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United States Transportation

The US Will Finally Allow Adaptive Beam Headlights on New Cars (arstechnica.com) 177

Posted by msmash from the moving-forward dept.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is finally poised to legalize adaptive beam headlights in the US. From a report: The NHTSA announced that it has issued a final rule that will update the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, which currently only allow for "dumb" high- and low-beam lights. Adaptive beam lights use a matrix of projectors, some of which can be turned off to shape the beam so the lights illuminate the road but don't shine at an oncoming driver. (These are an advancement over the auto-high beam technology that you may have fitted to your current car.) The technology has been around for nearly two decades in Europe and Japan.
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The US Will Finally Allow Adaptive Beam Headlights on New Cars More

The US Will Finally Allow Adaptive Beam Headlights on New Cars

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  • I'm telling you, these guys must have been reading Slashdot. Several posts about this in the Polestar thread from 2 days back:

    https://tech.slashdot.org/stor... [slashdot.org] :) Yes?

  • How are these illegal in the USA? This is 13 year old technology somewhat standard on high end cars.

    • Re:Wait what? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by CaptainLugnuts ( 2594663 ) on Wednesday February 16, 2022 @03:07PM (#62273735)
      Because they suck.

      This isn't auto-dimming high beams, this is essentially a low resolution video projector that tries (poorly) to keep your brights out of other people's eyes. With the state of vehicle maintenance and inspection in the US, these will fail and be a hazard for everyone on the road in short order. Plus, this make headlight replacement even more ludicrously expensive and another repair that will need "dealer-only calibration."

      • Except they do nothing of the sort (suck). And no one here is talking about auto-dimming highbeams. We're talking about beam-steering, again this was introduced in 2009 by Mercedes.

        So they need calibration, shit happens. You stand at the gates telling St Peter how proud you are that you died not seeing shit but at least your shitty headlights didn't need "calibration"?

        • This is not beam steering either. My wife's Subaru has that.

          This really is a low res video projector headlight system that blocks out pixels for oncoming cars, which is why they suck.

        • Actually directional headlights were pioneered by citroen in the 50s using a piss simple mechanical linkage system attached to the steering. Naturally these days everything has to be stupidly complicated.

          • That's part of regulations too.

            Any car with HIDs from the factory is required to have an auto-leveling system. That's why they do their little dance when you start the car. Adding HIDs to a car is technically illegal.

          • Actually directional headlights were pioneered by citroen in the 50s using a piss simple mechanical linkage system attached to the steering.

            Yeah, I had a Citroen DS19 in the early 70's. Went to a Citroen dealer (in FL) for parts once and saw an SM. The salesman told us about the steerable headlights on the European version, but that due to U.S. regulations, Citroen had to remove it for cars sold in the USA.

          • Re: Wait what? (Score:4, Informative)

            by Smidge204 ( 605297 ) on Wednesday February 16, 2022 @09:04PM (#62275087) Journal

            >Actually directional headlights were pioneered by citroen in the 50s using a piss simple mechanical linkage system attached to the steering

            Which they copied from the designs by Tucker Corporation from the late 1940s. I'm not entirely sure it was a new idea then, either...
            =Smidge=

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by DarkOx ( 621550 )

        That is my issue with these. I have not experienced them myself but its really hard to imagine there can be that much advantage over auto switching high/low beams + fogs.

        Either they don't work and the end up throwing light in the oncoming drivers eyes or they necessarily do pretty much the same thing ...

        Yes I suppose they can make a sort of conical cut out tracking the path of the road and still cast high beam on things to the sides of the road but decent fogs should be doing the same thing for general vic

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by vux984 ( 928602 )

          That is my issue with these.

          And if you lived in Europe, you wouldn't have an "issue" with them at all, they'd have been on the last new or possibly even the last used car you purchased, and you'd have given them zero extra thought then, and zero thought now.

      • You argument fails to convince me.
        While being a low res projector is accurate. I don't understand your the rest of your argument. Inspection is a state by state issue, some state have an Annual inspection which checks the lights. I don't see them failing to work to be any better or worse than the current Highbeams, as the bulb can burn out and not have them, or people currently leave them on and blind the other drivers.

        These are often LED lights which tend to last much longer than normal bulbs which burn

        • LEDs do last a very long time, but any damage to them requires replacing the entire module and they ain't cheap. With a module swap also comes recalibration. HIDs last a long time as well but at least you can change them yourself.

