HID lights causing accident

**Tank** · 8th December 2008, 15:56

Last week on a twisty back road at night and a car came around the corner - lights on full beam and gave me a good ol dose of night blindness.

I slowed down but had real difficulty seeing the side of the (narrow) road (no lines etc as this is out the back of the boons.

Anyway - given some posters comments here about HID lights - I was wondering - if you are involved in an accident and told the police on the scene that the "bike over there" blinded me and they were found to have illegal HID lights - do you think they could / should they be charged as contributing or causing the accident?

discuss....

Detail:

"HID conversion kits (an HID bulb with a high voltage power unit or ‘ballast’ which fits into the original headlamp unit in place of the original bulb with no change to the headlamp lens, reflector or housing) are illegal on any vehicle being used on New Zealand roads."

This is (of course) based on the assumption that the person with said lights stopped at the accident to help and didnt run off.

**hang0ver** · 8th December 2008, 15:59

Where is Dangerous Mechanic?

**Gubb** · 8th December 2008, 16:00

It's illegal for a reason.

If I mount a massive-fuckin'-javelin to the bonnet of my car, and a pedestrian gets skewered on it when I run through a pedestrian crossing. Surely i'm the one to blame for the fatality?

If I didn't have the massive-fuckin'-javelin, they may still be alive.

**Motu** · 8th December 2008, 17:28

OE HID headlamps are on low beam only - if they have HID on high beam they are certainly illegal.

**Marmoot** · 8th December 2008, 17:48

Originally Posted by Motu

OE HID headlamps are on low beam only - if they have HID on high beam they are certainly illegal.

but what about non-OE HID headlamps on low beam? How did they become illegal? Is it another one of the "lowest-common-denominator" thing?

**Forest** · 8th December 2008, 17:49

Originally Posted by Tank

Anyway - given some posters comments here about HID lights - I was wondering - if you are involved in an accident and told the police on the scene that the "bike over there" blinded me and they were found to have illegal HID lights - do you think they could / should they be charged as contributing or causing the accident?

If you're using illegal HID lights and they contributed to an accident, I have no sympathy for you.

They're illegal for a very good reason.

**Tank** · 8th December 2008, 17:52

Originally Posted by Marmoot

but what about non-OE HID headlamps on low beam? How did they become illegal? Is it another one of the "lowest-common-denominator" thing?

its illegal if you just swap the bulbs in the normal 'housing' - basically because they dont have the reflectors set up correctly for the HID bulb.

Its how you can get HID lights for $70 - 80 bucks.

Its not illegal to have proper HID units where you replace the entire housing (with the correct reflecting setup etc), although they cost $000's

**Marmoot** · 8th December 2008, 17:54

Originally Posted by Tank

its illegal if you just swap the bulbs in the normal 'housing' - basically because they dont have the reflectors set up correctly for the HID bulb.

and how do they differ in principle?

**imdying** · 8th December 2008, 18:05

Originally Posted by Marmoot

and how do they differ in principle?

Things like focal lengths being incompatible with the reflectors curvature.

**Marmoot** · 8th December 2008, 18:46

Originally Posted by imdying

Things like focal lengths being incompatible with the reflectors curvature.

Not sure what focal length you are referring to.

A bulb is a light source is a bulb is a light source, and focal length only exist on the reflector (or lens, in projector type headlight).

Unless you are referring to putting a projector beam into a reflector housing (which is a weird concept)?

**Hitcher** · 8th December 2008, 19:14

Burn them!

**mashman** · 8th December 2008, 20:35

Originally Posted by Gubb

It's illegal for a reason.

If I mount a massive-fuckin'-javelin to the bonnet of my car, and a pedestrian gets skewered on it when I run through a pedestrian crossing. Surely i'm the one to blame for the fatality?

If I didn't have the massive-fuckin'-javelin, they may still be alive.

Love the image, but I reckon it's gonna be just as dangerous without if you're runnin a pedestrian crossing with people on it... better off with a jousting stick and just target "j-walkers"...

**Boob Johnson** · 8th December 2008, 22:22

Originally Posted by mashman

Love the image, but I reckon it's gonna be just as dangerous without if you're runnin a pedestrian crossing with people on it... better off with a jousting stick and just target "j-walkers"...

Jousting steeks? Whadda want with Jousting steeks doll?

**Gremlin** · 9th December 2008, 01:05

I guess technically, yes, they could try. In practise, would they notice they are not legal?

I had a zx10 fitted with an HID low beam, not insanely bright, but cars noticed the odd colour. I had it fitted for comfortably over a year, wofs, police checkpoints, not one comment was made about the legality. Most just said, nice, HID.