hd lights
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hd lights
I thought I was the only one who hated them!
HEADLINE: A glaring issue for drivers gets RPI's attention;
Researchers examine potential dangers of new, bluish high-intensity discharge headlights
BYLINE: Cathy Woodruff; Staff Writer; Troy; Bright Lights. Big Controversy.
BODY: New high-intensity discharge headlights that shine with a bluish tint have stirred up a lot of grumbling from motorists who find that the glare makes them wince.
"I hear a lot of complaints about HID lights from people who don't have them," said John Van Derlofske, head of transportation lighting at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Lighting Research Center. "People who do have them think they're the best thing since sliced bread, though."
The center's research, so far, has confirmed that the lamps can increase a driver's ability at night to spot objects on the side of the road, and perhaps other hazards.
But new studies are looking at how the glare from those headlights, found on some new BMWs, Cadillacs and Mercedes, can affect other drivers.
"There seems to be some mechanism in the color that causes HID to cause more discomfort glare," Van Derlofske said.
Research so far has shown that the glare from the lights doesn't seem to impair vision any more than that of traditional halogen lamps. But questions remain about how quickly eyes recover after being splashed with high-intensity beams, and whether they may cause visibility problems because other drivers look away to avoid discomfort.
At their lab inside the renovated Gurley Building in downtown Troy, Van Derlofske and his colleagues are at work on a new round of headlight research exploring those questions for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The scientists are tinkering with racks of various lights and preparing them for the nighttime experiments they'll conduct with volunteers during the spring and summer at the Schenectady County Airport.
The goal is to gather as much data as possible for NHTSA to determine whether it needs to modify its headlight regulations to account for the new technology of high-intensity discharge lamps and other sophisticated headlights in development. The federal agency plans to enact new rules for glare reduction sometime next year.
In 2001, NHTSA collected 4,000 comments from drivers. Many were complaints about glare not only from the new lights but from fog lamps and the higher-mounted headlights on trucks and sport utility vehicles.
The agency has since commissioned a survey on the issue. In a report released in October, the National Center for Statistics and Analysis said more than half of those surveyed said headlight glare was "noticeable but acceptable."
But 30 percent described it as "disturbing," with some saying they sometimes felt momentarily blinded by the glare and needed to slow down.
Women between the ages of 35 and 54 were most bothered by the lights, according to the survey, while men, in general, found the glare less troublesome.
The next step for federal regulators and manufacturers, Van Derlofske said, is to find a way to strike a balance between the benefits of the new headlights for those who have them and maintaining safety for those who encounter them on the road.
The Lighting Research Center's first $250,000 study funded by the NHTSA, as well as other sponsors, focused on how much the new lights improved peripheral vision for the drivers of vehicles that have them.
The new $750,000, 18-month study under way will gather more data on how quickly people recover after encountering glare from the lamps, while looking further into how the lights may improve ability to see the road.
For Van Derlofske, it's a rewarding endeavor.
"It's something everyone can relate to. Everyone knows about driving at night and whether they can see," he said.
"There's a lot of deaths every year due to traffic accidents, and I believe a large fraction of those occur at night. There is a lot of potential to do a lot of good and help a lot of people."
HEADLINE: A glaring issue for drivers gets RPI's attention;
Researchers examine potential dangers of new, bluish high-intensity discharge headlights
BYLINE: Cathy Woodruff; Staff Writer; Troy; Bright Lights. Big Controversy.
BODY: New high-intensity discharge headlights that shine with a bluish tint have stirred up a lot of grumbling from motorists who find that the glare makes them wince.
"I hear a lot of complaints about HID lights from people who don't have them," said John Van Derlofske, head of transportation lighting at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Lighting Research Center. "People who do have them think they're the best thing since sliced bread, though."
The center's research, so far, has confirmed that the lamps can increase a driver's ability at night to spot objects on the side of the road, and perhaps other hazards.
But new studies are looking at how the glare from those headlights, found on some new BMWs, Cadillacs and Mercedes, can affect other drivers.
"There seems to be some mechanism in the color that causes HID to cause more discomfort glare," Van Derlofske said.
Research so far has shown that the glare from the lights doesn't seem to impair vision any more than that of traditional halogen lamps. But questions remain about how quickly eyes recover after being splashed with high-intensity beams, and whether they may cause visibility problems because other drivers look away to avoid discomfort.
At their lab inside the renovated Gurley Building in downtown Troy, Van Derlofske and his colleagues are at work on a new round of headlight research exploring those questions for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The scientists are tinkering with racks of various lights and preparing them for the nighttime experiments they'll conduct with volunteers during the spring and summer at the Schenectady County Airport.
The goal is to gather as much data as possible for NHTSA to determine whether it needs to modify its headlight regulations to account for the new technology of high-intensity discharge lamps and other sophisticated headlights in development. The federal agency plans to enact new rules for glare reduction sometime next year.
In 2001, NHTSA collected 4,000 comments from drivers. Many were complaints about glare not only from the new lights but from fog lamps and the higher-mounted headlights on trucks and sport utility vehicles.
The agency has since commissioned a survey on the issue. In a report released in October, the National Center for Statistics and Analysis said more than half of those surveyed said headlight glare was "noticeable but acceptable."
But 30 percent described it as "disturbing," with some saying they sometimes felt momentarily blinded by the glare and needed to slow down.
Women between the ages of 35 and 54 were most bothered by the lights, according to the survey, while men, in general, found the glare less troublesome.
The next step for federal regulators and manufacturers, Van Derlofske said, is to find a way to strike a balance between the benefits of the new headlights for those who have them and maintaining safety for those who encounter them on the road.
The Lighting Research Center's first $250,000 study funded by the NHTSA, as well as other sponsors, focused on how much the new lights improved peripheral vision for the drivers of vehicles that have them.
The new $750,000, 18-month study under way will gather more data on how quickly people recover after encountering glare from the lamps, while looking further into how the lights may improve ability to see the road.
For Van Derlofske, it's a rewarding endeavor.
"It's something everyone can relate to. Everyone knows about driving at night and whether they can see," he said.
"There's a lot of deaths every year due to traffic accidents, and I believe a large fraction of those occur at night. There is a lot of potential to do a lot of good and help a lot of people."
