There is a safety issue on America’s roads that rarely comes to light: dim headlight
bulbs and hazy headlight lenses, both of which may lead to reduced visibility.
Centric Auto Safty Matters
Reduced visibility due to poor headlights may be more rampant than people realize. The AAIA Car Care
Council found that 26 percent of the cars it inspected had issues with their lighting system. According to
automotive lighting manufacturer Sylvania, headlight bulbs dim over time, and when one bulb burns out,
both bulbs should be replaced. Replacing bulbs before they burn out is a commonly ignored automotive
maintenance step.
Another chief culprit of dim headlights is the plastic headlight lens.
Millions of cars on the road today have plastic headlight lenses.
Unfortunately, these lenses typically don’t hold up to weather and
time; they may become hazed and yellowed, reducing the light output
from the headlamp. The problem increases with the age of the lens,
and with the average age of cars on the road about 10 years old, the
problem is growing. In addition, the more sun or salt a vehicle is
exposed to, the more likely that its plastic headlight lenses may be
hazy.
This is a common issue on many domestic and foreign automobiles, and isn’t limited to less-expensive vehicles. It’s not uncommon for luxury cars to have hazy headlight lenses, too. When you walk through a parking lot or drive in traffic today, you see a number of cars with hazed headlights, non-working lights, streaky windshield wipers and broken sideview mirrors.
Every one of these cars may create a danger to the driver and other people on the road. But with some basic
education about car care and maintenance, all car owners can take care of these problems before they
cause accidents.
Victor B
CentricAuto.com
375 S. Rancho Santa Fe Rf 107
San Marcos Ca 92078
