title: Sacrament of Penance

text: With the spread of scholastic philosophy, the question arose as to what caused the remission of sins. From the early 12th century Peter Abelard and Peter Lombard reflected the practice that contrition and confession (even to laymen) assured of God's forgiveness, but remorse for one's sins was necessary. Absolution referred only to the punishment due to sin. But at this time Hugh of St. Victor taught on the basis of the "power of the keys" (John 20:23 and Matthew 18:18) that absolution applied not to the punishment but to the sins, and this hastened the end to lay confession. From "as early as the third century devout Christians were sometimes encouraged to reveal the condition of their soul to a spiritual guide." This led to a private form of confession that bishops finally put a stop to by the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) that made confession to a priest obligatory within a year of the sinning, and has enshrined the practice of private confession ever since. In the 13th century the Dominican philosopher Thomas Aquinas tried to reunite the personal "matter" (contrition, confession, satisfaction) and ecclesial "form" (absolution). But the Franciscan Duns Scotus gave support to the prevalent opinion at the time that absolution was the only essential element of the sacrament, which readmitted the penitent to the Eucharist.


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: In the 11th and 12th centuries a new, legalistic theory of penances had crept in, as satisfying the divine justice and paying the penalty for the "temporal punishment due to sin". This was followed by a new theory of a treasury of merits which was first put forward around 1230. As a means of paying this penalty, the practice grew of granting indulgences for various good works, drawing on "the treasury of the Church's merits". These indulgences later began to be sold, leading to Martin Luther's dramatic protest.


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: In the mid-16th century the bishops at the Council of Trent retained the private approach to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and decreed that indulgences could not be sold. The Council Fathers, according to Joseph Martos, were also "mistaken in assuming that repeated private confession dated back to the days of the Apostles". Some Protestant Reformers retained the sacrament as sign but shorn of Canonical accretions. However, for Catholics after Trent "the confession of mortal sins would be primarily regarded as a matter of divine law supported by the ecclesiastical law to confess these within a year after they had been committed". In the following centuries a use of the sacrament grew, from Counter-Reformation practice and, according to Martos, misunderstanding what meant (independent on the worthiness of the priest) and from seeing penances as penalties (abetted by indulgences) rather than as means of reform.


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: The problem that "has dominated the entire history of the sacrament of reconciliation[...] is the determination of the roles of the subjective and personal factors and the objective and ecclesiastical factor in penance". From the mid-19th century, historical and biblical studies began to restore an understanding of the necessity of repentance for forgiveness by God before readmission to the Christian community through the sacrament. These studies paved the way for the bishops at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) to decree in their Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: "The rite and formulas for the sacrament of penance are to be revised so that they more clearly express both the nature and effect of the sacrament." In a post-conciliar document, The Constitution on Penance, Pope Paul VI emphasized "the intimate relationship between external act and internal conversion, prayer, and works of charity." This sought to restore the New Testament emphasis on growth in the works of charity throughout the Christian life.


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: On March 20, 2020, the Apostolic Penitentiary issued a note on clarifications regards the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular it was noted that "Where the individual faithful find themselves in the painful impossibility of receiving sacramental absolution, it should be remembered that perfect contrition, coming from the love of God, beloved above all things, expressed by a sincere request for forgiveness (that which the penitent is at present able to express) and accompanied by , that is, by the firm resolution to have recourse, as soon as possible, to sacramental confession, obtains forgiveness of sins, even mortal ones (cf. CCC, no. 1452)."


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: Canon law requires confession along with purpose of amendment and absolution from the priest for all grave sins for reconciliation with God and with the Catholic Church, except in danger of death.


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: Especially in the West, the penitent may choose to confess in a specially constructed confessional. Since the Second Vatican Council, besides the previous practice of kneeling behind a screen, the option of sitting facing the priest has been added in most confessionals. For those who prefer anonymity, the provision of an opaque screen separating the priest from the penitent is still required.


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: The priest administering a sacrament, such as Reconciliation, must have permission from the local bishop, or from his religious superior. However in urgent need any ordained priest may grant absolution to a penitent.


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: The current "Rite of Penance" was produced in 1973 with two options for reconciliation services, to restore the original meaning of sacraments as community signs. This also addressed the growing sensitivity to social injustices. The 1983 Code of Canon Law brought some further changes. The penitent may kneel on the kneeler or sit in a chair (not shown), facing the priest. The current book on the "Rite of Penance" prescribes the following (42-47). The sign of the cross precedes a greeting of encouragement to trust in God. The priest may read a short passage from the Bible that proclaims God's mercy and calls to conversion. All mortal sins must be confessed, while confession of venial sins also is recommended but not required. The priest may emphasize repentance and offer counsel, and always proposes a penance which the penitent accepts and then recites an act of contrition. The priest imparts absolution. Since the Council of Trent, the essential words of absolution have been: "I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." In the renewal of the sacrament the more ample form is:


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: Finally, the priest invites the penitent to "give thanks to the Lord, for he is good", to which the penitent responds, "His mercy endures forever" (Psalms 136:1). The priest dismisses the penitent "in peace".


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: Before the absolution, the penitent makes an act of contrition, a prayer declaring sorrow for sin. While older forms might only mention sin as offence against God, newer forms mention harm done to one's neighbor.


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: Since Vatican II reconciliation services have been encouraged, to emphasize the communal element in the sacrament. Such services include readings from scripture, a homily, and prayers, followed by individual confession. In extenuating circumstances where general absolution is given, true repentance is still required and individual confession at some opportune time. Such circumstances include where large numbers are in danger of death, or are deprived of the sacrament by grave lack of priests, but not simply from the number of penitents at major feasts or pilgrimages. By official declaration, one day is a sufficiently "long time" to justify use of the Third Rite, a reconciliation service with absolution, but requiring individual confession after. The Catholic Church teaches that individual and integral confession and absolution (as opposed to collective absolution) is the only ordinary way in which a person conscious of mortal sins committed after baptism can be reconciled with God and the church.


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: Although spiritual direction is not necessarily connected with the sacrament, the sacrament of penance has throughout the centuries been one of its main settings, enabling the Christian to become sensitive to God's presence, deepen the personal relationship with Christ, and attend to the action of the Spirit in one's life. In the 20th century, during the Second Vatican Council, new approaches were taken in the presentation of this sacrament, taking into account the concern of scrupulosity, or the exaggerated obsessive concern for detail. This further distinguished the role of penance from forms of psychotherapy.


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: After having reached the age of discretion, each member of the faithful is obliged to confess faithfully his or her grave sins at least once a year. This yearly confession is necessitated for performing one's "Easter duty", the reception of Communion at least once during the Easter season. This must be preceded by Reconciliation if one has sinned gravely. Grave sin involves serious matter, sufficient knowledge of its seriousness, and sufficient freedom from any interior or exterior factors that would mitigate one's responsibility for the harm done. While private confession of all grave sins is now required, confession of venial sins is recommended but not required. Popes have written on the possible benefits of "devotional confession" of venial sins for strengthening of resolutions, divine encouragement, Christian growth, and interior peace.


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: All contrition implies sorrow of spirit and "detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again." Such contrition is "perfect" if it flows from divine charity but "imperfect" if it flows only from fear of penalties or of eternal damnation. While perfect contrition forgives serious sin, one must also have the intention to fulfill church teaching and confess the sin if or when it becomes possible.


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: In order for the sacrament of Penance to be validly celebrated, the penitent must confess all mortal sins. If the penitent knowingly conceal any mortal sin, then the confession is invalid and the penitent incurs another sin: sacrilege. A person who has knowingly concealed a mortal sin must confess the sin he has concealed, mention the sacraments he has received since that time, and confess all the mortal sins he has committed since his last good confession. If the penitent forget to confess a mortal sin in Confession, the sacrament is valid and their sins are forgiven, but he must tell the mortal sin in the next Confession if it again comes to his mind.


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: The sacramental seal binds all those who hear or overhear a penitent confess a sin for the purpose of absolution, to not reveal the identity of the penitent and the sin. Those who may overhear sins confessed, such as an interpreter, are bound by the same seal as the priest. A priest who violates this seal is automatically excommunicated, with pardon reserved to the Holy See. Others who violate the seal may also be excommunicated. Careless speaking that might lead people to connect a specific penitent with a sin confessed is also punishable.


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: While there have been martyrs who have been executed for refusing to break the seal, in the United States the inviolability of the seal is recognized before the law.


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: Beginning in the Middle Ages, manuals of confession emerged as a literary genre. These manuals were guidebooks on how to obtain the maximum benefits from the sacrament. There were two kinds of manuals: those addressed to the faithful, so that they could prepare a good confession, and those addressed to the priests, who had to make sure that no sins were left unmentioned and the confession was as thorough as possible. The priest had to ask questions, while being careful not to suggest sins that perhaps the faithful had not thought of and give them ideas. Manuals were written in Latin and in the vernacular.


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: Such manuals grew more popular as the printed word spread, and in 2011 had made a transition to electronic form as well. The first such app on the iPhone to receive a bishop's approval was mistakenly reported as an app for the sacrament itself; in reality the app was an electronic version of this long-standing tradition of material to be used in preparing oneself to make a good confession.


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: Unlike Western Christianity which saw its liturgical practice disrupted during the Migration Period of the Early Middle Ages, Eastern Christianity has retained more the understanding that ecclesiastical reconciliation had in Patristic times. In Eastern Christianity sacraments are called "sacred mysteries". The obligation to confess may be less rigid and this may include only one's most regrettable sins, to experience God's forgiving love. The practice of absolution or of a given penance varies greatly. The emphasis is on conversion of heart rather than on enumeration of sins.


