The penalty for xenon: myth or reality?

Any car enthusiast knows and understands the importance of sufficient illumination of the roadway. The psychology of man is structured in such a way that when we have something, we want more, and as much as possible! That's with the headlights the same trouble. After all, xenon headlamps score in all respects among halogen lights .

Traditional incandescent lamps (halogen) emit more heat than light. This is due to the incandescence of the spiral, while the temperature in the lamp rises.

In a gas discharge lamp (xenon), the light flux is obtained by emitting an arc between the electrodes, which arises in an inert gas-xenon and metal salts. The electrodes are in the flask under pressure. At the same power, xenon consumes almost twice as much energy as a standard incandescent lamp, while illuminating the road much better at night, in fog, in the rain, in snowy weather, and this is an important safety indicator! Xenon beam powerfully "breaks" bad weather, illuminating not a drop of rain or snow, namely the road surface. So, the main and indisputable advantage of xenon lamps in front of halogen lamps is a significant increase in the brightness of the light flux. However, the most interesting thing with all this is that many car owners do not even think about the significant advantage of xenon before halogen, they put it exclusively for cosmetic purposes, because nowadays a white-lunar or bluish-tinged xenon headlight is a pretty stylish tuning note Car. But no one canceled the fine for xenon! What is the danger of motorists such a ride?

The penalty for xenon exists, but not for everyone. In the risk group, drivers who have made changes in the design of their car, contrary to the requirements of the manufacturer. What is the danger to us of "illegal" xenon, is it a fine or a ruthless deprivation of a driving license?

Usually, the illegal use of xenon is justified by the violation of Article 12.5.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation: the mode of operation of the headlamps must strictly meet the requirements of the car's design. In other words, if in your vehicle xenon was installed by default by the manufacturer, then you do not take any chances, but if it is stuck in the halogen headlights in a barbarous way, the risk increases substantially. The penalty for xenon in this case deprives the driver of the right to drive a car for a period of six months to a year.

As practice shows, for "illegal" xenon usually no one fined. At least in Russia. Apparently, we already have many reasons, for which we are deprived of the rights. In the light of which there is simply no time for "xenon drivers" ...

According to some sources, Europe is thinking about the possibility of completely banning xenon headlights. The reason for this is the blinding of the oncoming driver. If the authorities nevertheless reach this measure, then the question arises as to what to do with the xenon modern cars? To the dump? Or make inadmissible corrections to the design of the machine? If this is true, then on such cars the penalty for xenon will be replaced by a fine for its absence!