New headlight rules coming soon: What bike riders & vehicle owners need to know as govt plans to tighten high-intensity light norms

Automatic headlamps on two-wheelers may soon be restricted to low-beam mode, while buses and other heavy vehicles could be required to use genuine reflective tapes to improve visibility at night and during poor weather conditions.

The proposed changes are part of a wider set of road safety measures aimed at reducing glare and improving visibility for motorists. According to a TOI report, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has proposed amendments to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, with the new safety norms expected to come into effect from April next year.

Read more - BMW has a new luxury car customer in India: CEO Hardeep Singh Brar reveals who is driving the battle with German rivals

Automatic headlamps on bikes may use only low beam

Under the proposed rules, automatic headlamp systems on new two-wheelers will be required to operate only in passing-beam, or low-beam, mode.

At present, the Automatic Headlamp On (AHO) system can activate either the low beam or high beam depending on the vehicle's settings. The proposed amendment would ensure that when the automatic system is switched on, the headlamp remains in low-beam mode.

The change would apply only to new two-wheelers and would not affect vehicles already on the road.

The ministry is proposing the amendment after efforts to encourage motorists to use low-beam mode and create awareness around the issue have not produced the desired results.

High-intensity headlamps face stricter limits

The proposed rules also seek to reduce the intensity of high-beam headlamps across vehicle categories.

For two-wheelers, the maximum permissible intensity is proposed to be reduced from 1.5 lakh candela (cd) to 1 lakh cd. For four-wheelers, the limit could come down from 2.25 lakh cd to 1.5 lakh cd.

Candela is the standard unit used to measure luminous intensity.

The proposed changes are aimed at tackling glare from excessively bright headlamps, which can cause discomfort and temporarily affect the vision of motorists travelling in the opposite direction.

Headlamp colour temperature may also be capped

The draft amendments also address the colour temperature of vehicle lighting.

According to the TOI report, studies have found that white light from headlamps and front fog lamps with higher colour temperatures can create significant glare, causing discomfort and reducing visibility for other road users.

To address this, the maximum permissible colour temperature has been proposed at 6,500 Kelvin (K).

The draft also proposes that the mounting height of main-beam headlamps should be the same as that prescribed for passing-beam headlamps.

New cars and bikes may get high-beam warning

One of the more interesting proposed safety features is an audio alert designed to discourage unnecessary use of high beam in urban areas.

As reported by the TOI, the new-generation system could alert drivers when they manually switch to high beam in city conditions, prompting them to return to low beam.

However, the warning would be speed-sensitive.

Drivers travelling at more than 60 kmph on highways would not receive the alert, as high-beam headlights can be necessary on poorly illuminated stretches of road.

The idea is to reduce unnecessary high-beam usage in cities without affecting drivers who need additional illumination on dark highways.

Reflective tapes proposed for buses and heavy vehicles

The draft amendments also propose changes aimed at making buses and other heavy vehicles more visible at night and during poor weather.

Such vehicles may be required to use genuine reflective tapes to improve their visibility to other road users.

The move is particularly relevant to night-time driving, when poorly visible heavy vehicles can pose an increased risk to approaching motorists.