AUTOMATIC SWITCH

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31672, 7 May 1968, Page 25

AUTOMATIC SWITCH

Demonstration To Be Held Parking lights and a road safety sign which automatically light up when vehicle headlights shine on the receiving unit of a light-sensi-tive switch will be demonstrated in Christchurch on Thursday evening.

The demonstration will be attended by representatives of the Christchurch City Council traffic department, the Transport Department, the Automobile Association (Canterbury), the Ministry of Works, the Christchurch Metropolitan Road Safety Committee and leading contracting firms.

The manufacturers of the device say that on a dark road the device will switch on when vehicle headlights are still 500 or more yards away. In better-lit areas, where there is more background illumination, the distance is somewhat less. The switch turns itself off when the headlights have passed, and there is a cut-out which prevents it turning on when daylight comes. The manufacturers, Tempest Industries, Ltd., say that the switch could be connected to any type of road sign, for instance to road-works signs, as well as to the park-lights of vehicles which are to be left on the side of the road after dark. The device could also be used to work automatic lighting on domestic, hotel or motel drive-ways, and to illuminate advertising signs.