I am standing at a bus stop right now and my vision is being absolutely assaulted by oncoming headlights. Every car that passes hits me with what feels like a beam of concentrated light directly to the eyes. I look away and I can still see it. That lingering afterimage that takes a few seconds to fade. It is genuinely disorienting.

I believe these are LED or some variation of high intensity lights that have become standard on newer vehicles. Whatever the technology is, I do not understand why we moved away from the headlights we had before. The older lights were bright enough to illuminate the road ahead without turning every oncoming vehicle into a blinding experience for everyone else on the street.

This is not just a road issue either. The same shift has happened with indoor lighting. Even at home, trying to groom or shave in front of a mirror with these types of bulbs is uncomfortable. The light is so direct and intense that it becomes difficult to look straight ahead, which is a problem when you are trying to see what you are doing.

I genuinely do not know what the benefit is supposed to be. Brighter does not automatically mean better, especially when the brightness creates a safety concern for pedestrians and other drivers. I am glad I do not drive, because I cannot imagine dealing with these lights coming at me on a regular basis behind the wheel. For the people who do, that seems like a real and underappreciated hazard.

There has to be a smarter way to light the road ahead without compromising the vision of everyone around you in the process.