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DETROIT — Anyone who has been temporarily blinded by the high-beam headlights of an oncoming car will be glad to hear that.
US highway safety regulators are about to allow new high-tech headlights that can automatically adapt headlights to focus on dark areas of the road and avoid glare for oncoming drivers.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it has issued a final rule that allows for what’s called “adaptive high-beam headlights” on new vehicles. It will go into effect when published in the Federal Register in the next few days.
Headlights commonly used in Europe have LED lamps that can focus their beams on dark spots such as the driver’s lane and roadsides. They also reduce the intensity of light beams if there is oncoming traffic. Camera sensors and computers help determine where the light should go.
“This latest rule will improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists by making them more visible at night, and help prevent accidents by better illuminating animals and objects on and off the road,” the agency said in a statement on Tuesday.
The new rule, backed by the auto industry, comes as the safety agency grapples with a dramatic increase in traffic deaths nationwide.
The government reported on Tuesday that the number of U.S. traffic deaths rose to 31,720 in the first nine months of 2021, maintaining its record for increased dangerous driving during the coronavirus pandemic.
The estimated number of deaths in motor vehicle accidents between January and September 2021 was 12% higher than in the same period in 2020. This represents the highest percentage increase in a nine-month period since the Department of Transport began recording fatal accident data in 1975.
The tally of 31,720 deaths was the highest in nine months since 2006.
Sam Abuelsamid, principal mobility analyst at Guidehouse Research, said the new lights will appear on higher-cost luxury vehicles at first, but will expand to more mainstream vehicles as the technology drops in price.
The technology uses an array of light-emitting diodes that can change where the light beams are sent, rather than the current high-beam technology that hits everywhere. “You have the ability to create a lightweight pattern on the fly, optimized for real-time conditions,” Abuelsamid said. Said. “You can put the light where it’s most useful.”
Abuelsamid said the new lights will also help partially automated driver assistance systems keep cars in their lane and avoid objects in front of vehicles at night.
NHTSA said the new lighting regulation comes more than 1 1/2 years before a requirement in the bilateral infrastructure law passed by Congress last year.
In the past, the agency has acted slowly on security measures mandated by Congress. An Associated Press review of NHTSA’s last three presidential rule-making activities last year found at least 13 auto safety rules overdue by deadlines set in laws passed by Congress.
The agency has not had a Senate-approved director since early 2017. President Joe Biden has nominated former California air quality regulator Steven Cliff for the post. Cliff is awaiting confirmation by the full Senate.
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Hope Yen contributed to this report from Washington.
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