RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC -- A new video produced by the Motor Vehicle Lighting Council (MVLC) alerts consumers to the dangers of “over driving” their vehicle’s headlights and how new lighting technologies, such as Xenon lighting, can help make night-time driving safer.

“With the coming of winter’s shorter days, a larger portion of driving is done during night-time hours,” said Jeremy Denton, executive director of MVLC. “These are also the prime hours for motor vehicle accidents, so we want to raise drivers’ awareness of the importance of their vehicles’ headlights.”

According to researchers at the University of Michigan, more than 2,300 people die on U.S. highways each year because of insufficient lighting, or “over driving” headlights. Over driving headlights occurs when the vehicle’s headlights do not provide enough seeing distance down the road for the speed at which the car is moving. Most experts believe the maximum safe speed with average low beams under most conditions is only about 45 miles per hour.

Fortunately, new lighting technologies are enhancing vehicle and pedestrian safety at night. Xenon lighting or high intensity discharge (HID) is one example. It provides up to twice as much light on the road, as well as on the sides of the road enabling the driver to see upcoming pedestrians and other roadway hazards. According to a recent survey by Harris Interactive Inc., Xenon headlamps ranked second in the top 10 advanced automotive technologies consumers would like to purchase for their next vehicle.

This lighting comes standard on several cars and uses approximately 25 percent less power than traditional halogen headlights. A list of vehicles equipped with Xenon technology is available at the MVLC Web site at http://www.mvlc.info.

The video can be viewed at http://mvlc.info/media/06_autumn_safety.wmv.

For more information, or to request a copy of the tape, contact either Lisa Zlotnick at 212-812-7129 or lzlotnick@medialink.com, or Lana Kim at 212-812-7132 or lkim@medialink.com.