HID Lamps with Auto-Leveling Feature

[keltanky]

Newly Registered Vehicles With High Intensity

Discharge Headlamps To Have Auto-Levelling Feature

1. With effect from 1 January 2010, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will require all newly registered vehicles fitted with High Intensity Discharge (HID) headlamps to be equipped with an auto-levelling feature, which is a mechanism that automatically adjusts the headlamp angle and direction based on road and driving conditions.

2. HID headlamps are allowed to be fitted on vehicles registered here as they not only meet the relevant safety standards but are also more energy efficient and can improve the visibility of drivers as compared with standard halogen lamps. Unlike standard halogen headlamp systems, HID headlamps do not use a filament. Instead, they contain an inert gas (Xenon), which emits light when it comes in contact with high-voltage electrical arc. HID lamps also produce up to twice as much light as halogen lamps, with a bluish-white cast and minimal fading at the periphery of the beams.

3. With the increasing trend on the use of HID headlamps, there has been more feedback from motorists that such headlamps are brighter and tend to cause glare. In view of this and with the advancement in technology to reduce the glare caused by such headlamps, all new vehicles fitted with HID headlamps registered from 1 January 2010 will have to be equipped with an auto-levelling feature.

4. The auto-levelling feature helps to reduce glare to drivers of oncoming vehicles without compromising the improved visibility these headlamps offer to drivers. For example, if the vehicle is carrying a heavier load and the rear is lower, the headlights would adjust downwards to reduce glare to on-coming traffic without compromising the improved visibility HID headlamps give to drivers. On the other hand, if the vehicle is carrying a lighter load and the rear is raised, the headlights would adjust upwards to illuminate the road properly.

5. The LTA had worked with the Motor Traders Association of Singapore and the Automobile Importer & Exporter Association (Singapore) on this new requirement. The requirement will not be applied retrospectively to in-use vehicles with HID headlamps as extensive modifications would have to be made to the vehicle's headlamp system. The two-year lead time was reached after taking into consideration the feedback from motor traders that their vehicle manufacturers require that amount of time to comply with the new requirement.