Seeing the Lights
With computerized engines and satellite positioning systems, cars are “smarter” than ever before. But they are also brighter.
In what experts describe as one of the most significant recent safety trends in the auto industry, car makers are adding an assortment of sophisticated lighting devices to their vehicles.
The most common feature is daytime running lamps, which keep headlights burning at all times to improve visibility and avoid accidents. But that’s just one of several new types of illumination.
* Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Saab and other car markers have begun installing yellow turn lights near the front doors. They are designed to alert nearby cars in the “blind spot” that a lane change or turn is planned.
* Larger sport-utility vehicles and some cars are now equipped with side mirrors that have flashing turn indicators embedded in them.
* A growing number of car makers are introducing high-intensity headlights that significantly improve visibility. They cast intense light in front of the driver but don’t produce blinding glare for oncoming traffic.
Government officials and other car safety experts agree that these devices are making the road safer, but by how much and for how long is a matter of debate.
As these lights become more popular, motorists will become used to them, diminishing their effectiveness, experts said. This is what happened 15 years ago when rear center brake lights were mandated.
“When it’s new, people tend to notice it, and the effect is greater,” said Steve Mazor, principal automotive engineer at the Automobile Club of Southern California. “The effect is less as people get more used to it.”
Daytime running lamps typically are activated by the ignition. The lights were introduced in the United States in the late 1980s. General Motors, Saab, Volkswagen, Volvo and several other auto makers provide them as standard equipment on their vehicles.
To make sure that the lights don’t produce glare for oncoming drivers, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has rules that regulate the amount of light that headlamps can disperse above a horizontal line in front of a car.
Experts say the daytime headlights do make a difference. In countries where the lights are mandatory, studies have shown that multiple car collisions in daylight were reduced by about 10%, said Julie Rochman, vice president of communications for the Washington-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
“Studies have shown some decreases in daytime head-on collisions,” Mazor added. “Those are nasty, and you really want to avoid them.”
The lamps do have critics, who say that the glare can distract oncoming drivers, creating the potential for accidents. A national organization is pushing for the abolition of such lights.
High intensity discharge lights, known as xenon lamps or blue lights, were introduced in 1996 by luxury car makers, including BMW, Lincoln and Mercedes-Benz. Xenon lamps are able to tightly focus more light on the road without shining it into the eyes of oncoming drivers, said Steve Kratzke, director of NHTSA’s office of crash-avoidance standards.
Xenon lamps have a much longer life than typical halogen automobile lights. To the driver the light appears white on the road ahead. But to oncoming drivers, it has a blue tint.
Those in favor of these lights say they are a way to reduce crashes by giving drivers better visibility.
Most experts believe these lights work well as long as they are properly installed. But drivers often install the lamps themselves. If installed at the wrong height or angle, he said, the lights are blinding--and illegal.
“That’s really the key,” Mazor said. “A maladjusted headlight can be dangerous.”
Some suppliers are also producing low-cost bulbs that have blue-tinted glass, but some are not federally approved and don’t actually provide much extra illumination, he said.
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Gearing Up for Safety
A growing number of car companies are equipping their products with special lights aimed at avoiding accidents and improving passenger safety. Here are a few examples:
1) A pair of yellow turning lights near the front doors. They are designed to alert nearby cars in the “blind spot” that the driver is attempting a turn or lane change.
2) Flashing turning indicators embedded inside or next to the side mirrors. Again, the idea is to alert nearby drivers that a turn is planned.
3) High-intensity headlights that significantly improve visibility for drivers without increasing glare for oncoming traffic.
Sources: Auto Club; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
