Modi government tightening vehicle lighting rules: How they affect you?
What's the story
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has proposed significant changes to vehicle lighting regulations in India. The proposed amendments, which are part of a larger set of road safety measures, will restrict automatic headlamps on two-wheelers to low-beam mode only. Buses and other heavy vehicles may also be required to use genuine reflective tapes for improved visibility at night and during adverse weather conditions.
Implementation timeline
New rules to apply to new 2-wheelers
The proposed changes are set to come into effect from April next year.
The Ministry's decision comes after previous attempts to raise awareness about the importance of using low-beam mode have not been very successful.
The new rules will only apply to new two-wheelers and not those already on the road.
Regulation updates
Reducing high-beam intensity
The proposed amendments also include reducing the intensity of high-beam headlamps across all vehicle categories.
For two-wheelers, the maximum permissible intensity is proposed to be reduced from 1.5 lakh candela (cd) to one lakh cd.
For four-wheelers, it could come down from 2.25 lakh cd to 1.5 lakh cd.
The changes are aimed at tackling glare from overly bright headlamps that can cause discomfort and temporarily affect the vision of motorists traveling in the opposite direction.
Additional measures
Proposed amendments on color temperature of vehicle lighting
The draft amendments also seek to restrict the maximum permissible color temperature of vehicle lighting to 6,500 Kelvin (K).
This is in response to studies showing that white light from headlamps and front fog lamps with higher color temperatures can cause significant glare.
The amendments propose that the mounting height of main-beam headlamps should be the same as that prescribed for passing-beam headlights.
Safety feature
Audio alert for high-beam usage in urban areas
One of the more interesting proposed safety features is an audio alert designed to discourage unnecessary use of high-beam in urban areas.
The new-generation system could alert drivers when they manually switch to high-beam in city conditions, prompting them to return to low-beam.
However, the warning would be speed-sensitive.
Drivers traveling at more than 60km/h on highways would not receive the alert, as high-beam headlights can be necessary on poorly illuminated stretches of road.