January 20, 2025 – Petrovich Development Company, LLC and Mark Baker agree to settle the ADA discrimination lawsuit related to the discriminatory blue LED lights on LVT video surveillance systems for $4,000. PDC admits no wrong doing. The settlement is not confidential.
January 17, 2025 – US Representative Mike Thompson is circulating a sign on letter requesting that the US House Energy and Commerce Committee hold a hearing on LED headlights. This sign-on link can be shared withe all members of Congress.
The Honorable Brett Guthrie The Honorable Frank Pallone
Chair Ranking Member
Energy and Commerce Committee Energy and Commerce Committee
2125 Rayburn House Office Building 2322A Rayburn House Office
Washington, D.C. 20515 Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Chair Brett Guthrie and Ranking Member Pallone:
We request a hearing with the full committee or relevant subcommittee to address the issue of excessively bright automotive headlights and their negative impact on driver and pedestrian safety. We share the concerns that many of our constituents have brought to us that automotive headlights are often excessively bright, endangering drivers and pedestrians navigating roads.
Reports from 2001 and 2008 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) demonstrate both the significant impact excessively bright headlights have on safety as well as the relevance this issue has for millions of people. Although NHTSA’s 2022 final rule allows adaptive driving beams in new vehicles, more needs to be done to ensure that there are enforceable standards for the brightness and glare of modern headlights. Since these reports, the situation has only gotten worse.
We are concerned that NHTSA has failed to set a maximum upper limit on vehicle headlamp intensity and that further inaction is harming public safety. In the interest of improving health and safety for all Americans that use our roads, we request this hearing as a means of creating a safer driving environment for all. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
January 17, 2025 – News story in NOTUS by Emily Kennard describing the efforts of the Soft Lights Foundation and calling out by name several members of Congress for their inaction on LED headlights.
January 10, 2025– News story from WBOY describing the June 27, 2021 letter from the Soft Lights Foundation and the response from NHTSA.
January 6, 2025 – January 5, 2025 article in Supercar Blondie about LED headlights with references to the Soft Lights Foundation.
January 6, 2025 – Restoring Darkness Interview with Dr. Mario Motta – Clip 1 – IES Attacks Dr. Motta. Clip 2 – IES Corruption Discussion. Clip 3 – No Apology from IES to Dr. Motta.
January 6, 2025 – January 2, 2025 article in the Dallas Observer on blinding LED headlights with quotes from the Soft Lights Foundation.
January 5, 2025 – Download this Microsoft Word document and edit the first page with the contact information for the city official and with your contact information. Save the document in .pdf format and email it to the city. This letter forms part of the administrative record and establishes the legal trail necessary to hold city officials accountable for using hazardous, dangerous, and discriminatory LED lights. You may submit the letter as a member of the Soft Lights Foundation, or remove the Soft Lights Foundation references on the first page and submit the letter on your own.
January 4, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation sent the following letter to the American Medical Association:
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Dear AMA,
Physicist Dr. M. Nisa Khan published the book Blinding LED Headlights: The Biggest Blunder of Modern Science in December, 2024. In this book are groundbreaking statements about the spatial properties of LED light. Specifically, LED light does not disperse following an inverse square law, and LED light has a non-uniform Lambertian spatial shape. Organizations such as the AMA and IES have not acknowledged these special properties of LED light.
The Soft Lights Foundation respectfully requests that the AMA update H-135.932 or adopt a new policy that addresses these spatial properties of LED light and the photobiological, neurological, psychological, and hormonal impacts of LED light on human health.
https://policysearch.ama-assn.org/policyfinder/detail/135.932?uri=%2FAMADoc%2FHOD.xml-0-303.xml
December 31, 2024 – Soft Lights Foundation President Mark Baker is interviewed on the Lisa Wexler Show.
December 31, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation submitted the December, 2024 LED Reports of Harm (fuckyourheadlights, LED Incident Reports, Petition Comments) to NHTSA and the FDA, along with the following letter:
Dear Scott Kennedy, Trial Lawyer, US DOJ, and Radiation Health Customer Service, and Technical Electronic Product Radiation Safety Standards Committee, US Food and Drug Administration,
As you know, I filed a Pro Se lawsuit (2:24 CV 02558 DJC JDP (PS)) against the FDA and NHTSA on September 23, 2024 for failing to establish and maintain a liaison to test and evaluate LED vehicle headlamps as required by 21 U.S.C. 360ii(a)(6)(A). The government’s response in the lawsuit is that such a liaison is not required. However, the government has failed to acknowledge the thousands of reports of harm caused by exposure to LED headlights and other LED products submitted by the public. This is a dishonest act of bad faith by the government.
The Soft Lights Foundation has been submitting reports of harm on a monthly basis to the FDA and NHTSA since April, 2024. As well, numerous additional reports of harm have been submitted prior to April, 2024. Case 2:24 CV 02558 DJC JDP (PS) is an Administrative Procedure Act lawsuit, which requires that the government submit to the court the administrative record related to the issue of LED headlamps so that the court can review the FDA’s and NHTSA’s decision to not establish and maintain a liaison to test and evaluate LED vehicle headlamps. However, the government has withheld these reports of harm from the court, and the government has withheld the documents that justify the decision making by NHTSA and the FDA to not liaise and produce a document addressing these reports of harm. These are dishonest and bad faith actions by the government.
The APA requires reasoned and good faith decision making by the government. The decisions by the FDA and NHTSA to withhold evidence from the court of what they have been doing with these monthly reports of harm from exposure to LED products, and withholding from the court their justification for how the FDA and NHTSA decided that these reports of harm should be ignored, are violations of the APA.
49 U.S.C. 30118 requires NHTSA to notify the automakers that LED headlamp technology is defective and to give the automakers an opportunity to respond. The FDA and NHTSA must comply with the APA and other statutes in good faith. It is an act of bad faith by NHTSA and the FDA to ignore the tens of thousands of reports of harm related to defective LED headlamp technology. Both 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 21 U.S.C. 360ii(a)(6)(A) requires that the FDA and NHTSA test and evaluate LED headlamp technology. Since there have already been tens of thousands of LED headlamp defect reports submitted by the public, it is mandatory that NHTSA comply with 49 U.S.C. 30118 and notify the automakers that LED headlamp technology is defective, and mandatory for the government to notify the court of this situation for case 2:24 CV 02558 DJC JDP (PS).
Attached are the LED exposure reports for December, 2024.
December 29, 2024 – PG&E LED Flashing Vehicle Lights Update: August 18, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation notified PG&E that LED flashing lights on company vehicles are prohibited by California Vehicle Code Section 25250, the ADA, and Unruh Civil Rights Act, and therefore the LED flashing lights on company vehicles must be turned off and/or removed. December 26, 2024 – Received denial letter from PG&E. December 29, 2024 – Sent letter to PG&E Chief Safety Officer.
