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From lst April, it was made mandatory to sell two wheelers fitted with Automatic Headlight on in Two wheelers (AHO).
It is a welcome decision on the part of Government to implement this taking into consideration the seriousness and safety of riders of two wheeler.
It is reported that this feature has lot of advantages though there are few insignificant disadvantages too.
If one consider the statistics, it is the accidents involving two wheelers accounts more very year as we have more two wheeler manufacturers in our country.
Can this feature reduce road accidents as has been argued both by the SC and the Govt of India..?
‘Automatic headlight on’ feature commendable
Chennai: One of the greatest amendments of this year with respect to two-wheelers is the implementation of ‘Automatic Headlight On’ (AHO) feature which came into effect this April.
Brought along with BS-IV emission norms, this rule has begun a new era in the history of the Indian automobile industry. Now, every bike / scooter sold in India no longer has an independent switch to turn on / off the headlight. As per the rule, the moment the key is turned on, the headlight and the rear danger light should glow irrespective of whether it is day or night.
According to the government, this new rule has been implemented to improve the safety of riders on two-wheelers. For a layman, it may neither be a deal breaking initiative by the government nor a difficult one to implement but there is more to it than meets the eye.
News Today will walk you through the hidden side of AHO.
HISTORY
As far as India is concerned, AHO is not new or an out-of-the-box initiative. Right from the early days, there were bikes on our roads with automatic headlight on feature including some of the export models of Rajdoot RD 350 but the first affordable, officially launched bike in India to sport the feature is the Kawasaki Ninja 250R which was launched in 2009. This high-performance, quarter litre twin cylinder bike had a headlight which remained ‘on’ irrespective of whether it’s day or night.
In those days, if there was any bike with a double-barrel headlight glowing in the day time, it was none other than the Ninja 250R. The AHO feature gave a unique identity and a gorgeous look to the Ninja which was at that time one of the costliest bikes in the country.
IS AHO REALLY NECESSARY?
From the safety point of view, as against what most people think, AHO is needed for riders as well as the people on the road even if it’s in broad daylight. Doctors say human eyes are highly sensitive to light and can detect them even when the body is exhausted or on the verge of losing consciousness.
So, if a pedestrian, while crossing the road, faints, he might avoid an accident if the headlight if the oncoming vehicle remains ‘on’.
Secondly, when headlights of two different vehicles are at a close proximity, they might interfere with each other which human eyes can easily detect. Experts also say that light helps the brain judge the distance of the oncoming vehicles better.
With so much advantages in improving safety, AHO also enhances the aesthetic appeal and road presence of the vehicle. ‘Daytime Running Lights’ (DRLs) is a premium feature in cars nowadays.
WHAT IS IT FOR MANUFACTURERS?
As usual, AHO was not well received by the manufacturers who found ways to implement the feature without touching the overall configuration. If the rule was optional, no one would have implemented as that was how the post implementation turned out. Most of the manufacturers linked the power circuit to the headlight toggle switch which also has the option of supplying power to the pilot lights alone.
So, just glowing one or two tiny pilot lights is almost equivalent to non-observance of the rule. That’s not all, TVS Motors went one step higher and proved that it’s the most intellectual company in the world.
Lol! The brand just added a tiny LED light strip below the headlights and called it their version of AHO feature. They just couldn’t figure out that the letter ‘H’ in AHO stands for headlight and not any fancy or auxiliary light.
WHY MANUFACTURERS HESITATE
AHO is not as easy as removing a mere switch. It is directly linked to the engine and its characteristics. Most two-wheelers in India have a simple mechanism to glow the headlight. A dynamo, connected to the engine, produces AC current and glows the headlight when the engine runs. But as headlights mostly require high amount of electricity (35W+10W), they load the dynamo in accordance with Lenz’s law reducing its overall power. That’s not all, headlights even grab electricity directed towards the spark plugs leading to starting troubles. That’s the prime reason manufacturers advise to start the vehicles with headlights off.
Some of the notable examples include the starting trouble witnessed by many Royal Enfield owners. Manufacturers also posted a power drop up to 1 Hp in their offerings as tests will be carried out with headlights ‘on’.
Honda Hornet’s power dropped from 15.67 Hp to 15.04 Hp after AHO implementation. In addition, there are also reliability problems associated with AHO – the headlight circuit which houses limiter, capacitors, bulb, etc., are likely to get worn out sooner than usual. There are also chances of a fire as the wires are forced to carry enormous amount of current whenever the vehicle is operated. So, manufacturers have the necessity to sort out all these issues.
WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP?
While AHO is a brilliant feature, it truly has some issues associated with the conventional AC lighting system of the vehicles. But there is a simple solution to avoid this problem in the form of DC lighting system.
