Recently the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that the agency will now allow “adaptive driving beams,” to be used in vehicles on U.S. roads so that it could help prevent nighttime crashes.
With recent advancements in technologies for automobiles, a number of new safety features have made their way into cars of the 21st century. One of these newest features that have become a lot more prevalent in the top of the line luxury vehicles is the advanced digital headlights. Although, despite being better for the safety aspect of automobiles, this was barred by the United States government due to some outdated regulations up until now.
According to reports, the NHTSA legalised the use of these adaptive digital headlights in response to a petition filed by the Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer Toyota in 2013. The company in the petition asked the United States authority to allow the use of these headlights as these provided more illumination than existing lights without a glare to oncoming vehicles by the use of sensors to adjust the lights automatically.
The NHTSA’s Deputy Administrator, Dr. Steven Cliff, during the announcement said, “NHTSA prioritizes the safety of everyone on our nation’s roads, whether they are inside or outside a vehicle. New technologies can help advance that mission.” Cliff also added, “NHTSA is issuing this final rule to help improve safety and protect vulnerable road users.” Additionally, the authority also stated that the use of adaptive beam technology will further help the safety of pedestrians, objects and animals on distance as these headlights will provide a brighter illumination without reducing the visibility of other drivers who may get blinded due to the bright headlight beams of other vehicles.
For the people who are unaware of what adaptive driving headlights are – they can be simply put together as advanced headlight systems that utilize cameras and sensors to detect other vehicles on the road and can trace a perfect, darkened opening for the other vehicles while still emitting high beam-like light everywhere else. These headlights increase the illumination of the oncoming roads without making the other drivers on the road blind. With the help of advanced sensors, these lights are able to dim their beam when directed at road signs in order to avoid getting bright reflections to the driver.
Earlier, the use of these hi-tech headlights was prohibited by the United States authorities because of an outdated regulation in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108. The US regulators stated that a dedicated high beam and a low beam should be present in the headlights in order for the vehicle to become US compliant and road legal. However, now with the introduction of a new infrastructure bill, the regulators have amended the law and added that it will now allow for the use of adaptive driving beam headlamp systems on the vehicles sold in the United States of America.
Keyword: Advanced smart headlights allowed in US after Toyota petitions NHTSA