Lumileds LLC has launched a Philips vehicle lighting safety campaign called ‘Change in Pairs.’
The campaign is aimed at encouraging service technicians and vehicle owners to change headlight bulbs on each side of the vehicle, whenever they need to replace a bulb due to damage, failure, or when one of the bulbs starts to dim.
Headlight bulbs tend to deteriorate and lose effectiveness after a period from 2-3 years. Typically, motorists only replace the bulb that has burned out or is failing. Replacing just one failed bulb can however, result in an unbalanced or unpredictable headlight beam and potentially a safety risk.
From the driver’s perspective, the road ahead will not be properly lit and the driver will not get the full benefit of the vehicle’s headlights as the carmaker originally intended. From the oncoming driver’s perspective, an uneven headlamp beam can create an equally risky safety issue.
The call to replace important auto parts in pairs in not a new concept: Automotive service professionals, technicians, and driving safety advocates, alike, are constantly recommending that tires, brakes, shocks, and wiper blades should be replaced in pairs to make sure the vehicle is properly balanced and functioning safely.
Lighting is no different and is even more important to driver safety. Philips new safety campaign, “Change in pairs” is built around the overall theme: “Don’t compromise on safety, change in pairs. 2 new headlamps are safer than 1.”
According to Ann-Marie Hines, Senior Marketing Manager, Lumileds, LLC, the answer is simple. Hines notes, “The filament in a headlight ages with use, time, and exposure to the elements. As a result it becomes fragile and starts to deteriorate, and this causes the light output to diminish. At the end of a typical service life, perhaps 2-3 years, headlight bulbs will likely be projecting a much shorter and less powerful beam light, than when they were new. From a driver’s point of view this is a critical safety concern.”
Because vehicle lighting is so critical to driver safety Lumileds looks to encourage its professional service provider customers to inspect their customers’ vehicles when in for service and recommend the replacement of both headlight bulbs at the same time.
Besides the safety benefits, changing bulbs in pairs also makes good sense from an efficiency and customer relationship/trust point of view. Vehicle owners will only have to go to the shop once for lighting maintenance. Additionally, they also avoid having to deal with the other side of the vehicle at a later date, reducing the risk of the other headlight bulb blowing out while on the road.
