It’s been more than 40 years since Corey Hart had a hit with a song about a guy who wears sunglasses at night, a metaphor about a man who refuses to see his girlfriend is cheating.
Now, it could mean something else.
Thanks to painfully bright headlights, many drivers are buying light-filtering glasses for the blinding beams.
I have several pair myself, and while they do reduce the impact of glaring low beams, they also make everything else a bit darker.
Modern LED headlights are sometimes up to four times brighter than older halogen lamps, and at the moment, Canadian and U.S. rules still focus mainly on how well drivers can see with their own lamps, not how much glare those lamps create for others. This, while other countries of the world have moved to regulate LEDs and glare.
But federal regulators may be getting ready to act.
That is one possible interpretation of a recent online survey that ran in March and April.
The “national consultation on vehicle headlight glare,” said the federal government “wants to hear from citizens about overly-bright vehicle headlights and the glare they create for oncoming traffic.”
“Transport Canada says while new headlight technology can help drivers see better, they also cause problems for other drivers – and it wants to hear from Canadians about their opinions and experiences with headlight glare,” it said.
Among the questions, “over the last 10 years, do you feel like it has become easier or more difficult to see the road while travelling at night?”
Choices were “Much easier,” “Easier,” “No change,” More difficult,” “Much more difficult,” and “Unsure.”
Let’s just say I wasn’t unsure, and I certainly don’t think the painfully bright headlights make it easier to see the road – not if you happen to be the unfortunate motorist heading towards a vehicle that can light up a football stadium.
It also asked how often the person filling out the questionnaire is affected by glare from headlights, ranging from daily to never, and “how serious of an issue do you consider vehicle headlight glare to be?”
It even asks for suggestions, with options that include updating standards, enforcing existing laws, and “restricting the sale of certain types/styles of replacement lights.”
At the bottom of that list, respondents could also choose “I don’t believe any of these would help.”
It also asked what, as a driver, one does when they see headlight glare from oncoming traffic, with suggested responses that included looking away, slowing down, speeding up, squinting, or putting on “special glasses or sunglasses.”
To quote Corey Hart, “I wear my sunglasses at night, so I can, so I can see the light that’s right before my eyes.”
And its painful.