So why is it misleading… Sales and Marketing and the general self-centred attitude of some manufacturers or retailers. They are basically misleading people with their claims about the HID unit being legal. Yes they are legal, but they are being sold specifically for aftermarket modifications where they are no longer legal as a combination. This misleading labelling / claims about a product are everywhere. We joke about the “fat free water”, or salt with no artificial colours and so on. At this end of the scale, a lot of people realise these claims are just to catch out the few, however you’ll find it in certain forms all the way through many products, some of which would catch even Quantum owners out ;-)
On the flip side the manufacturer will say that it is not his or her duty to explain the legality of every possible use of their units. In fact to do so could leave them liable should they give the wrong advise I suppose. In the HID light case, they said they were legal to rule ABC123, it wasn’t their job to also explain that Rule ABC123 is actually regarding the unit being recyclable under WEEE regulations. I think you can tell with my sarcastic viewpoint of the manufacturers where my thoughts lie on this matter! However, one thing I’ve learnt recently with my various legal studies is that a lot of people (and especially organisations) don’t consider breaking the law to be wrong, it is only when you are caught that you were wrong. One tend to basically do what one thinks they can get away with balanced by your own moral standing. For me this is vastly different from the viewpoint of middle management sales managers! This however makes life and debate interesting ;-) Back to HIDS. Why is the light better? I’m not asking to be devil’s advocate or to question your opinion, more to try to understand why they could be actually better. From what I’ve seen 1) They come on and off faster 2) They use less energy 3) The light is ‘better’ 1 + 2 I don’t think anyone is really concerned about. For point 3, then what is better? Surely it can only be the colour temperature (that K thing they mention with HID lights) A white light I think makes things appear crisper -> any photographers know? Certainly I have 4000+ K lamps in my study, but I’d hate that in my living room where 3000 is more normal. You can buy standard halogen lamps for cars with different K values, finding them however is a little more tricky, look for those ‘blue-white’ bulbs they sell on ebay. For the sake of £10 see if they work for you. A few others here have posted good results up. The other trick is to fit 80/100 standard bulbs. Technically also may be illegal, however one owner I know well fitted these and driving in front or on-coming showed no signs of glare or irritation. In fact they looked simply like some of the more modern headlights. Headlight checking – partly laziness? I’ve mentioned it to a couple of people at lights, it’s generally 50/50 “I know”, “Thanks for letting me know”. If a bulb of mine had gone, I understood the rules to mean I must fix it before driving the car again, not to drive around until I can be bothered or get a slot in a garage. Luckily my modern car tells me when a bulb has gone, however with my Q, whenever I park up next to something reflective I make a quick check (my office is shiny black glass), takes 10 seconds to do. Anyway I’ll stop rambling now… Merry Christmas everyone M From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ken Needham Sent: 24 December 2010 16:36 To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [Quantum Owners] HIDs Totally agree with your comments Mathew regarding prosecution and Insurance. There is a need to play safe but when there are suppliers and articles suggesting legality things do get confusing! A similar situation exists with cycle lighting although here it is the use of flashing LEDs that has been the issue. These were totally illegal until the law was changed in 2009. Now they are legal so long as the light emmission is more than 4 Candelas. But how many cyclists are actually legal at night? The Cyclist Touring Club of GB suggest that should any illegality be found with lighting or reflectors after an accident may be found as contributory negligence. Why use HIDs? From the driver's view the light is very much better than normal bulbs. Obviously though they must not cause glare to oncoming traffic and have the correct beam pattern. Reliability is another factor, the number of one eyed monsters driving around at the moment is appauling. I understand that several modern cars have headlamp bulbs so inaccessible that it is a workshop job to get them changed! I intend to try the new Xenon bulbs shortly but simply put there is a real need to improve the lighting over the standard Fiesta units. Any suggestions would be welcome. My first year of owning a Quantum has been a great joy and this forum is really interesting. I certainly wish Eddie all the best for the forthcoming projects and everyone a joyous Xmas Ken _____ CC: [email protected] From: [email protected] Subject: [Quantum Owners] HIDs Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 18:13:12 +0000 To: [email protected] > Would one be prosecuted? Potentially yes. It's only likely to happen if you cause an accident though. > How would insurers respond? If the modification could have led to the accident they may refuse to pay. Let's say the guy coming the other way crosses the white line and you both loose a wing mirror. Assuming there is proof, the other guy will be liable. Now he claims your illegal lights caused him to be blinded. Now who is liable? He claims that his neck hurts, an ambulance arrives, they then call the police as it's an RTA. It's not likely much would happen unless there was a death, if there was then you are potentially looking to go to prison. Why do people think HIDs are so much better? I can't think anyone is interested in the energy saving. If you like the light colour temperature why not just buy 6k h4 bulbs? M On 23 Dec 2010, at 15:56, Ken Needham <[email protected]> wrote: Would one be prosecuted? How would insurers respond? -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Quantum Owners Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/quantumowners?hl=en IMPORTANT NOTE: All information presented herewith is provided on an "As Is" basis, without warranty or the implication thereof. Neither the Quantum Owners Club nor the individuals associated with the Quantum Owners Club or in the preparation of the above information shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to liability, loss, or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained within this or related message(s). -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Quantum Owners Group" group. 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