Want to stir things up at your next cocktail party or neighborhood barbecue? Try mentioning behind-the-wheel glare. Few topics provoke a more passionate response among people who drive. Over the past few years, the federal government found out just how passionate, as regulators fielded hundreds of angry letters and e-mails complaining about headlights, fog lights and a variety of other sources. Here's a sampling of what they heard:

"I have driven since 1961 and have seen the amount of light hitting the oncoming driver go up by a factor of 10 or more. With the use of more lights, greater strength of lights, tighter focusing of lights and blue-white spectrum lights, the result is momentary blindness, day, dusk or night…. This very real driving distraction…is being allowed to run wild."

"Some of these SUVs and small trucks have six or seven lights in front, all of them bright and blinding."

"You have a wall of light either coming at you or filling your mirrors from behind."

The cries of protest haven't let up. In January of this year, the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA) released a report showing that nearly one in three drivers found nighttime glare "disturbing." And for analysts who dismiss glare as a problem that bugs only seniors, NCSA had even more surprising news. "The ratings of discomfort from glare for older drivers were not significantly different from that for younger drivers," said the report. In fact, researchers found the highest percentage of glare-disturbed respondents among middle-age drivers--those from 35 to 44 years old and from 45 to 54 years old.

Obviously, glare is making a lot of folks see red these days. What are government regulators doing about it? What are carmakers doing about it? And, perhaps most important, what can you do about it?

Where Glare Comes From

Generally, complaints about glare fall into four broad categories:

1. High-tech lights. Many observers trace the public outcry against glare to 1996, when automakers first introduced high-intensity discharge (HID) headlights on the U.S. market. These lamps use ionized xenon gas to produce not only more light, but also a different kind of light. It looks blue-white compared with the yellowish beams from halogen or conventional bulbs. Drivers often find the amount of light and its color blinding.

Size matters, too. On many newer models, automotive designers have taken advantage of HID technology to shrink headlights and give the cars a beady-eyed, almost birdlike look. Although the style seems hip, the tiny projector HIDs increase beam strength and glare as well. Studies show that smaller lamp areas create more bothersome glare than larger ones of equal luminance. Current federal regulations don't cover headlight size or shape at all.

While acknowledging that HID headlights take some getting used to, safety experts and automakers are quick to point out their advantages. For example, drivers in cars equipped with HID headlights can see more of the road, and they can see it better.

"It is important to note that some sources of potential glare provide significant safety benefits," noted the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM) in its response to the federal government's request for comments about glare. "HID headlamps more easily allow for broader and brighter beam patterns than their halogen kin."

Automakers also insist that U.S. drivers will adapt to high-tech lights in time, just as they've adapted to other innovations. AAM cites complaints about glare when U.S. carmakers introduced halogen headlights in the '80s, when Europeans first encountered HIDs, and when Canada and Scandinavian countries mandated daytime running lights. As the industry group notes, "The consistent pattern…is an initial spike in complaints, which virtually disappear once the public becomes accustomed to these lamps and the safety benefits they provide."

2. The "Hummer effect." The sheer number of sport-utility vehicles on the road presents a real problem for drivers in passenger cars. Designed with high ground clearance for off-roading, the typical SUV sports headlights about 9 inches higher than the average car's. That's just tall enough to shine directly into the eyes of oncoming drivers in lower-slung passenger cars. Call it the "Hummer effect," and it's one more reason why lots of people hate big SUVs. On the other hand, proponents claim higher vehicles provide a more commanding view and high-mounted lights project farther down the road, giving drivers more time to react to potential hazards.

Current federal safety standards dictate that the optical center of all vehicle headlights measure no higher than 54 inches. AAA and other safety groups have called for lowering the maximum allowable height, and AAM concedes that a slight reduction might benefit most drivers.

3. Misaimed lights. Even low-tech lights can contribute to glare. According to research sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers, headlights off by as little as one degree will affect oncoming drivers. And the obvious remedy--regular state inspections such as those required in New York--don't always work. Studies show that nearly half of cars in states requiring inspections have at least one badly aimed headlight--a result only slightly better than states with no inspections at all. The older the vehicle, the more likely it is to have off-kilter lights.

Meanwhile, Honda, General Motors and other carmakers have been developing super-sophisticated "adaptive lights" that swivel around curves, adjust for hills and other terrain, and modify their beam patterns to suit other driving conditions. Although such systems promise better visibility, whether they'll make glare better or worse remains to be seen. As AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety researchers recently noted, "If we have not been able to maintain proper aiming of a fairly simple mechanical device such as the replaceable-bulb headlamp, what new problems will occur with a more complex system that relies on multiple sensors and a computer?"

4. Auxiliary lights. Many vehicles, particularly SUVs, sport fog lamps and other extras in front. Used properly in conjunction with low-beam headlights, fog lights cast a low, broad beam that really does improve visibility on foggy nights. Unfortunately, many drivers use them on clear nights and seldom if ever check their aim, which contributes to glare. Furthermore, current federal safety standards don't cover fog lamps or other auxiliary lights.

Dimming the Lights
After listening to comments and studying the problem for more than two years, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) seems ready to act. As this issue of Car & Travel went to press, the agency was expected to take a first step by proposing new rules lowering the maximum allowable height for headlights on passenger vehicles. NHTSA will probably also soon propose more new rules covering HIDs, auxiliary lights, adaptive frontal lighting, aiming and other issues.