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: Confession and penance in the rite of the Eastern Orthodox Church, even to our own day, preserve the character of liberation and healing rather than of judgment. Ruling and healing are seen as the same charism, as in early Christian times. Remission of sin is granted on the basis of sincere repentance and confession. Absolution proclaims God's forgiveness of the sin. Penance is entirely therapeutic; it reinforces the penitent's efforts at Christian growth. "Forgiveness of sin procured through sincere and heartfelt repentance is complete and perfect, needing no additional fulfillment," and so "the Orthodox Church most strenuously rejects[...] Latin teaching of penalties and punishments, eternal and temporal remission, the treasury of merits,[...] (and) purgatorial fire."


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: The perceived ongoing need for reform and development of the sacrament in the Roman rite can be seen from a book with a chapter on "From Confession to Reconciliation; Vatican II to 2015", having sections on:


title: Sacrament of Penance

text: In his textbook on the sacraments, widely used in universities and seminaries, Joseph Martos explains how much still needs to be done to bring together what we have learned through biblical and historical studies, "sacramental theory", and the way the sacrament is experienced today, "sacramental practice". There has been widespread demand for more general use of the Third Rite, a reconciliation service with general absolution but requiring individual confession afterwards. However, Canon Law as revised under Pope John Paul II in 1983 has forestalled change for the time being. While arguing for much wider use of community reconciliation services with general absolution and not requiring individual confession, Ladislas Orsy anticipates further developments in the church's legislation on the Sacrament of Reconciliation and asserts that "we cannot stop; truth and mercy must continue to unfold."


title: The Shirelles

text: The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McFadden), and Beverly Lee.


title: The Shirelles

text: Founded in 1957 for a talent show at their high school, they were signed by Florence Greenberg of Tiara Records. Their first single, "I Met Him on a Sunday", was released by Tiara and licensed by Decca Records in 1958. After a brief and unsuccessful period with Decca, they went with Greenberg to her newly formed company, Scepter Records. Working with Luther Dixon, the group rose to fame with "Tonight's the Night". After a successful period of collaboration with Dixon and promotion by Scepter, with seven top 20 hits, the Shirelles left Scepter in 1966. Afterwards, they were unable to maintain their previous popularity.


title: The Shirelles

text: The Shirelles have been described as having a "naive schoolgirl sound" that contrasted with the sexual themes of many of their songs. Several of their hits used strings and baião-style music. They have been credited with launching the girl group genre, with much of their music reflecting the genre's essence. Their acceptance by both white and black audiences, predating that of the Motown acts, has been noted as reflecting the early success of the Civil Rights Movement. They have received numerous honors, including the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, as well as being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 and named one of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time by "Rolling Stone" in 2004. Two of their songs, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Tonight's the Night", were selected by "Rolling Stone" on its list of the greatest songs of all time. In 2022, their debut album "Tonight's the Night" was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.


title: The Shirelles

text: The group that later became the Shirelles was formed in 1957 by four teenage girls from Passaic, New Jersey, under the name the Poquellos (or Pequellos). The founding members, Shirley Owens (born June 10, 1941, Henderson, NC), Doris Coley (August 2, 1941, Goldsboro, NC– February 4, 2000, Sacramento, CA), Addie "Micki" Harris (January 22, 1940, High Point, NC – June 10, 1982, Atlanta, Georgia), and Beverly Lee (born August 3, 1941, Passaic, NJ), entered a talent show at Passaic High School at the suggestion of a teacher. After hearing them sing "I Met Him on a Sunday", a song they had written for the show, their classmate Mary Jane Greenberg convinced the reluctant Poquellos to meet with her mother, Florence, the owner of Tiara Records. After several months of avoiding Greenberg and telling her that they were not interested in singing professionally, they were booked to Tiara. By the end of the year they had changed their name to the Shirelles, a combination of the first syllable of Owens's given name and -el, reminiscent of then-popular group the Chantels, after briefly using the name the Honeytunes. That year, they released their first song, "I Met Him on a Sunday"; after local success, it was licensed to Decca Records for national broadcast and charted at #50. The song was influenced by doo-wop, but infused with pop melodies.


title: The Shirelles

text: Tiara Records, along with the Shirelles' contract, was sold to Decca Records in 1959 for $4,000; Greenberg stayed as the manager, securing performances for the group, including one at the Howard Theatre in Washington D.C. After two singles did poorly, including their first release—with Coley as lead vocalist—of "Dedicated to the One I Love", a cover of the "5" Royales song of the same name, Decca returned them to Greenberg and gave up on them, considering them a one-hit act. On Greenberg's new label, Scepter Records, they rereleased "Dedicated to the One I Love" as a single, which peaked at #89; Wayne Wadhams, David Nathan, and Susan Lindsay in "Inside the Hits" attribute the low rating to poor distribution. In order to better promote the group, Greenberg asked songwriter Luther Dixon, who had previously worked with Perry Como, Nat King Cole, and Pat Boone and co-written the 1959 hit "16 Candles", to write for and produce songs for them. Dixon accepted.


title: The Shirelles

text: Their first single produced with Dixon, "Tonight's the Night", was released in 1960 and peaked at #39. The success of "Tonight's the Night" led to the girls being booked to perform with several major artists, such as Etta James and Little Richard, and facilitated Scepter's move to a larger office. It was followed by "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", written by husband-wife songwriting team Gerry Goffin and Carole King; the song went on to become the first "Billboard" number-one hit by an African-American girl group, possibly the first by any girl group. "Tonight's the Night" was later used as the title song for the 1961 album "Tonight's the Night", which also included "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Dedicated to the One I Love".


title: The Shirelles

text: After the success of their singles, the Shirelles became frequent guests of Murray the K, who hosted them on his "All Star Rock Shows" on the New York radio station WINS. During this same period they reissued "Dedicated to the One I Love", which peaked at #3, followed by "Mama Said", then "Baby It's You", written by Burt Bacharach, Luther Dixon, and Mack David, "Soldier Boy", and "Boys", with saxophonist King Curtis.


title: The Shirelles

text: In 1963 Dixon left Scepter, which presaged a tailing-off of the number of the Shirelles' singles to chart. However, they carried on performing and recording. Dionne Warwick replaced Owens and Coley, who took leave to marry their fiancés, in concerts and the group continued to record material. That year, their song "Foolish Little Girl" reached the pop/R&B Top 10, and they had a cameo in the film "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World". However, later in 1963 they learned that the trust, holding their royalties, that they were supposed to receive from Scepter on their 21st birthdays, did not exist. In response, they left the label, and later filed a breach of contract suit against the company. Scepter met this with a countersuit for quitting; both suits were withdrawn in 1965, after an agreement was reached. Knowing that Scepter had lied about the trust disappointed the Shirelles, who felt deceived. In a 1981 interview with Bruce Pollock, Owens said that Greenberg had put on a "mother routine", which the girls had "fall[en] for ... completely".


title: The Shirelles

text: In later years, the Shirelles declined in popularity due in part to pressure from the British Invasion and the heavy competition from other girl groups, including the Chiffons, the Supremes, the Ronettes, Martha & the Vandellas, and the Crystals. During this period, Warwick often replaced Coley on stage due to the latter's family commitments. The Shirelles were still bound to Scepter and thus unable to record for another company until the end of their contract in 1966. Their last single to chart was 1967's "Last Minute Miracle", which peaked at #99.


title: The Shirelles

text: After the commercial failure of their most recent releases, Coley left the group in 1968 to focus on her family. The remaining three Shirelles recorded songs for several labels, including Bell Records, RCA, and United Artists until 1971. Afterwards, they toured singing their older songs, and participated in the filming of the 1973 documentary "Let the Good Times Roll", recording two songs for it. Coley returned as lead singer in 1975, replacing Owens, who left that year to pursue a solo career. Addie "Micki" Harris died of a heart attack on June 10, 1982, in the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia after two performances with the group . The following year, the remaining three original members performed "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" with Warwick on her album "How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye".


title: The Shirelles

text: Today, the original members tour in different, separate, groups, although the trademark to the Shirelles name was eventually acquired by Lee. Shirley Owens performed on the Doo Wop 51 PBS special in 2000, and continues to tour under the name 'Shirley Alston Reeves and her Shirelles'. Lee currently tours with new members, billed as "The Shirelles". Doris Coley died in Sacramento, California, on February 4, 2000, of breast cancer.


title: The Shirelles

text: Wadhams, Nathan, and Lindsay describe the style of the Shirelles early work as "tight, almost doo-wop harmony". Owens's vocals, described by rock n' roll writer Alwyn W. Turner as being "wonderfully expressive", were capable of sounding "almost, but not quite" out of tune, which in his opinion lent Owens an innocent sound in her songs; music critic Albin Zak describes her vocals as being able to intone desire and vulnerability. The other members, singing backup, also convey what Michael Campbell, a professor of music at Western Illinois University, calls a "naive schoolgirl sound". The lyrics sung by the Shirelles tended to be fairly simple and "barely" concealed the subtexts of the songs. The songs were implicitly directed at female listeners, with the male subjects of songs being referred to as "he" instead of "you"; this was a change from previous female-written songs, which tended to be more gender neutral, and helped pave the way for the "confessional" songs of 70s singers like Joni Mitchell and Carole King.


title: The Shirelles

text: Musically, their works with Dixon were influenced by Brazilian baião and featured numerous instances of syncopation.


