# On Yellow vs. White-Hued Headlights (and high beams) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 23, 2016, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-yellow-vs-white-hued-headlights-and-high-beams/743966 "2016-01-23T14:15:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-yellow-vs-white-hued-headlights-and-high-beams/743966/21 "2016-01-30T15:13:33Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > You can get HID lights in several colors, including pink. Not sure if the bulbs themselves are specific colors or if it’s just tweaking voltage/frequency with the ballast. I wonder why they’re legal, though… ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-yellow-vs-white-hued-headlights-and-high-beams/743966/22 "2016-01-30T15:59:05Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > \*Fun footnote, while Googling for images of high beams I discovered a new, alternative definition for the term high beams that I didn’t know before. If you don’t know it already, I recommend not Googling it while at work. 😃 We did a grade-school field trip to a science center where one of the presentations was an illuminated see-through human. So, the liver lit up red, and the recording said, “I am Mary’s liver. My job is . . .” for each organ in turn. When Mary’s breasts lit up (white) some smart ass yelled, “Turn down your high-beams, Mary!” ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-yellow-vs-white-hued-headlights-and-high-beams/743966/23 "2016-01-30T16:03:16Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > We did a grade-school field trip to a science center where one of the presentations was an illuminated see-through human. So, the liver lit up red, and the recording said, “I am Mary’s liver. My job is . . .” I get cancer, I kill Mary. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2016, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-yellow-vs-white-hued-headlights-and-high-beams/743966/24 "2016-01-31T18:26:57Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I wonder why they’re legal, though… Probably sold with a “for off road use only” disclaimer. They certainly don’t meet the federal requirements for hiway use. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-yellow-vs-white-hued-headlights-and-high-beams/743966/25 "2016-02-02T18:11:37Z")
I find the HID headlights often look as though they are flashing to high-beam as the car behind goes over bumps in the road. It’s really distracting. They get brighter and also appear to change colour from white to blue. I miss the old yellow [French headlights](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ma2cpumaei1r4jcfjo1_500.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-yellow-vs-white-hued-headlights-and-high-beams/743966/26 "2016-02-03T00:45:59Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > I find the HID headlights often look as though they are flashing to high-beam as the car behind goes over bumps in the road. It’s really distracting. They get brighter and also appear to change colour from white to blue. > > I miss the old yellow [French headlights](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ma2cpumaei1r4jcfjo1_500.jpg). In the 80’s my wife and I had rented a car in Calais and drove through The Netherlands and Germany. All the other occupants of yellow head lighted cars waved. ---
**Author:** ![Khendrask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@Khendrask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khendrask)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-yellow-vs-white-hued-headlights-and-high-beams/743966/27 "2016-02-03T18:02:29Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Are you sure it’s pink? I’ve definitely seen lights that are purple hued, but none that are pink. > > Does anyone know if there are any laws against these bright white lights anywhere yet? We have all sorts of laws against useful car adaptions, so you’d think that blinding fellow motorists wouldn’t be allowed. Many HID lamps go through a bluish to purpleish to pinkish color range as they are failing. ---
**Author:** ![joe.russell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@joe.russell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joe.russell)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-yellow-vs-white-hued-headlights-and-high-beams/743966/28 "2016-02-04T00:02:30Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > Probably sold with a “for off road use only” disclaimer. They certainly don’t meet the federal requirements for hiway use. I agree with gary. I looked into them and eventually just went with regular bulbs. Ive since modified my lighting so my fog lights stay on with my hi beams - they light peripherally better. As far as I know, your allow 4 projection lights - typically low beams and fog lights. High beams count as two each, so its four total, which is why _most_ vehicles have fog lights turn off when hi beams are on. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-yellow-vs-white-hued-headlights-and-high-beams/743966/29 "2016-02-04T00:56:45Z")
Well, Virgil will be here to tell us that fog lights will brighten up the close stuff so you can’t see the far off stuff as well. I’m sure he’s correct, but I wish my eyes had an f-stop readout. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-yellow-vs-white-hued-headlights-and-high-beams/743966/30 "2016-02-04T00:57:51Z")
Opps, Virgil is a lighting expert on candlepowerforums, not here. My bad. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-yellow-vs-white-hued-headlights-and-high-beams/743966/31 "2016-02-04T15:38:57Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > You mean like[this one](http://www.mad4wheels.com/models/2012_Honda_Civic_BTCC/detail_image.asp?id_pic=338724)? > > The point is, some idiot on the street with a spoiler on his car is 99% of the time completely wasting his money on style. However that is not to say that an actual functional wing won’t help a FWD car in a racing situation. Notice how both of those pics also have splitters and front air dams (aka front spoilers)? Full on race cars running around the track at speeds consistently over 100 mph will be able to use that downforce. FWD “Street cars” with just a spoiler in the back will basically unweight the drive wheels and make the car less stable. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-yellow-vs-white-hued-headlights-and-high-beams/743966/32 "2016-02-04T15:48:51Z")
Sorry, forgot to add this [cite](http://www.torquecars.com/tuning/spoiler-aerodynamics.php). ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-yellow-vs-white-hued-headlights-and-high-beams/743966/33 "2016-02-05T01:37:42Z")
In the cars I know, in the US. If your fog lights are on, they will only come on with your low beam lights. So… If your bright lights are on, your fog lights automatically go off. Put on your low beams for oncoming traffic, and your fog lights also turn back on. It’s a bit confusing as the two bright lights approaching you then turn to four lights. The low beams and the fog lights. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-yellow-vs-white-hued-headlights-and-high-beams/743966.md?page=1)