US News American drivers have a blinding headlight problem. It could last for years.

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Since moving away from the suburbs and into Chicago, Ashley Seery's been blinded by headlights more than ever. She said she doesn't even drive at night anymore in an attempt to remedy the problem.

"It's to the point where I will avoid driving at night because some headlights are just so bright," Seery said. "They can literally blind me. I have to turn my mirrors away so that I can drive in peace without the glare."

Seery's not alone. There are entire communities and online petitions devoted to discussing blinding headlights.

This isn't because headlight regulations have shifted — they haven't changed in decades, according to Greg Brannon, AAA's director of automotive engineering. But the lights themselves have.

John Bullough, the program director at the Light and Health Research Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has been sounding the alarm on the topic for years. Bullough, who works closely with headlights and vehicle manufacturers to try to address the issues, said there are three primary factors that have shifted in the past few decades that caused headlights to appear brighter and cause more glare.

First off, vehicles, especially in the US, are getting taller and taller. Adding to that, the color of many headlights has shifted from a warmer, yellow hue to a harsher, blue-white one. And finally, most cars have at least one headlight that's misaligned. This isn't a new problem, but other shifts have made it into a serious issue.

 
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