December 26, 2024 – Letter from Soft Lights Foundation President Mark Baker.
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Dear Melanie Rhinehart, Chief of Staff, Representative Mike Thompson,
Government function is predicated on the good faith actions of government officials. When government officials act dishonestly and in bad faith, the government ceases to function properly. It is now clear that the government has not simply made poor decisions in regards to LED headlamps, it’s that the government is acting dishonestly and in bad faith. On December 26, 2024, Soft Lights Foundation President Mark Baker filed a Response to Defendant’s Response to Plaintiff Petition for Writ of Mandate, Rule 26(f) to make clear to the Court that we’re not dealing with simple bad decisions here. We are dealing with purposeful defiance of the will of Congress, evading the statutes and withholding the evidence that forms the administrative record.
September 23, 2024 – Mark Baker, President of the Soft Lights Foundation, filed a lawsuit against the US Food and Drug Administration and US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for failure to comply with 21 U.S.C. 360ii(a)(6)(A) and maintain a liaison for LED vehicle headlamps, and against the FDA for dissolving TEPRSSC, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 360kk(f). December 3, 2024 – The FDA/NHTSA filed a Motion to Dismiss. December 5, 2024 – Plaintiff filed a Response to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss. December 17, 2024 – Plaintiff filed a Petition for Writ of Mandate, Rule 26(f). December 23, 2024 – DOJ filed a Response to the Petition for Writ of Mandate. December 26, 2024 – Plaintiff filed a Response to Defendant’s Response, focusing on the government’s bad faith actions.
Currently, members of Congress act as if Congress is subservient to NHTSA and the FDA, when in fact the Constitution clearly provides Congress with oversight powers of executive branch agencies such as NHTSA and the FDA. The Soft Lights Foundation requests that Congress recognize the bad faith actions by NHTSA and the FDA and open an investigation into the Headlightgate scandal.
December 23, 2024 – The Connecticut Inside Investigator published an article on the impacts of LED flashing lights and sirens on emergency vehicles based on an interview with Soft Lights Foundation President Mark Baker.
December 21, 2024 – US Energy Policy Act 2005 – 42 U.S.C. 16192 (c) Objectives.
“The objectives of the Initiative shall be to develop advanced solid-state organic and inorganic lighting technologies based on white light emitting diodes that, compared to incandescent and fluorescent lighting technologies, are longer lasting, are more energy-efficient and cost-competitive, and have less environmental impact.”
In 2005, the US Congress directed the Department of Energy to develop an SSL replacement for the incandescent light bulb that is more energy-efficient. It’s not energy-efficient to eliminate infrared, make the light directional like a spot light, use extreme levels of hazardous blue light, and exhibit square wave flicker. It’s fraud.
December 21, 2024 – Article in Sports Car Market about blinding LED headlights based on interview with Soft Lights Foundation.
December 18, 2024 – 19 News in Cleveland, Ohio airs a story about flickering LED headlights. Mark Baker wrote a letter to government officials, requesting an investigation.
December 17, 2024 – Mark Baker files Petition for Writ of Mandate, Rule 26(f) in lawsuit against FDA/NHTSA to compel the government to stop withholding evidence.
December 16, 2024 – KRON4 publishes a news story on the Bay Lights 360 lawsuit.
December 16, 2024 – Soft Lights Foundation President, Mark Baker, filed a lawsuit against the Bay Area Toll Authority, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, California Department of Transportation, and Federal Highway Administration for failing to comply with CEQA, NEPA, ADA, Rehabilitation Act Section 504, and 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause requirements for the Bay Lights 360 project. Case CPF-24-518814.
December 15, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation announces the publication of Administrative Record – LED Lights which underscores that agencies that plan on installing or operating LED lights or displays must establish an Administrative Record showing that the LED lights will not violate the civil rights of any individual.
December 15, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation sent a letter to US Representative Mike Thompson requesting action on Headlightgate.
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Dear Adam Durand, Representative Mike Thompson,
In this email I have copied several of Representative Mike Thompson’s constituents.
I am forwarding to you a petition about LED headlights that was started in the UK, but is addressed to NHTSA, and received 40,000 signatures in just two weeks. (https://www.change.org/p/implement-regulations-to-minimize-headlight-brightness-in-cars). When combined with the Soft Lights Foundation petition that has 65,000 signatures, there are now over 100,000 individuals who have taken the time to officially notify the automakers, NHTSA, and Congress that the LED headlight crisis must be fixed.
Since the time that the Soft Lights Foundation first contacted Representative Thompson about LED headlights in 2023, we have learned much. We have now learned that the LED headlight issue is a massive fraud called Headlightgate.
The photo below shows a dark spot in the headlight beam. This dark spot is designed to allow the headlamp to pass the NHTSA tests, but to otherwise be blindingly bright. This is a bad faith and fraudulent action by the automakers.
The Soft Lights Foundation is working directly with government officials in California and New York to pass new laws to regulate LED headlights at the state level. These laws will help protect the public, but is a disaster for the auto industry.
I have filed a Pro Se lawsuit against NHTSA and the the FDA for failing to comply with 21 U.S.C. 360ii. I intend on filing a lawsuit against automakers in 2025. We are actively searching for a class action law firm to sue the automakers for selling vehicles with defective headlights.
On behalf of all of Representative Thompson’s constituents, and on behalf of the 100,000 individuals who signed the petitions, and on behalf of all Americans who have demanded action by the authorities, the Soft Lights Foundation is requesting a personal meeting with Representative Thompson, via video, to discuss Headlightgate and to find out how to get this headlight crisis fixed.
December 11, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation submitted a letter to the Deputy Chief Counsel of the California Transportation Department, CalTrans, demanding an immediate halt to the Bay Lights Project.
December 10, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation sent a letter to NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation:
Dear Gregory Magno, Chief, Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA,
I have copied in this email, Scott Kennedy, Counsel, DOJ, the DOT Office of Inspector General, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, NHTSA Whistleblower, and the majority of automakers.
On December 10, 2024, I was made aware that you are the Chief of ODI at NHTSA, and that ODI was previously investigated by the DOT Office of Inspector General for failing to properly investigate vehicle defects. The Soft Lights Foundation has previously notified NHTSA, the FDA, the DOJ, and the majority of automakers that LED vehicle headlamp technology is defective and dangerous and that the automakers and NHTSA are not in compliance with 49 U.S.C. 30118 and that NHTSA and the FDA are not in compliance with [21 U.S.C. Part C].
