US approves new headlights that won't blind oncoming drivers

[JudyM]

Source: Associated Press

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it issued a final rule allowing what’s called “adaptive driving beam headlights” on new vehicles. It will go into effect when published in the Federal Register in the next few days.

The headlights, commonly used in Europe, have LED lamps that can focus beams on darkness such as the driver’s lane and areas along the roadside. They also lower the intensity of the light beams if there’s oncoming traffic. Camera sensors and computers help determine where the light should go.

“This final rule will improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists by making them more visible at night, and will help prevent crashes by better illuminating animals and objects in and along the road,” the agency said in a news release on Tuesday.
…
The technology uses an array of light emitting diodes that can change where light beams are sent, rather than the current technology of high beams hitting everywhere. “You have the ability to basically create a light pattern on the fly that is optimized for real-time conditions,” Abuelsamid said. “You can cast the light where it’s most useful.”


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-technology-business-health-congress-761cac7ae30a03ab6a399b9676ae44bb

[Mr.Bill]

1. Sounds great.

I just hope when one of them burns out and needs to be replaced it doesn't cost $1,000.

Edit: Just read the article. $3,000 for a pair. Oh, well, hopefully the price will come down with mass production now that they are approved.

[RKP5637]

2. Cool!!! Ha, but on the other hand, I wonder how much replacement is. I recall way back when

sealed beam headlights, for example, were not very expensive at all ... Well, and bumpers lasted a lifetime.

[rurallib]

20. LEDs last a long, long time.

[lagomorph777]

40. You don't replace them. They're LEDs.

You'd generally only replace them if they got smashed in a crash.

[lapfog_1]

3. nothing new under the sun or moon

I remember riding in my dad's rich friend's Mercury in the mid 1960s or maybe late 60s and he had auto dim headlights on the car (and electric windows, etc).

I thought that was pretty special.

[Mr.Bill]

4. I remember those.

My new Nissan Sentra has that feature. But if you read the article this is something different.

[lagomorph777]

41. Yes, the shape of the beam changes to accommodate the environment.

For example, putting a hole in the beam to avoid blinding the oncoming driver, or putting some extra light to the roadside.

[RKP5637]

5. Yep!!! And power steering before that was a really big deal too. n/t

[moniss]

27. Some people

don't believe me when I tell them that power steering was an option up until the mid to late '60's or so. Whole different way of driving. I know it's technological progress having all of these things in cars but I wonder how much cost all of these things keep adding to already sky high sticker prices. My 1946 Chevy went down the road like a dream without power steering and with a big comfy bench seat and enough room in the back to seat 3 and still have enough floor space for the dance floor.

[bucolic_frolic]

6. Some drivers are pure discourtesy

They don't dim their headlights, they keep the high beams on when behind you in their F-10s, they don't move quickly when a red light turns green so fewer cars can squeeze through. I had a guy in a Caddy SUV the other day, first in line, I was second. He's cruising his cell phone, light turns green. I toot. Nothing happens. I tooooot. He wakes up, looks at me like "Who the hell do you think you are?", and finally goes ahead. No one got caught with the light, but he's the type that's out for him and not for safety or the public.

[mahina]

7. Some people are like that.

People flash me to turn off my brights but they’re not my brights, these are the lights that come with the car, high beams off. I can’t change it. No other lights will work and they cost 120 bucks a bulb. Sucks.

When they flash me I turn my lights down to just running lights

[chowder66]

8. Thank God.

I have always had problems with this.

[azureblue]

26. some years ago

There was an effort to regulate headlight distance from the ground, but it never made it. I wish. Even a stock truck has its headlights way too high up. If teh headlights are to be that high put then the beam should be focused downward and tight.. But the HIDs scatter light all over the place because the reflector isn't designed correctly, or for the placement of the headlights.
I am almost ready to build a pop up mirror for the back window of my car....

[moniss]

29. They

sell high candle power spotlights that plug into the lighter. You could keep it plugged in and at arms reach and just aim it backwards through your window. Be careful it's not a cop behind you. You could always tell him a bug flew in the window and bit you and you were just looking for it so you could kill it and not get bit again. You might get points for creativity.

