Use of Illegal White Headlights Rampant, Authorities Careless

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Although Supreme Court has banned any alterations, however the practice of altering vehicles is rampant and more than 90% of the modifications are done on headlights.

The original lamps fixed by the manufacturer are replaced with illegal ‘extra powerful’ white lights. Though this is done in an attempt to increase the visibility, it is causing inconvenience to commuters, thereby resulting in accidents.

A professor from the Institute of Road and Transport Technology, Erode, said that on an average it takes 1-1.5 seconds for a driver to react to something they see ahead.

“So for a person travelling at 60 km per hour, a 700-lumen headlight (1,200 lumen in case of a high-beam) is more than enough to identify potential obstacles on road and react. But the white LED lights that available in local market range from 2,000 to 3,000 lumen,” the professor added.

“Bright lights also distract drivers travelling in front of the vehicle as high-beams fall on their rear-view mirrors. One can hardly see what is 10-20 feet ahead in a two-way road,” said a driver, who regularly drives regularly across the city.

Speaking with KT, group citizens appealed authorities to look into the matter and take action against this curb.