White Light–Emitting Diodes (LEDs) at Domestic Lighting Levels and Retinal Injury in a Rat Model

Thanks for the thread as I had been wondering about the risks. In an attempt to switch over from the CFCs, adding led lights instead, had been warned but not clarified to about the risks, so this helps.

While I use led lights at home, been a while since having them, doesn't seem to bother me so far: Like others are sharing, I took notice to being bothered( I have lighter colored eyes) by others driving with the extra bright "blue" leds. Wonder now if over time it affects those drivers as well.

a reply to: TheRedneck

I agree with you about the bright police lights too. At times, those can be disabling. If I see the flashing lights behind me, I always put the rear-view reflector down ASAP! The cop lights and even some emergency vehicles these days can be distracting, up to the point of being blinding - like the blue LED headlights I mentioned...


Altogether I think that Beyond 2600 K light temperature should be banned on public roadways, and emergency vehicles should be limited or contained to a brightness/and or spectrum that is defined to be safe for the public. Meaning ON THE SIDE OF THE PEOPLE! I am glad that awareness is being raised by medical studies on the possible permanent danger to the public through the use of of "common technology"!

a reply to: InFriNiTee

In many cases, the discomfort is the contrast. Brilliant blue flashing police lights during the daytime might be OK, but at night, especially during a rainy night when there's a lot of glare, they need to tone it down a bit. As long as they garner immediate attention, they are doing their job.

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

For the nerds out there, look into scotopic vision for more info.

For me, I find the the senses of vision and hearing incredibly interesting. Just wish I could remember the name of the experiment that directly exposes the limits of both.. Its a simple circuit that sends the same frequency to an LED and a speaker, adjusted by a pot. I want to say it uses a 555.

Oddly entertaining. Maybe it doesn't have an "official" name though.

a reply to: TheRedneck

Also, those blue headlights make the deer incredibly hard to see at night! There are lots of people who drive 80+ miles per hour here (on the highway). There are a LOT of deer in Montana, and that is part of the reason I think that these should be banned. If you hit a deer in a CAR head on (deer flies over the hood) at over 35 miles per hour, you will be lucky if you aren't decapitated!

a reply to: InFriNiTee

The best is when you flash them to turn their brights off and then they turn them on... as if you couldn't see bad enough. Part of it is poorly maintained infrastructure that makes road visibility extremely poor as the lines do not reflect or glow from headlights. When I lived in S.C. if it was dark and raining? Forget about it... driven all over the country in many major cities and in that state capital was the worst ever encountered in such conditions. Others may be bad or worse... but the addition of bright headlights with no reflection of a side line to look at (what you are supposed to do when oncoming lights are to bright) can't even be seen and the entire road looks no different than the night itself.

Contracters cutting corners on costs in contacts; and DOT's diverting money for less important things; like raises, sports car cruisers, and military equiptment or pehaps a combination of all three... in the "beefing" of homeland security that is more like pork barrel spending. (No metaphor intended) however, it likely may be implied.