New Machine Makes Headlight Testing Easier, Reports Beissbarth

Traditionally, headlights have been an area of low priority for the motoring public, noticed only when the bulb has failed. All too frequently at night or during poor visibility daytime conditions, the ‘motorcycle’ travelling behind or coming the other way turns out to be a car with only one working headlight, a potentially dangerous illusion. Other headlights, instead of illuminating the road, light up the night’s sky or blind oncoming motorists.

Headlights are a matter of great safety interest and consumer awareness could definitely be higher in this area. In this spirit, Beissbarth has issued garages and fast fit outlets a challenge – why not include headlights as part of your sales package? Make it a popular sales topic, it says. It could be just the item in a company’s sales performance that shows it to be innovative, and helps to create a point of difference between it and others in the fast fit or repair business. After all, Beissbarth adds, businesses offer tyres, wheel alignment, wheel balancing, tyre repairs, brakes and possibly also diagnostics – but headlight services? For many the answer will be ‘no – never thought about it.’

The topic of headlights is a matter of increasing interest to European transport authorities, and certainly to VOSA in the UK, Beissbarth adds. During the last two years commercial vehicle operators have needed to pay far more attention to the direction and power of vehicle headlights. According to Beissbarth, this has meant a rocky ride for many in terms of understanding where VOSA and the rest of Europe stand, but overall the work done in this area can now be considered a success.

A PRS on a commercial vehicle operator’s licence is not good news. It has been a contentious issue throughout Europe and failure rates have been high – as high as for brake testing, in fact. Commercial vehicle operators are now learning, more than ever, the importance of good headlights and their correct adjustment.

Why does not this apply to cars and light vans, asks Beissbarth? Each vehicle must have two lights displayed at the front and two at the rear. It is typically deemed acceptable if a car has two working sidelights and one headlight, but ‘acceptable’ is not the same as wholly attentive to road safety and considerate to other road users. Non-working bulbs will lead to a failure at MOT time, after all, and more importantly this can be a reason for a vehicle to be checked by police during a routine roadside safety inspection.

The case for headlight testing is moving up the agenda. Help, says Beissbarth, is at hand in the form of the LET PLA 20 – the headlight tester that electronically ensures that the beam is correctly focused on the road ahead. Beissbarth reports it has a stable and robust stand that ensures the measurement is correct, and easy to follow red/green indicator lights enable corrective work to be done right first time round.

The LET PLA 20 – which can also be used manually – is supplied to numerous global vehicle manufacturers, at both the manufacturing level and dealer level. More information on this product can be obtained from Beissbarth or at the company’s beissbarth.co.uk website.