There has been a historic spike in road fatalities recently. According to the National Safety Council, 2018 marked 3 straight years with 40,000+ road deaths (the first time since the Great Depression), with a total of a 14% increase in fatalities over the last 4. These are alarming statistics, representing thousands of new deaths after decades of decline at a time when cars are as technically advanced and "safe" as they have ever been.

While there are sure to be multiple factors involved this crisis, I feel one major cause is being overlooked by officials: It is clear to anyone who drives, walks or bikes the roads, the trend toward LED and HID headlights has become a source of dangerous, blinding glare.

In addition, LED daytime running lamps, as well as overly-bright LED tail-lights, brake-lights and turn signals, are a source of fatal distraction, creating what is known as inattentional blindness or the “Las Vegas Effect”, a visual field so polluted by distracting glare that the brain has a hard time keeping focused on the important subjects like pedestrians in a crosswalk.

Previous petitions on this issue have garnered thousands of signatures along with comments that these headlights have caused accidents, made elderly drivers give up driving at night, and even induced migraines.

The American Medical Association issued guidelines way back in 2016 on “blue-rich light”, the very sort of harsh, bluish-white light used by LED headlights and daytime running lamps. The AMA stated that blue-rich light causes pain and damage to the human eye and suppresses melatonin at five times the rate of other wavelengths. They have urged people to move lighting toward the more natural and warm red-end of the spectrum.

We are asking Congress, the Department of Transportation, NHTSA , and the FDA to take this matter seriously and properly regulate LEDs as spatially non-homogeneous, directed energy radiation.

We appeal to your personal experience. If you are tired of being blinded on the road please sign our petition!

For more information please visit www.softlights.org