{"id":"HHS-OASH-2026-0397-0529","number":"0529","name":"Nancy Michon","organization":"","posted":"2026-09-23T04:00Z","received":"2026-09-22T04:00Z","body":"The current technology in LED headlights in automobiles and trucks affect my life profoundly. Due to a lifelong astigmatism in my eyes, these headlights create a white out effect when they are pointed toward me from oncoming traffic at night. It wasn't such a big issue until almost two years ago when they seemed to reach a sort of critical mass on newer vehicles.\n\nI have seconds where I'm blinded and I can't see anything but white glare. This is happening while I'm driving a moving vehicle. I'm terrified I'll hurt someone else by not seeing a pedestrian, or having no clue where any curbs or road markings are and crashing into another vehicle. Of course, that would likely be the end of me, too. I can only drive after dark if I can plan nearly all of a route on familiar roadways with no oncoming traffic, like service roads or freeways. \n\nThe older halogen headlights never did this, and I mostly don't drive after dark now. My life is so much more restricted now. It's limiting and depressing. I know there are a lot of people with astigmatism who must be similarly affected. \n\nAs I understand it, 21 U.S.C. 360ii requires the FDA to establish and maintain a liaison with NHTSA to test and evaluate LED headlights for their impacts on human health. Isolation, depression, and possibly crashing and loosing our lives are certainly impacts on our health.\n\nThere has to be some solution, some way to modify the existing headlights, such as a coating or applied film, that mitigates the effects of what are like a multitude of tiny reflecting mirrors. I propose that this is an urgent matter worthy of research and efforts toward a way to make LED headlights safer.","attachments":[],"attachment_inventory":true,"withheld":false,"source":"https://www.regulations.gov/comment/HHS-OASH-2026-0397-0529","tags":["research-evidence"],"source_hash":"73b9e85c6094390ebf6e0c872d8025e4c484fa630c1f2d96394e52e26075f932","slug":"research-evidence-comment-0529","classification":{"id":"HHS-OASH-2026-0397-0529","body_sha256":"ee9a9186aeede1c36bbd8534511b83740e34b6c83a5fc7a14df4aff52a9959cf","status":"ai_reviewed","primary_topic":"headlights","topics":[{"id":"headlights","evidence":"LED headlights"},{"id":"access","evidence":"mostly don't drive after dark"},{"id":"research","evidence":"test and evaluate LED headlights"},{"id":"standards","evidence":"21 U.S.C. 360ii"}],"summary":"Describes LED headlight glare with astigmatism, restrictions on night driving and concern about crashes. Requests FDA–NHTSA evaluation and research on mitigation.","reviewed_at":"2026-09-23T15:03:52Z","review_method":"ChatGPT full source-text review of September 23 11 a.m. export","review_source_sha256":"c8291201156605591e873e27ef69f5bbf83a67432669e9c2039a07311e4be722","source_url":"https://rfsafe.net/hhs-comments/data/catalog.json","scope":"Original comment body; attachments excluded"},"forum_topics":["headlights","access","research","standards"],"primary_topic":"headlights","forum_title":"Describes LED headlight glare with astigmatism, restrictions on night driving and concern about crashes. …"}