Cloudy with occasional showers overnight. Low 58F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Cloudy with occasional showers overnight. Low 58F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.

I enjoyed reading the editorial about light pollution (Aug. 8). The comment about how LED headlights “go right into our eyes” does need some exposition, as it is not completely fair.

A lot of the high glare headlights we encounter in our everyday driving are not actually LED headlights.

Over the last 30 years, there have been a good number of headlights built with High Intensity Discharge (arc) light sources that create bluish light similar to many LEDs and are now on old enough vehicles that the aim may no longer be correct or the system may be damaged.

Many people retrofit their cars with halogen lamps that have coatings on the bulb wall, which shift the light output toward blue. If the coating is done properly, it does not cause a glare problem. Unfortunately, there are a lot of junk-coated bulbs on the market that create massive glare and are not legal.

This is such a nasty problem that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has several employees whose sole job is to chase down the companies that sell these products and get them off the U.S. market.

While their efforts are a help, it has not been possible to get rid of these products completely. Some of the worst glare I have ever seen has been caused by these modified halogen lamps. There are also LED and HID retrofits that destroy the designed in-beam characteristics, causing massive glare.

While it is true that bluish light tends to be more irritating, there is no reason that a well-designed and well-built LED headlight should have excessive glare.

LED light fixtures that are used to illuminate billboards and signs often cause an inordinate amount of glare. When I take a good look at these systems, bad installation and aim of the fixtures appear to be the most common source of trouble.

LEDs are currently the most efficient light source in existence, with benefits in energy use and operating costs. Let’s not throw out the baby with the wash water.

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