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Headlights got brighter. The government has now written down what to do about it

Qurexa Editorial Team24 October 20267 min read 0 0
Headlights got brighter. The government has now written down what to do about it

What happened

On 23 October 2026 the Department for Transport published new guidance called "Minimising headlight glare and its effects". It does not create a new law. It pulls together what the existing rules say, and what drivers can actually do. The legal starting point is the Highway Code, which says you must not use any lights in a way that would dazzle or cause discomfort to other road users. That includes pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders, not just other drivers. The guidance is clear that choosing the right lights for the conditions is the driver's responsibility. Then it lists the things that cause glare. Full beam used near other road users, or automatic dipping that has not worked. Headlights that have drifted out of alignment over time. Heavy loads — passengers, luggage, a trailer — that tip the car back and raise the beam. Dirty light lenses, including road salt, which scatter the beam pattern. Non-approved bulbs or light sources, which may change the beam and can breach regulations or invalidate your insurance. Daytime running lamps used at night. Fog lamps left on when they are not needed. And dirty windscreens or visors, which turn an ordinary beam into halos and starbursts. It also names two causes you cannot control: headlights mounted higher on other vehicles, and changes in beam aim caused by the slope of the road.

Why this matters

Night driving has changed, and most of us have felt it without being able to say why. Car lighting has moved on a long way. Beams are brighter and whiter than they were. Many cars now dip and level their headlights automatically, which works well when it works and causes problems when it does not. Vehicles have also got taller on average, which lifts the lights closer to the eye level of the driver coming the other way. The guidance accepts both halves of this. Some glare comes from a driver doing something they could change. Some comes from the ordinary design of a modern vehicle in front of you, and no amount of courtesy from that driver will fix it. That is why the guidance is written in two directions. There is advice for the person whose lights are causing glare, and separate advice for the person being dazzled. The practical significance is simple. Being dazzled for a second or two at 60mph is a long time with reduced vision. The Highway Code already made dazzling others an offence in principle. What has been missing is a single, official, plain explanation of how to avoid doing it, and what to do when it happens to you. That is what has now been published.

What the evidence actually says

It is important to be accurate about the status of this document, because it is easy to oversell. This is guidance, not a new rule. It cites no research findings, no collision statistics and no survey data. It names no causes of glare that were previously unknown. It does not mention LED headlights specifically, and it announces no change to MOT testing, no new penalty and no new vehicle standard. So anyone reporting this as a crackdown on bright headlights is reading more into it than is there. What it does contain is a useful technical detail about MOT testing. Headlight aim is normally checked at the MOT, which for most cars means after three years. The guidance warns that newer vehicles can also fall out of adjustment, and suggests having beam aim checked before the first MOT if you suspect it is off. That is a quietly useful piece of advice, because a three-year-old car is not necessarily a correctly aimed car. It is also honest about the limits of the quick fixes. On so-called night driving glasses, the guidance says they may help a little, but they must not replace prescription eyewear, and must not be tinted enough to reduce how much you can see. That is a careful piece of wording, and worth remembering next time you see a pair advertised as a cure for glare.

Qurexa perspective

This one is close to home for us. Qurexa's drivers deliver prescriptions and groceries across Lincolnshire, and a great deal of that work happens on unlit rural roads in the dark half of the year. Three things from the guidance match what our drivers already live with. The first is load. A delivery vehicle that starts the shift full and ends it empty changes angle through the evening. If your vehicle has manual headlight levelling, the setting that was right at 4pm may not be right at 8pm. The second is cleanliness. On Lincolnshire lanes in winter, light lenses and windscreens get filthy within a single round. A dirty lens does not just dim your light, it scatters it into other people's eyes. A cloth and two minutes at the start of a shift is the cheapest road safety measure there is. The third is eyesight. The guidance asks drivers to wear prescribed glasses, keep them clean and have regular eye tests. Anyone who drives for a living should treat an eye test as part of the job, not an optional errand.

Practical advice

Taken from the guidance, here is what you can actually do. Learn how your own headlights work, including any automatic functions, and know how to override them. Automatic systems are helpful, not infallible. Never pass another road user on full beam. Check your car has actually dipped, and dip it yourself if it has not. Adjust your headlight levelling when carrying a heavy load, or let auto-levelling do it if your vehicle has that. Keep your lights clean, especially in winter and after salted roads. Use fog lamps only when visibility is genuinely poor, and switch them off as soon as it improves. Do not use daytime running lamps for driving at night or in low light. Check your actual headlights have come on. Keep your windscreen clean inside and out, learn your de-mist settings, and replace wiper blades every one to two years depending on use. Check that your rear-view mirror dimming works. Wear your prescribed glasses or lenses, keep them clean, have regular eye tests, and ask your optometrist about lenses suited to night driving. If you suspect your beam aim is off, consider getting it checked before your first MOT. And when you are the one being dazzled: do not look at the oncoming lights. Look ahead, or briefly towards the kerb or left edge of the road, to hold your lane position. Slow down. If it feels unsafe, be ready to stop.

What to know

On 23 October 2026 the Department for Transport published guidance on minimising headlight glare. It is guidance, not a new law, and it cites no statistics. The legal basis is the existing Highway Code rule that you must not use lights in a way that dazzles or causes discomfort to other road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders. Causes listed include full beam near others, failed automatic dipping, misaligned headlights, heavy loads tipping the beam upwards, dirty lenses, non-approved bulbs, daytime running lamps used at night, unnecessary fog lamps and dirty windscreens. Two causes are outside your control: higher-mounted lights on other vehicles, and road gradients. Beam aim is normally checked at the MOT after three years, but the guidance suggests an earlier check if you suspect a problem. Night driving glasses may help a little but must not replace prescription eyewear. If you are dazzled, look away from the lights towards the left edge of the road, slow down, and be ready to stop. Sources: Department for Transport, "Minimising headlight glare and its effects", 23 October 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/minimising-headlight-glare-and-its-effects; Department for Transport and Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, "The Highway Code", https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, optometrist, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional. If you are struggling to see while driving at night, book an eye test and tell the optometrist about it.

#road safety#headlights#driving at night#vehicle technology#Highway Code#eyesight

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