Headlamp glare

A new European study on night-time driving reveals that a majority of motorists have been dazzled by glare in their rear view mirrors caused by the headlamps of following cars. The study reveals that drivers adopt some obvious, but also some not-so-obvious - and potentially unsafe - strategies for tackling the issue.

More than half the 3,000 motorists questioned by TÜV Rheinland - an organisation which supports research and development in the automotive industry - said they had been 'often' or 'very often' bothered by headlamp glare, either from their interior or exterior rear view mirrors.

Not surprisingly, the top avoidance strategy, adopted by two-thirds of motorists, was simply to adjust the position of their interior mirror. For exterior mirrors, the preferred tactic was to adjust the body position followed by a tilt of the head, but more than a third of drivers admit to tuning their exterior mirrors downward or outward to redirect the glare away from the eyes.

Another technique employed by a small number of motorists was to wear sunglasses. Curiously, twice as many British drivers (9.2 per cent) were likely to use this method compared with drivers from France (5.4 per cent) or Germany (5.1 per cent).

Other common practices include squinting (44 per cent of motorists) or blocking the glare with their hand (21.3 per cent). A small number (1.8 per cent) would block the glare with whatever they were holding at the time.