Have you noticed car headlights getting brighter? You’re not alone. House Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is raising alarms over the intense glare of modern headlights, calling them “absurdly bright.” Perez is urging lawmakers to address the issue, citing growing concerns about driver safety and comfort.
The brightness coming from headlights on new vehicles stems from advanced LED headlights, which can emit up to 4,000 lumens — four times brighter than traditional halogen bulbs — and appear even more intense due to their blue hue. Taller vehicles like SUVs exacerbate the problem by shining lights directly into lower cars.
In a May 21 post to X, Gluesenkamp Perez wrote, “Car headlights have gotten absurdly bright – roughly doubling in recent years – and it’s dangerous for others on the road. I encouraged the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to look into setting better maximum brightness standards in their upcoming infrastructure bill.”
In a video attached to the post she says, “If you spend any time on certain subreddits, some of which have thousands and thousands and thousands of subscribers, you will know about overly bright headlights. This is something that draws the ire from rural Americans, from older Americans, from law enforcement,” she said.
“I understand the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law tried to improve this issue by allowing manufacturers to make adaptive driving beams, but let’s be honest, it has not helped,” she argued. “I’m interested in working with the committee to ensure that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration develops overall maximum brightness on the lumens, standardizing headlights for automobiles that retain visibility for drivers, but also reduce glare and increase safety for other drivers on the road.”
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Murky standards
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Currently, standards governing headlights in the U.S. are murky, however a letter issued by John Donaldson in February 2024 — when he was the acting chief counsel for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — shed some light on the matter.
He said headlamp regulations are based on the entire system, not just the bulb. Reflectors, light sources, and lenses are all considered in the equation, not just the light source itself.
“While LED light sources that are part of an integral beam headlight are permitted… no LED light source is currently permitted to be used in a replaceable bulb headlight,” the letter said.
The issue is mostly isolated to the United States. In Europe and Asia adaptive beam headlights (ADB) are used in most new vehicles and while Gluesenkamp Perez says the technology has not made a difference in the U.S., it’s because manufacturers have been slow to adopt the tech.
ADB headlights are advanced lighting systems that automatically adjust the direction and intensity of a vehicle’s headlight beam to enhance visibility while minimizing glare for other drivers. Using sensors and cameras, ADB detects oncoming vehicles or pedestrians and selectively dims or redirects light to avoid blinding them, while maintaining optimal illumination for the driver. Though widely used in Europe, stricter U.S. regulations have delayed their adoption, prompting calls for updated standards to improve road safety.
As of May 2025, only Rivian, a U.S.-based electric vehicle manufacturer, offers fully compliant ABD headlights in the U.S., having navigated the strict Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS).
Other American manufacturers, like General Motors and Ford, have not yet implemented ADB due to complex regulations finalized in 2022, which require unique headlamp designs and limit intensity compared to European standards. Luxury brands like Audi and Mercedes include ADB hardware in some U.S. models, but the technology remains disabled due to regulatory hurdles.
