This story is from February 11, 2019

Use of illegal, blinding headlamps still rampant in Chennai

Use of illegal, blinding headlamps still rampant in Chennai
Representative image
CHENNAI: The debate over modification of vehicles finally ended in January with the Supreme Court banning any alterations. However, the practice of altering vehicles is rampant in Chennai. 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.
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S Rajavel, president of Tamil Nadu Automobile Association, said the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), through a series of circulars, has instructed us not to encourage alterations to any of the components, and any violation will attract hefty fines.
"Most vehicles come with 45-55W headlamps. Some vehicle owners tend to replace with 90-100W headlamps by paying Rs 200 to Rs Rs25,000 apiece," he added.
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 S Dinesh, who regularly drives between Chennai and Salem.
S Kamal Soi, a member of the National Road Safety Council, said that such modifications are not possible in high-end cars manufactured by firms like BMW and Ford. The entire Central Processing Unit (CPU) of the vehicles needs to be altered to incorporate changes and this can be done by certified engineers.
"The violators thrive on local models. We live in a country where piracy is rampant. Hacking software are used to tamper the system and replace some components. The enforcement agencies are not educated enough to tackle such issues," he added.
The Automobile Research Association of India (ARAI) approves headlamps depending on the size and capacity. But a reality check in Pudupet market, Chennai, showed that those designed for cars were fitted in two-wheelers, and some cars used headlamps of buses and trucks.
In response, a senior officer from the Chennai City Traffic Police (CCTP) said that a policy decision needs to be taken in connection with banning sale of such lamps in local markets and online.
According to official data, over 53,000 cases have been booked for using dazzling lights causing inconvenience to others on road.
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