# Are LED headlights ethical? **URL:** \ **Category:** Safety\ **Created:** [March 15, 2021, 2:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670 "2021-03-15T14:53:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FoDaddy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/fodaddy/32/717_2.png) [@FoDaddy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/FoDaddy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2021, 8:59pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670/21 "2021-03-15T20:59:48Z")
> [@Burger1](#): > > Also, spoke to an officer and there are no brightness laws. Yeah there are laws regarding the max lumens allowed. Every state has them, and there are federal standards as well ( Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108) ---
**Author:** ![Burger1](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/burger1/32/3164_2.png) [@Burger1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Burger1)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2021, 9:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670/22 "2021-03-15T21:06:09Z")
[https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2004-title49-vol5/xml/CFR-2004-title49-vol5-sec571-108.xml](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2004-title49-vol5/xml/CFR-2004-title49-vol5-sec571-108.xml) For the article you mentioned…Reading now, thank you! ---
**Author:** ![shadowfax](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/shadowfax/32/13026_2.png) [@shadowfax](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shadowfax)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2021, 10:26pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670/23 "2021-03-15T22:26:15Z")
In general, asking a cop about the law isn’t something you should rely on to make sure you’re not breaking the law. If cops knew the law that well they’d be lawyers and make a lot more money. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 1:46am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670/24 "2021-03-16T01:46:09Z")
> [@shadowfax](#): > > In general, asking a cop about the law isn’t something you should rely on to make sure you’re not breaking the law Ignorance of the law is no excuse…Unless you’re a cop. ---
**Author:** ![oldtimer-11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e79b87/32.png) [@oldtimer-11](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldtimer-11)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 4:23am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670/25 "2021-03-16T04:23:59Z")
What you should do is what I have done, accept the fact that you should not drive at night. I confine my night driving to about a 2 mile radius of my house on very well light streets. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 2:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670/26 "2021-03-16T14:31:18Z")
Maybe it depends where you are and what the question is. While in college and renting an apartment, a roommate was ticketed in the parking lot for having out of state plates. He went to the town police station and explained that he was a student, and they told him to pay the fine. He was advised by a few others to contact the Pennsylvania State Police. The local barrack’s response was “those guys again? Give us an hour and then contact them again.” When he called the local police station again, they asked for his plate number, state, and name so that they wouldn’t bother him again. ---
**Author:** ![fleetmanager](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/fleetmanager/32/24111_2.png) [@fleetmanager](https://community.cartalk.com/u/fleetmanager)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 2:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670/27 "2021-03-16T14:45:39Z")
@jtsanders It also depends on the officer. I can ask two different officers the same question and get different answers. For example, “did you check your oil after the oil pressure gauge went to zero?” answer 1 “Why would I?” answer 2 “Huh?” ---
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 2:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670/28 "2021-03-16T14:46:38Z")
Cars with reflector headlights should not use hid retro kits. A halogen projector style has better cutoff so it might work ok with hid. As in less blinding light issues. ---
**Author:** ![Burger1](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/burger1/32/3164_2.png) [@Burger1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Burger1)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 3:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670/29 "2021-03-16T15:04:24Z")
My son’s 2005 Ford focus had LEDs in its factory projector style headlights and actually looked classy from the front. They were aimed appropriately at the road and I never felt any more blinded by them than by halogen bulbs. The color spread was a lot more white and crystal clear. My 2009 Odyssey has projector low beams and reflector high beams/daytime running lights, so I’m not sure what a daytime running LED would act like,but I’d never use the brights with oncoming traffic anyway. I’d still rather find someone who has already done it to the same vehicle as me so I can look up pics or a review… ---
**Author:** ![shadowfax](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/shadowfax/32/13026_2.png) [@shadowfax](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shadowfax)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 3:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670/30 "2021-03-16T15:06:19Z")
> [@jtsanders](#): > > Maybe it depends where you are and what the question is. It does. Not all states are quite so severe about plate switching. California, it seems, wanted to curb car theft, and decided that since a lot of car thieves swap plates, a 2nd felony charge for stealing cars would up the deterrence factor. The guy I know swapped plates because he’s an idiot who had 2 cars and only wanted to register one of them, so he’d switch plates when he used his second car. He never stole a car, but got snared by the anti-car-theft measures nonetheless. It actually really made me mad, because the car he had to surrender was a CRX with a rare Japan-spec B-17 motor swap that I had offered to buy from him only a couple of weeks before. My CRX needed a new engine and I’d have loved to have put that one in. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 3:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670/31 "2021-03-16T15:08:33Z")
