NEW HEADLAMPS SHINE BRIGHTER ON ROAD AND CONFLICT

FALMOUTH, Maine -- The dazzling, bluish light produced by high-intensity discharge headlamps on expensive cars like Mercedes andBMWs are becoming more familiar on the nation's highways. And ownerssay the difference is like night and day.

"Once you drive with it, you'll never drive with any other kindof headlamp," said Phil Infiorati, general sales manager ofPerformance Motors in Falmouth.

But some motorists on the receiving end of the brightness areless thrilled about the new technology, and their complaints arebeing heard by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Over the past year, the agency has received about 100 complaints,an attention-getting number that is similar to when halogen bulbsbegan replacing incandescent headlamps in the early 1980s, said TimHurd, a spokesman for the safety agency in Washington.

What's worse, some drivers hoping to emulate the prestige of theluxury cars are installing blue-tinted bulbs that do not meetfederal standards and may actually pose a safety risk, Hurd said.

"There's an awful lot of stuff for sale in these auto partsstores that is not legal," said Lt. Bruce Dow, director of thetraffic division for the Maine State Police in Augusta.

Discerning the difference between legal and illegal headlights isa problem for police.

There have been some cases of motorists with HID headlamps beingstopped by police, and the American Association of Motor VehicleAdministrators is trying to develop simple guidelines for officersto use, said Lori Cohen, a program director in Arlington, Va.

The true high-intensity discharge headlamps are distinctive, notjust for their unique color but for their price. They are a $500 to$1,200 option on new cars such as Cadillacs, Porches, Audis,Mercedes, Lexuses and BMWs, but the lights are standard on some oftheir most expensive models.

Unlike traditional lightbulbs, HID headlamps do not havefilaments. Instead, they create light by zapping an arc between twoelectrodes. The arc excites xenon gas, which vaporizes metallicsalts to make light.

Although HID beams travel no farther than halogen bulbs, they arewider and contain more light at the margins. The brighter whitelight produced by HIDs more closely mimics daylight.

Gerald Roy, owner of an insurance agency in Portland, orderedthem as an option on his 1996 Mercedes 500SL. He said he consideredthem to be a safety improvement worth the extra money.

"If you're on the interstate at night and you're by yourself outthere, you can see much better with them than normal headlights,"Roy said. "Would I buy them again? Oh, certainly yes."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration cannot doanything about the complaints as long as the lighting meets federalstandards, which have remained largely unchanged since the 1970s.

But in 1997, the agency required manufacturers to make it easierto aim headlights. The problem of misaimed headlights could be worsewith HID lights because they seem brighter.

Chris Kersting, executive vice president of the SpecialityEquipment Market Association in Los Angeles, says most of thecomplaints occur because HID lights are different and catch theattention of oncoming drivers.

Then the drivers get blinded, as they do when looking directlyinto any headlights, Kersting said. Once people get used to them,the complaints will go away, he predicted.

NEW HEADLAMPS SHINE BRIGHTER ON ROAD AND CONFLICT

FALMOUTH, Maine -- The dazzling, bluish light produced by high-intensity discharge headlamps on expensive cars like Mercedes andBMWs are becoming more familiar on the nation's highways. And ownerssay the difference is like night and day.

"Once you drive with it, you'll never drive with any other kindof headlamp," said Phil Infiorati, general sales manager ofPerformance Motors in Falmouth.

But some motorists on the receiving end of the brightness areless thrilled about the new technology, and their complaints arebeing heard by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Over the past year, the agency has received about 100 complaints,an attention-getting number that is similar to when halogen bulbsbegan replacing incandescent headlamps in the early 1980s, said TimHurd, a spokesman for the safety agency in Washington.

What's worse, some drivers hoping to emulate the prestige of theluxury cars are installing blue-tinted bulbs that do not meetfederal standards and may actually pose a safety risk, Hurd said.

"There's an awful lot of stuff for sale in these auto partsstores that is not legal," said Lt. Bruce Dow, director of thetraffic division for the Maine State Police in Augusta.

Discerning the difference between legal and illegal headlights isa problem for police.

There have been some cases of motorists with HID headlamps beingstopped by police, and the American Association of Motor VehicleAdministrators is trying to develop simple guidelines for officersto use, said Lori Cohen, a program director in Arlington, Va.

