# 2014 AUDI S6 — EXTERIOR LIGHTING
> NHTSA complaint `1033492` · 2014-01-21 · Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
## Severity
- **Deaths:** 0
- **Injured:** 1
- **Fire:** No
- **Crash:** No
- **Police report:** No
- **Medical attention:** No
- **Vehicle towed:** No
## Vehicle
- **Make:** AUDI
- **Model:** S6
- **Year:** 2014
- **Manufacturer:** Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
- **Component:** EXTERIOR LIGHTING
## Narrative
I WAS DRIVING BEHIND AN AUDI S6 (ONE OF THE NEWER MODELS WITH FULL LED LIGHTING) AT NIGHT. I FOUND ITS LED BRAKE LIGHTS BLINDINGLY BRIGHT. THE DRIVING LIGHTS ARE VERY BRIGHT BY THEMSELVES, BUT THEY'RE BORDERLINE TOLERABLE, HOWEVER BRAKE LIGHTS WHEN THEY COME ON ARE EXTREMELY BRIGHT - I COULD NOT LOOK AT THAT CAR WHEN DRIVING BEHIND IT, IT WAS TOO PAINFUL TO LOOK AT. I HAD TO TAKE MY EYES OFF THAT CAR AND OFF THE ROAD AHEAD OF ME AS A RESULT OF THIS FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME. I COULD NOT HAVE THOSE TAILLIGHTS WITHIN MY FIELD OF VISION, THEY HURT EVEN WHEN I TRIED TO LOOK AWAY FROM THAT AUDI. I DO NOT FEEL SAFE DRIVING BEHIND NEW AUDIS AND OTHER CARS THAT USE EXTREMELY BRIGHT LED TAILLIGHTS. I COULD HAVE CRASHED BECAUSE WHEN I WAS SLOWING DOWN BEHIND THAT AUDI THAT LIT UP ITS TAILLIGHTS WHEN BRAKING I COULD NOT LOOK AHEAD ON THE ROAD AND AT THE CAR. I HAD TO BRAKE BLINDLY WHILE BRIEFLY LOOKING UP FOR A MILLISECOND OR TWO (AND SUFFERING EYE PAIN) NOW AND THEN TO ENSURE I WASN'T GOING TO CRASH INTO IT. I WAS NOT ABLE TO CONSTANTLY MAINTAIN THE AUDI IN FRONT OF ME WITHIN FIELD OF SIGHT DUE TO SEVERE EYE PAIN IT CAUSED ME.     IS THERE A LAW THAT MANDATES A SAFE LIGHT OUTPUT BY THE HEADLIGHTS? BECAUSE I FIND LED TAILLIGHTS IN GENERAL PAINFULLY BRIGHT TO VARYING DEGREE AMONGST DIFFERENT CARMAKERS, WITH AUDI HAVING THE MOST SEVERELY PAINFUL BRIGHTNESS (SIMILAR TO LOOKING AT THE SUN).  *TR
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*Source: [NHTSA ODI](https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/downloads/) · AI Analytics · CC0 1.0*