High-intensity blue spectrum headlights are illegal – and make it hard for me to see properly while driving at night. Why is there seemingly no policing of this dangerous practice? What are the regulations? – Scot, Burlington, Ont.Those blueish high-intensity headlights might make oncoming drivers see red – but they’re not necessarily illegal, experts say. In fact, if headlights are blinding you, it’s likely because they are not positioned properly.“We had the exact same arguments about blinding headlights when the halogen lights came out years ago, after the old bulbs where you could barely see down the highway,” says Raynald Marchand, general manager of programs at the Canada Safety Council. “If lights are blinding, it’s because they’re improperly aimed or the vehicle is heavily loaded.”The blueish light typically comes from gaseous discharge light sources (GDLS), where an electric charge passes through an ionized gas, usually xenon. They’re called high-intensity discharge (HID) lights.

Auto makers are allowed to use them.Transport Canada governs lighting on all new vehicles under Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108. “GDLS headlamps have been available to manufacturers since 1996, and are legal in Canada,” spokesman Ben Stanford wrote in an e-mail.Aftermarket lighting – making changes or additions to the lights that came from the manufacturer – is regulated by the provinces and the territories.Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation told us in an e-mail that “no more than four front headlights, driving lights, or fog lights may be lit at one time if they project a beam having an intensity of over 300 candela.”The Highway Traffic Act also says headlights have to be installed, aligned and maintained properly so as not to cause glare or dazzle oncoming drivers. If improperly installed, maintained or aligned headlights are blinding drivers, the fine is $110.“It’s an issue if lights aren’t aimed properly,” says OPP highway safety division Sergeant Kerry Schmidt.

“We get a lot of trucks with big loads and a lot of weight in the back can throw lights out of alignment.”HID lights are pricey and they were often found in high-end imports. Most manufacturers are switching to LEDs.Drivers complain that oncoming lights are more distracting on newer vehicles, but lights aren’t necessarily brighter than they used to be.“Headlights aren’t really becoming brighter because standards limit the amount of light from all headlights at the same levels,” says Michael Flannagan, an associate professor with the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute. “But blue-white colours do seem to give people more of an impression of glare – misaimed, dirty, and hazed headlights can also contribute to glare.”However, some vehicle owners try to upgrade the lighting of their vehicles to mimic the Xenon-HID lights found on higher-end cars. These aftermarket bulbs are not HID light units, may not meet provincial or state regulations, and are, in fact, illegal.

They may be brighter and more powerful, but because they have been installed in lights that are not designed for them; they cast not only a bright (tinted blue), but an uncontrolled light.Electrodes are wired to ballast containing a circuit board with several high current capacitors, transistors, and resistors. The ballast acts as the light’s control centre, igniting the light and then regulating its power flow. Laminate Vs Hardwood Flooring On StairsThese are much more complex and costly units and not duplicated by simply replacing the bulb in a standard halogen headlight. 50th T Shirt DesignsHalogen lights produce light in the 3,000 Kelvin range, HID lights in the 5,000-6,000 range.Mexican Blanket Car Seat CoversAs the colour temperature goes up, the light goes from having a yellow tint (3,000-4,000) through clean and bright white (5,000-6,000) to having a blue tint (8,000-10,000).

At about 12,000 it becomes almost purple. Most of the “HID-look” aftermarket light bulbs, likely the offensive ones you cite, are simply more powerful halogen bulbs coated with a blue tint.Law enforcement people do not have the time or manpower to pull these vehicles over and verify whether the headlights meet standards.With a file by Richard Russell.Add us to your circlesSign up for our weekly newsletterYou are here: English Frequently Asked Questions « Frequently Asked Questions What is the difference between HID and LED lighting? Understanding HID LightingHigh Intensity Discharge (HID) lighting replaces the filament of a light bulb with a capsule of gas. The light emanates from an arc discharge between two closely spaced electrodes. This discharge is hermetically sealed inside a small quartz glass tubular capsule. HID lights require a ballast, which carefully regulates the voltage supplied to the capsule of gas. The amount of light produced is greater than a standard halogen bulb while consuming less power;

this light more closely approximates the color temperature of natural daylight.In all High Intensity Discharge lamps, light is produced by passing a current through a metal vapor. Free electrons colliding with an atom in the vapor momentarily knock an electron into a higher orbit of the atom. When the displaced electron falls back to its former level, a quantum of radiation is emitted. The wavelength of radiation depends on the energy zone of the disturbed electron and on the type of metal vapor used in the arc tube.HID bulbs produce 5 percent of their output when first ignited, requiring a few seconds (usually 15-20) to reach full output. Also, if power to the lamp is lost or turned off, the arc tube must cool before the arc can be re-struck and light produced. Halcyon HID lights require approximately 5-10 seconds before they can be re-lit. Understanding LED LightingLight-Emitting Diodes (LED) are light sources utilizing diodes that emit light when connected in a circuit. The effect is a form of electroluminescence where LEDs release a large number of photons outward;

the LED is housed in a plastic bulb, which concentrates the light source.The most important part of an LED is the semi-conductor chip located in the center of the light source. The chip has two regions separated by a junction. The p region is dominated by positive electric charges and the n region is dominated by negative electric charges. The junction acts as a barrier to the flow of electrons between the p and the n regions. When sufficient voltage is applied to the semi-conductor chip, the electrons are able to cross the junction into the p region.When sufficient voltage is applied to the semi-conductor chip, electrons can move easily across the junction where they are immediately attracted to the positive forces in the p region. When an electron moves sufficiently close to a positive charge in the p region, the two charges “re-combine.“Each time an electron recombines with a positive charge, electric potential energy is converted into electromagnetic energy. For each recombination of a negative and a positive charge, a quantum of electromagnetic energy is emitted in the form of a photon of light.

This photon has a frequency determined by the characteristics of the semiconductor material (usually a combination of the chemical elements gallium, arsenic, and phosphorus). LEDs that emit different colors are made of different semiconductor materials. Said simply, LEDs are tiny “bulbs” fit into an electrical circuit. However, unlike ordinary incandescent bulbs, they don’t have a filament. LEDs are illuminated solely by the movement of electrons in a semiconductor material, making them energy efficient and extremely resilient over long periods of time.LED AdvantagesLEDs don’t have a filament to burn out or break; therefore, they last much longer than conventional bulbs. Given that a very small semiconductor chip runs an LED, they are very durable and tend to last many thousands of hours. Moreover, LEDs are “instant on,” much like halogen lamps, and thus convenient for use in applications that are subject to frequent or potential on-off cycling. Conversely, HID lamps are more fragile and have to warm up (15 – 25 seconds) during ignition.