Read more at: https://newstodaynet.com/index.php/2017/07/04/automatic-headlight-on-feature-commendable/
It is a welcome decision on the part of Government to implement this taking into consideration the seriousness and safety of riders of two wheeler.
It is reported that this feature has lot of advantages though there are few insignificant disadvantages too.
If one consider the statistics, it is the accidents involving two wheelers accounts more very year as we have more two wheeler manufacturers in our country.
Can this feature reduce road accidents as has been argued both by the SC and the Govt of India..?
‘Automatic headlight on’ feature commendable
Chennai: One of the greatest amendments of this year with respect to two-wheelers is the implementation of ‘Automatic Headlight On’ (AHO) feature which came into effect this April.
Brought along with BS-IV emission norms, this rule has begun a new era in the history of the Indian automobile industry. Now, every bike / scooter sold in India no longer has an independent switch to turn on / off the headlight. As per the rule, the moment the key is turned on, the headlight and the rear danger light should glow irrespective of whether it is day or night.
According to the government, this new rule has been implemented to improve the safety of riders on two-wheelers. For a layman, it may neither be a deal breaking initiative by the government nor a difficult one to implement but there is more to it than meets the eye.
News Today will walk you through the hidden side of AHO.
HISTORY
As far as India is concerned, AHO is not new or an out-of-the-box initiative. Right from the early days, there were bikes on our roads with automatic headlight on feature including some of the export models of Rajdoot RD 350 but the first affordable, officially launched bike in India to sport the feature is the Kawasaki Ninja 250R which was launched in 2009. This high-performance, quarter litre twin cylinder bike had a headlight which remained ‘on’ irrespective of whether it’s day or night.
In those days, if there was any bike with a double-barrel headlight glowing in the day time, it was none other than the Ninja 250R. The AHO feature gave a unique identity and a gorgeous look to the Ninja which was at that time one of the costliest bikes in the country.
IS AHO REALLY NECESSARY?
From the safety point of view, as against what most people think, AHO is needed for riders as well as the people on the road even if it’s in broad daylight. Doctors say human eyes are highly sensitive to light and can detect them even when the body is exhausted or on the verge of losing consciousness.
So, if a pedestrian, while crossing the road, faints, he might avoid an accident if the headlight if the oncoming vehicle remains ‘on’.
Secondly, when headlights of two different vehicles are at a close proximity, they might interfere with each other which human eyes can easily detect. Experts also say that light helps the brain judge the distance of the oncoming vehicles better.
With so much advantages in improving safety, AHO also enhances the aesthetic appeal and road presence of the vehicle. ‘Daytime Running Lights’ (DRLs) is a premium feature in cars nowadays.
WHAT IS IT FOR MANUFACTURERS?
As usual, AHO was not well received by the manufacturers who found ways to implement the feature without touching the overall configuration. If the rule was optional, no one would have implemented as that was how the post implementation turned out. Most of the manufacturers linked the power circuit to the headlight toggle switch which also has the option of supplying power to the pilot lights alone.
So, just glowing one or two tiny pilot lights is almost equivalent to non-observance of the rule. That’s not all, TVS Motors went one step higher and proved that it’s the most intellectual company in the world.
Lol! The brand just added a tiny LED light strip below the headlights and called it their version of AHO feature. They just couldn’t figure out that the letter ‘H’ in AHO stands for headlight and not any fancy or auxiliary light.
WHY MANUFACTURERS HESITATE
AHO is not as easy as removing a mere switch. It is directly linked to the engine and its characteristics. Most two-wheelers in India have a simple mechanism to glow the headlight. A dynamo, connected to the engine, produces AC current and glows the headlight when the engine runs. But as headlights mostly require high amount of electricity (35W+10W), they load the dynamo in accordance with Lenz’s law reducing its overall power. That’s not all, headlights even grab electricity directed towards the spark plugs leading to starting troubles. That’s the prime reason manufacturers advise to start the vehicles with headlights off.
Some of the notable examples include the starting trouble witnessed by many Royal Enfield owners. Manufacturers also posted a power drop up to 1 Hp in their offerings as tests will be carried out with headlights ‘on’.
Honda Hornet’s power dropped from 15.67 Hp to 15.04 Hp after AHO implementation. In addition, there are also reliability problems associated with AHO – the headlight circuit which houses limiter, capacitors, bulb, etc., are likely to get worn out sooner than usual. There are also chances of a fire as the wires are forced to carry enormous amount of current whenever the vehicle is operated. So, manufacturers have the necessity to sort out all these issues.
WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP?
While AHO is a brilliant feature, it truly has some issues associated with the conventional AC lighting system of the vehicles. But there is a simple solution to avoid this problem in the form of DC lighting system.
Read more at: https://newstodaynet.com/index.php/2017/07/04/automatic-headlight-on-feature-commendable/
