Lighting the way to Winter safety

As Winter rapidly comes upon us, the days become shorter and the weather conditions worsen, with the inevitable consequence that usage of vehicles’ lighting will not only increase, but will will become more important from a safety perspective. Headlights are arguably the most safety-critical lights found on any vehicle, whether it is a car, truck or motorbike. Headlights provide the illumination that helps the driver both see and be seen when driving on the road. The better you see the road ahead, the safer you are as a road user. Period!

Lumileds are recommending that workshops offer a lighting check to motorists as winter approaches to make sure they are in good condition to cope with the extra use that inevitably comes at winter time.

This move will have the dual impact of not only increasing business revenue by getting more customers in through the door but will also ensure motorists and their families are safe on the road - the ‘raison d’etre’ of Philips branded automotive lighting for more than a century.  

Lumileds is also advising resellers and service workshops to educate their customers about the benefits of upgrading their headlight bulbs. These obviously come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and technologies - designed to be replaceable when a bulb burns out.

The UK, like many countries, faces an aging motorist population. Research demonstrates that the lenses in our eyes become darker and more opaque as we age so, simply put, the older we get the more light we need to see things. It is not something that most motorists are aware of, but, for example, the average 50 year old needs three times more light to see the same distance as a child of 12. Also the eye loses its resistance to glare over time, so the older you get, the more the overall effect, particularly at night, is akin to looking at the road ahead through a pair of very poor quality sunglasses.

Better bulbs that light up the road more effectively therefore are, without question, one of the best-value safety upgrades it is possible for the customer to make.  Perfect illumination is especially important for distance vision – usually between 75-100 metres in front of a vehicle – and safety, together with comfort, are the key factors when lighting is being developed. When liaising with customers, technicians only need to ask a simple question to start them thinking about a possible upgrade: “Would you like more light when driving at night?”

Upselling bulbs benefits the workshop in several ways. Firstly, it offers a better profit margin on the bulbs sold. Secondly, there is the real risk, if poor quality bulbs are offered, of a costly early failure and the workshop having to make good on its own time - with the expense this brings with it in terms of opportunity cost. Thirdly it gives a workshop the chance to enhance its customer relationships and build loyalty. 

“Richard Armstrong continues, “Cheap is often not cost-effective when it comes to vehicle lighting. The tight confines and complexities of modern car engine bays can often mean that replacing a bulb can take a few hours – not something that a workshop wants to have to rectify at its own cost. We pay extra attention to quality and testing during manufacture. It reduces the likelihood of an ‘early failure’. This is why fitting a high quality bulb from an OE manufacturer like Philips, will not only offer peace of mind to workshop and motorist alike, but it will give the workshop a higher margin on the product and the motorist a better performing bulb that will almost certainly prove to be cheaper to own in the long run. It really is a win-win situation…”

“Also, it is worth noting that if one bulb is starting to fail, both bulbs should be replaced. Indeed, with the exception of our new generation HID Xenon Vision headlamps - because of their color match technology - we would always advise changing bulbs in pairs, because when one is starting to fail, the other is likely to be not far behind.”

Heading the halogen offer is Philips Multi-award winning RacingVision GT200, which broke new ground when it became the first halogen bulb to be rated at +200% compared to the industry standard.

These category leading results are down to the optimised bulb design, which provides higher luminance for a better view of the road ahead, with its ultra-performance beam reaching a full 80 meters further than the minimum length. Diamond Precision quartz glass also ensures more light output within the regulation limits and guarantees a sharp cut-off line for the beam - so as not to dazzle oncoming drivers - as well as a brighter sweet spot to give more brightness where it counts.

RacingVision GT200’s Quartz glass also gives greater thermal shock resistance, protecting the bulb's lifespan, while enhanced UV absorption protects the car’s headlight optic.

In short, Philips RacingVision GT200 lets drivers see more of the road ahead - allowing those behind the wheel to spot potential hazards sooner, react faster and position their car more accurately on the road. All in all, the result is a safer and more satisfying driving experience. Philips RacingVision GT200 is available in the most common headlight bulb types, H4 and H7.

In addition to RacingVision, Philips also has a number of other high style/high performance halogen upgrades, including Philips X-tremeVision Pro150 headlights. These are made for outstanding performance, producing up to 150% brighter light, without compromising on the lifetime. It is designed to withstand shocks of up to 10G, making the bulb perhaps the ultimate combination of perormance and durability.

Available in H1, H4, H7, H11, HB3 and HB4 variant,  X-tremeVision Pro150, offers a bright white light which is significantly whiter than standard headlights. The Philips patented Gradient Coating™ technology produces a more powerful light, offering one of the brightest lighting performances and a highly comfortable night driving experience.

Although Halogen remains the most common type of bulb used, there is still an important opportunity with Xenon HID bulbs. Again, selling a quality bulb not only offers a higher margin but also peace of mind.

There is also much talked about, in terms of retrofit LED lighting. Lumileds was able to boast the first road-legal H4-LED in Germany, with its Philips Ultinon Pro6000 LED retrofit. This is a range extension to the H7-LED that was approved in Germany in May 2021. LEDs deliver brighter light  - now with the new Philips Ultinon Pro 9100, up to +350% over a standard halogen bulb - and their plug-and play-design allows DIY’ers and mechanics to install it on their own, however, in the UK retrofit LED bulbs are currently only legal for off-road use. Nonetheless the demand is there - and because of this there are already many products available.  However, again, as a reseller it is really worth checking the pedigree of the product, because there are some really poor-quality LED retrofit bulbs on the market - so it very much a case of both buyer and seller beware.

Finally, although the focus is inevitably on headlamps, there are also good opportunities for additional sales in positional and interior lights, so don’t forget to remind customers about them.  

Further details : www.philips.co.uk