title: The Shirelles

text: Steve Huey of AllMusic notes that the Shirelles defined "the so-called girl group sound with their soft, sweet harmonies and yearning innocence", with their songs predating Motown in their widespread crossing of racial demographics, both in the US and in Britain. He also notes that they spawned "legions of imitators", and laid a blueprint for future female pop stars to follow. Turner writes that the Shirelles "launched [the girl group] genre", noting that their early work already included "the essence" of the genre; Alwyn Zak expands on the statement, noting that the influx of female groups started after the success of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow".


title: The Shirelles

text: Michael Campbell notes that the Shirelles' success reflected the Civil Rights Movement. He indicates that works such as "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", written by a white couple, produced by an African-American man, with vocals by young African-American women and strings sounding like they were targeted at a white audience, conveyed a "color-blind" message on top of its more obvious sexual one.


title: The Shirelles

text: In 1994, the Shirelles were honored by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation with the Pioneer Award for their contributions to music. The award was accepted by Owens, Lee, and Kenner. As Coley was accepting her award, she said "This is dedicated to the one I love", and sang an impromptu rendition of "Soldier Boy" together with Owens and Lee. Two years later they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, together with Gladys Knight & the Pips. At the ceremony in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, the three surviving members sang a medley of songs after being presented the awards by Merry Clayton, Marianne Faithfull, and Darlene Love. In 2002, they were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. Lee and Owens accepted the award.


title: The Shirelles

text: In 2004, "Rolling Stone" ranked them #76 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Paul Shaffer, who did the write-up, wrote that the girl-group sound, originated by them, was "everything to [him]"; he also described their impromptu performance of "Soldier Boy" as inspiring. They also included two of the Shirelles' songs, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Tonight's the Night", on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In the 2010 edition, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" was ranked 126th, while "Tonight's the Night" was ranked 409th. The Shirelles' 1963 "Greatest Hits" album was included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in "" (1981).


title: The Shirelles

text: In September 2008, the Shirelles' hometown of Passaic honored the group by renaming a section of Paulison Avenue between Passaic and Pennington Avenues (the section where Passaic High School is located) "Shirelles Boulevard". The dedication ceremony was attended by both surviving Shirelles. Owens said that it was different from they were inducted into the Hall of Fame, as it was their home town. She noted that "the people who loves us and we loved are right here."


title: The Shirelles

text: In 2022, their debut album "Tonight's the Night" was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.


title: The Shirelles

text: The Shirelles' story was shown in "Baby It's You!" (a musical revue written by Floyd Mutrux and Colin Escott), which follows the story of Greenberg and Scepter Records. The revue played on Broadway for 148 performances, opening at the Broadhurst Theatre on April 27, 2011, and closing on September 4 of the same year. The use of their likenesses without permission led to Lee, as well as the estates of Coley and Harris, to sue Warner Bros.


title: The Shirelles

text: ^ Clemente, John (2000). Girl Groups—Fabulous Females That Rocked The World. Iola, Wisc. Krause Publications. pp. 276. . ^ Clemente, John (2013). Girl Groups—Fabulous Females Who Rocked The World. Bloomington, IN Authorhouse Publications. pp. 623. (sc); (e).


title: Faber-Castell

text: Faber-Castell AG is a manufacturer of pens, pencils, other office supplies (e.g., staplers, slide rules, erasers, rulers) and art supplies, as well as high-end writing instruments and luxury leather goods. Headquartered in Stein, Germany, it operates 14 factories and 20 sales units throughout the globe. The Faber-Castell Group employs a staff of approximately 8,000 and does business in more than 120 countries. The House of Faber-Castell is the family which founded and continues to exercise leadership within the corporation. Faber-Castell manufactures about 2 billion pencils in more than 120 different colors every year.


title: Faber-Castell

text: Faber-Castell was founded in 1761 at Stein near Nuremberg by cabinet maker Kaspar Faber (1730–84) as the A.W. Faber Company, and has remained in the Faber family for eight generations. It opened branches in New York (1849), London (1851), Paris (1855), and expanded to Vienna (1872) and St. Petersburg (1874). It opened a factory in Geroldsgrün, Bavaria, where slide rules were produced. It expanded internationally and launched new products under Kaspar Faber's ambitious great-grandson, Johann Lothar Freiherr von Faber (1817–96).


title: Faber-Castell

text: In 1900, after the marriage of Lothar's granddaughter and heiress with a count of Castell, the A.W. Faber enterprise took the name of "Faber-Castell" and a new logo, combining the Faber motto, "Since 1761", with the "jousting knights" of the Castells' coat-of-arms. A.W. Faber is the oldest brand-name pencil continuously sold in the US, having begun sales in 1870.


title: Faber-Castell

text: Today, the company operates 10 factories and 22 sales units, with six in Europe, four in Asia, three in North America, five in South America, and one each in Australia and New Zealand. The Faber-Castell Group employs a staff of approximately 8,000 and does business in more than 120 countries.


title: Faber-Castell

text: Beginning in the 1850s Faber started to use graphite from Siberia and cedar wood from Florida to produce its pencils.


title: Faber-Castell

text: Faber-Castell is well known for its brand of PITT Artist pens. The pens, used by comic and manga artists such as Adam Hughes, contain an India ink that is both acid-free and archival, and come in a variety of colors.


title: Faber-Castell

text: From about 1880 to 1975 Faber-Castell was also one of the world's major manufacturers of slide rules, the best known of which was the 2/83N.


title: Faber-Castell

text: There are about 16 manufacturing plants (in 10 countries) which mainly manufacture writing instruments.


title: Nepalese rupee

text: The Nepalese rupee (; symbol: रु; code: NPR) is the official currency of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. The Nepalese rupee is subdivided into 100 "paisa". The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Nepal Rastra Bank, the central bank of Nepal. The Nepalese rupee was introduced in 1932 when it replaced the Nepalese mohar at the rate 2:1.


title: Nepalese rupee

text: The Nepalese rupee (रु) has been pegged to the Indian rupee (₹) at the rate रु1.60 = ₹1 since 1994; prior to this, it had been pegged at the rate रु1.45 = ₹1.


title: Nepalese rupee

text: The rupee was introduced in 1932, replacing the silver mohar at a rate of 2 mohar = 1 rupee. At first, the rupee was called the "Mohru" in Nepali.


title: Nepalese rupee

text: In 1955, 4 Paisa coins were minted, made from rifle cartridge cases from World War II that were used by the Gurkha soldiers who fought against the Imperial Japanese in the Pacific. The coins were produced by removing the primer from the cases and the cases were then converted into the 4 Paisa coins to commemorate their courage and victory during the war.


title: Nepalese rupee

text: During King Birendra’s rule, one can also distinguish between two major series of banknotes. The first series features the king wearing the military uniform while on the notes of the second series the king is wearing the traditional Nepalese crown adorned with feathers of the bird of paradise. During this period regular banknotes of 2 and 20 rupees and special banknotes of 25 and 250 rupees were issued for the first time. The legends found on the last issues of Gyanendra revert to Nepal "sarkar" ("Nepalese government"), thus omitting the reference to the king.


title: Nepalese rupee

text: In October 2007, a 500-rupee note was issued on which the king's portrait was replaced by Mount Everest. This reflects the historic change from a kingdom to a republic which took place in May 2008 in Nepal. Further notes of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 1000 rupees with Mount Everest and without reference to the king in their legends followed in 2008. The first issues of the 500- and 1000-rupee notes were printed on paper which still had the king's crowned portrait as a watermark in the "window" on the right part of the face of the notes. It was decided to print a red Rhododendron flower (Nepal's national flower) on top of the watermark. Notes of these denominations which were issued in 2009 and thereafter are printed on paper which has a Rhododendron flower as watermark instead of the royal portrait and were therefore released without the additional overprint in red.


title: Nepalese rupee

text: On 17 September 1945, the government introduced banknotes for 5, 10 and 100 rupees, with the name mohru used in Nepalese. There are also 250-rupee notes commemorating the Silver Jubilee of Birendra Bir Bikram Shah in 1997. Since 2007, Nepalese rupee banknotes have been produced by Perum Peruri, the mint company of Indonesia.


title: Nepalese rupee

text: In 2012, Nepal Rastra Bank issued a revised banknote series that is similar to the 2007 series, but now include inscriptions in English and the year of issue on the back.


title: Nepalese rupee

text: Between 1857 and 1930, the Nepalese rupee (two half-rupees or mohars) was fixed at 1.28 per Indian rupee. After this period, its value fluctuated against the Indian rupee, falling to रु1.60 = ₹1 in 1939, rising to रु0.60 = ₹1 during the Second World War and falling again afterwards. In 1952, the government of Nepal officially pegged the Nepalese rupee at रु1.28 = ₹1, although the market rate remained at रु1.60 = ₹1.


title: Nepalese rupee

text: Between 1955 and 1957, there was a series of soft peg revaluations that started at रु1.755 = ₹1 and appreciated to रु1.305 = ₹1 by 1957. In 1958, the government applied a new exchange rate of रु1.505 = ₹1 for the purchase of plane tickets only. A hard peg of रु1.60 = ₹1 was instituted in 1960, which was revalued to रु1.0155 = ₹1 when the Indian rupee was sharply devalued on 6 June 1966. The Indian rupee ceased to be legal tender in Nepal in 1966.


title: Nepalese rupee

text: From 1967 to 1975, the government pegged the Nepalese rupee against the Indian rupee, the US dollar and gold, starting at रु1.35 = ₹1, रु10.125 = US$1 and रु1 = 0.08777g gold. By the time the gold peg was removed in 1978, the exchange rate was रु1.39075 = ₹1, रु12.50 = $1 and रु1 = 0.0808408g gold.


