MA LED conversion?

Not that I'm for or against, but it's tough to enforce this law against out of state drivers, and if I'm not mistaken, this is a federal issue. Think of it as tinted windows, my state says no tint above something like 10%. Next door we have NJ, theirs is something like 70%. A PA LEO cannot pull over the NJ driver for tinted windows because they are illegal here. Same goes with our inspection stickers another state can't issue me a ticket because they are expired, and PA can't ticket a driver from an other state for not having them. This story doesn't pass the sniff test.

Strangely this works with helmet laws too, we don't have mandatory helmet laws for the majority of riders, NJ does. If I ride there with out one (I will get a ticket) and get cited, I can go to court and have it dismissed. It's not worth the effort to most people, and I wear a helmet anyway. North Carolina has a posted sign at the State lines saying all must wear a helmet, yep, you guessed it, you can't fight that citation.
 
"It is said manufacturing cars companies will develop certified LED upgrade kits, so that you could change your headlights without fearing any legal problem. Although people believe this law is nonsense, these kits could be a great solution for road safety. Even though we can’t notice it, lenses that are different to the original car system could have some malfunctions."

I guarantee you OEMs are NOT developing LED upgrade kits for their older vehicles. They spent a lot of money back when to certify what is already there. And to lead it off with "It is said" tells me that the whole paragraph, nee the whole article, is supposition without any references or sources. Sounds and reads like foreign-produced clickbait to me.
 
jdmccright said:
I guarantee you OEMs are NOT developing LED upgrade kits for their older vehicles. They spent a lot of money back when to certify what is already there. And to lead it off with "It is said" tells me that the whole paragraph, nee the whole article, is supposition without any references or sources. Sounds and reads like foreign-produced clickbait to me.
Click to expand...
Over here Osram and Philips have some retrofit sets in their program, which claim to be legal and certified... for a limited number of models though...

Osram LED checklist.pdf

Philips even offers a few for (newer) motorcycle models: Philips comparability Honda Motorcycles
When I look there for cars (i.g. Toyota) its again very limited: Philips comparability Toyota Cars

But to make them physically fit a light assy socket, doesn't make them right...
The main issue still is the way too high, unnatural light color and wavelength...

Kalvin%20Color.jpg


Where H4 lamps emit around 4000K (hence neutral), are automotive LED always offered with 6000K (cool) and beyond, which causing dazzle and glare, regardless if their complete OEM head/taillight assy's, or brand/pattern retrofits...

Same happened on household light fixtures and bulbs, the first LED's where just awful, gray/blueish tone...
Took them a couple of years till the finally toned them down to a warmer spectrum, which is halfway natural, thus more comfortable and acceptable to the eye...
 
Wow. This is what happens when law makers can not figure out their own rules.
So let's just ban it.....


It took me a long time to figure out those rules, and the above article makes a bunch of false claims.

There is no maximum value for the hot spot of illumination for the low beam!
The test tables only have points for Maximum Glare and Minimum illumination.

The minimum safe response and stopping distance for 70 MPH is 300 feet.
We need to have minimum 10 lux at 300 feet on low beam. Halogen bulbs do not do that!

The real problem is bad headlight adjustment and/or dirty lenses. No one is checking that anymore.
Or They are using an old bad designed led bulb.

The lower color temp bulbs have less scatter - 3000K to 4000K. (4000K is my happy spot)

Read posts 1, 4, 12, 13, 30 for more information here --> passing lights

post 30 table3 and figure7 -- number 06 and 07 show the place where Glare is measured.

I am no expert and the rules may have changed since I did my research.
but now you know more than the so called experts......