          When was the last time you heard of someone pulled over and ticketed for a lighting violation unless the officer is looking for a pretext to bust them for something else? Everything besides speeding is ignored because that's where the easy money is.

          Adding complicated, dealer-on

      • This isn't auto-dimming high beams, this is essentially a low resolution video projector that tries (poorly) to keep your brights out of other people's eyes

        High beams aren't necessarily brighter. The beam is just aimed higher (hence the term "high beam") so you can see farther. Regular headlights will blind people too if they are aimed too high. [popularmechanics.com]

        There are many ways to do this. It could be as simple as putting the light on a gimball so it always stays level. However, the US only allows fixed headlights with two settings, high and low.

      • I wonder what your problem is with involving professionals in car maintenance. The only time these things need *more* calibration than standard lights is when the windshield is replaced, as that is where the camera is located. The gain in safety is immense. This calibration is now standard e.g. with CarGlass, a major servicing company. Have you watched a Youtube video of e.g. BMWs "laser light", or VW's multibeam headlights, or the multibeam lights in Volvo's current XC40 Recharge? You should! These are imp

        • Not at all. You're ignorant of just how many sensors cars have and use.

          I actually work for a car manufacturer, and I'm in the software side of things so I don't get to make the decisions on what's available to the public and what's dealer only.

          All of those innovations in lighting are to get more lumens under the 35W limit for headlights, and LEDs are more than good enough.

          And yes, sealed beams suck. I retrofitted proper HID projectors with DOT legal patterns into my 7x6 sealed beam 90's car.

      • Sounds like you are pining for the days of round sealed beams.
    • American automakers keeping competition out until they are ready to implement

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by endus ( 698588 )

      For the same reason that we allow brake lights to function as turn signals (i.e. no requirement for amber turn signals): because we're stupid.

    • And they don't work and blind oncoming traffic as a rule.

    • Yes, please require amber turn signals like the rest of the world.

      • Why does the color matter? If it blinks at a regular interval only on one side, it's a turn signal. If it blinks on both sides it's a hazard light. If it doesn't blink at a regular interval it's a wiring problem.

        • If it blinks at a regular interval on only one side, it's a turn signal...

          Well sometimes you can't see both sides. If you are just looking at one side of the car then you can't tell if it's a turn signal on or if the car has the flashers on.

          Second, you can't tell if it's a regular interval unless you stare at it for a few blinks. Otherwise it could just be somebody repositioning their foot on the brakes or something.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by ebh ( 116526 )

            Turn signals and flashers could have a different envelope, like 500ms on, 500ms off for turn signals, and 750ms on, 250ms off for flashers. It would be great to tell if the bus next to me has its flashers on because they're going slow, or their turn signal on because they're going to muscle into the same toll booth I was headed for.

        • Re:Cool, let's do tail lights and turn signals nex (Score:5, Informative)

          by ljw1004 ( 764174 ) on Wednesday February 16, 2022 @04:04PM (#62274067)

          Why does the color matter? If it blinks at a regular interval only on one side, it's a turn signal. If it blinks on both sides it's a hazard light. If it doesn't blink at a regular interval it's a wiring problem.

          Are you asking "does color matter?" Or are you asking "given the fact that color does matter, what's the mechanism by which it matters?"

          The first question is answered in the affirmative in the video and by its citations (which I've appended). As for the second question? I have no idea, and I'm sure your hypotheses are better than mine. Anyway, here are the citations:

          The following NHTSA study found between a 3 and 28% decrease in liklihood of collision with amber turn signals, although it acknowledges that some of this may have been related to simply having a separate indicator for braking and turning and not explicitly the color;
          https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nh... [nhtsa.gov]

          This study showed a significant decrease in reaction time to a brake signal when the vehicle is fitted with amber turn signals--partially explained by “Specifically, the subjects knew whether the red or the yellow turn signals were to be expected”. This suggests that the design should make clear even when the lights aren’t lit that there is a separate indicator for a turn signal.
          https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu... [umich.edu]

          And wouldn’t ya know it, the IIHS has done some research. It’s a shame they aren’t making a bigger fuss about this:
          https://www.iihs.org/api/datas... [iihs.org]

          • The Big Three fought for legal red signal color to cut costs. It's cheaper for a single color molded plastic housing than it is for a multi-color one.

            • I find that hard to believe since most manufacturers also sell cars in countries that require amber turn signals which means they have to have 2 different versions of the plastic which increases the cost.

              Of course, it's possible I'm missing some kind of wrinkle here which makes the cost of having 2 different moldings the same.