Counsel for FDA and NHTSA, Mr. Scott Kennedy, of the DOJ, has inferred to me that NHTSA and the FDA are unaware of any defects or reports of harm or injury caused by the use of LED headlamp technology. Mr. Kennedy claims that the FDA has fully investigated LED headlamp technology and found no health or safety issues with LED vehicle headlamps. Mr. Kennedy’s assertion conflicts with the fact that tens of thousands of individuals have filed reports of harm from exposure to LED vehicle headlamp technology. For example:
Petition to Ban Blinding Headlights and Save Lives! (Over 65,000 signatures): https://change.org/p/u-s-dot-ban-blinding-headlights-and-save-lives/
Comments on Petition: (Thousand of comments documenting that LED vehicle headlamp technology is defective): https://www.change.org/p/u-s-dot-ban-blinding-headlights-and-save-lives/c
Photo and video evidence on Reddit r/fuckyourheadlights: https://www.reddit.com/r/fuckyourheadlights/
LED Incident Reports, Soft Lights Foundation: (https://www.softlights.org/led-incident-reports/).
Here is a link to an article by Nate Rogers, detailing the LED headlamp crisis and Headlightgate: (https://www.theringer.com/2024/12/03/tech/headlight-brightness-cars-accidents)
I am requesting a response from the Office of Defects Investigation as to why NHTSA has not opened an investigation into the reports of injury caused by exposure to LED vehicle headlamps.
December 9, 2024 – Mark Baker, President of the Soft Lights Foundation, received a $4,000 check as part of a settlement agreement in an LED discrimination lawsuit involving the use of intense blue LED lights on a video surveillance system at a shopping center.
December 6, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation notifies GM, Ford, Stellantis, Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Rivian, NHTSA, and the FDA of their requirements under 49 U.S.C. 30118.
Dear Auto Industry Leadership, NHTSA, and FDA,
On December 6, 2024, the petition to ban blinding headlights reached 65,000 signatures. These signatures and the thousands of associated descriptions of injury suffered due to exposure to LED vehicle headlamps prove that LED vehicle headlamp technology meets the legal criteria for defective product. As such, automakers that use LED headlamp technology are mandated to report these injuries to NHTSA, as per 49 U.S.C. 30118(c)(1), and NHTSA is required to notify all automakers that LED headlamp technology is defective, as per 49 U.S.C. 30118(a).
Petition: https://www.change.org/p/u-s-dot-ban-blinding-headlights-and-save-lives
Petition Comments: https://www.change.org/p/u-s-dot-ban-blinding-headlights-and-save-lives/c
As a reminder, no automaker has petitioned NHTSA for authorization to use LED or laser technology for vehicle headlamps, and NHTSA has not engaged in the rulemaking process to ensure that NHTSA FMVSS-108 is updated to reflect the directional nature and unique characteristics of LED and laser headlamp systems. Thus, the automakers are manufacturing and selling vehicles with unapproved LED vehicle headlamp technology that has been proven to be defective and dangerous.
December 5, 2024 – Status update for Mark Baker vs. FDA/NHTSA:
September 23, 2024 – Mark Baker, President of the Soft Lights Foundation, filed a lawsuit against the US Food and Drug Administration and US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for failure to comply with 21 U.S.C. 360ii(a)(6)(A) and maintain a liaison for LED vehicle headlamps, and against the FDA for dissolving TEPRSSC, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 360kk(f).
December 3, 2024 – The FDA/NHTSA filed a Motion to Dismiss.
December 5, 2024 – Plaintiff filed a Response to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss.
December 3, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation is quoted in this article on LED headlights.
December 2, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation had previously requested removal of a discriminatory blue LED flashing light in the store window of Zanzibar Fair Trade Imports. Today the blue LED light was removed.
December 2, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation submitted a legislative proposal to the California Legislature to prohibit the use of supplemental LED and laser flashing lights on vehicles unless explicitly authorized.
December 2, 2024 – Ulta Salon, Cosmetics, & Fragrance, Inc. agreed to settle a discrimination lawsuit involving blue LED lights on an LVT video surveillance system for $4,000. Ulta admits no wrongdoing, but the settlement is not confidential.
November 30, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation submitted the November 2024 LED Headlights Reports of Harm (Fuckyourheadlights), (LED Incident Reports), (Petition Comments), along with the following letter:
Dear James Farley, CEO, Ford, Mary Barra, CEO, General Motors, Carlos Tavares, CEO, Stellantis, Markus Price, Visibility and Injury Prevention, NHTSA, Michelle Tarver, Director, FDA CDRH, Marshall Doney, CEO, AAA, David Harkey, President, IIHS, US House Energy and Commerce Committee, and US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
49 U.S.C. 30118(c)(1) states, “A manufacturer of a motor vehicle or replacement equipment shall notify the Secretary by certified mail or electronic mail, and the owners, purchasers, and dealers of the vehicle or equipment as provided in section 30119(d) of this section, if the manufacturer learns the vehicle or equipment contains a defect and decides in good faith that the defect is related to motor vehicle safety.”
Attached are reports of harm involving LED products, most of which involve LED vehicle headlights. As per 49 U.S.C. 30118(c)(1), Ford, GM, and Stellantis are mandated to act in good faith and report to NHTSA, vehicle owners, purchasers, and dealers that LED headlight technology is dangerous and defective. Over 64,000 individuals have reported that LED vehicle headlights are a dangerous technology that puts the safety and lives of hundreds of millions of Americans at risk. Ford, GM, and Stellantis are currently in violation of 49 U.S.C. 30118(c)(1).
21 U.S.C. 360ii(a)(6)(A) states, “The Secretary [of HHS] shall establish and carry out an electronic product radiation control program designed to protect the public health and safety from electronic product radiation. As a part of such program, he shall—consult and maintain liaison with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Labor, the Atomic Energy Commission, and other appropriate Federal departments and agencies on techniques, equipment, and programs for testing and evaluating electronic product radiation,”
Ford, GM, and Stellantis have never submitted a petition to NHTSA for authorization to use LED vehicle headlights. The US Department of Energy states that LEDs are a “radically new technology” with “directional” light and “unique characteristics.” NHTSA has never updated FMVSS-108 to set limits or regulate the unique characteristics of LED vehicle headlights. NHTSA and the FDA have not maintained a liaison for testing and evaluating LED vehicle headlights. NHTSA and the FDA are in violation of 21 U.S.C. 360ii(a)(6)(A).
The Soft Lights Foundation requests the following:
1. The US House Energy and Commerce Committee to open an investigation into these acts of non-compliance.
2. The US Senate Committee and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to open an investigation into these acts of non-compliance.
3. Ford, GM, and Stellantis to immediately notify NHTSA, vehicle owners, purchases, and dealers that LED vehicle headlights are dangerous and defective.
4. NHTSA and FDA establish a liaison to test and evaluate LED headlight technology to protect public health and safety.
November 29, 2024 – Wired Magazine published an article on new research shows that LED flashing lights cause AI seizures in vehicles. Guess what? LED flashing lights cause seizures, migraines, thoughts of suicide, impaired vision and impaired cognitive functioning in humans, too.