I have been running F2 LED retrofits and LED passing lights for the past 3 years.
 
spiderman302 said:
We need to have minimum 10 lux at 300 feet on low beam.
Click to expand...
Interesting regulation... :unsure:

Over here the regs for low beams are: up to 50kph/30mph*, thus 50 meters min, 75 meters max (160~246 feet) for left/center (RH upward kick is a different thing) as its designed for urban areas, use within flowing traffic and well lit areas where use of high beam (and/or any additional aux lights) is prohibited anyway...
High beams are regulated for: >100kph/60mph, therefore 100 meters min to 200 meters max (330~656 feet) and their use (and/or any additional aux lights) is strongly prohibited at oncoming traffic, while following other vehicles, within urban areas in general, and outside city limits wherever other road users would be put at risk (pedestrians, push bikers, construction crews, farming machine operators, tramways, trains, etc...)...
* when recognizing any traffic/other road users at night on a rural road you're obliged to a) slow to 50kph/30mph and b) dim to low beam...

Vehicles with headlights beyond H4 (H7, HID, LED...) must be equipped with automatic leveling (Bilux and H4 at least manual adjustment) correcting a suspension squatting due load...

That now suddenly any Merc, Audi, Beemer or bloody EV is rolling along with AN-244 landing lights, totally unharmed by the authorities is beyond me... :cautious:
Ditto with those wannabe ADV riders and their always on aux lights... :cautious:
That silly custom is forcing normal people to wear sunglasses at night and overcast/rainy weather to avoid getting blinded and landing in the ditch...
 
ST1100Y said:
when recognizing any traffic/other road users at night on a rural road you're obliged to a) slow to 50kph/30mph and b) dim to low beam...
Click to expand...
The logic and requirement to dim to low beams is self explanatory. The requirement to slow to 50kph/30mph seems severe. Is that aspect a remnant of an old law or is it something that has been introduced relatively recently to address the newer much brighter and different colour temperature lights on many newer vehicles now?
 
spiderman302 said:
Wow. This is what happens when law makers can not figure out their own rules.
So let's just ban it.....
Click to expand...
I also find that the laws get very confusing but my understanding is that headlamp assemblies where the light source (i.e. the incandescent bulb or the LED light source) is not replaceable and headlamp assemblies where the light source is replaceable are treated differently. It is not the state that is making LED bulb use in replaceable bulb headlamps illegal but that they are illegal at the Federal level based on the FMVSS. Enforcement is left up to each individual state so whether a given state chooses to enforce it or not is up to them.

Based on memory somewhere around 2023 or maybe 2024 the NHTSA stated that integral beam LED headlamps are legal in the US. That is LED headlamp assembles where the light source is not replaceable. The same was not true for headlamps that use replaceable bulbs such as the headlamp assembly on the ST1300. No LED bulb intended for replaceable bulb headlamps had been approved making retrofitting any replaceable bulb headlamp with an LED light source illegal in the US as of then. I have no idea if that has changed since.

The regulations contains separate specific requirements for replaceable light bulbs used in replaceable bulb headlamps. Bulb manufacturers must submit their design for a replaceable bulb for approval. If it is approved it gets listed somewhere making it legal for use. As of the time that I read this there had not been any replaceable LED bulb designs that had been approved, so no LED light bulb is legal for use in a replaceable bulb headlamp.

The NHTSA stated that it's role is to regulate and approve light sources but that it has nothing to do with policing what is available on the market or what individuals do to their vehicles. It is up to each state to decide what they want to do about people installing unapproved light sources in replaceable bulb headlamp assemblies.

I don't know the specific regulation numbers that were quoted but I am sure that you probably do know them.
If you really want them I may be able to find the document where I read this.

I am using LED bulbs thank to you but I was responsible enough to test them on a wall to see where they were shining and to make some adjustments to make sure that the light was not shining right in to the face of oncoming drivers. So far I am happy with them and I have never been flashed by an oncoming vehicle so I hope that means they are aimed OK.
 
"We need to have minimum 10 lux at 300 feet on low beam."

Is not a regulation but is derived from what is needed if you are driving at 70mph on an unlighted highway. See post 12 noted above.
 
Just another example of a poorly worded law that is very difficult to enforce unless you have LEDs on a 69 Mustang.
 
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