One Headlight

When travelling at night down our city roads, majority of which have insufficient street lighting, we all click our headlight stalks to high beam. This will allow us to see potential obstacles that might not be illuminated.  Brighter lights after all will help us feel more secure in our surroundings while we navigate these dark roads. However, there are rules that dictate when we should and should not use high beams. Rules that the driving instructors apparently always forget to instill.

Excessively glary headlights can dazzle other road users and create dangerous situations. Although present road rules do not specifically prohibit the constant use of high beam lights, here are a few brass tacks to ponder:

A Bit of History

Since its introduction in 1915, the Billux Bulb was the first to feature a sealed bulb with two filaments that would illuminate in low and high beams.  The first system, developed by the Guide Lamp Company in 1917, required the driver to physically get out of the car to set the lights to “high” beam. In 1924, Cadillac put a lever in the car that did the same thing.

The first halogen headlamp was officially unveiled in Europe in 1962 and became mandatory in several countries in 1978. It is up to now the most widely used headlight bulb in the world, with most automakers still using them on their latest models.

Low Beam vs. High Beam

Low Beam was designed to be used in city driving conditions where the aid of street lighting is present.   In dark areas, you can see three times as far when you turn on to high beam. High beam should be used in excessively dark areas where it is near impossible to see anything beyond 100 meters.

High Beam Etiquette

When you approach a moving car in the same direction, your lights need to be dimmed within approximately 150 meters to avoid glare reflected unto the side and rearview mirrors. Generally, you are required to switch to low beam when you come within 300 meters of an oncoming vehicle. This is also applicable when approaching pedestrians and other significant objects. The universal language of reminding other drivers to dim their lights is to simply flick your lights to high-low position several times.

HID

While it is true that better vehicle lighting can improve driver recognition of objects and therefore increase vehicle safety, some drivers continue to raise concerns about the ultra glaring white/blue coloured headlights that appear to be becoming more common. These are called High Intensity Discharge Lamps or HID.

Vehicle manufacturers have addressed this issue by fitting new vehicles with projector lenses on headlights, as well as new lighting reflector technology that minimizes glare.

Cars with Halogen specific headlights that are retrofitted with HID lamps will be too bright, too glaring and too dangerous for road use. If you’re thinking of buying a conversion kit, think again.

These aftermarket lamps have been banned in the US, Canada, Australia and Malaysia. We should follow suit.

One Headlight

Low beams filaments tend to go first as these are the ones constantly used. In the Philippines, it is very common for drivers to switch to high beam to avoid getting a ticket for driving with one headlight. The usual reasoning - It is illegal to drive with a busted, burnt out headlight, and it is a legal alternative to assume that it is “safer” to be able to see the road with high beams.

If you have a busted light, halogen bulbs don’t cost much and replacing them is a quick fix.