November 24, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation submitted an offer to assist New York Governor Kathy Hochul with filing False Claims Act lawsuits related to the LED fraud.
November 24, 2024 – On August 30, 2024, the International Commission on Illumination published a position statement on integrative lighting.
November 21, 2024 – World-famous researcher and professor at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Martin Moore-Ede, confirms that the LED energy efficiency claim is a fraud. Quote: “Most government regulators at the Department of Energy are so obsessed with increasing lumens per watt, a false measure of energy efficiency, that they have banned low-blue incandescent & halogen lights, and are now seeking to ban most healthy circadian lights.”
November 19, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation submitted a letter to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions requesting that the corruption at the FDA CDRH be addressed via Senate investigation and during the confirmation process for Secretary of Health and Human Services.
November 18, 2024 – Soft Lights Foundation President Mark Baker sent the following letter to GM, Stellantis, and NHTSA:
Dear Mary Barra, CEO, General Motors,
49 U.S.C. 30118(c)(1) states, “A manufacturer of a motor vehicle or replacement equipment shall notify the Secretary by certified mail or electronic mail, and the owners, purchasers, and dealers of the vehicle or equipment as provided in section 30119(d) of this section, if the manufacturer learns the vehicle or equipment contains a defect and decides in good faith that the defect is related to motor vehicle safety.”
A defective product is one that is unreasonably dangerous. Over 64,000 individuals have signed a petition notifying GM and NHTSA that LED headlight technology is unreasonably dangerous, and therefore defective. (https://www.change.org/p/u-s-dot-ban-blinding-headlights-and-save-lives). The Reddit site /r/fuckyourheadlights contains photo and video evidence of this defective and dangerous LED headlight technology. (https://www.reddit.com/r/fuckyourheadlights/)
Therefore, as per 49 U.S.C. 30118(c)(1), as an act of good faith, General Motors is required to notify NHTSA, vehicle owners, and dealers that LED headlight technology is defective and poses an unacceptable safety risk.
November 16, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation emailed Ford and NHTSA and notified them that they have failed to comply with 49 U.S.C. Section 30118 and that Soft Lights Foundation President Mark Baker intends to file a lawsuit for non-compliance.
November 7, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation sent a letter to President-elect Donald Trump requesting that he repeal the DOE regulations that effectively banned the incandescent light bulb.
November 1, 2024 – MarieAnn Cherry of New York wrote a Letter to the Editor that was published in the Altamont Enterprise which contains extensive references to the hazards of LED lighting.
November 1, 2024 – LED radiation exposure reports for October 2024. LED Incident Reports. Fuckyourheadlights. Petition Comments.
October 31, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation is quoted in this article about excessively bright headlights in The Guardian.
October 31, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation submitted a Health and Environmental Impact Assessment to the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
October 25, 2024 – Mark Baker sent a letter to Target regarding discriminatory blue LED flashing lights on a video surveillance system. Target agreed to turn off the blue LED lights.
October 22, 2024 – NHTSA failed to make a decision on the Soft Lights Foundation petition to set an upper limit on headlamp intensity within the required 120 days. The Soft Lights Foundation sent a letter to NHTSA requesting a justification for the delay.
October 20, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation sent the following letter to the US House Energy and Commerce Committee:
Dear Energy and Commerce Committee,
Increasing the efficacy of producing visible light photons by creating a blue-rich directional beam, and then marketing that increase in efficacy as equivalent to an increase in efficiency by making post-hoc claims that blue/white LED lighting products are safer, provide better visual acuity, and reduce glare is a scam. A blue-rich directional beam was never about improving the energy efficiency of the tungsten filament light source, but always about increasing the number of visible lumens per watt and nothing more.
Congress directed the Department of Energy to develop an equivalent to the incandescent light bulb using solid state technology. Instead, the DOE has perpetrated a massive fraud on the American public by switching out the soft, uniform glow of the incandescent light to the harsh, directional light of the LED, and then falsely claiming to Congress and the public that both types of light are the same. The Soft Lights Foundation requests that the Energy and Commerce Committee open an investigation into the entire LED fraud.
October 10, 2024 – Mark Baker presented to the Friends of Merrymeeting Bay on the impacts of LED light. The 1-hour presentation discusses the physics of LEDs, the adverse human and ecosystem health impacts, and our regulatory and legal actions.
October 9, 2024 – This news article states that the UK Department for Transport has authorized the research organization TRL to study glare from vehicle headlights. This study is to be completed in the Spring of 2025.
October 3, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation sent the following letter to the FDA and CPSC.
Dear Michelle Tarver, Acting Director, Food and Drug Administration CDRH, and Alexander Hoehn-Saric, Chair, Consumer Product Safety Commission,
21 U.S.C. 360ii(a)(6)(A) requires that the FDA and CPSC maintain a liaison on techniques, equipment, and programs for testing and evaluating LED Visible Light radiation from children’s toys. Currently, the liaison between the CPSC and FDA does not exist, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 360ii(a)(6)(A), and neither the FDA nor the CPSC have published performance standards for LEDs in children’s toys to protect the eyes of children.
On July 8, 2024, the French ANSES published a report that existing European standards for children’s toys with LEDs are invalid and must be updated. (https://www.anses.fr/fr/system/files/AP2022SA0193EN.pdf). In the USA, there are no regulations whatsoever for children’s toys with LEDs, putting the safety of children at risk.
The Soft Lights Foundation requests that the FDA have TEPRSSC review this ANSES report in cooperation with the CPSC, as required by 21 U.S.C. 360ii(a)(6)(A), and that TEPRSSC and the CPSC propose performance standards that would set limits on LED intensity for children’s toys.
October 1, 2024 – Solid State Lighting: Review of Health Effects – A detailed literature of the health impacts of LED lighting by the International Energy Agency.
September 30, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation submitted the following monthly reports to the FDA, NHTSA, and members of Congress: LED Incident Reports, Photo and Video Evidence, Petition Comments.
September 30, 2024 – Mark Baker filed a Small Claims lawsuit against the city of Vacaville for using discriminatory RRFBs.
September 27, 2024 – Yolo County Small Claims Court issued a ruling against Mark Baker in Baker v. Regency Centers, and Baker v. City of Woodland by stating “This court finds insufficient evidence plaintiff suffered cognizable harm caused by the light.”
September 26, 2024 – Soft Lights Foundation President Mark Baker filed a Motion to Voluntarily Dismiss his lawsuit against the FDA that was filed on January 22, 2024. This is a strategic move in favor of filing more narrowly focused lawsuits against the FDA and other federal agencies for non-compliance with 21 U.S.C. 360ii(a)(6)(A).
