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HID Lights – Why I Hate Them And Why They Should Be Banned
Something must be wrong with me as I haven’t had a bit of a rant recently, so here’s one I’m sure we can all relate to.
There is an increasing amount of cars on the road nowadays that are using HID (High Intensity Discharge) lights. To me, they are the most dangerous form of vehicle lighting you can get. While they are superior in the light they give out compared to standard bulbs, they cause a ridiculous amount of glare and dazzling effects which is very disorientating and dangerous as another driver.
Here is an example of what I mean. The HID lights are on the left, with standard halogen on the right.
You can very clearly see the amount of excessive glare these HID lights give off compared to halogens. Now picture yourself on a pitch black motorway (something I frequent this time of year travelling home from work on an evening). Although you’re on the other side of the motorway the glare from the cars going the other way can be extremely overwhelming if the vehicle has HID lights. You can very easily tell the difference if you were to look.
There is no need for HID lights on any vehicle except for specialised vehicles that require brighter lights (police, coast guard, etc). Standard halogens will light the road up perfectly well for normal road driving at no more than 80mph. If you need to see further ahead of you, you’re going too fast for the type of road, it’s that simple.
I wish HID lights were made illegal except on specialised vehicles because they’re so dangerous it’s stupid. The number of times I’ve been going down the road only to be blinded by HID lights and being unable to see on my own side of the road I can’t even begin to count. They’re also very sensitive to differences in road surface because they’re highly focused so one little bump in the road and they double if not triple in brightness in your view.
There have been numerous petitions to Downing Street over the last few years but they’re always dismissed or never make it far enough. We need to get HID lights banned. There have no doubt been accidents caused by HID lights but you just don’t seem hear about them. Why, I don’t know. I have plenty of friends who share the same opinions as I do and who have had close calls because of HID lights themselves so I know I’m not alone.
