Feb 16 2010
A number of recent studies now confirm that high-intensity discharge (HID) headlamps offer significant safety advantages over halogen headlights, according to Hella, a leading supplier of automotive lighting and electronics.
Steffen Pietzonka, vice president of Marketing for Hella’s Lighting business unit, said that HID headlamps offer several significant safety advantages. First of all, HID headlights provide two to three times more light than halogen versions. In addition, they create a wider light beam pattern and illuminate the area at the side of vehicle better. He cited a recent study by the German motoring association ADAC, confirming that drivers who use high-intensity discharge (HID) headlights drive more safely. ADAC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club), Europe’s largest automobile club, found that drivers who use HID headlights drive more safely by up to 70 percent.
TUV-Rheinland, the Germany-based global provider of technical, safety and certification services further concluded that serious accidents at night would be reduced by 50 percent if all vehicles were equipped with HID headlights. Traffic fatalities would be reduced by at least 18 percent.
“Even with these advantages, some drivers are put off by the comparatively higher cost of HID versions, also known as Xenon headlamps, named for the type of gas that is used in HID bulbs,” explained Pietzonka.
Price may not be as big of an obstacle as awareness. One study, by the market research institute PULS, in Croatia, found that 56 percent of drivers in Europe do not know enough about HID lighting.
Common misconceptions about alleged strong glare continue, Hella has found. Yet a 2008 study by the University of Michigan Transportation Institute determined that HID lamps produce less glare than halogen headlights. Some glare, Hella believes, is caused by vehicle movement and road geometry, as well as headlight aim. Hella HID headlights are generally glare-free, due to their automatic headlight range setting feature, and, in Europe, to their headlight cleaning system. Both features are mandated by law in Europe.
Pietzonka said HID lighting has other advantages, especially when combined with a dynamic-bend lighting system and an adaptive cut-off system. “In combination with sensors and actuators, HID provides optimum light and dynamic adaptation to every traffic situation,” Pietzonka noted. “Hella was one of the first lighting suppliers to develop dynamic-bend lighting in 2003,” he pointed out. “This doubles the range of the low beam and the driver’s visible area while turning.” Dynamic-bend lighting allows hazardous situations to be recognized more quickly, giving the driver more time to react.
The adaptive cut-off function, introduced in a premium automobile segment in 2009 by Hella, adjusts the headlight range automatically ahead of the vehicle as well as for oncoming traffic with the aid of a camera system. Pietzonka said the system provides optimum driver visibility without blinding the other drivers. “About half of all motorists feel stressed by poor visibility, with serious accidents occurring especially often in such circumstances,” he noted. “By illuminating the road better, HID headlights also can relieve driver stress and improve safety.”
Source: http://www.hella-press.de/