September 26, 2024 – The city of Glendale, California denied the Soft Lights Foundation’s request to eliminate discriminatory LED flashing lights. Here is the response from the Soft Lights Foundation:
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Mr. Eccleston,
I am in receipt of the city of Glendale’s denial of the Soft Lights Foundation’s request to comply with state and federal laws to protect the health and safety of individuals with disabilities. (see attached). I note that you chose in your letter to ignore laws that protect individuals with disabilities. The letter that you provided is similar to many letters that we have received from cities across the state, claiming that the use of LED flashing lights is for “safety” while ignoring that those same LED flashing lights are life-threatening for individuals with epilepsy, autism, PTSD, migraines, and others. The city of Glendale has acted with malice via this despicable conduct in regards to the willful and conscious disregard for the rights of individuals with disabilities.
1. The 14th Amendment of the US Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause requires the city of Glendale to protect individuals with disabilities equally as those without disabilities. Choosing to protect the safety of individuals who can neurologically tolerate LED flashing lights, but placing individuals who cannot neurologically tolerate LED flashing lights at risk of injury or death is a violation of the 14th Amendment.
2. The ADA prohibits discrimination and requires the city of Glendale to ensure that alterations such as switching to LED flashing lights does not interfere with path-of-travel for individuals with disabilities and that the alteration ensures that the area around the alteration is readily accessible and usable by individuals with disabilities. Given that LED flashing lights cause non-epileptic and epileptic seizures, migraines, panic attacks, and thoughts of suicide for individuals with disabilities, the alteration of installing and operating LED flashing lights, including on vehicles, is a violation of the ADA.
3. California Vehicle Code section 25250 prohibits flashing lights unless authorized by the California Legislature. The Legislature has not authorized laser flashing lights, LED flashing lights, flashing lights that cause life-threatening seizures, or flashing lights that impair vision. Thus, the use of LED flashing lights on city of Glendale vehicles is unlawful.
4. As you may know, we have exhausted all administrative remedies with government agencies at the local, state, and federal level. Therefore, I have begun filing Pro Se lawsuits in the hope that the Courts will recognize that the 14th Amendment, ADA and other laws are still valid and that cities such as Glendale cannot simply wish them away. I have noticed at the trials that I have attended so far that the officials sent by the government agency are required to respond under oath, and thus, when asked to speak under oath, they have no answer for why a city should be allowed to ignore the rights of individuals with disabilities or why a city should be allowed to trigger a seizure, migraine, or panic attack.
5. As per Section 835 of the California Government Code, the city of Glendale is now liable for any photobiological, neurological, psychological, hormonal, or physical injuries caused by the use of LED flashing lights because Glendale has received Constructive Notice that the use of such LED flashing lights creates a dangerous and discriminatory condition.
September 23, 2024 – Mark Baker, President of the Soft Lights Foundation, filed a lawsuit against the US Food and Drug Administration and US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for failure to comply with 21 U.S.C. 360ii(a)(6)(A) and maintain a liaison for LED vehicle headlamps, and against the FDA for dissolving TEPRSSC, in violation of with 21 U.S.C. 360kk(f).
September 21, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation sent the following letter to all members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
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Dear Senator Bernie Sanders, Chair, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
This week, at a rally for Donald Trump in Tucson, Arizona, many members of the audience suffered serious eye injuries. The likely cause of the injuries was LED lighting. The company that installed the lighting, Clearwing, issued the following statement:
“There’s nothing to rule out. We (and all the companies in our industry) have used these fixtures on hundreds of events over decades. They are safe.” (https://www.kvoa.com/news/n4t-investigators-more-trump-supporters-report-eye-injuries-experts-weigh-in/article_d9b0443c-77b9-11ef-80a8-0f48b40d5fb3.html). The statement by Clearwing is false, as the industry has switched from traditional lighting sources to LED lighting sources that are hazardous and dangerous.
Congress passed the Radiation Control for Health and Safety Act in 1968 and this law is codified as 21 U.S.C. 360. The law directs the Food and Drug Administration to implement a Radiation Control Program for electronic products that emit electromagnetic radiation. This includes LED products such as LED vehicle headlights, LED streetlights, LED flashing lights on emergency vehicles, and LED stage lighting. However, the FDA terminated the Radiation Control Program at least as far back as 2016. Thus, the FDA is not studying the impacts of LED lighting, the FDA is ignoring reports of injury from exposure to LED lighting, the FDA is not consulting or liaising with other federal agencies, and the FDA has not published any performance standards for LED products.
Jeffrey Shuren was the Director of the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health for the past 14 years. It was his decision to abandon the FDA’s Radiation Control Program so that he could focus his efforts on regulating medical devices. Mr. Shuren retired in July, 2024. I contacted FDA CDRH Acting Director Michelle Tarver, but she did not respond.
Congress must step in and open an investigation into the FDA’s decision to abandon the Radiation Control Program mandated by Congress in 21 U.S.C. 360ii. The FDA also dissolved the 15 member Technical Electronic Product Radiation Safety Standards Committee (TEPRSSC), so the FDA is receiving no advice from technical experts on LED hazards. Congress must investigate these actions. As President of the Soft Lights Foundation, I am offering to testify at a Congressional hearing as part of the investigation into the FDA’s decision to stop complying with 21 U.S.C. 360ii.
The incident at the Trump rally that caused so many eye injuries must not be ignored. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions must open an investigation into the FDA’s abandonment of the Radiation Control Program and failure to minimize exposure to, and emissions of, unnecessary electromagnetic radiation to protect public health and safety as required by 21 U.S.C. 360ii.
September 10, 2024 – Change.org introduced a feature that automatically generates a flyer for our petition to ban blinding headlights. The flyer contains a QR Code.
September 7, 2024 – On August 15, 2024, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration rejected the Soft Lights Foundation requests that OSHA comply with 21 U.S.C. 360ii(a)(6) and cooperate and liaise with the FDA to test, evaluate and set performance standards to protect worker health and safety.
September 2, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation submitted the following monthly reports to the FDA: FuckYourHeadlights Photos and Videos, Ban Blinding Headlights Petition Comments, LED Incident Reports.
August 21, 2024 – FDA CDRH Director Jeffrey Shuren has announced his retirement. Michelle Tarver has taken the role of Acting Director as of July, 2024. The Soft Lights Foundation submitted the following letter.
Dear Michelle Tarver, Acting Director, FDA CDRH,
I have copied Congressman Mike Thompson’s office, and DOJ attorney Scott Kennedy in this email.
