Driving is becoming unnecessarily dangerous in Britain for blindingly obvious reasons - Ismail Mulla

Not to provide a full Blackpool illuminations display on the road. But that is what we get these days.

Unfortunately, these headlights could prove to be dangerous. The glare from them is leaving motorists at best distracted and at worst causing them to take their eyes off the road.

Elderly people in particular will be more sensitive when it comes to being dazzled by the LED headlights.

There are also those who have vision problems. Those suffering from astigmatism may already find it challenging driving at night without having the equivalent of a lighthouse lamp projected at them from a few meters off.

At first I thought I was just being grumpy at the proliferation of LED headlights. But motorists across the board have reported “feeling the strain” of brighter headlights “more than ever before”.

Members of motoring organisation the AA said that LED lights on vehicles are among the factors causing them to be “blinded” while driving.

I personally know of people who no longer wish to drive at night because it’s too difficult for them to see.

According to national collisions data, dazzling headlights were a contributing factor in 216 incidents in 2023.

The Government’s independent research examining headlight glare is expected to be published this summer. It will be interesting to see what it deduces and whether anything comes of it. Until then we’ll all just have to squint through the illuminations.

There is an argument that brighter lights provide greater visibility but I’m yet to see this.

Edmund King, president of the AA, says “The problem seems to be LED lights on higher vehicles such as SUVs.”

The Chelsea tractor is an easy target for people’s ire. Until recently, I was also perplexed at the need for people to drive around in oversized vehicles when the most onerous criteria seems to be the school run.

But then you factor in the state of the roads and can sympathise with motorists opting for SUVs.

The total cost of repairing vehicles damaged by potholes hit a record high last year. Motorists having to fork out for damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and distorted wheels.

The AA said the total cost of fixing vehicles it attended in the UK which had broken down because of poor road surfaces in 2024 was £579m. That is compared with £474m during the previous 12 months and is the highest total on record.

It’s little wonder that motorists feel they are neglected in this country by this Government and the previous.

When do we ever hear about a drive to fix our roads? Aside from last gasp promises that weren’t worth the paper they were written on by the previous Tory government.

It’s hard to see the perspective of ordinary drivers when you’re being driven around in the back of Range Rovers on well maintained roads through the capital.

To be fair to Labour, it has provided road maintenance funding totalling nearly £1.6bn for the 2025/25 financial year, a £500m uplift compared with the previous 12 months.

But this comes with caveats. A quarter of the increased funding will be held back until authorities have demonstrated they are using it well.

The issue is the lack of a long-term vision when it comes to getting a handle on the pothole problem. Leaving local authorities to patch up the roads, only for them to fall apart not long after.

The cost of bringing pothole-plagued local roads in England and Wales up to scratch has been estimated at £16.3bn.

Sir Tony Blair was smart enough to realise that motorists are key constituents. This was borne out by his attempts to woo Mondeo man in the 90s.

Both the current PM and the Leader of the Opposition would do well to remember that. Especially when many are already being taken for a costly ride.

The net zero utopia envisaged by some is a long way off. People still need cars, especially when public transport provisions are woefully inadequate.

The myriad of hurdles put in front of motorists makes me wonder why anyone would even get behind the wheel of a vehicle unless its absolutely necessary?