- Jan 7, 2002
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They're blue, they're bright and to many startled drivers they seem blinding, but high-intensity Xenon headlights are being heralded by the lighting supply industry as potentially life-saving in the face of possible federal regulations that might endanger the future of the technology.
Lighting suppliers joined forces in 2003 to form the Motor Vehicle Lighting Council, which promotes advances in automotive lighting.
The group has been a staunch defender of high-intensity lights, which have come under scrutiny by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as the agency rewrites federal safety standards for automotive lighting.
In 2001, the traffic safety agency put out a call for public comment on potential new headlight rules that covered height and aiming, and the brilliance of high-performance bulbs.
NHTSA has received more than 5,000 separate reports on the topic, ranging from one-page letters from individuals to multi-section technical briefs.
The response is not the biggest in the agency's history -- airbags top all other issues -- but is "a high number" for any automotive issue, said agency spokeswoman Liz Neblitt.
High intensity lights are more expensive than traditional headlights, but their brighter light and better durability make them a technology whose time has come, according to the council.
A study by the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute found a safety need for high-intensity lights, which have been gradually coming into the North American auto market on luxury and import vehicles.
"People routinely over-drive their headlamps at night," said researcher Michael J. Flannagan, noting that about 2,300 pedestrians are killed each year in the United States alone because drivers didn't see them in darkness until a collision was unavoidable.
Many motorists who wrote to NHTSA support the bright lights, saying they help avoid accidents or improve night driving by reducing eyestrain. Many others, however, criticize the lights as potential safety risks.
"It is our wish, even, that they would be made illegal to use," http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0505/17/C06-184074.htm
Lighting suppliers joined forces in 2003 to form the Motor Vehicle Lighting Council, which promotes advances in automotive lighting.
The group has been a staunch defender of high-intensity lights, which have come under scrutiny by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as the agency rewrites federal safety standards for automotive lighting.
In 2001, the traffic safety agency put out a call for public comment on potential new headlight rules that covered height and aiming, and the brilliance of high-performance bulbs.
NHTSA has received more than 5,000 separate reports on the topic, ranging from one-page letters from individuals to multi-section technical briefs.
The response is not the biggest in the agency's history -- airbags top all other issues -- but is "a high number" for any automotive issue, said agency spokeswoman Liz Neblitt.
High intensity lights are more expensive than traditional headlights, but their brighter light and better durability make them a technology whose time has come, according to the council.
A study by the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute found a safety need for high-intensity lights, which have been gradually coming into the North American auto market on luxury and import vehicles.
"People routinely over-drive their headlamps at night," said researcher Michael J. Flannagan, noting that about 2,300 pedestrians are killed each year in the United States alone because drivers didn't see them in darkness until a collision was unavoidable.
Many motorists who wrote to NHTSA support the bright lights, saying they help avoid accidents or improve night driving by reducing eyestrain. Many others, however, criticize the lights as potential safety risks.
"It is our wish, even, that they would be made illegal to use," http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0505/17/C06-184074.htm
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