The year was 2007. The car was the Lexus LS 600h. Toyota had become the first automotive manufacturer to opt for LED (light-emitting diode) headlights for their luxury models. A year later, they were in production in the U.S., and as they’ve gained popularity to become the headlight standard, many of us have been cursing them on dark highways ever since.
LED headlights, as explained by MotorPoint.uk, are “much like traditional headlights, except they use clusters of ultra-bright light-emitting diodes to throw a beam of light down the road. Many cars now have them as standard, while some cheaper cars let you upgrade from halogen bulbs to LED lights for an extra cost.”
Back in 2019, Consumer Reports said LED headlights showed “no clear advantage” and could even be considered dangerous. Director of operations at the Consumer Reports Auto Test Center, Jennifer Stockburger, concludes, “We’ve found that with LEDs and HIDs, manufacturers are having a hard time balancing casting enough light down the road without causing glare to oncoming drivers because of their intensity. Many oncoming drivers mistakenly think an oncoming vehicle has its high beams on when, in reality, the car just has LEDs or HIDs.” She adds, “This is particularly a problem with oncoming SUVs because their headlights are positioned higher up on the body than on a car.”
Enter TikTok. A young woman (@ __kachowski__) decided to experiment with flashing those beam rights back. With a Kendrick Lamar song to underscore her clip, she shows how she used SOLAS reflective tape to bounce the LED light off the passenger seat and back onto the drivers behind her. (We should note that we don’t recommend this solution due to its potential dangerous repercussions.)
This video contains language that may not be suitable for children.
After millions of views and tens of thousands of comments, it was clear. A lot of people felt seen. One top commenter shares, “Those headlights are incredibly dangerous, especially for anyone with astigmatism,” which itself got over 90,000 likes. Another insists, “It’s ridiculous because I have been blinded DURING THE DAY by their headlights.” Yet another says, “It makes me so mad—all these newer cars with blue LEDs. Sometimes they’re so bright I legit can’t see the lane lines. Stop using LEDs! What was wrong with the normal yellowish ones?”
Many wanted to know if the reflective tape worked. In fact, so many asked that the TikTok OP made a second and third video to address it. In the second, she gives tips like how to stick the adhesive on cloth vs. leather seats. She uses her phone flashlight to see what the tape looks like from behind and says she’ll use her dad’s car to try out real headlights later, (which they do safely in the driveway).
Some people seem disappointed after her third video on the matter illustrates that her plan does not, in fact, work. But commenters don’t give up and share their own solutions. “Most of the time their headlights hit my side mirrors, but mine are electric, so I just turn each one out towards their car. Works like a charm.”
Another was just impressed by her process. “Side note: it’s real cute to imagine you and your dad working together to help you get the footage for this vid. Cute lil’ bonding moment.”
This person compliments her for a different reason. “Props for good journalistic integrity,” to which she replies, “I’ve got no obligation to lie for some random tape company lol. I might buy some different reflective tapes and test them out to see which one works best, just for fun.”
In the subreddit r/chaoticgood, commenters radically express their frustration on the now-deleted thread, “Fighting back against those ‘f******’ LED headlights.“
Sometimes, the plan backfires. One Redditor says, “Ahah, I did this to someone on a back road once, and that truck showed me just how bright his lights could actually get, equipped with a full KC bar and all. I could not see right for f****** minutes after that.”
Another admits they have, in fact, sometimes been the problem. “This. I confess to being one of those drivers when I got my new car. Driving home, wondering why I’m getting flashed, before realizing the sensors are absolutely useless on a country road. If the other car dips its lights, my stupid car goes ‘Oh, the light has gone, time to go full dazzle.’ Had to stop and read the manual to find out how to turn it off.”
This article originally appeared in March.