It has come to my attention that Jeffrey Shuren has announced his retirement and that you have taken the role of Acting Director at the CDRH. In the announcements that I read, there is no mention of the CDRH’s willful decision to not enact radiation control programs for electronic products that emit radio frequency radiation such as cell towers, cell phones, WiFi routers, and smart meters, or radiation control programs for electronic products that use Light Emitting Diodes to emit Visible Light radiation such as LED vehicle headlights, LED streetlights, LED lamps, and LED flashing lights on emergency vehicles. This decision not to enact radiation control programs is a violation of 21 U.S.C. 360ii.
Because of Mr. Shuren’s decision not to comply with the law, I filed a lawsuit against Mr. Shuren and the FDA on January 22, 2024. This is a significant lawsuit that you need to be aware of. The first hearing is scheduled for September 19, 2024 in the Eastern District of California. I am requesting that the FDA comply with 21 U.S.C. 360ii(a) and enact a radiation control program for LED products.
Another action that Mr. Shuren took was to dissolve the Technical Electronic Product Radiation Safety Standards Committee, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 360kk. TEPRSSC is critical for providing expert advice to the FDA on the impacts of RF and LED Visible Light radiation and must be reconstituted immediately.
My request is that you assert your independence from Mr. Shuren and show your concern for public health and safety and take the following immediate actions. First, publicly announce that TEPRSSC is being reformed and announce the first meeting date. Second, direct the US DOJ to drop its defense of the FDA against my lawsuit. My lawsuit is only asking that the FDA comply with existing law and the FDA should not be fighting this lawsuit. Third, publicly announce that the FDA will implement radiation control programs for RF and LED products, as required by 21 U.S.C. 360ii.
August 18, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation submitted a Notice of Private Enforcement to Davis, California and other cities for using LED flashing lights on vehicles in violation of California Vehicle Code Section 25250 and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
August 18, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation notified PG&E that LED flashing lights on company vehicles are prohibited by California Vehicle Code Section 25250, the ADA, and Unruh Civil Rights Act, and therefore the LED flashing lights on company vehicles must be turned off and/or removed.
August 14, 2024 – In the case Baker v. Petrovich involving LEDs creating a discriminatory barrier, the Court ruled that the case can continue, stating, “Petrovich’s demurrer to the first cause of action [The Americans with Disabilities Act] in plaintiff’s complaint is OVERRULED. (Code Civ. Proc., § 430.010, subd. (e).) The Court finds that plaintiff has alleged facts sufficient to state this cause of action. (42 USC 12181, subd.
(7)(E); 28 CFR 36.101, 36.402; Martinez v. San Diego County Credit Union (2020) 50 Cal.App.5th 1048, 1060; see Serrano v. Priest (1971) 5 Cal.3d 584, 591; Compl., ¶¶ 2, 12, 15, 16, 30 – 33, 35 – 37.)”
August 9, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation submitted a regulatory petition to the California Department of Motor Vehicles to prohibit the use of supplemental LED flashing lights on motor vehicles. Update: 8-14-2024: The DMV rejected the petition. A similar petition was submitted to the California Highway Patrol.
August 5, 2024 – In response to Mark Baker’s lawsuit against the FDA for failing to establish a radiation control program for LED products, the FDA/DOJ responded on July 29, 2024 with a Motion to Dismiss. On August 5, 2024, Mark Baker filed a Response to Motion to Dismiss, and requested summary judgment.
July 28, 2024 – Best Buy is a USA national chain of big box stores selling electronics. They operate LVT video surveillance systems in their parking lots. At the request of the Soft Lights Foundation, Best Buy has agreed to turn off all the dangerous and discriminatory blue LED lights on the LVT system for all their stores across the country to protect the health, safety, and civil rights of individuals with disabilities.
July 28, 2024 – In this July 24, 2024 article, the Head of Operational Delivery for Selwyn, New Zealand states that “crashes at other sites where flashing stop signs were introduced were increasing”.
July 28, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation sent a Notice of Dangerous and Discriminatory Condition to New York State Parks regarding LED lights. The alteration of adding LED lights is discriminatory and a violation of 28 C.F.R. § 35.151(b)(1).
July 18, 2024 – Soft Lights Foundation President, Mark Baker, files a Small Claims lawsuit against the city of Woodland, California for operating a dangerous and discriminatory Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon that uses excessively intense and digitally flashing LED lights.
July 16, 2024 – Soft Lights Foundation President, Mark Baker, files a Small Claims lawsuit against Regency Centers for operating a dangerous and discriminatory video surveillance system that uses excessively intense and digitally flashing blue LED lights.
July 11, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation sent a letter to multiple automakers that LED headlights and LED daytime running lights are a defective product design and subject to a product liability lawsuit. General Motors.
July 9, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation sent a letter to the US Department of Justice attorney that is defending the Food and Drug Administration against the Mark Baker lawsuit. Included in the email address list is an official from each federal agency that is required to comply with 21 U.S.C. 360ii(a) to cooperate with the FDA to publish performance standards for LED products. This action now connects all federal agencies with the FDA and puts them on notice that compliance with 21 U.S.C. 360ii(a) is non-discretionary. DOJ, FDA, EPA, NHTSA, CPSC, Access Board, DOL, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FRA
July 4, 2024 – An article North Country Now describes the town of Ogdensburg, New York receiving a check for $53,000 from the utility company National Grid for an LED streetlight conversion, despite the NYSPSC investigation into the hazards and discriminatory nature of LED streetlights. The Soft Lights Foundation notified Ogdensburg that LED streetlights create dangerous and discriminatory conditions.
July 2, 2024 – A highway and bridge project in the UK used 1800K LED streetlighting. For the last several years, the DOE and lighting industry have been telling the public that 4000K LED streetlights are necessary to improve visibility and safety. Suddenly, with this project, 1800K LEDs are perfectly fine and improve visibility. As we knew already, the switch to 4000K LEDs is completely based on false claims. Original post.
July 1, 2024 – Sasha Rodoy was victorious in her lawsuit against Barnet, UK, City Council, and the council was required to replace 4000K LED with 2200K LED. Here, Sasha has made a video showing the workers replacing the 4000K LEDs with 2200K LEDs.
July 1, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation submitted the monthly LED Incident Reports to the FDA Radiation Health Customer Service. Reddit Posts, LED Headlight Petition Posts, LED Incident Reports, NYSPSC Case 21-02623.
June 30, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation sent a letter to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requesting that NHTSA comply with 21 U.S.C. 360ii(a) and cooperate and liaise with the US Food and Drug Administration to publish performance standards to limit the emissions of and exposure of people to, unnecessary Visible Light radiation from Light Emitting Diodes used in automotive lighting.
June 30, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation sent a letter to the US Environmental Protection Agency requesting that the EPA comply with 21 U.S.C. 360ii(a)(6) and cooperate and liaise with the US Food and Drug Administration to publish performance standards to limit the emissions of and exposure of people to, unnecessary Visible Light radiation from Light Emitting Diode products. Unnecessary Visible Light radiation is also known as “light pollution”.
