By Patrick Tulfo
DUE to the abuse of some motorists, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) recently issued a vague memo instructing the apprehension of vehicles equipped with “wang-wangs,” light-emitting diode (LED) lights and other modifications. The joint administrative order has been dormant for some time due to poor implementation and vague set of standards for compliance of relative agencies.
LED lamps are revolutionizing functionality and styling of automotive lighting. LED lights work on a scientific principle called “magic,” electricity goes in, light comes out. LEDs work by shooting electrons against positively charged holes in a semiconductor. An electron falling into a hole in a lower energy state releases energy in the form of a photon, which emits from the semiconductor in a process known as “electroluminescence.”
A technology once limited to luxury cars, LEDs are fast becoming an industry standard on many headlamps, taillights and fog lamps of mainstream vehicles for better nighttime illumination and safety. According to a report by the American Automobile Association, “Halogen headlights found in over 80 percent of vehicles on the road today, may fail to safely illuminate unlit roadways at speeds as low as 40 mph [miles per hour].” Most LED lamps and light bars are popular with off-road enthusiasts because they emit a much stronger beam which crucial when driving off the beaten path. “It provides us with better visibility when trailing or during mercy missions in calamity stricken areas where there are no electricity,” says Juanito de la Cruz, an avid off-road enthusiast and president of an off-road club in the South end of the country. LED lamps are allowed by law as long as they are in accordance with Republic Act 4136, Article IV, section 34 which is in force since 1964. The ruling says that the LTO allows the use of lighting accessories. The following provision says:
Every motor vehicle of more than 1 meter of projected width, while in use on any public highway shall bear two headlights, one on each side, with white or yellowish light visible from the front, which, not later than one-half hour after sunset and until at least one-half four before sunrise and whenever weather conditions so require, shall both be lighted.
Additional lamps and light may be carried, but no red lights shall be visible forward or ahead of the vehicle. Trucks, buses, trailers, and other similar vehicles must carry, while in use on any public highway during nighttime, colored riding lights on each of the four corners not more than 10 centimeters from the top.
All motor vehicles shall be equipped with devices for varying the intensity of light, and the driver must dim the headlights or tilt the beams downward whenever the vehicle is being operated on well-lighted streets within the limits of cities, municipalities, and thickly populated barrios or districts, or whenever such vehicle meets another vehicle on any public highway”
Most cars already use scores of LED lights in dashboards and control indicators so the things are everywhere already, and they have massive potential for car lighting. Sort of for the same reasons they’re used in computer screen and household bulbs, as well. LEDs are compact, extremely energy efficient, and can turn on and off almost instantly.