[lagomorph777]

42. I used to do that when I was young and foolish.

It was very effective and amusing, but these days, with the gun pandemic... too scary.

[Goonch]

9. American Lighting Adaptive Headlights

[AngryOldDem]

10. Best news I've heard in a long time.

Sick and tired of being nearly blinded off the road. Happens everyday, and they’re hazards. Cars don’t need the equivalent of lighthouse beacons. What’s almost as bad is when they pull up behind you and their lights are smack in your rearview mirror.

This has been a long time coming.

[Iwasthere]

12. I adjust all my mirrors to ref lol ect their light back at em

Tempted to put a railroad headlamp in to of my car. Then when the flag bearing high beamer refuses to lower his beams I could blast him. Not really tempted, but a nice thought.

[moniss]

30. A major

problem that lets that happen is people buy headlights that are just for off-road use. The cops rarely write tickets for it but they could. They use the excuse of not having a specific law. The manufacturers of those lights have warnings on the boxes and online about them not being legal for highway use but the clowns ignore them and install them anyway.

[BlueIdaho]

11. About damn time!

Now all we have to do is cruise the parking lots and hammer out all the existing blinding headlights found in most Trumper trucks.

[TomSlick]

13. Sounds great.

I gather this would only work with models with the necessary camera and computer connections.

I wonder if existing models that have cameras and an auto-dim system (like my Ranger) could be retrofitted to accommodate these smart lights and, if so, at what cost.

[lagomorph777]

43. I'm sure it's not all self-contained in the lamp.

Though I imagine retrofit kits would become available.

[dchill]

14. I just know these things are going to ruin someone's freedumbs.

[70sEraVet]

15. I wish they had simply outlawed the blindingly bright 'High Intensity Discharge' headlights

G-d knows how many accidents they have caused. They could have forced the auto manufacturers to change out the bulbs for normal halogens.
Now, this change will push up the cost of new vehicles by a hefty amount, push up a standard repair to a bank-breaking level, and still leave millions of dangerous headlights on the road.

[k0rs]

16. '52 Olds

My Dad's 1952 Oldsmobile had auto dimming lights...guaranteed to drive you nuts. A "magic eye" mounted on the dashboard. My 2021 Ford Bronco Sport has auto dimming lights...guaranteed to drive you nuts. These adaptive LEDs are orders of magnitude more complex and will be guaranteed to do...what? Work perfectly?

[calimary]

19. Welcome to DU, k0rs!

From one who's also guaranteed to drive you nuts!

[k0rs]

22. That's..

..what friends are for!

[ToxMarz]

17. I think BMW has something like this as an option, but

It is a subscription service, you have pay annually for the option. Supposedly all the automakers are going to start making a lot of the options on their cars subscription based. Greedy bastards!

[k0rs]

23. Yep..

Heated seats too!

[COL Mustard]

18. Buncha Killjoys....

Taking all the fun outta driving. I mean, you can't drive drunk anymore, you gotta wear a seatbelt, now ya gotta have these here newfangled headlights? What's next? An electric car????

[AndyS]

21. my new ford maverick has this technology.

way cool. I can see the deer that would otherwise run into my vehicle!

[whopis01]

36. I believe this is something different

Given that it is currently not legal on vehicles in the US, I doubt that you Ford Maverick has it.

It is probably closely related technology. But what the article talks about hasn’t been allowed in the US till now (or in the immediate future at least)

[TeamProg]

24. How about a MAX brightness or more diffused?

Our little sports cars get hit bad by higher headlights on all the many trucks on the roads these days.

[BootinUp]

25. Doesn't sound cheap. nt

[Cheezoholic]

28. It's not just factory lighting on cars

They seriously need to do something about 3rd party options added to cars and trucks. When I was young I stomped on the floor switch when I saw oncoming headlights around a corner or over a hill. It was the law, you could get a ticket for not doing so if that was a cop you shined. You could even get a ticket if your dims aimed farther than the state restrictions (back then you could adjust that with a philips screwdriver).