The true high-intensity discharge headlamps are distinctive, notjust for their unique color but for their price. They are a $500 to$1,200 option on new cars such as Cadillacs, Porches, Audis,Mercedes, Lexuses and BMWs, but the lights are standard on some oftheir most expensive models.

Unlike traditional lightbulbs, HID headlamps do not havefilaments. Instead, they create light by zapping an arc between twoelectrodes. The arc excites xenon gas, which vaporizes metallicsalts to make light.

Although HID beams travel no farther than halogen bulbs, they arewider and contain more light at the margins. The brighter whitelight produced by HIDs more closely mimics daylight.

Gerald Roy, owner of an insurance agency in Portland, orderedthem as an option on his 1996 Mercedes 500SL. He said he consideredthem to be a safety improvement worth the extra money.

"If you're on the interstate at night and you're by yourself outthere, you can see much better with them than normal headlights,"Roy said. "Would I buy them again? Oh, certainly yes."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration cannot doanything about the complaints as long as the lighting meets federalstandards, which have remained largely unchanged since the 1970s.

But in 1997, the agency required manufacturers to make it easierto aim headlights. The problem of misaimed headlights could be worsewith HID lights because they seem brighter.

Chris Kersting, executive vice president of the SpecialityEquipment Market Association in Los Angeles, says most of thecomplaints occur because HID lights are different and catch theattention of oncoming drivers.

Then the drivers get blinded, as they do when looking directlyinto any headlights, Kersting said. Once people get used to them,the complaints will go away, he predicted.

NEW HEADLAMPS SHINE BRIGHTER ON ROAD AND CONFLICT

FALMOUTH, Maine -- The dazzling, bluish light produced by high-intensity discharge headlamps on expensive cars like Mercedes andBMWs are becoming more familiar on the nation's highways. And ownerssay the difference is like night and day.

"Once you drive with it, you'll never drive with any other kindof headlamp," said Phil Infiorati, general sales manager ofPerformance Motors in Falmouth.

But some motorists on the receiving end of the brightness areless thrilled about the new technology, and their complaints arebeing heard by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Over the past year, the agency has received about 100 complaints,an attention-getting number that is similar to when halogen bulbsbegan replacing incandescent headlamps in the early 1980s, said TimHurd, a spokesman for the safety agency in Washington.

What's worse, some drivers hoping to emulate the prestige of theluxury cars are installing blue-tinted bulbs that do not meetfederal standards and may actually pose a safety risk, Hurd said.

"There's an awful lot of stuff for sale in these auto partsstores that is not legal," said Lt. Bruce Dow, director of thetraffic division for the Maine State Police in Augusta.

Discerning the difference between legal and illegal headlights isa problem for police.

There have been some cases of motorists with HID headlamps beingstopped by police, and the American Association of Motor VehicleAdministrators is trying to develop simple guidelines for officersto use, said Lori Cohen, a program director in Arlington, Va.

The true high-intensity discharge headlamps are distinctive, notjust for their unique color but for their price. They are a $500 to$1,200 option on new cars such as Cadillacs, Porches, Audis,Mercedes, Lexuses and BMWs, but the lights are standard on some oftheir most expensive models.

Unlike traditional lightbulbs, HID headlamps do not havefilaments. Instead, they create light by zapping an arc between twoelectrodes. The arc excites xenon gas, which vaporizes metallicsalts to make light.

Although HID beams travel no farther than halogen bulbs, they arewider and contain more light at the margins. The brighter whitelight produced by HIDs more closely mimics daylight.

Gerald Roy, owner of an insurance agency in Portland, orderedthem as an option on his 1996 Mercedes 500SL. He said he consideredthem to be a safety improvement worth the extra money.

"If you're on the interstate at night and you're by yourself outthere, you can see much better with them than normal headlights,"Roy said. "Would I buy them again? Oh, certainly yes."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration cannot doanything about the complaints as long as the lighting meets federalstandards, which have remained largely unchanged since the 1970s.

But in 1997, the agency required manufacturers to make it easierto aim headlights. The problem of misaimed headlights could be worsewith HID lights because they seem brighter.

Chris Kersting, executive vice president of the SpecialityEquipment Market Association in Los Angeles, says most of thecomplaints occur because HID lights are different and catch theattention of oncoming drivers.

Then the drivers get blinded, as they do when looking directlyinto any headlights, Kersting said. Once people get used to them,the complaints will go away, he predicted.