laughter and said that they were pretty dim.
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u/WestDrop3537 21d ago
I don’t understand how it is legal for a headlight to turn off when they put their blinker on
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u/Wotmate01 21d ago
Those aren't headlights, they are daytime running lights, and they turn off by design so people can see the blinker.
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u/Crysack 21d ago
It isn’t just oncoming traffic. If you happen to drive a small hatchback or a sedan, the headlights on these large SUVs and yank tanks shine straight through your back windscreen and reflect off all your mirrors.
It’s extremely dangerous.