              • If you're making a small quantity it's cheaper to go with one design for all markets. Once you're up to tens of thousands of vehicles in the cheaper market, it's makes sense to make a cost-cut version. Look at Audi and Porsche, they go with cheaper red LED turn signals in the US even though they're "upmarket" cars.
        • Why does color matter? Because bulbs/LEDs burn out.

          Was that a guy tapping his brakes or changing his mind about changing lanes?

          RED: Brakes, AMBER: Signals. Simple and unambiguous.

          • What does bulbs burning out have to do with it? That will happen regardless of color. If you're tapping your brakes, you'll get brake lights on both sides and the CHMSL - there shouldn't be any ambiguity at all unless you're just staring at a single corner of the vehicle.

            Studies notwithstanding - I'd be curious to know if the studies protected against confounding general taillight styling versus color.

            Then again, my experience is definitely not reflective of humanity in general. I'm not opposed to aft tur

            • Are you a clueless driver?

              If every turn signal is amber any bright red light on the back of the vehicle is a brake light. It's really not hard to understand how that can improve safety.

              • I guess if I'm following someone and any light on the rear of their car changes illumination I start to slow down (I at least start coasting or be more on alert)... so if that makes me clueless, so be it.

                Also apparently it reduces incidents by about "5.3%" which, while statistically significant and by law of large numbers is a large total amount, it's a pretty small improvement to be honest.

                • If you are following a car that has amber turn signals then any flash of red means the car in front of you is stopping maybe suddenly. And you might have less than a second to react. Now if you have to wait to determine if the red is a turn signal or a stop, that delay could mean a crash.

                  • It means you were clearly following to closely because had you really been paying attention, you should of noticed how fast you were coming up on the car.

                    Don't you have a follow-distance rule, something like 2 to 3 seconds? If you do this and pay attention to the person in front of you, you won't run into them.

                    Having all red isn't really that confusing if it's all you know. I could see how having amber turn lights as a mandatory rule could be helpful but as the above poster mentioned, the color doesn't real

        • While not a big deal, having your break light and your blinker be the same, can cause some confusion say you are coasting down hill and one break light is broken, and you tap on the break in a pattern to control your speed.

        • The problem is you have to wait to know for an interval to know if it is a blinking red or a solid red (stop). This matters if the car in front of you has suddenly stopped or will turn. In a split second you need all the time you can get. With color, you do not have to wait. This is why Europe requires a different color.

  • Solving the wrong problem (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ThosLives ( 686517 ) on Wednesday February 16, 2022 @03:25PM (#62273849) Journal

    The problem with recent US headlights isn't lack of beam aiming, it's the ridiculously high color temperature and absolute power output of the new LED headlights.

    The current crop of lights is basically the color temperature and intensity of lightning. I suppose it may be better for the drivers' visibility, but it's now at the expense of every other driver on the road. Even in daylight the perceived intensity of the new LEDs (even just the accent lighting that all the OEMs are now using) is dangerously distracting.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by endus ( 698588 )

      It's objectively not better for visibility in poor conditions. We have it because it "looks cool".

    • LED headlights do not have a "ridiculously high" color temperature. They're about 6000K. That's pretty much the same as daylight. Our Sun is a G2-type star [wikipedia.org], so has a color temp around 5750-5800K. It just looks blue at night because up to now everyone is used to having the night lit by candles (about 1800K), wood fires (about 2000K), and incandescent lights (about 2500K).

      In reality, 6000K is pretty close to "white" (in that it lights up all the colors we see in daytime), while those older lights are orang

      • LED headlights do not have a "ridiculously high" color temperature. They're about 6000K. That's pretty much the same as daylight.

        Headlights are used at NIGHT. 6000k for NIGHT is very much ridiculously high and counterproductive for a host of reasons including human health, animal health and low vis in fog.

        Nobody appreciates vehicles with 6000k headlamps.

        The standard for daylight used for film in the U.S. is about 5500K

        Is this the standard for filming at dusk as well?

      • Yes that's daylight color temp - but that's useful during the day. Turning night into day has all sorts of problems physiologically. I don't even like when cars' dashboards are illuminated white or blue which destroys night vision. (My dash is red - as good as you can get!)