title: Nepalese rupee

text: In 1983, the Nepali rupee's anchor was changed to a trade-weighted basket of currencies, which in practice amounted to a hard peg against the Indian rupee. This remained until 1993, when the peg was officially set at रु1.60 = ₹1.


title: Ross Malinger

text: Ross Aaron Malinger (born July 7, 1984) is an American former actor and automobile salesperson. He is best known for his roles as Jonah Baldwin in the 1993 movie "Sleepless in Seattle", starring Tom Hanks, and as Bobby Jameson in the 1997 Disney comedy film "Toothless", starring Kirstie Alley. He and Alley co-starred in the 1995 television film "Peter and the Wolf". He played Adam Lippman, the Bar Mitzvah boy who liked Elaine's "Shiksa appeal", in the "Seinfeld" episode "The Serenity Now".


title: Ross Malinger

text: Malinger was born in Redwood City, California, the son of Laura, a producer, and Brian Malinger, a producer and sales representative.


title: Ross Malinger

text: He provided the original voice of T.J. on the animated series "Recess". Due to his voice breaking, he did not reprise the role in the next seasons and was replaced by Andrew Lawrence. He was a recurring character on the teen drama "Party of Five".


title: Ross Malinger

text: He also provided the voice for the puppy Spike, part of the "Riley Gang" in ""; and played the role of Payton Shoemaker in "Little Bigfoot".


title: Ross Malinger

text: He starred with Shelley Long and Treat Williams on the CBS comedy "Good Advice", which lasted two seasons, 1993 to 1994.


title: Ross Malinger

text: He was in an episode of "Touched by an Angel" playing Nick Albright, a troubled teenager after his parents' separation. He appeared in an episode of "Without a Trace" in 2006 as Jason McMurphy.


title: Ross Malinger

text: Malinger has since retired from acting, and has worked at a series of car dealerships in the Greater Los Angeles area. He also earned an Associate degree from Moorpark College.


title: Automotive lighting

text: The lighting system of a motor vehicle consists of lighting and signalling devices mounted to or integrated into the front, rear, sides, and in some cases the top of a motor vehicle. They illuminate the road ahead for the driver and increase the vehicle's visibility, allowing other drivers and pedestrians to see its presence, position, size, direction of travel, and its driver's intentions.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Emergency vehicles usually have distinctive lighting equipment to warn drivers and indicate priority of movement in traffic.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Early road vehicles used fuelled lamps before the availability of electric lighting. The Ford Model T used carbide lamps for headlights and oil lamps for tail lights. It did not have all-electric lighting as a standard feature until several years after its introduction. Dynamos for automobile headlights were first fitted around 1908 and became commonplace in 1920s automobiles.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Silent film star Florence Lawrence is often credited with designing the first "auto signalling arm", a predecessor to the modern turn signal, along with the first mechanical brake signal. She did not patent these inventions, however, and as a result, she received no credit for—or profit from—either one. Tail lights and brake lights were introduced around 1915, and by 1919, low-beam or dipped beam headlights were available. Sealed beam headlights were introduced in 1936 and standardized as the only acceptable type in the US in 1940. Self-cancelling turn signals were developed in 1940. By 1945, headlights and signal lights were integrated into the body styling. Halogen headlights were developed in Europe in 1960. High-intensity discharge (HID) headlights were produced starting in 1991. In 1993, the first LED tail lights were installed on mass-production automobiles, with LED headlights subsequently being introduced in the 2000s.


title: Automotive lighting

text: The colour of light emitted by vehicle lights is largely standardized by established conventions, first codified in the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic and later specified in the 1968 United Nations Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. With some regional exceptions, lights facing rearward must emit red light, side-facing lights and all turn signals must emit amber light, and lights facing forward must emit white or selective yellow light. No other colours are permitted except on emergency vehicles. Vehicle lighting colour specifications can differ somewhat in countries that have not signed the 1949 and/or 1968 Conventions; examples include turn signals and side marker lights in North America, as described in those lights' sections later in this article.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Forward illumination is provided by high- ("main", "full", "driving") and low- ("dip", "dipped", "passing") beam headlights, which may be augmented by auxiliary fog lights, driving lights, or cornering lights.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Low beam (also called dipped beam, passing beam, or meeting beam) headlights provide adequate forward and lateral illumination without dazzling other road users with excessive glare. This beam is specified for use whenever other vehicles are present ahead.


title: Automotive lighting

text: UN ECE regulations for dipped beam headlights specify a beam with a sharp, asymmetric cut-off; the half of the beam closest to oncoming drivers is flat and low, while the half of the beam closest to the outside of the road slopes up and towards the near side of the roadway. This permits a functional compromise where it is possible to substantially prevent glare for oncoming drivers, while still allowing adequate illumination for drivers to see pedestrians, road signs, hazards, etc. on their side of the road.


title: Automotive lighting

text: The United States and Canada use proprietary FMVSS / CMVSS standards instead of UN ECE regulations. These standards contain regulations for dipped beam headlights that also specify a beam with a sharp, asymmetric cut-off; the half of the beam closest to oncoming drivers is also flat and low, but not as low as prescribed in UN ECE regulations. The half of the beam closest to the outside of the road is also flat, but higher than the half closest to oncoming vehicles. This results in substantially increased glare for oncoming drivers and also poorer illumination of the near side of the roadway in comparison to headlights conforming to UN ECE regulations.


title: Automotive lighting

text: High beam (also called main beam, driving beam, or full beam) headlights provide an intense, centre-weighted distribution of light with no particular glare control. Therefore, they are only suitable for use when alone on the road, as the glare they produce will dazzle other drivers.


title: Automotive lighting

text: UN ECE Regulations permit higher-intensity high-beam headlights than allowed under U.S. and Canadian FMVSS / CMVSS standards.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Auxiliary high beam lights may be fitted to provide high-intensity light to enable the driver to see at longer range than the vehicle's high beam headlights. Such lights are most notably fitted on rally cars, and are occasionally fitted to production vehicles derived from or imitating such cars. They are common in countries with large stretches of unlit roads, or in regions such as the Nordic countries that receive fewer daylight hours during winter.


title: Automotive lighting

text: "Driving light" is a term hailing from the early days of night time driving, when it was relatively rare to encounter an opposing vehicle. Only on occasions when opposing drivers passed each other would the low (dipped or "passing") beam be used. The high beam was therefore known as the "driving beam", and this terminology is still found in international UN Regulations, which do not distinguish between a vehicle's primary (mandatory) and auxiliary (optional) upper/driving beam lights. The "driving light" term has been supplanted in US regulations by the functionally descriptive term "auxiliary high-beam light".


title: Automotive lighting

text: Many countries regulate the installation and use of driving lights. For example, in Russia, each vehicle may have no more than three pairs of driving lights (including the original lights), and in Paraguay, auxiliary driving lights must be off and covered with opaque material when the vehicle is operated in urban areas.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Front fog lights provide a wide, bar-shaped beam of light with a sharp cutoff at the top, and are generally aimed and mounted low. They may produce white or selective yellow light, and were designed for use at low speed to increase the illumination directed towards the road surface and verges in conditions of poor visibility due to rain, fog, dust or snow.


title: Automotive lighting

text: They are sometimes used in place of dipped-beam headlights, reducing glare from fog or falling snow, although the legality of using front fog lights without low-beam headlights varies by jurisdiction.


title: Automotive lighting

text: In most countries, weather conditions rarely necessitate the use of front fog lights and there is no legal requirement for them, so their primary purpose is frequently cosmetic. They are often available as optional extras or only on higher trim levels of many cars. Since as early as the 2020s, several car manufacturers have noticeably omitted the front fog lights from many of their latest models, as more recent high-tech lighting technologies such as DRLs and LEDs connected to automatic high-beam systems negate the use of fog lights. However, some manufacturers who still offer fog lights as standard equipment in certain model trims have diversified its use to function also as an automatic lighting delay for vehicles, to light up surroundings and roadside curbs after being parked.


title: Automotive lighting

text: An SAE study has shown that in the United States, more people inappropriately use their fog lights in dry weather than use them properly in poor weather. Because of this, use of the fog lights when visibility is not seriously reduced is often prohibited in most jurisdictions; for example, in New South Wales, Australia:


title: Automotive lighting

text: The driver of a vehicle must not use any fog light fitted to the vehicle unless the driver is driving in fog, mist or under other atmospheric conditions that restrict visibility.


title: Automotive lighting

text: The respective purposes of front fog lights and driving lights are often confused, due in part to the misconception that fog lights are always selective yellow, while any auxiliary light that makes white light is a driving light. Automakers and aftermarket parts and accessories suppliers frequently refer interchangeably to "fog lights" and "driving lights" (or "fog/driving lights").


title: Automotive lighting

text: On some models, cornering lights provide steady-intensity white light for lateral illumination in the direction of an intended turn or lane change. They are generally actuated in conjunction with the turn signals, and they may be wired to also illuminate when the vehicle is shifted into reverse gear. Some modern vehicles activate the cornering light on one or the other side when the steering wheel input reaches a predetermined angle in that direction, regardless of whether a turn signal has been activated.


title: Automotive lighting

text: American technical standards contain provisions for front cornering lights as well as rear cornering lights. Cornering lights have traditionally been prohibited under international UN Regulations, though provisions have recently been made to allow them as long as they are only operable when the vehicle is travelling at less than 40 kilometres per hour (about 25 mph).