June 29, 2024 – The magazine Stuff published an article about eye-searing LEDs appearing on every new electronic product. The Soft Lights Foundation contacted the US Consumer Product Safety Commission and requested that the CPSC comply with 21 U.S.C. 360ii(a)(6) and cooperate with the FDA to publish performance standards for LEDs on consumer products.
June 24, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation has provided constructive notice to the following US federal agencies that the use of LED products can create a dangerous and discriminatory condition: EPA, DOL, FAA, Access Board, NHTSA, FMCSA, FHWA, CPSC, DOE, FDA.
June 21, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation submitted a public comment to Los Angeles Metro on the proposed Link Union Station project which describes the dangerous conditions and discriminatory barriers that LED lights can create and asks that these issues be addressed in the EIS/SEIR.
June 19, 2024 – In response to an article about the San Francisco Planning Commission’s approval of a giant LED sign for the Palace Hotel, the Soft Lights Foundation submitted a letter, notifying the Palace Hotel that an LED sign will violate 28 C.F.R. § 36.402(a)(1) and create a discriminatory barrier.
June 18, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation notified the city of Sacramento and other municipalities that LED flashing lights create a dangerous condition and that the city has a Due Care obligation to eliminate the dangerous condition.
June 16, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation wrote a letter to Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General requesting an investigation of FDA CDRH Director Jeffrey Shuren and his willful and reckless decision to not confer or liaise with any other federal agency on the regulation of LED products.
June 16, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation wrote a letter to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf requesting a response to Representative Mike Thompson and Mark Pocan regarding regulation of automobile LED headlights.
June 11, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation submitted the full set of public comments and associated files for New York State Public Service Commission case 21-02623 involving LED streetlights in the Village of Cambridge and the utility company National Grid to the Food and Drug Administration as evidence that LED Visible Light radiation is hazardous and must be regulated as required by 21 U.S.C. 360ii.
June 11, 2024 – US Representative Mike Thompson submitted a letter to the US House Energy and Commerce Committee requesting that the committee hold a hearing with NHTSA officials to discuss blinding LED headlights.
June 7, 2024 – Ophthalmologist Dr. Michael Chua published a video describing the impacts of LED headlights and he mentions the Soft Lights Foundation petition to ban blinding headlights.
June 7, 2024 – Social media video post shows perfect example of unregulated LED lights on a vehicle.
June 7, 2024 – NHTSA acknowledges the Soft Lights Foundation petition to regulate Correlated Color Temperature for headlights.
June 3, 2024 – LightED magazine reports on the FDA’s rejection of the Soft Lights Foundation petitions.
May 31, 2024 – Inside Lighting reports on the FDA’s decision to not regulate LED products.
May 30, 2024 – The Edison Report profiles the efforts of the Soft Lights Foundation.
May 29, 2024 –
Press Release: May 29, 2024
US FDA Decision: No Regulations for LED Products
On May 24, 2024, the US Food and Drug Administration rejected four Soft Lights Foundation petitions to regulate LED products. (https://www.softlights.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Final-Response-Citizen-Petitions-FDA-2022-P-1151-FDA-2023-P-0233-FDA-2023-P-3828-FDA-2023-P-3879.pdf)
In summary, the FDA’s position is that the FDA should not regulate LED products, that the FDA has no intention of regulating LED products, and that the FDA will not collaborate with any other federal agency to regulate LED products.
This FDA ruling has major policy and constitutional implications. As noted in a history of the 1968 Radiation Control for Health and Safety Act, one of the reasons that Congress passed the law directing the FDA to regulate electromagnetic radiation from electronic products was to provide federal regulatory oversight that was previously handled at the local and state level. (https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/8846732/Tran06.pdf).
Since the FDA is the only federal agency with Congressional authority to regulate LED products, the FDA ruling means that all other federal agencies, including NHTSA, DOE, OSHA, CPSC, EPA, Access Board, FAA, FHWA, and others are blocked from publishing regulations for LED vehicle headlights, LED street lights, LED light bulbs, LED flashing lights on emergency vehicles, LED office lights, LED appliance indicator lights, or any other LED product, even if those LED products cause harm.
The FDA’s decision to not regulate LED products thus pushes regulation of LED products to state and local governments, which is likely an unconstitutional shift of regulatory authority from federal agencies to state and local agencies, and a clear violation of the Congressional mandate codified in 21 U.S.C. 360ii.
Without an intervention by Congress or the Courts, municipalities, businesses, manufacturers, and employers are each now forced to develop and publish their own policy for LED products to ensure the health, safety, and civil rights of the public and the protection of the environment, and a failure by an entity to establish the necessary health, safety, and civil rights policies in relation to the entity’s use or manufacture of unregulated and unsafe LED products makes the entity liable for tort or discrimination claims due to negligence or a failure to provide a duty of care.
Contact:
Mark Baker, President, Soft Lights Foundation
mbaker@softlights.org
www.softlights.org
May 28, 2024 – On May 24, 2024, the FDA denied all Soft Lights Foundation petitions to regulate LED products in a single letter.
May 28, 2024 – Australia. Parliament House worker has seizure after request for lighting change not acted on.
May 27, 2024 – This photo of a Wells Fargo using LED outdoor lighting was submitted to the Ban Blinding LEDs Facebook group. The photo illustrates that the lights are using energy despite the absence of anyone using the lights, that the lights are a public health and safety hazard due to the high glare and blue wavelength light, and that the lights have no shielding to prevent light trespass nuisance.
May 27, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation submitted the following comment to the International Association of Fire Fighters:
Dear Sean DeCrane, Director of Health and Safety Operational Services, International Association of Fire Fighters, I was notified today of this important article research study: June 30, 2021 – Study of Heart Rate and Blood Pressure Subject to Pulsed LED Lighting – The findings indicate that pulsed light will cause a deviation of heart rate and blood pressure from that under stable light. Results showed that after a short lighting period (20 min), heart rate and blood pressure were significantly higher under 40 Hz pulsed than that under stable light.
In conjunction with numerous other studies about flashing lights, this study confirms that it makes no sense to use flashing lights on emergency vehicles which will increase blood pressure, impair vision, interfere with cognitive functioning, and increase the risk to the lives of fire fighters, when static, low-luminance lights provide the needed warning without the adverse impacts on health and safety.
