Transport Canada wants to know if you think car headlights are too bright
Transport Canada has 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.
Spring brings more rain and migrating birds to Canada.
At first, these may seem unrelated, but a growing problem on Canadian roads threatens both spring bird migration and rainy night driving.
That’s car headlights.
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 the 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, 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, because it can cause them to become disoriented, wasting 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.”
Do you think headlights are too bright? Transport Canada wants to know
Transport Canada has 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.
It’s part of a government initiative to investigate headlight glare to determine if new guidelines are required.
The survey opened on March 6 and will close on April 20, 2026. All Canadians are welcome to participate, with a focus on citizens over 16 years of age.
The survey includes questions about headlight brightness, driving in certain weather conditions, and how drivers react when confronted with bright lights.
Once closed, Transport Canada will publish a summary of the results on its website.
So far, more than 140,000 people have filled out the online form, according to the CBC.
Header image: File photo from Canva Pro.