title: Automotive lighting

text: Police cars, emergency vehicles, and vehicles competing in road rallies are sometimes equipped with an auxiliary spot light, sometimes called an "alley light", in a swivel-mounted housing attached to one or both A-pillars, aimed by a handle protruding through the pillar into the vehicle.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Conspicuity devices are lights and reflectors that make a vehicle conspicuous and visible with respect to its presence, position, direction of travel, change in direction, or deceleration. Such lights may light steadily, blink, or flash, depending on their intended and regulated function. Most must be fitted in pairs—one left and one right—though some vehicles have multiple pairs (such as two left and two right stop lights) and/or redundant light sources (such as one left and one right stop light, each containing two bulbs).


title: Automotive lighting

text: Front position lights (known as parking lights in North America and front sidelights in the UK) provide nighttime standing-vehicle conspicuity. They are designed to use little electricity so they can be left on when parked for prolonged periods of time. Despite the UK term, these are not the same as the side marker lights described below. The front position lights on any vehicle must emit white light, with the exception of motorcycles, which may have amber front position lights. In the US, Canada, Mexico, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia (only if combined with a side marker), they may emit amber light on any vehicle. The "city light" terminology for front position lights derives from the practice, formerly adhered to in cities like Moscow, London and Paris, of driving at night in urban areas using these low-intensity lights rather than the vehicle's headlights.


title: Automotive lighting

text: In Germany, the StVZO (Road Traffic Licensing Regulations) calls for a different function provided by these lights: with the vehicle's ignition switched off, the operator may activate a low-intensity white light at the front and red light at the rear on either the left or right side. This function is used when parking in narrow unlit streets to provide parked-vehicle conspicuity to approaching drivers. This function, which is optional under UN and US regulations, is served passively in the United States by mandatory side marker retroreflectors.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Some countries permit or require vehicles to be equipped with daytime running lights (DRLs). Depending on the regulations of the country for which the vehicle is built, these may be functionally dedicated lights, or the function may be provided by the low beam or high beam headlights, the front turn signals, or the front fog lights.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Passenger cars and small delivery vans first type approved to UN Regulation 48 on or after 7 February 2011, and large vehicles (trucks and buses) type approved since August 2012, must be equipped with DRLs. Functional piggybacking, such as using the headlights, front turn signals, or fog lights as DRLs, is not permitted; the EU Directive requires functionally specific daytime running lights compliant with UN Regulation 87 and mounted to the vehicle in accord with UN Regulation 48.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Prior to the DRL mandate, countries requiring daytime lights permitted low beam headlights to provide that function. National regulations in Canada, Sweden, Norway, Slovenia, Finland, Iceland, and Denmark require hardwired automatic DRL systems of varying specification. DRLs are permitted in many countries where they are not required, but prohibited in other countries not requiring them.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Front, side, and rear position lights are permitted, required, or forbidden to illuminate in combination with daytime running lights, depending on the jurisdiction and the DRL implementation. Likewise, according to jurisdictional regulations, DRLs mounted within a certain distance of turn signals are permitted or required to extinguish or dim down to parking light intensity individually when the adjacent turn signal is operating.


title: Automotive lighting

text: UN Regulation 87 stipulates that DRLs must emit white light with an intensity of at least 400 candela on axis and no more than 1200 candela in any direction.


title: Automotive lighting

text: In the US, daytime running lights may emit either amber or white light, and may produce up to 7,000 candela. This has provoked a large number of complaints about glare.


title: Automotive lighting

text: UK regulations briefly required vehicles first used on or after 1 April 1987 to be equipped with a "dim-dip" device or special low-intensity running lights, except such vehicles as complying fully with UN Regulation 48 regarding the installation of lighting equipment. A dim-dip device operates the dipped beam headlights at between 10% and 20% of normal low-beam intensity. Running lights permitted as an alternative to dim-dip were required to emit at least 200 candela straight ahead, and no more than 800 candela in any direction. In practice, most vehicles were equipped with the dim-dip option rather than dedicated running lights.


title: Automotive lighting

text: The dim-dip systems were not intended for daytime use as DRLs. Rather, they operated if the engine was running "and" the driver switched on the position lights (called sidelights in the UK). Dim-dip was intended to provide a nighttime "town beam" with intensity between that of contemporary parking lights commonly used in city traffic after dark, and dipped beams; the former were considered insufficiently intense to provide improved conspicuity in conditions requiring it, while the latter were considered too glaring for safe use in built-up areas. The UK was the only country to require such dim-dip systems, though vehicles so equipped were sold in other Commonwealth countries with left-hand traffic.


title: Automotive lighting

text: In 1988, the European Commission successfully prosecuted the UK government in the European Court of Justice, arguing that the UK requirement for dim-dip was illegal under EC directives prohibiting member states from enacting vehicle lighting requirements not contained in pan-European EC directives. As a result, the UK requirement for dim-dip was quashed. Nevertheless, dim-dip systems remain permitted, and while such systems are not presently as common as they once were, dim-dip functionality was fitted on many new cars well into the 1990s.


title: Automotive lighting

text: In the United States, amber front and red rear side marker lights and retroreflectors are required. The law initially required lights "or" retroreflectors on vehicles manufactured after 1 January 1968. This was amended to require lights "and" retroreflectors on vehicles manufactured after 1 January 1970. These side-facing devices make the vehicle's presence, position and direction of travel clearly visible from oblique angles. The lights are wired so as to illuminate whenever the vehicles' parking lights and tail lights are on, including when the headlights are being used. Front amber side markers in the United States may be wired so as to flash in synchronous phase or opposite-phase with the turn signals; nevertheless, they are not required to flash at all. Side markers are permitted but not required on cars and light passenger vehicles outside the United States and Canada. If installed, they are required to be brighter and visible through a larger horizontal angle than US side markers, may flash only in synchronous phase with the turn signals (but are not required to flash), and they must be amber at the front and rear, except rear side markers may be red if they are grouped, combined, or reciprocally incorporated with another rear lighting function that is required to be red.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Australian Design Rule 45/01 provides for two different kinds of side marker light: a type for trucks and other large vehicles producing amber light to the front and red to the rear with no requirement to emit light to the side (intended for showing the overall length of long from in front and behind a combination) and the U.S. type amber front/red rear lights for passenger cars.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Side marker lights can be seen as the successor to "cowl lights" used on vehicles during the 1920s to 1930s, which were a pair of small lights installed at the top edges of the cowl between the hood and the windshield, and would serve as a reference point for oncoming traffic where the widest part of the body was. These were sometimes used in tandem with fender lights during the same time period, when fenders were separate from the body and only covered the wheels.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Direction indicator lights or turn signals, informally known as directional signals, directionals, blinkers, or indicators, are blinking lights mounted near the left and right front and rear corners of a vehicle, and sometimes on the sides or on the side mirrors of a vehicle (where they are called repeaters). They are activated by the driver on one side of the vehicle at a time to advertise intent to turn or change lanes towards that side, or used simultaneously as a hazard warning signal to warn other drivers of a vehicle parked on the road (see below).


title: Automotive lighting

text: For many years, turn signals' on-off operation was activated by a thermal flasher unit which used a heating element, leaf spring, and a bimetallic strip. When activated by the stalk switch on the steering column, the signal lights and heating element turned on. The heat caused the bimetallic strip to bend such that it threw the leaf spring over centre, opening the circuit and breaking power to the heating element and the signal lights. When the bimetallic strip cooled down, it would pull the leaf spring back over centre in the other direction, closing the contacts and again sending power to the lights and heating element. The cycle would repeat until the power to the thermal flasher was switched off by the stalk switch.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Thermal flashers gradually gave way to electromechanical relays; one of many control strategies with relay-type flashers is to use a relaxation oscillator chip to generate square waves to the relay coil, causing the relay contacts to open and close.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Modern cars now use a relaxation oscillator and solid-state relay built into the body control module to flash the lights, and use speakers to produce the distinctive clicking sound associated with turn signals, which was previously made by a relay or the leaf spring in a thermal flasher. If the stalk switch is not moved beyond the fixed left/right position and allowed to flip back, the control module will only flash the lights three times.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Electric turn signal lights date from as early as 1907. The modern flashing turn signal was patented in 1938, and shortly after, most major automobile manufacturers offered this feature before it became mandatory in the 1950s. , most countries require turn signals on all new vehicles that are driven on public roadways. Alternative systems of hand signals were used earlier and remain common for bicycles. Hand signals are also sometimes used when regular vehicle lights are malfunctioning or for older vehicles without turn signals.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Some cars from the 1920s to early 1960s used retractable semaphores called trafficators rather than flashing lights. They were commonly mounted high up behind the front doors and swung out horizontally. However, they were fragile and could be easily broken off, and also had a tendency to stick in the closed position. These can be fitted with flashing lights as an upgrade.


title: Automotive lighting

text: As with all vehicle lighting and signalling devices, turn signal lights must comply with technical standards that stipulate minimum and maximum permissible intensity levels, minimum horizontal and vertical angles of visibility, and minimum illuminated surface area to ensure that they are visible at all relevant angles, do not dazzle those who view them, and are suitably conspicuous in conditions ranging from full darkness to full direct sunlight.