You didn’t go to the police auction? ---
**Author:** ![shadowfax](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/shadowfax/32/13026_2.png) [@shadowfax](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shadowfax)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 3:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670/32 "2021-03-16T15:14:44Z")
They didn’t auction it. They crushed it. The body was rotted out so they probably figured it wasn’t worth fooling with. Plus, I’m more than 1,000 miles away so that would have been a bit of a chore. ---
**Author:** ![Whitey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/whitey/32/24680_2.png) [@Whitey](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Whitey)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 4:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670/33 "2021-03-16T16:03:37Z")
Does your state require an inspection of your vehicle on a routine basis? What you’re proposing is unethical, but the more I get blinded by other drivers, the less and less I care. As long as you can find someone else to do the driving at night, that’s what’s best for everyone, but I won’t judge you for doing what you’re contemplating. As long as the law isn’t doing anything about it, you might as well benefit from the behavior rather than suffer from it. There might come a day when you regret doing it, and you’d have to live with that, and possibly face a fine, so you might want to look into the risks more first, which can vary depending on where you live and the kind of terrain you drive on. ---
**Author:** ![Whitey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/whitey/32/24680_2.png) [@Whitey](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Whitey)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 4:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670/34 "2021-03-16T16:06:39Z")
> [@tcmichnorth](#): > > They can put an anti-glare coating on the lenses. Don’t almost all new lenses (except tinted) come with an anti-glare coating? It’s one of the cheaper options people almost always get. ---
**Author:** ![Burger1](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/burger1/32/3164_2.png) [@Burger1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Burger1)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 4:07pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670/35 "2021-03-16T16:07:30Z")
No inspections here, and if the police don’t care…Bottom line is I’m going to try this upgrade, but I’m keeping my halogens in the glove box in case I realize it’s a mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Burger1](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/burger1/32/3164_2.png) [@Burger1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Burger1)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 4:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670/36 "2021-03-16T16:09:12Z")
> [@Whitey](#): > > Don’t almost all new lenses (except tinted) come with an anti-glare coating? It’s optional. I have it. It does nothing at night. My astigmatism is what kills me when headlights are coming at me. ---
**Author:** ![tcmichnorth](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tcmichnorth/32/25126_2.png) [@tcmichnorth](https://community.cartalk.com/u/tcmichnorth)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 4:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670/37 "2021-03-16T16:09:22Z")
They always ask me if I want that option. ---
**Author:** ![Whitey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/whitey/32/24680_2.png) [@Whitey](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Whitey)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 4:11pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670/38 "2021-03-16T16:11:36Z")
> [@Burger1](#): > > Also, spoke to an officer and there are no brightness laws. You got free legal advice from a law enforcement officer, not paid _expert_ legal advice from a lawyer. If the former is mistaken, you lose. ---
**Author:** ![Whitey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/whitey/32/24680_2.png) [@Whitey](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Whitey)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 4:16pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670/39 "2021-03-16T16:16:41Z")
> [@tcmichnorth](#): > > They always ask me if I want that option. Me too, and if you try to decline it, a good optician will try to talk you into it because it is so important to have. If you ever compared lenses with and without it, you wouldn’t consider it optional ever again. ---
**Author:** ![Whitey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/whitey/32/24680_2.png) [@Whitey](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Whitey)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 4:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670/40 "2021-03-16T16:22:38Z")
> [@VOLVO-V70](#): > > Did you not read the negative reviews ? At your behest, I checked out the reviews. ![Capture](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/c/9/c97cad8c4aedda6fcf7a9dacd06287e41c738a72.png) My overall impression of the reviews is that they are overwhelmingly positive, and most of the negative reviews lack useful information. [Previous page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670.md?page=1) [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/are-led-headlights-ethical/175670.md?page=3)