Take care of the light

Tougher road conditions with reduced visibility mean more bad things to happen on the roads. This is why the quality of automotive lighting is so important.

Accident statistics show that their number between dusk and dawn is relatively higher than during the day. The number of those killed and very seriously wounded is also sometimes disproportionately higher.

Lighting deficiencies often elude even the driver's attention. Actually, it can only check if the light is on or not.

Let's look at car headlights. The dipped beam of such headlights has a brighter part aimed at the road and the right shoulder, and a darker part at the top. Both these areas are separated by a border of light and shadow. Headlights are subject to agreement. Laboratory certification tests are the only time when their quality is checked. The same is true for incandescent lamps. During operation, the headlights are only adjusted so that the lighter part falls onto the road up to about 75 m in front of the vehicle on the left and therefore further on the right. However, above the horizon, the light should be limited so as not to blind oncoming traffic. Adjustment is carried out in workshops and at inspection stations using special devices. In addition, the high beam luminous intensity is also measured. As a rule, such lanterns shine more strongly, do not have a border between light and shadow, and are used less frequently. 

There are three qualitatively different types of requirements for car headlights - illumination of the road and glare. As a result, modern low beam headlights can illuminate the road several times better than their predecessors. An important point is the specific categories of lamps that fit a particular headlight. There are light bulbs on the market, sometimes many times the tolerances of mass-produced light bulbs.

To assess the actual state of lighting, the Autotransport Institute conducted tests on a random sample of cars using a computerized device for checking and adjusting light developed at ITS. Only 11 percent. the vehicles had their headlights adjusted correctly and only 1/8 of the headlights had the correct illumination. One of the reasons is the insufficient quality of some bulbs and the quality of the headlights. Therefore, when buying these elements, you should pay attention to whether they have tolerances.

Tips for car owners:

– after each replacement of lamps it is the best of all to expose light in both headlights at the same time; it is also worth doing whenever we find that visibility is visually deteriorating,

- buy only standard lamps of well-known manufacturers that correspond to the characteristics specified in the vehicle's operating instructions; you should avoid the cheapest light bulbs,

– if you notice a noticeable deterioration in visibility after changing the lamps, try another set of lamps from a reputable manufacturer,

– if possible, use the original headlights, and if you decide to use others, then they must necessarily have the European approval mark.

Source: Road Accident Prevention Foundation.