May 25, 2024 – Mark Baker posted the following comment to the NYSPSC comments for case 32-E-0727. (https://documents.dps.ny.gov/public/MatterManagement/CaseMaster.aspx?MatterCaseNo=23-E-0727)
On May 20, 2024, Inside Lighting published an article about researchers examining the cause of purple LED streetlights made by American Electric Lighting, which is a subsidiary of Acuity Brands, and which is the manufacturer of the LED streetlights that have been installed in the Village of Cambridge by the utility company National Grid. (https://inside.lighting/news/24-05/heres-why-led-streetlights-are-turning-city-highway-purple). The article states, “Streetlights serve not only to illuminate roads and pathways but also to ensure the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers at night.” Given the clear statement that streetlights are provided “to ensure the safety of pedestrians”, if an LED streetlight causes a life-threatening seizure for some individuals, then the LED streetlight is an unsafe product, and thus a violation of National Grid’s tariff requiring National Grid to provide “safe” services.
The research organization is the LED Systems Reliability Consortium (LSRC). In this particular research study, the impacts of LED streetlights on individuals with epilepsy, migraines, autism, photophobia, PTSD, EMS, and other medical conditions was not studied. As has been demonstrated via epidemiological data collected by the Soft Lights Foundation, LED street lights can trigger non-epileptic and epileptic seizures, suicidal ideations, migraines, impaired cognitive functioning, and eye pain. The FDA has not published the Congressionally mandated performance standards for LED streetlights to ensure the safety of the public. Given that this article makes clear that streetlights are provided to ensure public safety and that a streetlight that merely turns purple becomes a safety hazard, an LED streetlight that causes members of the public to lose consciousness is certainly even more of a safety hazard. A declaration by the NYSPSC that LED streetlights are safe and pose no safety hazard would be in direct opposition to the evidence. A declaration that LED streetlights do pose a safety hazard would align with the evidence, and would require National Grid to remove the unsafe, unapproved, unregulated LED streetlights.
May 20, 2024 – The BBC reported that the town of Swanage in the county of Dorset, UK is changing it’s LED streetlights after only two years due to health reasons.
May 19, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation submitted a complaint to the US Health and Human Services Office for Human Research Protections due to the FDA CDRH’s failure to regulate LED products and for allowing an uncontrolled, unsupervised real-world experiment involving human exposure to LED Visible Light radiation. On May 20, 2024, HHS OHRP responded that this issue does not fall within their jurisdiction.
May 17, 2024 – An article was published in the Bay Area Telegraph that refers to people buying Rough Service incandescent light bulbs as way to avoid purchasing low-quality and hazardous LED light bulbs.
May 17, 2024 – In response to the Soft Lights Foundation submission of 202 pages of comments representing over 60,000 individuals who signed the petition to ban blinding headlights, US DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg sent to the Soft Lights Foundation a letter stating that he cannot find time in his schedule to discuss the issue. In response to Secretary Buttigieg’s failure to shown concern for the health and safety of the public, members of the Reddit group r/fuckyourheadlights have renamed LED headlights as Buttigieg Lights and created a meme.
May 16, 2024 – Texas Public Radio published a podcast on the impacts of LED headlights on Jamie Troese in Pennsylvania, describing how LED headlights have essentially imprisoned her in her home.
May 15, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation submitted a federal regulatory petition to NHTSA to set limits on Correlated Color Temperature for vehicle headlamps and daytime running lights.
May, 2024 – LED Applications Require Exposure Limits to Safeguard Consumers – Opinion article in Photonics Spectra mentions Mark Baker.
May 12, 2024 – Car and Driver magazine publishes an article about super-bright LED headlights that are frying our corneas.
May 10, 2024 – Mark Baker is a guest on the The Power Couple podcast and discusses LEDs and their impacts.
May 8, 2024 – The UK Parliament debates headlight glare. Transcript. Video.
May 7, 2024 – NBC News, Fort Meyers, Florida, aired a video on excessively bright LED headlights.
May 6, 2024 – Mark Baker filed a discrimination lawsuit against CBRE, Inc. and Petrovich Development Company, LLC for discrimination. Defendants declined to make a good faith effort to turn off an intense LED light, thus denying Plaintiff full and equal access to the shopping center.
May 4, 2024 – The San Francisco Standard reports that the Founder of Illuminate has claimed that their plan to add 50,000 LED lights to the San Francisco Bay Bridge is now funded. Adding tens of thousands of LED lights to the SF Bay Bridge will have a massive adverse impact on human and ecosystem health, and will create a discriminatory barrier for individuals with neurological disabilities. The Soft Lights Foundation has notified numerous decision makers at CalTrans, Bay Area Toll Authority Oversight Committee, Illuminate, and others that this project requires a CEQA analysis, NEPA analysis, and ADA Accommodation Plan.
May 3, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation assisted an individual with a light trespass nuisance issue by sending a letter to the Sammamish, Washington city council. Councilmember Amy Lam responded and contacted Code Enforcement. A case was opened, and Code Enforcement made a visit to the resident and asked them to solve the light trespass issue. The resident agreed to remove the offending light.
May 1, 2024 – The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile submitted a file to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe on headlight glare as the following two documents:
GRE-90-20 – (FIA) Glare on Road Traffic: European consumer study 2024
GRE-90-40 – (FIA) European survey on glare in road traffic
Below are some stats from the report:
- 80 % of the respondents find the glare intolerable or annoying
- 50 % almost always or regularly feel dazzled
- 52 % of respondents pinch their eyes shut or even close them briefly
- 64 % have problems perceiving objects in the vicinity of the dazzling light source
- 25 % stated that they continued to see an image of the light source for a limited time after passing it (afterimage), or even felt pain
April 30, 2024 – Donald Berry started the change.org petition to ban blinding headlights in 2016. Today, Mr. Berry made a presentation to staff for US Representative Judy Chu in which he describes the impacts of LED lights and requests action from Congress.
April 27, 2024 – Resident Wins LED Street Light Court Case Against Council – Barnet, UK resident Sasha Rodoy settled a 4 year legal case with Barnet. The town agreed to switch the 4000K LED streetlights to 2200K. In this video, David Kurten, the host of this UK TNT Radio show, discusses the Sasha Rodoy lawsuit and blasts LED streetlights. If 4000K LED streetlights provide better safety and visual acuity, then why would Barnet agree to switch to 2200K? The obvious answer is that 4000K LED streetlights are unsafe and never should have been installed in the first place.
April 19, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation submitted a 19-page report to Henderson, Nevada on the hazards and discriminatory nature of LED street lights.
April 18, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation submitted 202 pages of comments from the Ban Blinding Headlights petition to the office of US Representative Mike Thompson to deliver to DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
March 29, 2024 – America’s Drivers Agree: LED Headlights Are Just too Bright – This story in the Wall Street Journal dispels some of the myths about LED headlights propagated by the government and industry.
March 20, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation received a letter from NHTSA stating that they have received our petition to set an overall limit on lower beam headlight intensity.
March 1, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation submitted a federal regulatory petition to NHTSA to set an overall limit on lower beam headlight intensity.
January 22, 2024 – Mark Baker filed a lawsuit against the FDA for failing to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act and for violating citizen’s 5th amendment rights.