        Also color temp isn't the whole story - LEDs don't have a blackbody emission curve, so the total frequency content is significantly different from actual sunlight - notably lacking in the longer wavelengths. Which is why it's so searing

        • If you're worried that the 6000K headlights might disrupt your sleep cycle behind the wheel I'm surprisingly OK with that.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by zazzel ( 98233 )

      Are American cars' low beams so badly adjusted that they blind other drivers? Can't be high beams you're talking about, as multibeam headlights are solving exactly that issue. You can drive with the high beams on, at all times, without blinding other drivers.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by flink ( 18449 )

        Well, lots of idiots drive around with their high beams on if they feel like there aren't enough street lights. Also there are lots of idiots in jacked up trucks or SUVs who will blind you if you happen to be in a sedan by tailgating you even if their high beams are off.

        Also, oncoming cars with higher temp headlights tend to spoil your night vision, which makes your own headlights less useful if you don't have high temp LED headlights as well.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      Well, that's what adaptive headlights allow - they allow headlights to be bright so you can see ahead of you, but also allow drivers going the other way to not be dazzled by your headlights - the headlights basically dim around your car.

      There's no need to shine light at you - your car has its own lights so the driver can see you. But a brighter headlight is potentially useful at helping spot people who may be in the road but not readily visible (e.g., pedestrians wearing dark clothing, cyclists without refl

      • Well, that's what adaptive headlights allow - they allow headlights to be bright so you can see ahead of you

        But a brighter headlight is potentially useful at helping spot people who may be in the road but not readily visible (e.g., pedestrians wearing dark clothing, cyclists without reflectors or lights).

        Brighter lights reduce the sensitivity of human vision to dimmer sources.

        Fancy selective illumination schemes should be used to protect night vision not an excuse to ramp brightness to infinity and beyond.

      • There's also the stupid trend of overly bright dash/interior lights in cars killing the night vision of the driver and making them desire nuclear explosion bright headlights.

      • I often meet cars with adaptive headlights and they don't work well. It takes several seconds to detect my car so first I'm blinded and then it's a disturbing flicker while it adapts.
        It also can't handle if I'm second or further back in a meeting queue where I then get the full force in my eyes.
        Any other kind of objects partially masking in a curve can also give me a lot of glare.

  • What we really need (Score:5, Insightful)

    by wakeboarder ( 2695839 ) on Wednesday February 16, 2022 @03:37PM (#62273921)

    is enforcement of existing headlight laws. Where I'm at there are so many people with illegal headlights. The worst is illegal light bars. A big rig had one on the front, pulled up behind me and blasted me with their light bar, which is about 20x brighter than a car headlight. Not happy to say the least, I couldn't see for a few seconds

    • Do you have front and rear high res dash cam that captured his plates? If so, file a police report. If not, why is the average Russian smarter than you?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by zazzel ( 98233 )

      Wow, where *are* you? Here, someone would just call the police the if this ever happened, and the car would be confiscated. You'd lose your license, and probably require a psychological exam to be allowed to try and regain it. Your insurance would be void if this caused an accident.
      Also, with mandatory car checks every two years, nobody would go through the hassle of even trying. Just not worth it. We have more issues with "invisible" tuning, like electronically controlled, loud exhausts, and - of course -

  • As always, instead of taking the simplest, most expedient path, we will go out of our way to find the most expensive, convoluted, and limited life process we can lay our hands on.

    People complaining about planned obsolence for cell phones or computers haven't seen anything when it comes to their cars.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by zazzel ( 98233 )

      I think people just want to spend money on luxury items. And that's ok. Also, I still don't know why multibeam headlights should be subject to much obsolescence, as they usually have no moving parts. In case of a failure of the camera used to control the beams, they will just be regular high beams. In case of failing beams, they will just have a single faulty beam somewhere. If you buy/lease a new car, the obsolescence is usually not a cost factor driving your decision - you're probably not planning on keep

    • Most people don't know it was GM that coined the phrase "Planned obsolesce."

  • The goal should be minimizing dynamic range of human vision for all drivers not making things brighter.

  • It might make things worse. The present trend in headlights is to make your driving experience more pleasant, you need really strong bright blue headlights that effectivley blind people coming toward you - or as they say "Screw you - I wanna win!"

    Coupled with a strange phenomenon of pick-up truck drivers running high beams only (probably a weird form of owning the libs) it's gotten a bit annoying out there.

    I've found that my light bar comes in pretty handy, when some asshat thinks blinding oncoming tr

  • Is this patented? Yes! (Score:3)

    by chas.williams ( 6256556 ) on Thursday February 17, 2022 @07:13AM (#62275961)
    Yes, apparently it is. https://patents.google.com/pat... [google.com] It appears to be owned by a faceless corporation that has won several government contracts. How strange that someone would push for this technology to be required in every vehicle.

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