Dazzled Who Wins

Senior/Older Drivers Verses Xenon

A HID headlamp manufacturer touting the fact that a "xenon bulb produces more than twice the amount of light of a halogen bulb,"6 answered the question "Why does xenon light sometimes appear to irritate oncoming drivers?"6 by explaining that "due to the conspicuous colour of xenon light,drivers are more inclined to look in the headlamps."6 Older drivers encountering HID headlights on a winding two lane highway know that"photophilia" isn't the answer.
Night driving can push any visual system to its limits. Conventional clinical glare tests underestimate disability glare from moving light sources. Disability glare increases with increasing glare source brightness.HID headlights are brighter than conventional tungsten-halogen headlights.Thus, they cause more disability glare under identical viewing circumstances.
Visual quality declines with ageing, even in individuals with 20/20 visual acuity. Glare due to introacular light scattering increases with ageing,prompting many older drivers to curtail their night driving activities.Increased glare from HID headlights is one more visual hurdle for the older driver.
Aircraft landing lights would allow automobile drivers to see farther down a road. They would also incapacitate oncoming drivers. Brighter headlights do provide increased visibility for older drivers who use them. They also cause more glare for older drivers who confront them. The optimal balance in headlight brightness between owner visibility and viewer disability depends on the driving situation, but technologies are available for more adaptable,less bothersome headlight systems.
Governmental regulations determine which headlights we encounter. Acceptance or rejection of the current generation of HID xenon headlights ultimately depends on their record in traffic and litigation. Xenon bulbs make good headlights. They also make good glare sources. The additional light they project is valuable. Questions remain regarding how and where it should be projected. Until these questions are resolved, for many older drivers confronting stylish HID headlights on two lane roads, glare rather than beauty will be in the eye of the beholder.

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