Czech Drivers’ Glare Perception Survey

Abstract

Worldwide, road-users complain about glare from oncoming cars’ headlights, often blaming new light sources such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs). However, drivers’ own behavior and attitudes might contribute to the issue of glare. The aim of this research was to establish the prevalence of on-road glare and its associations with drivers’ attitudes in a sample of Czech drivers. We used an online survey and gained responses from 539 passenger-car-drivers. The majority experienced glare at least once a week or almost daily, identifying mainly white- or bluish-colored headlights as the source of glare. However, about 60% of participants would prefer the view of the road that is provided by these sources, and an association was found between the preferred part of the lighting color spectrum and the perceived glare source color. A large proportion of drivers were also not aware of the specifics of the lighting sources that they used. These findings suggest the need for driver education in the area of automotive lighting and glare prevention.