title: Automotive lighting

text: In most countries, cars must be equipped with side-mounted turn signal repeaters to make the turn indication visible laterally (i.e. to the sides of the vehicle) rather than just to the front and rear of the vehicle. These are permitted, but not required in the United States and Canada. As an alternative in both the United States and Canada, the front amber side marker lights may be wired to flash with the turn signals, but this is not mandatory. Mercedes-Benz introduced side turn signal repeaters integrated into the side-view mirrors in 1998, starting with its facelifted E-Class (W210). Since then, many automakers have been incorporating side turn signal devices into the mirror housings rather than mounting them on the vehicle's fenders. Some evidence suggests that mirror-mounted turn signals may be more effective than fender-mounted ones.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Turn signals are required to blink on and off, or "flash", at a steady rate of between 60 and 120 pulses per minute (1–2 Hz). International UN Regulations require that all turn signals flash in simultaneous phase; US regulations permit side marker lights wired for side turn signal functionality to flash in opposite-phase. An audio and/or visual tell-tale indicator is required, to advise the driver when the turn signals are activated and operating. This usually takes the form of one green light on the dashboard on cars from the 1980s or older, or two green indicator lights on cars from the 1990s to the present, and a rhythmic ticking sound generated electromechanically or electronically by the flasher. It is also required that the vehicle operator be alerted by much faster- or slower-than-normal flashing in the event a turn signal light fails.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Turn signals are, in almost every case, activated by a horizontal stalk protruding from the side of the steering column, though on some vehicles it protrudes from the dashboard. The driver raises or lowers the outboard end of the stalk in accord with the clockwise or anticlockwise direction the steering wheel is about to be turned.


title: Automotive lighting

text: In left-hand drive vehicles, the turn indicator stalk is usually located to the left of the steering wheel. In right-hand-drive vehicles, there is less consistency; it may be located to the left or to the right of the steering wheel. Regulations do not specify a mandatory location for the turn signal control, only that it be visible and operable by the driver, and—at least in North America—that it be labelled with a specific symbol if it is not located on the left side of the steering column. The international UN Regulations do not include analogous specifications.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Virtually all vehicles (except many motorcycles and commercial semi-tractors) have a turn indicator self-cancelling feature that returns the lever to the neutral (no signal) position as the steering wheel approaches the straight-ahead position after a turn has been made. Beginning in the late 1960s, using the direction-indicator lights to signal for a lane change was facilitated by the addition of a spring-loaded momentary signal-on position just shy of the left and right detents. The signal operates for however long the driver holds the lever partway towards the left or right turn signal detent. Some vehicles have an automatic lane-change indication feature; tapping the lever partway towards the left or right signal position and immediately releasing it causes the applicable turn indicators to flash three to five times.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Some transit buses, such as those in New York, have turn signals activated by floor-mounted momentary-contact footswitches on the floor near the driver's left foot (on left-hand drive buses). The foot-activated signals allow bus drivers to keep both hands on the steering wheel while watching the road and scanning for passengers as they approach a bus stop. New York City Transit bus drivers, among others, are trained to step continuously on the right directional switch while servicing a bus stop, to signal other road users they are intentionally dwelling at the stop, allowing following buses to skip that stop. This method of signalling requires no special arrangements for self-cancellation or passing.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Sequential turn signals are a feature on some cars, wherein the turn signal function is provided by multiple lit elements that illuminate sequentially rather than simultaneously. The visual effect is one of outward motion in the direction of the intended turn or lane change. Sequential turn signals were factory fitted to 1965–1971-model Ford Thunderbirds, 1967–1973 Mercury Cougars, Shelby Mustangs between 1967 and 1970, 1969 Imperials, the Japanese-market 1971–1972 Nissan Cedric and Nissan Bluebird, some Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT, Škoda and Porsche models, Toyota C-HR, some Peugeots and Ford Mustangs since 2010.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Two different systems were employed. The earlier, fitted to the 1965 through 1968 Ford-built cars and the 1971–1972 Nissan Cedric, employed an electric motor driving, through reduction gearing, a set of three slow-turning cams. These cams would actuate switches to turn on the lights in sequence. Later Ford cars and the 1969 Imperial used a transistorised control module with no moving parts to wear, break, or go out of adjustment.


title: Automotive lighting

text: FMVSS 108 has been officially interpreted as requiring all light sources in an active turn signal to illuminate simultaneously. Some vehicles, such as the 2010 and later Ford Mustang, Other US vehicles with sequential turn signals comply by illuminating all elements of the turn signal simultaneously, before sequentially turning them off.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Until the early 1960s, most front turn signals worldwide emitted white light and most rear turn signals emitted red. The American auto industry voluntarily adopted amber front-turn signals for most vehicles beginning in the 1963 model year, though the advent of amber signals was accompanied by legal stumbles in some states and front turn signals were still legally permitted to emit white light until FMVSS 108 took effect for the 1968 model year, whereupon amber became the only permissible front turn-signal colour. Currently, most countries outside the United States and Canada require that all front, side and rear turn signals produce amber light.


title: Automotive lighting

text: In Belgium, Brazil, Canada, the GCC countries, Israel, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the US, the rear signals may be amber or red. Additionally, red turn signals can also be found in countries with trade agreements with the US such as Mexico and South Korea, as well as in New Zealand. Proponents of red rear turn signals have claimed that they are less costly to manufacture, and automakers use the turn signal colour as a styling element to differentiate vehicles of different model years. Proponents of amber rear turn signals say they are more easily discernible as turn signals. It has been recognised since the 1960s that amber turn signals are more quickly spotted than red ones. A 2008 US study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration suggests vehicles with amber rear signals rather than red ones are up to 28% less likely to be involved in certain kinds of collisions, a followup 2009 NHTSA study determined there to be a significant overall safety benefit to amber rather than red rear turn signals, US studies in the early 1990s demonstrated improvements in the speed and accuracy of drivers' reactions to the stop lights of vehicles ahead when the turn signals were amber rather than red, and NHTSA determined in 2015 that amber rear turn signals can be provided at comparable cost to red ones.


title: Automotive lighting

text: There is some evidence that turn signals with colourless clear lenses and amber bulbs may be less conspicuous in bright sunlight than those with amber lenses and colourless bulbs.


title: Automotive lighting

text: The amber bulbs commonly used in turn signals with colourless lenses are no longer made with cadmium glass, since various regulations worldwide, including the European RoHS directive, banned cadmium because of its toxicity. Amber glass made without cadmium is relatively costly, so . With accumulated heat-cool cycles, though, some of these coatings may flake off the bulb glass, or the colour may fade. This causes the turn signal to emit white light rather than the required amber light.


title: Automotive lighting

text: The international regulation on motor vehicle bulbs requires manufacturers to test bulbs for colour endurance. However, no test protocol or colour durability requirement is specified. Discussion is ongoing within the "Groupe des Rapporteurs d'Éclairage", the UNECE working group on vehicular lighting regulation, to develop and implement a colour durability standard.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Rather than using an amber bulb, some signal lights contain an inner amber plastic enclosure between a colourless bulb and the colourless outer lens.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Conspicuity for the rear of a vehicle is provided by rear position lights (also called tail lights). These are required to produce only red light and to be wired such that they are lit whenever the front position lights are lit, including when the headlights are on. Rear position lights may be combined with the vehicle's stop lights or be separate from them. In combined-function installations, the lights produce brighter red light as stop lights and dimmer red light as rear position lights. Regulations worldwide stipulate minimum intensity ratios between the bright (stop) and dim (position) modes, so that a vehicle displaying rear position lights will not be mistakenly interpreted as showing stop lights and vice versa.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Red steadily lit rear lights, brighter than the rear position lights, are activated when the driver applies the vehicle's brakes and warn vehicles behind to prepare to stop. These are formally called "stop lamps" in technical standards and regulations and in the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, though they are often informally called brake lights. They are required to be fitted in multiples of two, symmetrically at the left and right edges of the rear of every vehicle. International UN regulations No. 7 specify a range of acceptable intensity for a stop light of 60 to 185 candela. In North America, where the UN regulations are not recognised, the acceptable range for a single-compartment stop light is 80 to 300 candela.


title: Automotive lighting

text: In the United States and Canada since 1986, in Australia and New Zealand since 1990, and in Europe and other countries applying UN Regulation 48 since 1998, a central stop (brake) light mounted higher than the vehicle's left and right stop lights is also required. The so-called "centre high mount stop lamp", or CHMSL (pronounced ), is sometimes informally called the "centre brake light", the "third brake light", the "eye-level brake light", the "safety brake light", or the "high-level brake light". The CHMSL may use one or more filament bulbs or LEDs, or a strip of neon tubing as its light source.


title: Automotive lighting

text: The CHMSL is intended to provide a warning to drivers whose view of the vehicle's left and right stop lights is blocked by interceding vehicles. It also provides a redundant stop light signal in the event of a stop light malfunction. In North America, where rear turn signals are permitted to emit red light, the CHMSL also helps to disambiguate brake lights from rear position lights and turn signal lights.


title: Automotive lighting

text: The CHMSL is generally required to illuminate steadily and not permitted to flash, though US regulators granted Mercedes-Benz a temporary 24-month exemption in January 2006 to the steady-light requirement so as to evaluate whether a flashing CHMSL provides an emergency stop signal that effectively reduces the likelihood of a crash.


title: Automotive lighting

text: On passenger cars, the CHMSL may be placed above the back glass, affixed to the vehicle's interior just inside the back glass, or integrated into the vehicle's deck lid or into a spoiler. Other specialised fitments are sometimes seen; the Jeep Wrangler and Land Rover Freelander have the CHMSL on a stalk fixed to the spare wheel carrier. Trucks, vans and commercial vehicles sometimes have the CHMSL mounted to the trailing edge of the vehicle's roof. The CHMSL is required by regulations worldwide to be centred laterally on the vehicle, though UN Regulation 48 permits lateral offset of up to 15 cm if the vehicle's lateral centre is not coincident with a fixed body panel, but instead separates movable components such as doors. Such an offset can be seen on the third-generation Renault Master and first-generation Ford Transit Connect vans. The height of the CHMSL is also regulated, both in absolute terms and with respect to the mounting height of the vehicle's conventional left and right stop lights. Depending on the left and right lights' height, the lower edge of the CHMSL may be just above the left and right lights' upper edge.


