COLOUR IN MOTOR HEADLIGHTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23335, 29 October 1937, Page 16

COLOUR IN MOTOR HEADLIGHTS

■ VISIBILITY IN TOG CLAIMS IN FAVOUR NOT SUBSTANTIATED j A report on; the use of coloured light. for motor car. headlights was issued lately by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in the United Kingdom. The conclusion is reached that none 1 of the claims made in favour' of .using a coloured, and in particular a yellow, headlight beam, rather than a white beam of no greater power;'has been substantiated. The practical issues, put in the form of four questions,-' : each answered in a separate section, are set out as follows: Can the driver of a car at night see better if he uses headlights emitting colour light? Is the disturbance of a driver's ' vision by the headlights of other cars reduced if they use coloured light? Can a driver see objects at a greater distance in mist or fog if he uses headlights emitting coloured Can the occurrence of coloured objects and backgrounds be turned to advantage by using headlights . jemitting coloured light?

The final conclusion of the inquiry is summed up in the following statement: —"None of the claims made in favour of using a coloured, and in particular a yellow,, headlight , beam, rather than a white beam of no greater power, has been sub- / stantiated. The claim for a greater range of visibility in fog may be regarded as definitely disproved. On the other claims for less dazzle and greater facility of vision the evidence is inconclusive, but it is apparent from the information at present available that further work is unlikely to show that any considerable advantage can be secured by using coloured light."