The glare: Tips for nighttime driving
What you need to know:
Driving at night can be challenging, but headlight glare from oncoming vehicles makes it even more dangerous. Here is how to manage headlight glare and stay safe on the road
Headlight glare happens when bright beams from another car’s headlights shine directly into a driver’s eyes. It can come from oncoming traffic or rearview mirrors. Glare reduces visibility and makes driving dangerous, especially at night. Martha Nakasango, an ophthalmic clinical officer at Victorious Eye Care Centre in Kireka, Kampala, explains that bright lights can be disorienting, momentarily impairing vision and depth perception. This makes it difficult for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists to see the road.
When the eye is exposed to bright light, chemicals in the retina responsible for detecting light, primarily in the rod cells, become overstimulated and bleached. As a result, the affected cells take time to regenerate the necessary chemicals for normal vision, causing lingering colour spots or temporary vision impairment. Recovery time varies depending on age, but even a few seconds of impaired vision at high speeds can mean covering a significant distance blindly. This increases the risk of accidents, especially since the glare makes it hard to see road markings, pedestrians, cyclists, as well as other obstacles.
Causes of headlight glare
Michael Kananura, the spokesperson for the Police Directorate of Traffic and Road Safety, explains that several factors contribute to glare-related accidents. The most common cause is oncoming vehicles using high beams or improperly adjusted headlights. When bright lights shine directly into a driver’s eyes or reflect in the rearview mirror, they cause momentary vision loss, making it difficult to see the road.
The increasing number of pick-up trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) on roads means there are more vehicles with elevated headlight positions, which shine directly into the eyes of drivers in standard-sized cars, causing significant discomfort. The use of additional lighting, such as fog lights and auxiliary lamps, has also become more common.
Over time, these lights become misaligned and direct intense light into the eyes of other drivers. Some motorists even install unauthorised high-density lights or flashlights, which not only cause glare but also pose serious dangers to other road users. Many modern vehicle models now come equipped with HID lights, which emit twice the brightness of halogen headlamps and produce a blue-white light, or LED headlights, which create a sharper and more intense glare.
While these improve visibility for the driver, they cause excessive glare for oncoming traffic, especially when not properly adjusted or when drivers forget to dim their beams. Driving in low-light conditions, such as at night, makes oncoming headlights appear even more intense. Rainy or foggy weather amplifies glare, as moisture in the air reflects light toward the driver, further reducing visibility.
Safety tips
Practising proper headlight etiquette is essential. Driving instructor Daniel Oluka emphasises the need for motorists to dim their headlights when approaching other vehicles and refrain from using unauthorised high-intensity lights. Kananura also stresses the importance of adhering to road safety regulations regarding the use of headlights, as this significantly reduces glare-related incidents.
High beams should only be used on dark and open roads where no other cars are nearby. Drivers should switch to low beams as soon as they see oncoming traffic or when following another car closely. Overly bright or aftermarket LED and HID headlights that exceed recommended brightness levels should be avoided, as they contribute to excessive glare.
Whenever glare affects visibility, slowing down can provide more reaction time and prevent sudden manoeuvres in case of unexpected obstacles on the road. Dimming dashboard lights can also help. Just like overly bright phone screens, bright dashboard lights create additional reflections on the windshield, making glare from headlights even worse. Lowering the brightness helps the driver’s eyes adjust better to the darkness outside the vehicle.
Anti-glare
Anti-glare screens, which reduce reflections and minimise glare, are currently only common on the Kampala-Entebbe Expressway. However, road safety experts recommend their installation on more highways to enhance visibility. Andrew Kamoga, a road maintenance engineer, appeals to the government to consider installing anti-glare screens on various highways to minimise accidents caused by headlight glare. Regular maintenance of vehicle headlights is also crucial. Ensuring that headlights and auxiliary lights are correctly aligned prevents them from projecting light too high and shining directly into the eyes of oncoming drivers.
Keeping the windshield clean helps maintain clear visibility, as dirt, dust, or smudges scatter light and make glare worse. Cleaning headlight covers ensures that light is distributed evenly, improving visibility for both the driver and other road users. When oncoming headlights are too bright, shifting your gaze slightly to the right side of the road while using the lane markings as a guide can reduce direct exposure to bright lights while maintaining awareness of the road ahead.
Adjusting the rearview mirror can also help. Many modern cars are equipped with an anti-glare or night mode setting on the rearview mirror, which can be adjusted in situations where a driver is dazzled by headlights from behind. If a car does not have this feature, manually tilting the mirror downward can minimisereflection.
Eye health
Maintaining proper eye health is another key aspect of avoiding headlight glare. Nakasango advises drivers to have regular eye check-ups to detect vision problems that may worsen sensitivity to glare, such as cataracts or uncorrected vision. She also recommends using polarised or anti-glare glasses to filter out excessive brightness and reduce the impact of harsh headlights. However, tinted glasses should be avoided at night, as they reduce overall visibility.
Stay safe on the road
Headlight glare is an unavoidable part of nighttime driving, but practising proper headlight use, adjusting driving habits, and maintaining vehicle components can significantly reduce its dangers. Small changes, such as dimming dashboard lights and shifting focus from oncoming beams, can make a huge difference in preventing accidents.