title: Automotive lighting

text: The 1952 Volkswagen Bus was equipped with only one stop light, mounted centrally and higher than the left and right rear lights, which did not produce a stop light function. The 1968–1971 Ford Thunderbird could be ordered with optional supplemental high-mounted stop and turn signal lights integrated into the left and right interior trim surrounding the rear glass. The Oldsmobile Toronado (from 1971 to 1978) and the Buick Riviera (from 1974 to 1976) had similar dual high-mounted supplemental stop/turn lights as standard equipment; these were located on the outside of the vehicle below the bottom of the rear glass. This type of configuration was not widely adopted at the time. Car and lighting manufacturers in Germany experimented with dual high-mount supplemental stop lights in the early 1980s, but this effort, too, failed to gain wide popular or regulatory support.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Effective with the 1986 model year, the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Transport Canada mandated that all new passenger cars come equipped with a CHMSL. The requirement was extended to light trucks and vans for the 1994 model year. Early studies involving taxicabs and other fleet vehicles found that a third high-level stop light reduced rear-end collisions by about 50%. Once the novelty effect wore off as most vehicles on the road came to be equipped with a CHMSL, the crash-avoidance benefit declined. However, said benefit has not declined to zero, and a CHMSL has become so inexpensive to incorporate into a vehicle that it remains a cost-effective collision avoidance feature even at the long-term enduring crash-reduction benefit of 4.3%.


title: Automotive lighting

text: A NHTSA report suggests that a vehicle equipped with a CHMSL has 23.7% less risk to be involved as a lead vehicle in a chain collision and 16.0% less risk to be involved as a middle vehicle in such a collision.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Emergency stop signalling is a lighting function wherein the vehicle's stop (brake) lights and/or hazard/turn indicators flash in phase at 3 to 5 Hz under heavy or urgent braking. The emergency stop signal is automatically activated if the vehicle speed is greater than and the emergency braking logic defined by regulation No. 13 (heavy vehicles), 13H (light vehicles), or 78 (motorcycles) is activated; the ESS may be displayed when a light vehicle's deceleration is greater than or a heavy vehicle's deceleration is greater than , and the ESS must be discontinued once the vehicle's deceleration drops below .


title: Automotive lighting

text: In February 2019, members of the European Parliament approved rules making emergency stop signals mandatory on new vehicles sold in the European Union.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and BMW were among the earlier automakers to begin equipping vehicles with ESS. In 2013, Kia introduced the concept on some of their Australian-market models.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Other methods of severe braking indication have also been implemented; some Volvo models make the stop lights brighter, and some BMWs have "Adaptive Brake Lights" that effectively increase the size of the stop lights under severe braking by illuminating them at brighter-than-normal intensity. As long as the brighter-than-normal stop lights are within the regulated maximum intensity for stop lights in general, this kind of implementation does not require specific regulatory approval, since the stop lights continue to operate in accord with general stop light regulations.


title: Automotive lighting

text: The idea behind such emergency braking indicator systems is to catch following drivers' attention with increased urgency. However, there remains considerable debate over whether the system offers a measurable increase in safety. To date, studies of vehicles with ESS have not shown significant improvement. The systems used by BMW, Volvo, and Mercedes differ not only in operational mode (growing vs. intensifying vs. flashing, respectively), but also in such parameters as the deceleration threshold of activation. Data is being collected and analyzed in an effort to determine how such a system might be implemented to maximize a safety benefit, if such a benefit can be realized with visual emergency braking displays. An experimental study at the University of Toronto has tested stop lights which gradually and continuously grow in illuminated area with increasing braking.


title: Automotive lighting

text: One potential problem with flashing stop lights in the United States and Canada is regulations that permit flashing stop lights to be used as rear turn signal and hazard lights, in lieu of separate dedicated lights.


title: Automotive lighting

text: In Europe and other countries adhering to UN Regulation 48, vehicles must be equipped with one or two bright red "rear fog lamps", which serve as high-intensity rear position lights to be activated in poor visibility conditions to make the vehicle more visible from the rear. The allowable range of intensity for a rear fog light is 150 to 300 candela, within the range of a US stop light. Rear fog lights are not required equipment in the US, but they are permitted, and they are found almost exclusively on European-brand vehicles in North America. Audi, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Land Rover, Porsche, Saab, and Volvo provide functional rear fog lights on their North American models. Some vehicles from non-European brands which are adaptions of European-market offerings, such as the first-generation Ford Transit Connect, have come standard with rear fog lights, or vehicles with European-market counterparts, such as the second generation Chrysler 300, have an option for them. The final generation Oldsmobile Aurora also had dual rear fog lights installed in the rear bumper as standard equipment.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Most jurisdictions permit rear fog lights to be installed either singly or in pairs. If a single rear fog is fitted, most jurisdictions require it to be located at or to the driver's side of the vehicle's centreline—whichever side is the prevailing driver's side in the country in which the vehicle is registered. This is to maximise the sight line of following drivers to the rear fog light. In many cases, a single reversing light is mounted on the passenger side of the vehicle, positionally symmetrical with the rear fog. If two rear fog lights are fitted, they must be symmetrical with respect to the vehicle's centreline. Proponents of twin rear fog lights say two lights provide vehicle distance information not available from a single light. Proponents of the single rear fog light say dual rear fog lights closely mimic the appearance of illuminated stop lights (which are mandatorily installed in pairs), reducing the conspicuity of the stop lights' message when the rear fogs are activated. To provide some safeguard against rear fog lights being confused with stop lights, UN Regulation 48 requires a separation of at least 10 cm between the closest illuminated edges of any stop light and any rear fog light.


title: Automotive lighting

text: To warn adjacent vehicle operators and pedestrians of a vehicle's rearward motion, and to provide illumination to the rear when reversing, each vehicle must be equipped with one or two rear-mounted, rear-facing reversing (or "backup") lights.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Reversing lights are required to produce white light by US and international UN regulations. However, some countries have at various times permitted amber reversing lights. In Australia and New Zealand, for example, vehicle manufacturers were faced with the task of localizing American cars originally equipped with combination red brake/turn signal lights and white reversing lights. Those countries' regulations permitted the amber rear turn signals to light up steadily as reversing lights, so automakers and importers were able to combine the (mandatorily amber) rear turn signal and (optionally amber) reversing light function, and so comply with the regulations without the need for additional lighting devices. Both countries now require white reversing lights, and the combination amber turn/reverse light is no longer permitted on new vehicles. The US state of Washington currently permits reversing lights to emit white or amber light.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Some car models have white reversing lights in the front turn indicators that switch on with the rear reversing lights.


title: Automotive lighting

text: The rear registration plate is illuminated either by a single or a pair of yellow or white light(s), affixed within the indentation of the trunk or bumper. It is designed to light the surface of the plate without creating light directly visible to the rear of the vehicle, and must be illuminated whenever the position lights are lit.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Large vehicles such as trucks and buses are in many cases required to carry additional lighting devices beyond those required on passenger vehicles. The specific requirements vary according to the regulations in force where the vehicle is registered.


title: Automotive lighting

text: In the US and Canada, vehicles over wide must be equipped with three amber front and three red rear identification lights spaced apart at the centre of the front and rear of the vehicle, as high as practicable. The front identification lights are typically mounted atop the cab of the vehicle. The purpose of these lights is to alert other drivers to the presence of a wide (and usually tall) vehicle.


title: Automotive lighting

text: UN Regulation 48 requires vehicles exceeding in width to be equipped with white front and red rear end-outline marker lights on both the left and right, which, like North American identification lights, are intended to clearly indicate a vehicle's overall width and height. The front clearance lights may be amber in Australia and New Zealand.


title: Automotive lighting

text: US and Canadian regulations require large vehicles to be equipped with amber side marker lights and reflectors mounted midway between the front and rear side markers. Australian Design Rule 45/01 provides for side marker lights on trucks and other large vehicles producing amber light to the front and red to the rear with no requirement to emit light to the side.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Until about the 1970s in France, Spain, Morocco, and possibly other countries, many commercial vehicles and some Soviet Sovtransavto road trains had a green light mounted on the rear offside. This could be operated by the driver to indicate that it was safe for the following vehicle to overtake.


title: Automotive lighting

text: The hazard warning signal (sometimes called "hazard warning flashers", "hazard warning lights", "emergency lights", "4-way flashers", "hazards", or "flashers") is provided by flashing all of a vehicle's left and right turn signals simultaneously and in phase. Hazard warning signals first appeared as aftermarket accessories in the early 1950s; by the late 1960s, regulations around the world came to require all new vehicles to be so equipped. Operation of the hazard flashers must be from a control independent of the turn signal control, and an audiovisual tell-tale must be provided to the driver.


title: Automotive lighting

text: This function is meant to indicate a hazard such as a vehicle stopped in or near moving traffic, a disabled vehicle, a vehicle moving substantially slower than the flow of traffic such as a truck climbing a steep grade, or the presence of stopped or slow traffic ahead on a high speed road.


title: Automotive lighting

text: In vehicles with a separate left and right green turn signal tell-tale on the dashboard, both left and right indicators may flash to provide visual indication of the hazard flashers' operation. In vehicles with a single green turn signal tell-tale on the dashboard, a separate red tell-tale must be provided for hazard flasher indication. Because the hazard flasher function operates the vehicle's left and right turn signals, a left or a right turn signal function may not be provided while the hazard flashers are operating.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Apart from its use as emergency lighting, a single flash of the hazard lights is used to show gratitude to yielding drivers in several countries.


