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232 – The safety role of lighting

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24 June 2009

I WENT along to meet Ed Savage from Philips yesterday.

The setting itself was dramatic – the Pinewood film studios. A warren of studios, offices, presentation halls and so on…and production was going on for the new Harry Potter film.

I must admit I’d not given lighting too much consideration. Car lights either worked or they didn’t. But having said that, I am rather taken with Audi’s new LED running lights, the daisy chain that gives Audis such a distinctive appearance at the front.

Anyway, turns out Philips developed those daisychains for Audi. And, in fact, will be releasing an aftermarket version in October. So if you like the look, well you can have the look.

Ed’s party piece was quite dramatic. Apparently Philips car lamp bulbs are made from quartz glass, which means the bulbs last longer, and are more resistant to thermal shocks. Other bulbs tend to be made from toughened glass.

Anyway, having produced a selection or replacement bulbs from a Halfords bag “bought that morning”, I chose one – a Bosch bulb – and then Ed stuck it inside this safety lighting contraption. Both the Philips and the Bosch bulb glowed for a while, then Ed poured water down a v-shaped funnel into the bulb case.

Mad?

I thought so. The impact on the Bosch bulb was dramatic. It blew spectacularly. And the Philips? Nothing, it carried on.

Quite a fun party piece I thought.

But Ed did have a point. Quality bulbs make for safer driving. Bulbs that light the area ahead and to the right of the car, but not to the left where they could dazzle oncoming drivers.

And interestingly, they can save money, too. Ed told me about one HGV fleet of lorries that had saved £230,000 per year simply by fitting Philips bulbs (well, what else I guess). The savings were made by a longer life; reduced downtime; and reduced fitting time (thanks to fewer replacements).

Meeting with Philips

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Ralph Morton

Ralph Morton

Ralph Morton is an award-winning journalist and the founder of Business Car Manager (now renamed Business Motoring). Ralph writes extensively about the car and van leasing industry as well as wider fleet and company car issues. A former editor of What Car?, Ralph is a vastly experienced writer and editor and has been writing about the automotive sector for over 35 years.

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