Ask HN: What prevents the automotive industry from using safe LEDs?
All I noticed were pictures on Ford’s website demonstrating terrible headlights. Not all automotive LEDs are terrible, just the ones that emit too much blue light.
Kia has a few models with orange LED running lights. But it seems most new vehicles are designed to blind everyone.
Blue LEDs are great for plants. When used as a balanced portion of a white light they’re fine.
Science knows about the hazards of blue light. Decades ago, scientists studying human response to light figured out that humans do best in low light environments with lights that are red, orange, yellow. This is why our streetlights used to be orange, until the LED companies stole the old light companies’ business without realizing there was a reason behind outdoor lights’ usual spectrum. Or they did know but couldn’t compete with their products, so they pretend their products’ terrible spectrum doesn’t matter.
I think I’ve encountered most the mistakes behind the automotive industry’s switch to defective blue-white LEDs instead of safe orange-biased LEDs.
But before I put my thoughts out there, what are your theories for the mass proliferation of blue-white LEDs in low light environments?
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27234039