title: Automotive lighting

text: "Retroreflectors" (also called "reflex reflectors") produce no light of their own, but rather reflect incident light back towards its source, such as another driver's headlights. They are regulated as automotive lighting devices, and specified to account for the separation between a vehicle's headlights and its driver's eyes. Thus, vehicles can remain conspicuous even with their lights off. Regulations worldwide require all vehicles and trailers to be equipped with rear-facing red retroreflectors; in countries where UN Regulation No. 48 is applied, these must be triangular on trailers and non-triangular on vehicles other than trailers. Since 1968, US regulations also require side-facing retroreflectors, amber in front and red in the rear. Sweden, South Africa and other countries have at various times required white front-facing retroreflectors.


title: Automotive lighting

text: International UN Regulations explicitly permit vehicle signal lights with intensity automatically increased during bright daylight hours when sunlight reduces the effectiveness of the stop lights, and automatically decreased during hours of darkness when glare could be a concern. Both US and UN regulations contain provisions for determining the minimum and maximum acceptable intensity for lights that contain more than a single light source.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Some jurisdictions, such as the US states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, permit vehicles to be equipped with auxiliary rear signal systems displaying green light when the accelerator is depressed, yellow light when the vehicle is coasting, and red light when the brake is depressed. Such systems have in the past been sold as aftermarket accessories, but are today seldom seen in traffic.


title: Automotive lighting

text: The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, among other bodies, has commissioned studies of vehicle signal systems and configurations in an effort to determine the most promising avenues and best practices for enhanced crash avoidance via optimised vehicle conspicuity and signal lighting systems.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Most cars have at least one "dome light" (or "courtesy light") located in or near the ceiling of the passenger compartment, to provide illumination by which to fasten seatbelts and enter or exit the car. These often have an option to automatically switch on when the front (or any) passenger doors are opened. Many vehicles have expanded this feature, causing the overhead interior light to remain on after all doors are closed, allowing passengers to fasten seat belts with added illumination. The extended lighting cycle usually ends when the vehicle's ignition has begun, or a gradual reduction in light emitted after a couple of minutes if the car isn't started, called "theater" lighting. Interior lighting has been added on some vehicles at the bottom edge of the dashboard, illuminating the floor for front passengers, or underneath the front seats at the rear, illuminating the floor for rear passengers. This type of convenience lighting approach is also sometimes used to illuminate interior or exterior door handles, exterior step running boards, or electric window switches.


title: Automotive lighting

text: LED light sources appear increasingly as interior convenience lights in various locations, especially with finely focused lighting on console control surfaces and in cabin storage areas.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Map lights are aimed at specific passenger positions and allow for reading without glare distraction to the driver. Some vehicles have "approach lighting" or "puddle lights" (lights that illuminate the ground outside the doors) in the exterior mirrors or lower edges of the doors, as well as interior lighting activated via key fob. Many cars have lights in the trunk, the engine compartment, and the glove box and other storage compartments. Modern pickup trucks usually have one or more white cargo lights which illuminate the bed of the truck, often controlled in conjunction with the interior dome lighting.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Most instruments and controls on a dashboard in modern vehicles are illuminated when the headlights are turned on, and the intensity of light can be adjusted by the driver for comfort. Saab automobiles, for example, have an aircraft-style "night panel" function which shuts off all interior illumination save for the speedometer (unless attention is called to a critical situation on another gauge) to improve the driver's night vision.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Emergency vehicles such as fire engines, ambulances, police cars, snow-removal vehicles and tow trucks are usually equipped with intense warning lights of particular colours. These may be motorised rotating beacons, xenon strobes, or arrays of LEDs.


title: Automotive lighting

text: The prescribed colours differ by jurisdiction; in most countries, blue and red special warning lights are used on police, fire, and medical-emergency vehicles. In the United States and some other jurisdictions, amber lights are for tow trucks, private security personnel, construction vehicles, and other nonofficial special-service vehicles, while volunteer firefighters use red, blue, or green, depending on jurisdiction. In the US it is a violation of the DOT (Department of Transportation) Uniform Vehicle Code for any non-emergency vehicle (Police/Fire/Ambulance) to operate forward-facing red lights of any kind. Cars in the US only have red tail lights, and no blue lights; a vehicle displaying a red (forward-facing) light (flashing or not) coming towards a driver, or from behind the driver (in rear view mirror) indicates that an official emergency vehicle is coming, requiring the driver to yield, pull off to the side of the road, or otherwise get out of its way. Some US states allow emergency vehicles to have blue lights that can be turned on to warn drivers of an emergency vehicle in action; blue and red lights can be combined, forward- and/or rear-facing. In the UK, doctors may use green warning lights, although these do not allow the user to claim any exemption from road traffic regulations (compared to the blue lights used by statutory emergency services when responding to calls). Special warning lights, usually amber, are also sometimes mounted on slow or wide vehicles such as mobile cranes, excavators, tractors, and even mobility scooters in certain conditions.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Standard taxicabs for street hire are distinguished by special lights affixed to the vehicle's roof with accordance to local regulations.


title: Automotive lighting

text: They may have an illuminated "Taxi" sign, a light to signal that they are ready to take passengers or off duty, or an emergency panic light the driver can activate in the event of a robbery to alert passersby to call the police. The "Taxi" sign may also, depending on local regulations, be required to display a number identifying the vehicle.


title: Automotive lighting

text: The incandescent light bulb was for a long time the only light source used in automotive lighting. Incandescent bulbs are still commonly used in turn signals to stop hyper-flashing of the turn signal flashers. Many types of bulbs have been used. Standardized type numbers are used by manufacturers to identify bulbs with the same specifications. Bases may be bayonet-type with one or two contacts, plastic or glass wedges, or dual wire loops or ferrules used on tubular "festoon" lights. Screw-base lights are never used in automobile applications due to their loosening under vibration. Signal lights with internal or external coloured lenses use colourless bulbs; conversely, lights with colourless lenses may use red or amber bulbs to provide light of the required colours for the various functions.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Typically, bulbs of 21 to 27 watts producing 280 to 570 lumens (22 to 45 mean spherical candlepower) are used for stop, turn, reversing and rear fog lights, while bulbs of 4 to 10 W, producing 40 to 130 lm (3 to 10 mscp) are used for tail lights, parking lights, side marker lights and side turn signal repeaters.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Tungsten-halogen lights are a very common light source for headlights and other forward illumination functions. Some recent vehicles use small halogen bulbs for exterior signalling and marking functions, as well. The first halogen light approved for automotive use was the H1, which used 55 Watts producing 1500 lumens and was introduced in Europe in 1962.


title: Automotive lighting

text: Since 1993, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have increasingly been used in automotive lighting. They offer a very long service life, extreme vibration resistance, high colour durability, high efficiency (lumen/Watt) and can benefit from considerably more compact packaging compared to most bulb-type assemblies. LEDs also offer a potential safety benefit when employed in stop lights; when power is applied, they rise to full intensity approximately 250 milliseconds (¼ second) faster than incandescent bulbs. This effectively instant rise time theoretically provides following drivers more time to react to the stop light signal, but has not been shown to make cars with LED stop lights less likely to be struck from behind.


title: Automotive lighting

text: LEDs were first applied to automotive lighting in centre high-mount stop lamps (CHMSLs), beginning with the 1986 Chevrolet Corvette. Adoption of LEDs for other signal functions on passenger cars is gradually increasing with demand for the technology and related styling updates. The first car registered to drive on the road with full LED rear lights was Land Rover's LCV 2/3 concept car in the 1990s. At the time, the only light function that was difficult to reproduce was the reverse light, as white LEDs did not yet exist. The reverse function was only achievable with the introduction of blue LEDs; by mixing red, green and blue LEDs in a defined distributed pattern behind a lens, white light was produced that conformed to the legal requirements of a reverse light.


title: Automotive lighting

text: In North America, the 2000 Cadillac Deville was the first passenger car with LED taillights. The 2002 Kia Opirus was an early adopter of LED front turn signals. The 2007 Audi R8 used two strips of optically focused high-intensity LEDs for its daytime running lights. Optional on the R8 outside North America were the world's first LED headlights, made by AL-Automotive Lighting. The low and high beams, along with the position (parking) light and front turn signal, all use LEDs. The Lexus LS 600h features LED low beam, position and side marker lights in North America, and the 2009 Cadillac Escalade Platinum used LEDs for the low and high beams, as well as for the position and side marker lights. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class (W222) used entirely LED lights, even in the most basic trim level.


title: Automotive lighting

text: LED lights are used for flashing beacon lights on vehicles such as maintenance trucks. Previously, traditional light sources required the engine to continue running to ensure that the battery would not become depleted if the lights were to be used for more than a few hours. The energy-efficient nature of LEDs allows them to continue flashing with the engine off.


title: Automotive lighting

text: LED lighting systems are sensitive to heat. Due to the negative influences of heat on the stability of photometric performance and the light transmitting components, the importance of thermal design, stability tests, usage of low-UV-type LED modules and UV-resistance tests of internal materials has increased dramatically. For this reason, LED signal lights must remain compliant with the intensity requirements for the functions they produce after one minute and after thirty minutes of continuous operation. In addition, UN Regulation 112 contains a set of tests for LED modules, including colour rendering, UV radiation, and temperature stability tests. According to UN Regulations 112 and 123, mechanical, electromechanical or other devices for headlights must withstand endurance tests and function failure tests.


title: Automotive lighting

text: High-intensity discharge, or HID lights, sometimes referred to as "xenon lights", are modified metal halide lights employing xenon fill gas. Traditional HID lights, such as those used for general lighting, have a long warm-up time. Headlights must provide light very shortly after they are turned on, and the xenon gas serves to reduce warm-up time.