Changing both headlight bulbs will improve visibility and increase driver safety.
Changing both headlight bulbs will improve visibility and increase driver safety.
Farmington Hills, MI… The new Lighting Safety Campaign launched by Lumileds, LLC is a public service aimed at encouraging vehicle owners to change their headlight bulbs in pairs, whenever they need to replace a bulb due to damage, failure, or when one of the bulbs starts to dim. Changing both headlight bulbs will ensure a properly lighted road ahead and help deliver the full benefit of the vehicle’s headlights as originally intended by the carmaker.
Typically, motorists only replace the bulb that has burned out or is failing. This is not advisable because, replacing just one failed bulb can result in an unbalanced or unpredictable headlight beam and potentially present a safety risk. For oncoming drivers, an uneven headlamp beam can create an equally risky safety issue. The oncoming car will be harder to see and difficult to position on the road. It could also be confused with a single headlight vehicle such as a motorcycle or a scooter.
Key auto parts typically replaced in pairs
The call to replace important auto parts in pairs in not a new concept. Automotive service professionals and driving safety advocates, alike, are constantly recommending that tires, brakes, shocks, and wiper blades should be replaced in pairs to make sure the vehicle is properly balanced and functioning safely. Lighting is no different and is even more important to driver safety.
Philips new safety campaign, “Change in pairs” is built around the overall theme: “Don’t compromise on safety, change in pairs. 2 new headlamps are safer than 1.”
Why replace light bulbs when they get old?
According to Ann-Marie Hines, Sr. Marketing Manager, Lumileds, LLC, the answer is simple. Hines notes, “The filament in a headlight ages with use, time, and exposure to the elements. As a result it becomes fragile and starts to deteriorate, and this causes the light output to diminish. At the end of a typical service life, perhaps 2-3 years, headlight bulbs will likely be projecting a much shorter and less powerful beam light, then when they were new. From a driver’s point of view this is a critical safety concern.”
Vehicle owners should check their lights
Because vehicle lighting is so critical to driver safety, vehicle owners should regularly check their lights or ask their service technician to inspect them when the vehicle is in for service. In addition to the obvious safety benefits, changing bulbs in pairs also makes good sense from an efficiency point of view. Vehicle owners will only have to go to the shop once for lighting maintenance. They will also avoid having to deal with the other side of the vehicle at a later date and reduce the risk of the other headlight bulb going out while on the road.
Background:
Editor note: At night a typical driver’s visual acuity is naturally reduced by up to 70%. Statistics show that almost half of traffic fatalities happen at night and that much of the blame is on reduced driver vision. That’s why it is so important to make sure that headlamps are working properly so they can be as effective as possible.
Headlight maintenance is often overlooked, but properly maintained headlights can go a long way toward improving driver visibility at night. Motorists should check their headlights frequently to make sure they are functioning properly and effectively.