Optometrist Reports Widespread Patient Complaints About Dazzling Headlights

Aashika Patel, an optometrist practicing in Chelmsford, has indicated that 80% of her patients express concerns about being blinded by vehicle headlights. She noted that this issue appears to have intensified over the past five years. Patel stated, “The older generation of my patients are shying away from driving at night.” This development coincides with the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), a private transport consultancy, conducting the inaugural independent study into how bright vehicle beams affect drivers, an initiative endorsed by the RAC. Ms Patel elaborated, “I see around 10 patients a day and eight out of 10 patients will complain about this problem. “It’s a common thing for them to say that they are not comfortable, the lights are too bright, ‘I don’t feel confident anymore’.”It doesn’t harm the eye, it just causes a lot of glare.”” Separately, John Tinham, a mechanic based in Chelmsford, informed BBC Essex of his conviction that numerous headlights are improperly aligned. Tinham recounted, “I kept getting flashed by other cars and I thought ‘there must be something in this’, so I took it to a testing station but they said nothing was wrong.”I then took it to another testing station and they said the lights were way too high, so I adjusted the lights myself, and it only took me three minutes.”” This new research initiative follows a rise in reports from drivers who claim to have been dazzled by headlights from approaching vehicles. The RAC confirmed it had advocated for such a study over several months. TRL is anticipated to present its findings to the Department for Transport in 2025. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.