380K Canadians have told Ottawa what they think of bright headlights
Earlier this year, Transport Canada invited Canadians to participate in a survey about the brightness of car headlights on Canadian roads, and whether or not people feel they pose a safety risk.
Between March 6 and April 20, 2026, Transport Canada opened a survey allowing Canadians to provide anonymous feedback on night driving.
The survey focused on headlight glare, which has been a growing concern for some motorists for several years.
“While new headlight technology in vehicles can help drivers see better, they can also cause problems for other road users. Transport Canada wants to learn how headlight glare affects road users and what vehicle or lighting features may influence how people experience it at night,” the survey’s homepage says.
“We want to hear about your experiences, opinions, and behaviours with vehicle headlight glare.”
High volume of responses
This week, Transport Canada says the survey received a “high volume of responses,” with around 380,000 Canadians participating.
The department says it will publish a report on the findings, but its release date is not known, Global News reports.
“Given the significant volume of responses received, analysis and compilation of the survey data is expected to take several months,” Transport Canada told the news outlet.
Headlights a hot topic on The Weather Network’s Facebook page
Night driving and headlight glare certainly got people talking when we posted about the survey on The Weather Network’s Facebook page in April.
That post received over 1,400 comments, representing a “high volume of responses” for us as well.
“If you're asking if [they’re] too bright, then they must be,” one user said.
“It's like everyone is driving with high beams on!” Another replied.
Most seemed to agree that headlights are too bright, but not everyone.
“Bright headlights are a blessing when you have to drive on roads that are very dark with no lights,” one user replied.
“They have saved many lives by being able to see animals before they cross the road.”
Why do headlights seem brighter now?
Since the mid-2000s, car manufacturers have been replacing halogen headlights with LED headlights, and if you think these lights are brighter than what you’ve seen in the past, you aren’t imagining it.
“It's not in everybody's head. It is real," Daniel Stern, chief editor of Driving Vision News and lighting researcher, told CBC News in 2024.
"Headlights are getting brighter, smaller, and bluer. All three of those things increase a particular kind of glare. It's called discomfort glare," he said.
This can be distracting and potentially dangerous for drivers during even the most favourable weather conditions, but can be especially troublesome in the rain, where LED headlights can increase glare, making it hard for drivers to see their lanes.
While the lights may make it easier for some to see, all oncoming traffic and pedestrians could be negatively impacted.
It isn’t just the brightness: Cars have also gotten bigger, which means an increasing number of headlights are positioned at the eye level of oncoming vehicles and pedestrians.
Speaking with the CBC, Dr. Christina Schropp, an optometrist with West 5 Optometry in London, Ont., said the lights do not affect eye health because drivers are protected by their windshields, but they still pose safety concerns.
“We call it ‘the startle.’ A bright light can startle the visual system and cause it to sort of lose its ability to focus because of that very bright light suddenly coming into the eye,” she told the outlet.
“Then you get to the question of what’s the reaction to that visual startle? Would they pull their steering wheel, put on their brakes, and then have that erratic driving pattern, or could they have a radical pattern if they’re able to re-fixate?”
Contributing to light pollution
Research suggests that the widespread use of LEDs at night creates more light pollution because the high-intensity, cool-toned light scatters further in the atmosphere.
This threatens migrating birds causing them to become disoriented and waste the energy needed to complete their route.
“Throughout the year, nighttime lighting can affect birds by illuminating their habitats,” The US Fish and Wildlife Service writes.
“This may cause birds to avoid habitats essential for their survival, altering local ecosystem dynamics.”