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Are there prescribed standards when it comes to headlights on cars?

A couple of days back I was taking an after-dinner saunter around by building. It was late, about 11 PM, when a TUV 300 entered our colony. The headlights on it were so bright that for a moment I was completely blinded. I put up my hands to my eyes to shield them, and clearly the driver was embarrassed. He apologised by saying that his lights were dimmed and not on full beam. I shudder to think what the full beam might be like, and how difficult it would be to drive on dark single lane roads when facing this car. I imagine it being dangerous for the average two-wheeler, what with the potholed roads and steep edges that suddenly fall off.

Since then I've been noticing many cars with bright white light that are equally blinding. I am sure these are aftermarket lamps, by comparison the OEMs on my Honda remind me of a diya on a windy night, and I wonder if there is a standard that lamp manufacturers are expected to follow, or is it, like in the case of horns, a free for all? Bigger, louder, harsher, brighter, brightest!

Apparently and unfortunately there seems to be no norm (at least in practice) with all OEMs going full guns blazing across the world including marquee brands. The effect has trickled down to mass market, auto rickshaw and even two wheelers. This is the biggest safety issue I see on roads these days. Some have gone ahead and put even white LED tail lights or some disco stuff on brake lights.

It is ironic that the smaller vehicles nowadays are a moving assortment of bright lights, and on the other hand the larger ones (truck, dumpers) are missing even a simple small red taillight.

Please refer to my thread over here where this has been discussed.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-...-vehicles.html

There should be some norms. The biggest culprits are the LED upgrades on reflector headlights. The light is scattered, blinds everybody. And then there are fools, who will have full beam + LED fog lamps deliberately bullying the car in front for a pass.

Yes, Below is one of the example (for 2 & 3 wheelers, similar one exists for 4w as well)


[ATTACH=AIS-010.PDF]2556716[/ATTACH]

Could be the case of wrong alignment or aftermarket bulbs

Certainly, there must be some regulations in place. There should be a substantial fine for using high beams within the city, but from what I can see, this issue has been discussed for the past three years without any concrete action.

Don't even get me started on cars; even the Activa and scooters nowadays seem to have 200-watt lights. They are blinding me with their headlights, and just to counter them, it feels like we have to install high-lumen lights to counter attack this. All scooters constantly use high beam within the city, and I'm not sure why.

I think have stated this earlier too in this forum but I have not had issues with any OEM headlights on cars even on high beam.

Even aftermarket ones, very few cars have low beams that are unbearable. It is mostly the auxiliary lights or high beams that blind you.

However I hate these new Activas with their always on and high mounted headlights which keeps flickering.

Even worse is when these bikes come the wrong way and you arent even able shift your focus away.

Hmmm… If similar standards exist across the world, I am sure OEMs follow these norms, I wonder where these deadly hi-power lamps are manufactured? India, by itself, might not be a big enough market for companies to manufacture and distribute these accessories. These look, and maybe perform, to quality standards of sophisticated products.

Manufactured everywhere, but for a different purpose.

There are published Automotive Industry Standards (AIS) for car headlights that all manufacturers need to follow in order to be compliant with regulations. You will find several published documents on the website of the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) for almost every aspect of a vehicle (e.g. headlights, horns, tail lights, etc.).

Addressing your question, in India we follow the ECE regulations for headlamps. ARAI has adapted these regulations for the Indian context and the provisions cover regular filament bulbs as well as LEDs.

For easy reference, I have included a couple of excerpts of the regulations below, but you may peruse the entire document in detail from the ARAI website.

1. Guidelines covering page:


2. Beam pattern regulations:


3. Illustration:


Ideally, no manufacturer can obtain approvals for new vehicle models without complying with these (and several other) guidelines. Anything in the purview of aftermarket modifications or upgrades are obviously beyond the scope of such regulations, and completely depends on the level of wackiness and bling that appeals to the whim of each driver :Frustrati

Long story cut short - majority of the car drivers do not bother or better said 'know' to drive in low beam. That would significantly alleviate the problem being discussed here.

A little ocular knowledge should help; when exposed to sudden bright light our iris aperture decreases to adjust and widens when there is low light. For many of us, this process may take several seconds, which can be dangerous sometimes.

Education & awareness shall go a long way in this regard, but as again, it is a wishful thinking.

These lights have kept my car off the roads after sunset. Nowadays, I only use my bike for any errands after 6:30 PM. I refuse to change my headlight bulbs to non-OEM spec aftermarket ones because I don't want to add to existing safety risks.

I do remember when I was younger - around 35 years ago, when I rode a 1972 Jawa 250! I used to tinker with the bike constantly and the headlight was such that it could be tapped lightly at the back and it would tilt up slightly, when the high beam would hit the eyes of recalcitrant truck drivers! Naughty, I know - and potentially dangerous. I am surprised none of my 'victims' tried to run me over. Unguarded youth, different times.

I have noticed that most OEM LED set ups do little to improve the vision ahead, but one thing they certainly do is disturb the oncoming traffic, even the dimmed beams hit your eye with a focus that is just too much to handle, hate this trend. Dont even get me started with two wheelers, I have seen many 2 wheelers where the headlight is not stable even on smooth surfaces and the unit vibrates, this gives me a headache, this also adversely impacts people with vertigo. In my opinion halogens were better suited for vehicle headlights!

I always drive using low beam at night. Only if someone comes from opposite direction using high beam, then i use my high beam too, to make him realise to us the low beam. My headlamps were upgraded to 100/90 halogen bulbs with relay as soon as i bought my new car.

Not just white led lights, the bigger nuesance is those green yellowish kind of headlights in ace/bolero pick ups which are even worse. Nobody switches to low beam even when you flash asking them to. Or sometimes I think they are already on low beam. Expecting courtesy is gone case nowadays and the less said about two wheeler headlights the better. I have decided to install even more powerful FLOODLIGHTS on my car and possibly on bike just out of spite.

A mix of arrogance and ignorance begets the behaviour of blinding vehicles up ahead. What else could explain this phenomenon in low speed residential streets!

There is something seriously wrong with the Activas and their ilk, in how ineffective the headlamps are in illuminating the roads; while doing a stellar job in blinding oncoming traffic. Better equipped OE LED cars usually have a distinct low beam cut off never to blind traffic in well executed examples, but drivers take extra effort in flauting their high beam power.

The worst offenders are the pathetic white bulbs or LEDs (both poor aftermarket jobs) on dated reflector headlamps which disperses to the sky. I really wish cops take action using a light meter or such.