Headlight Strength

[airbolt]

There are so many drivers who dazzle with their headlights that I always drive with the rear mirror at a tiltn at night. Are they doing anything illegal ?

[kempie]

This is covered by section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 - Driving without reasonable consideration and can also be covered by Careless Driving which is easier to prove.

http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/section9/chapter_b.html

[Skids]

Ever since the law was changed a few years ago to allow British road users to use the 30% brighter xenon headlight bulbs that the rest of Europe has had for ages that's what's happened.

Most car manufacturers offer these bulbs as options or upgrades.  BMW, for instance, offer xenon 'projector' head lamp units as an option.

[KebabMeister]

I'll go with Skids, better headlight technology has not only produced better bulbs but also the reflector/lenses.  I used to get flashed (oooh er!) on occasion and my headlights were definitely at the MOT required height setting.  However, I had an adjuster inside the car so I'd turn them down a notch if I was flashed.

[Jay70]

I think those bloody xenon bulbs and lights are a pain for other road users.  I find them dazling and annoying when being followed by a car with them fitted. 

[Jay70]

If you require bulbs that are 30% brighter maybe you should have your eyes tested to see if your eyes are 30% impared.  I've got standard bulbs and lights in my car and can see perfectly well.

[nickKK]

After reading a product test by Auto Express, who bought Headlamp Bulbs normals, 30% + and 50%+. went to germany to the light tunnel with a AA engineer to test them and found that although all the bulbs were E marked some failed to produce a beam within the correct geometry.the site is http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/product_test/?id=39920

my only other thought on the matter is if you buy a 30% or 60% brighter bulb and put it into a headlamp designed in the 80s or 90s where such a bulb wasn't made in large amounts or cheaply enough could result in light pollution in a direction not considered to be a problem.