HEADLIGHT GLARE

Evening Star, Issue 25700, 25 January 1946, Page 9

HEADLIGHT GLARE

A COMPLEX PROBLEM A world-wide pre-war problem, that more or less affected the drivers of 44,500,000 cars and 8,000,000 commercial motor vehicles, is a legacy from 1939 that confronts the world's auto-* motive industries with the not easy task of overcoming the hazards and) discomforts of vicious headlight glare on the highways. A specific remedy was evolved some years back in polaroid lighting, which provided the means of practically eliminating this nuisance, but the problem of effectively installing light polarising film in the headlamps and visors of motor vehicles in service, in addition to new automobiles, were so complete, for all motor vehicles have to be so equipped for the system to be fully effective, that nothing eventuated as re-

gards endeavouring to bring tins' remedy for headlight glare into general use. According to the latest reports frohl the United! States, if present hopes become an actuality in the not too distant future, headlight,-glare may be eliminated by means of polaroid lighting. Exhaustive tests, it is stated, are already under Way in that coitntry with a view to the possible' future installation of the system in new automobiles. There are some automotive authorities in the United States who believethat the start of the post-war motor era provides an excellent opportunity for tackling the headlight glare problem by incorporating in new vehicles, at a given date, light polarising film in headlight lens and another piece as a visor before the eyes of the driver. These pieces of film are so arranged that the polarising plane of the visor is at right angles to the plane of the film in headlight lenses of the approaching vehicle. The criss-crossing of polarity bloeks out the glare of the lights. The use of such film would call for a larger generator, heavier wiring, and at least 100-watt globes instead of the customary 40 watts in United States automobile headlamps. The incorporation of this polarising film as suggested would permit the driver seeing the road ahead of him in bright light, while the lamps of approaching vehicles would appear as a soft glow. It is not so much the cost of installing this polarising system in new automobiles that is likely to retard progress in this connection.* The difficulty is that'to be effective fully, 'old motor vehicles, as well as new ones, would need to be so equipped, says the ' Dunlop Bulletin.' It has been estimated in the United States that the cost to the motor manufacturer for the whole polaroid installation would range from between 5 dollars to 10 dollars in a new car. As regards adapting the system to vehicles already in service, it is suggested that polaroid driving lamps be installed very much like fog lamps. Such lamps, it is stated, would provide the anti-glare features of the polaroid system nnd the same down-the-road illumination as obtained from present bright lamps. To adapt old vehicles woUld probably cost from 10 dollars to 25 dollars. The United States automobile industry is reported to be holding off the' polaroid lighting system Until the completion of exhaustive tests. Apart from these tests, a great deal of_ research is being carried out overseas in the antiglare lighting field, and there is the possibility that another headlight improvement—not unlike the polaroid may yet be evolved in the form of a simple component easy to fit on all automobiles.