Some tractor makers are moving towards fitting LED headlamps as standard, rather than an option. Hella shines bright in the development and production of new lamps, so we dropped in to see what’s happening

You know how it goes. Before pulling out of the field you click off the tractor’s work lights, and suddenly the comforting brightness of a bank of LED lamps drops back to the glow of two 55W headlights. Sometimes the change can be so big that you wonder if you’ve still got your sunnies on. Human vision being the very neat thing it is, eyes soon adjust — but with a sizeable implement behind the tractor and a need to roll down the highway back to base at a fair lick, wouldn’t it be far better to keep the whiter, penetrating spread of LED lights?