How to Use Your Car’s Headlamps Safely
Headlamps have separate lights for low (dipped) and high beams. If you want to use the high-beam setting, make sure your headlamps are switched to that position.
High-beam headlights are angled higher than dipped headlights. They are only suitable for driving on unlit stretches of road at night and must be switched off when meeting other vehicles.
Indicators
A car’s various lights serve a variety of purposes from helping you see the road ahead to signaling to other drivers what you are doing. Some of these lights are common to most cars and others are more specific to certain models. Understanding what they do and when to use them can help you be safer on the road.
The headlights are one of the most important safety features on a car. A well performing set of headlights can be the difference between a car that can stop in time to avoid an accident and a vehicle that crashes because the driver was not able to react in enough time.
From the light switch (terminals 56a and 56b on the light diagram) a wire goes to the headlight dimming control, or beam selector (“dimmer”). Then two more wires run from the dimmer to the bulbs. Depending on the age of the car these wires may be too small a gauge, which causes voltage drop in the circuit. It is important that all circuits are fused to ensure they receive the proper amount of current.
Modern cars often use HID headlights, which do not have a filament but rather an arc of electricity within a xenon tube. This type of headlight requires a ballast to boost the voltage from hundreds of volts to thousands in order to make the arc. Some older vehicles still use traditional filament bulbs in their headlights.
Sidelights
The blinking amber lights that are turned on and off using your indicator stalk. When you indicate to turn left or right they illuminate your car’s sides, helping other road users and pedestrians see what you are doing. They are also useful for signalling to other drivers that you intend to change lane, overtake or pull away from the curb.
The switch or control for your headlights will usually be on a long arm mounted to the base of your steering wheel. Look for a headlight control dial toward the end of the arm, and note where the “off” position lies so you can easily shut off your lights when you are finished driving.
In the early 1900s, engineers began experimenting with electric headlight systems that allowed the driver to operate them risk-free. headlamp car They soon became commonplace among U.S. manufacturers, and by the mid-1910s they were also being offered in Europe.
Many different types of headlights are now available. In fact, some of the most popular are LEDs (light-emitting diodes) which can be switched on and off instantly and last much longer than traditional halogen bulbs.
Xenon headlights became very popular in the early 2000s, but they are very expensive and still only found on some premium cars. These lamps use a high voltage pulse to ionize xenon gas and create an electrical arc between two tungsten electrodes in the bulb. The resulting beam has a very wide range and is extremely bright. Those in the know are beginning to call these new headlights Adaptive Front-Lighting Systems, or AFS.
High Beams
A car’s high beam setting allows drivers to see farther into the dark, providing a clear view of the road ahead and any dangers that might lie there. It is often controlled by a switch on the steering column, similar to the headlights’ on/off switch. headlamp car Ideally, the driver should use this setting with discretion as a courtesy to other drivers who are sharing the road.
Using high beams in conditions that don’t require them can blind the drivers of oncoming vehicles, and this can reduce their visibility for a brief period of time. Using high beams in fog or precipitation is dangerous because the dazzling bright light will reflect off of water droplets and snowflakes, reducing the effectiveness of your car’s headlamps.
There have long been efforts to develop a headlamp system that automatically selects the appropriate headlight setting as traffic and weather conditions change. This type of system is referred to as an adaptive driving beam and was first used on the Cadillac De Ville in 1952.
Certain halogen headlamps that use replaceable bulbs have been designed to produce both left and right-traffic low and high beams. The low-beam pattern is positioned slightly downward and the high-beam pattern is positioned slightly upward in this type of system, with a separate lens arrangement for each beam. This design was popular on British and Australian cars from the 1960s through early 1970s, as well as some American cars such as the 1964 Nash Ambassador and the 1967-1970 Plymouth Valiant.
Low Beams
A low beam is a dipped headlight setting. It is important to understand when to use this setting for both your own safety and the safety of other road users. Low beam rays illuminate the road for a shorter distance and are less focused. They also light up more of the side of the road than the straight distance ahead of you.
When driving at dusk and dawn, it is best to use your car’s low beam setting. This allows other road users to see you better. Using the high beam setting at these times can dazzle other drivers and may cause them to crash into you.
Many tungsten (pre-halogen) European-code headlamps could be adjusted to produce either a left or right-traffic low beam with the help of a special insert inserted between the reflector and the bulb. This allowed the driver to switch between the two by moving the insert.
More recently, projector main headlamps have been used on some cars. Developed in Germany by Hella and Bosch and in France by Cibie, these permitted the precise control of downward light needed for both low and high beams without dazzle or excessive glare toward oncoming traffic. The first volume-production car to use this technology was the 1996 Lincoln Mark VIII. In the US, a similar system was introduced as the ‘Autronic Eye’ on Cadillac and Oldsmobile models starting in 1952.