Adaptive light( https://discourseblog.com/we-have-confirmed-that-headlights-are-in-fact-too-bright/| ) like is required in Europe is great. But the 3rd party mods you can do to your vehicle here are getting outrageous. Especially amongst the mini monster truck crowd. I live in a very small town and there have been times I literally have to pull over because some asshole has 747 landing lights blaring at me to the point of temporary blindness and I drive an F250!

If youve walked into a big box store lately back into their lighting section you'll be blinded by the outdoor lighting options they have. Its getting nuts with light. When I was young, even in San Bernadido and then in the Midwest in the 60's and 70's, I could see the milky way at night. I have to drive to the Appalachians now to get a glimpse on a cold winter night.

Regardless, bring back the night please...

[JudyM]

32. I hear ya. It's a serious problem for migrating birds, too.

Light pollution. There are some citizen groups who are working on this in cities but they’re focusing mostly on buildings, not mini monster trucks.

[cbabe]

31. My eye doctor said their professional

organization has been trying to change headlights for years, Eyes can’t adjust fast enough to the brights and are the cause of multiple accidents.

[PSPS]

33. How I handled oncoming high-beamers

This was back in the day of the sealed beam headlamp. Many cars in those days had two sealed beam headlamps on each side. Low beam would turn on only the outboard pair and high beam would activate the inboard pair (along with an additional filament in the outboard pair.)

I would go to a local shop that sold individual "aircraft landing" sealed lamps, which were (maybe still are) used on smaller planes like Cessna. They were physically identical to car lamps, so I would replace the inboard pair of lamps with a couple of these.

If an oncoming car had its high beams on, my turning these on would get them to instantly switch to low beam!

Of course, there were other uses for these:

Left-lane slow pokes: Turn these on and the interior of their car becomes so illuminated that they can hardly see out the window to drive, so they pull over immediately. (One time I did this, I was surprised to see "State Police" reflected back from their trunk lid. He pulled over but I did too behind him. After a while, he just took an exit and didn't bother me.)

Childish fun: I noticed that I could see a drive-in theater's screen at a long distance from a hill. So, when they had a movie going, I positioned my car and aimed my high beams toward the screen. The screen would be bleached white, save for the shadow of a tree trunk between me and the screen. If I rolled down my window, I could make out the sound of everyone in the drive-in's lot honking their horns.

Street lamps: When I drove down a street that had automatic street lamps (with photocells to detect the sun rising,) they would shut themselves off, one by one, as I drove past them.

Ah, the good old days!

[King_Klonopin]

34. High beam use is rarely needed.

I live in Massachusetts. 99% of the roads are well lighted, yet there is some primal instinct
that compels people to flick on those high beams and leave them on.

I work the night shift. I would estimate that 25% of oncoming cars I encounter will have
their high beams on. I always have to flash the driver to turn them down because they are
oblivious to the fact that they are on. The move I really love is when they put them back on
before they have driven completely past you. It is like being blinded by the old flash bulb
photograph.

HINT: If you can see my car, I can see your headlights. And if you are behind someone and have
your high beams on, you are an asshole.

I notice that drivers in front of me won't flash the oncoming car. I think some people have simply
given up trying.

The new Jeep models are the worst. Their low beam lights are like small klieg lights.

Is everyone afflicted with night blindness from vitamin A deficiency?

[pansypoo53219]

35. about fucking time.

[Emile]

37. My thoughts too!

[crim son]

38. Limpballs once said

that anybody who complained about bright headlights was simply jealous that they couldn't afford the massive vehicles whose height put those lilghts right at eye level of regular car drivers.

[AngryOldDem]

39. As usual, more bullshit from Rush.

They’re dangers. Just like those monster trucks that you need a ladder to get into.

Cars, though, are my biggest problem. I occasionally pass one on a two-lane road in the morning and I’m always afraid I’ll drive off onto the (nonexistent) shoulder because I can’t see.

[Martin68]

44. It's about time.