However, even if NHTSA would begin regulating all glare sources tomorrow, you'd still have to live with the HIDs, fog lights, out-of-whack headlights and other eye-offenders already on the road. For that reason, safety experts maintain that the immediate solution lies not with engineers designing better lighting systems but with drivers learning to manage the effects of glare.

• In fact, you can do a lot to reduce glare-associated discomfort. Follow these tips:
  Make glass disappear. If you can see the glass between your eyes and the road, then you're not looking through it; you're looking at it. And that means the glass isn't clean enough. Wipe your windshield thoroughly, inside and out, removing all road grime, accumulated film, and especially bug splatters, which catch and scatter light. Repair chips and cracks in the windshield promptly, and clean or replace your windshield wipers to eliminate streaking.
• Look away. When oncoming headlights threaten to blind you temporarily, "the simplest solution is to avoid looking directly at the glare source," says Dr. Timothy Wingert, associate professor of optometry at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. "Of course, sometimes that's easier said than done, since the glare source is the brightest, most interesting object in your field of vision." Directing your gaze down and to the right (to the white edge line on the side of the road) seems to work best. That way, you can maintain your lane position, and your peripheral vision can still detect the motion of potential hazards.
• Get AR-coated eyeglasses. If you wear prescription eyeglasses, consider an anti-reflective (AR) coating. It costs $80 or more, but most wearers will tell you that it's well worth the price. "I wouldn't own a pair of glasses without it," says Dr. Jeffrey Weaver, director of clinical care for the American Optometric Association.
• Typical plastic lenses transmit only 92 percent of light. But AR-coated lenses transmit nearly 100 percent--eliminating internal reflections. Clinical studies show conclusively that AR-coated lenses improve vision, day and night, and reduce glare and reflections compared with conventional eyeglasses.
• The downside? AR-coated lenses require careful handling, because they scratch and smudge more easily than non-coated lenses. Although their vulnerability to marring scared off many buyers when AR coatings were first introduced, newer formulas have proved a bit more durable.
• Adjust your mirrors. You can adjust your outboard mirrors to fight glare from headlights behind you. From your normal seating position, tilt your head until it rests against the driver's-side window; adjust the left mirror so that you can just see the left rear fender. Then, lean to the right until your head is near the vehicle's centerline; adjust the right mirror until you can just see the right rear fender. This adjustment technique not only shrinks blind spots, but also keeps trailing headlights from shining directly into your eyes. Combined with the "night" setting on the center-mounted rearview mirror, it will usually eliminate uncomfortable glare coming from the rear. If glare still bothers you, consider self-dimming mirrors (available as optional or aftermarket equipment), which darken automatically in response to brighter light.
• Have your vision checked. Eliminate incipient cataracts or other medical problems as possible sources of light sensitivity. Eye care experts recommend a thorough exam every three years for people under 40, every two years for 40- and 50-somethings, and every year for those over 60.
  

What You Can Forget
Some companies market yellow-tinted night-driving glasses, which supposedly block the specific wavelengths of light responsible for nighttime glare. Simply put, they don't work. In fact, by reducing the amount of light reaching your eyes, they actually impair your ability to see at night. And, like wearing sunglasses at night or indoors, using night-driving glasses may eventually make you more sensitive to sunlight during daytime driving, as your eyes become accustomed to lower levels of light.

Several years ago, the Federal Trade Commission fined one company--Nationwide Syndications, Inc., marketer of "NightSafe" glasses--for making unsubstantiated claims about its product. However, that hasn't stopped other companies from making similar claims about similar glasses since. A recent study sponsored by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety concluded, "Reasoning based on solid physiological and perceptual concepts, and backed up by almost 60 years of empirical research, yields no real support for the use of fully tinted glare-blocking glasses as a means of achieving safer nighttime driving."

Unfortunately, eliminating glare isn't as easy as putting on a pair of special glasses. The ultimate remedies lie not in quick fixes but in better engineering, better regulation and better driver education.

With the Sun in Your Eyes

Although nighttime glare draws the most complaints to government regulators, daytime driving obviously presents problems, too. Sun glare can make reading traffic lights and signs difficult, temporarily blind you to potential hazards, and turn an ordinary commute into a squinty, headache-inducing experience.

High-quality sunglasses should form your first line of defense. Take these tips on picking a good pair:

• Go eyeball to eyeball with yourself. Those fashionable, barely tinted specs? Forget 'em, says the American Optometric Association. When trying on a pair of sunglasses in the store, look at yourself in the mirror. If you can see your eyes clearly, then the glasses aren't dark enough to provide adequate protection in strong sunlight.
• Go gray. "Neutral gray lenses alter your color perception the least," advises Dr. Timothy Wingert, associate professor of optometry at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Above all, avoid blue lenses. They transmit sunlight's blue wavelengths, which can result in age-related macular degeneration and other eye problems later.
• Go with UV protection. Although ultraviolet light has nothing to do with glare, it can harm your eyes. Look for specially coated lenses or ones made of polycarbonate, which block nearly 100 percent of UV light. Stickers or tags identify lenses that afford UV protection; tint or color alone cannot protect against UV light.
• Go polarized. "Polarized lenses help mostly with reflected glare, such as the kind you get off snow, water and road surfaces," says Wingert.
• To handle other glare that you can't block with sunglasses or the sun visor, safety experts suggest repositioning yourself. Sometimes just tilting your head to one side does the trick; other times, you need to shift position within your lane or even change lanes altogether--provided you have room to do so safely.