Federal regulators are preparing the first major overhaul of U.S. vehicle-lighting standards in decades, with headlight glare, LED technology, mounting height, aiming and adaptive lighting systems all under review.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is moving to rewrite federal vehicle-lighting rules as complaints about headlight glare increase and newer LED systems, taller vehicles and advanced lighting technology reshape nighttime driving.
NHTSA announced Oct. 6 that it will modernize Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108, the federal regulation governing automotive lighting, signaling a potentially broad review of how headlights are designed, aimed and tested.
The agency said the rulemaking will examine headlight glare, LEDs, automatic high beams, dusk sensors, replaceable light sources, headlamp height and aim, testing procedures and compatibility with international standards.
“Today’s standards do not allow automakers to deploy the latest safety-improving lighting technologies, so we are bringing key experts and stakeholders together to modernize our standards and address potential causes of glare,” NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said.
“This collaborative approach will allow us to update outdated regulations, foster innovation, and keep everyone on our roads safer,” he said.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will appoint as many as 18 representatives from lighting manufacturers, motor-vehicle equipment associations, safety organizations, research institutions and engineering groups to participate in a negotiated rulemaking process.
NHTSA is accepting public comments and nominations for the committee through Nov. 9.
The agency said this is the first time in more than 25 years that it has used negotiated rulemaking to update vehicle-lighting standards.
The action follows growing complaints from motorists who say modern headlights are excessively bright or uncomfortable when approaching from the opposite direction.
A March AAA survey found that six in 10 drivers considered headlight glare a problem after dark. Among respondents who experienced glare, 73% said they believed it had become worse during the previous decade.
The survey involved 1,092 U.S. adults and was conducted Feb. 5-8 using a probability-based panel designed to represent the U.S. household population. Its overall margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Among people reporting glare problems, 92% identified headlights from oncoming vehicles as their primary concern.
Drivers wearing prescription glasses reported glare more frequently than those who did not, while pickup-truck drivers were less likely than motorists in other vehicle types to describe glare as a problem.
AAA said several factors may contribute to the perception of worsening glare, including newer headlight technology and the increasing height of pickups and SUVs.
Modern LEDs differ significantly from older halogen headlights.
They can produce intense, highly concentrated light and allow engineers to create more precise beam patterns. That can improve the driver’s own visibility, but poor alignment, excessive mounting height or a beam pattern that directs too much light toward oncoming traffic can create discomfort for other road users.
Brightness alone is therefore not the only issue regulators are examining.
NHTSA specifically said it will study how headlamp height and aim affect both visibility and glare.
That distinction is important because a properly designed high-output headlamp can provide good roadway illumination without directing excessive light into another driver’s eyes, while even a lower-output lamp can create glare if poorly aimed.
The agency is also reviewing rules governing adaptive driving beam systems.
NHTSA approved adaptive driving beam technology for U.S. vehicles in 2022. The systems use sensors and individually controlled light elements to maintain stronger illumination while automatically dimming portions of the beam aimed at approaching or preceding vehicles.
The technology has been available in other markets for years but faced regulatory delays in the United States.
Research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has suggested adaptive beams can reduce glare while preserving road illumination.
At the same time, IIHS research indicates that headlight glare contributes to a relatively small share of reported crashes.
Principal Research Engineer Matthew Brumbelow examined police-reported crashes in 11 states from 2015 through 2023 and found glare was cited as a factor in only about one or two of every 1,000 nighttime crashes.
The rate did not show a sustained increase over the nine-year study period, even as LED headlights became more common.
“Although it can certainly be uncomfortable, headlight glare contributes to far fewer crashes than insufficient visibility,” IIHS President David Harkey said.
That does not mean glare is irrelevant to safety.
The IIHS study found that nighttime crashes involving glare were disproportionately associated with older drivers, older vehicles and undivided, relatively low-speed roads.
Drivers over 70 appeared particularly vulnerable, while glare-related crash risk was not similarly elevated among drivers in their late 50s.
IIHS also noted that better headlights may offer a competing safety benefit by helping drivers detect pedestrians, obstacles and roadway hazards sooner.
Earlier IIHS research found vehicles with better-rated headlights had lower nighttime crash rates, suggesting regulators must balance two objectives: limiting glare for other motorists while still providing enough illumination for the driver using the headlights.
The federal review therefore is not simply an effort to make headlights dimmer.
NHTSA says it wants to update an older regulatory framework so manufacturers can use newer technologies while addressing complaints about glare and visibility.
Canada is confronting similar concerns.
Transport Canada conducted a nationwide public consultation from March 6 through April 20 on nighttime headlight glare and asked motorists about factors that may influence the problem, including vehicle and lighting-system characteristics.
The agency said headlight glare had become one of the vehicle-lighting issues drawing public concern and sought information about motorists’ experiences, driving behavior and possible solutions.
The Canadian review followed pressure from local governments, including municipalities in British Columbia, to examine brightness, headlight height and glare.
Both countries are confronting the same underlying technological change: vehicle lighting has advanced much faster than many of the regulations written to govern it.
In the United States, NHTSA’s review could eventually affect how automakers design headlights, where they are mounted, how beams are aimed and how adaptive lighting operates.
The process is still at an early stage and no new maximum brightness limit has yet been adopted.
For drivers frustrated by intense nighttime headlights, however, the announcement represents a significant shift.
Rather than treating glare primarily as a matter of driver perception or poor headlight adjustment, federal regulators are now formally examining whether the underlying lighting standards themselves need to change.
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