FOI 15244-25 - Dazzling Headlights
Request:
For each calendar year from 2020 through to the most recent available data in 2025, please provide:
A. The number of road traffic collisions recorded where the contributing factor was:
"Dazzling headlights"
"Headlight glare"
Or any similar wording used in your reporting system
B. The number of:
Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs)
Verbal warnings
Or other enforcement actions
issued for offences involving:
Headlights being too bright or dazzling
Use of non-compliant, aftermarket, or misaligned headlights
C. If available, the number of formal public complaints or reports relating to headlight glare or dangerously bright headlights.
Response:
Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires Northamptonshire Police, when refusing to provide information (because the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which:
(a) states that fact,
(b) specifies the exemption in question and
(c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.
The exemption applicable to the information requested is:
Section 12(1) – Exemption where cost of compliance exceeds appropriate limit
The information you are requesting is not held by Northamptonshire Police in any reasonably retrievable form. The only means of establishing information of the nature you are requesting would be by way of manual examination of each crime record. Our information retrieval process generally relies on a computer-run report which captures any information recorded upon the surface of a record or within specified fields. Where relevant information is held deeper in the record, or outside of a specified field, a manual assessment is usually required to retrieve that information. Northamptonshire Police do not record whether headlight glare contributed to a road traffic collision as a mandatory field. Therefore, in order to establish whether “dazzling headlights”, “headlight glare” or similar were a contributing factor for a collision, rather than just incidentally mentioned, we would need to read each individual entry.
There are multiple offences under which a driver may be penalised for headlight glare. Not all of these offences specifically relate to headlight glare.
It is my assessment that the cost of providing you with the information requested would exceed the 'appropriate level' as set out in the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.
My assessment is that, to establish whether headlight glare contributed to a road traffic collision, it would cost 48911 (number of records) x 2 minutes each (minimum) = over 1630 hours at £25 per hour to respond to your request, which exceeds the 'appropriate limit' (currently £450 for 'prescribed costs').
Furthermore, to establish whether a Fixed Penalty Notice or other enforcement for the offence of “driving without reasonable consideration” was given due to dazzling headlights, it would cost 1829 (number of records) x 2 minutes each (minimum) = over 60 hours at £25 per hour to respond to your request, which also exceeds the 'appropriate limit'.
In view of the above, and in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please take this letter as a Refusal Notice.
You may wish to refine and resubmit your request so that it reduces the costs shown above and is then within the 'appropriate limit' shown above. I cannot think of a means to refine the request in order to provide the information you are seeking but if you would like some further information about how to proceed with your request then please contact:
Due to the different methods of recording information across forces, a specific response from one constabulary should not be seen as an indication of what information could be supplied (within cost) by another. Systems used for recording these figures are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the data. For this reason, responses between forces may differ, and should not be used for comparative purposes.
Although excess cost removes the Force’s obligations under the Freedom of Information Act, as a gesture of goodwill, I have supplied information relevant to your request which was retrieved or available before it was realised that the fees limit would be exceeded. I trust this is helpful, but it does not affect our legal right to rely on the fees regulations for the remainder of your request.
B.
Search from 2020 to 12/08/2025.
No information is held regarding verbal warnings.
Fixed Penalty Notices for offences:
• RL89171 – Use a motor vehicle on a road where the aim of the headlamp beam was used to cause undue dazzle/discomfort
o 2023 – 3
o 2024 – 1
• RL89161 – Use a motor vehicle on a road fail to maintain lamps/reflectors/rear markings/devices in working order/clean
o 2020 – 48
o 2021 – 51
o 2022 – 60
o 2023 – 69
o 2024 – 67
o 2025 – 40
The numerical data presented in this response is an un-audited snapshot of un-published data sourced from "live" systems and is subject to the interpretation of the original request by the individual extracting the data.
Northamptonshire Police systems are designed primarily for the management of individual cases and not for the production of statistical information for Freedom of Information responses.
The figures provided therefore are our best interpretation of relevance of data to your request, but you should be aware that the collation of figures for ad hoc requests may have limitations and this should be taken into account when the data is used.
If you decide to write an article/use the enclosed data, we ask you to take into consideration the factors highlighted in this document so as to not mislead members of the public or official bodies or misrepresent the relevance of the whole or any part of this disclosed material.