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The US will finally allow adaptive beam headlights on new cars

arstechnica.com

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Re: The US will finally allow adaptive beam headlights on new cars

#41

Post by midoridensha »

deburo wrote: post #7

Available in Europe since 2006? Why did it take so long for the US? LED lightbeams are so bright that high beams is almost unbearable for opposing cars.

>Available in Europe since 2006? Why did it take so long for the US?

It probably wasn't invented in America, and therefore the US government refuses to believe that it exists.

This is why the US is happy to allow half-baked self-driving tech from Tesla, but won't allow automakers to adopt anything that became standard overseas first.

Re: The US will finally allow adaptive beam headlights on new cars

#43

Post by kube-system »

_carbyau_ wrote: post #42

Scenario: Driving in the countryside at night. Do the adaptive lights let you see off the edges of the road for animals? Kangaroos can be damn near suicidal...

Yeah, being in the US I have not used these headlights, but I sure hope the image in the article is a bad rendition. That beam is way too narrow.

Re: The US will finally allow adaptive beam headlights on new cars

#44

Post by kube-system »

midoridensha wrote: post #41
deburo wrote: post #7

Available in Europe since 2006? Why did it take so long for the US? LED lightbeams are so bright that high beams is almost unbearable for opposing cars.

>Available in Europe since 2006? Why did it take so long for the US? It probably wasn't invented in America, and therefore the US government refuses to believe that it exists. This is why the US is happy to allow half-baked self-driving tech from Tesla, but won't allow automakers to adopt anything that became standard overseas first.

Did any European automakers ask for the rules to be reevaluated? Or did they simply sell cheaper headlights for the same price and pocket the difference?

Re: The US will finally allow adaptive beam headlights on new cars

#45

Post by bdamm »

bb88 wrote: post #32
prng2021 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes drunk driving is a terrible problem but beta testing software on the open road is not the only option available. It's nothing but irresponsible. Here's one of many: use sensors and AI in the car to detect a drunk person behind the wheel. This is HN so I'm sure readers could spend 10 seconds and think of numerous ways this could be accomplished and many otherideas about what could be done when a drunk driver is de…

You may find it interesting the NHTSA is pushing for breathalizers in cars starting in 2026. Personally I'm more in favor of smart road like technologies where a highway has a mechanical or physical properties to assist self-driving vehicles stay in line with the road. Mostly because a 100% software solution will likely not work, particularly in the midwest and great lakes states during the wintertime. It need not be…

Quality steel nails are expensive, roads are very plentiful, and sensors have noise. Also, staying in a lane is not the problem. Teslas and pretty much all other quality brands sold today do it already. The problem is complex behavior like merging and routing around obstacles (like a person changing their tire.)

Cheaper and easier would be surveying and improving road markings. As for snow, well, my Tesla maintains lane position in snow fairly well, and gets better all the time. No magic nails required.

Re: The US will finally allow adaptive beam headlights on new cars

#46

Post by timc3 »

throwaway019254 wrote: post #13

Can anybody tell me why all my US cars have enormous side-mirror blind spot? And my European cars have none? Are European cars using curved mirrors to prevent this? Edit: I just googled it. That’s exactly what’s happening - EU side mirrors are curved to prevent blind spots.

Adjust your mirrors to a better position. The EU solution helps adjust it to what drivers think they need.

Here is an example how: https://www.defensivedriving.com/safe-driver-resources/how-t...

Re: The US will finally allow adaptive beam headlights on new cars

#47

Post by Hamuko »

KerrAvon wrote: post #22
deburo wrote: post #7

Available in Europe since 2006? Why did it take so long for the US? LED lightbeams are so bright that high beams is almost unbearable for opposing cars.

US auto regulations are extremely conservative on the lights/signals front, have been for a long time. Some European car designs in the late 20th century were compromised when brought to the US because the headlights had to be made worse (in an aesthetic sense) even though there was no safety reason to do so — Citroen DS was one of these. And maybe they should be conservative, but I don’t see how anyone can argue tha…

>US auto regulations are extremely conservative on the lights/signals front, have been for a long time.

Unless it involves red turning signals.

Re: The US will finally allow adaptive beam headlights on new cars

#48

Post by JALTU »

throwaway019254 wrote: post #13

Can anybody tell me why all my US cars have enormous side-mirror blind spot? And my European cars have none? Are European cars using curved mirrors to prevent this? Edit: I just googled it. That’s exactly what’s happening - EU side mirrors are curved to prevent blind spots.

They have this thing called the metric system, too. ;D

Re: The US will finally allow adaptive beam headlights on new cars

#49

Post by novok »

Maursault wrote: post #35

I'd be happy if local and state police just started issuing citations in earnest for misaligned headlights on pickup trucks. 99% of the pickups I come across at night have their low beams pointing straight instead of down at the road. It's so common that it can't be a coincidence that nearly every pickup truck has an illegal headlight configuration. And it isn't due to higher ground clearance, that's just their lame…

American police don't like to really to do pull overs with minor road behavior in general unless they are pulling over for a more serious non-driving thing and they're looking for an excuse to do so.

Like in california, nobody is ever, ever ticketed or pulled over for not using turn signals.

Re: The US will finally allow adaptive beam headlights on new cars

#50

Post by fortylove »

bb88 wrote: post #32
prng2021 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes drunk driving is a terrible problem but beta testing software on the open road is not the only option available. It's nothing but irresponsible. Here's one of many: use sensors and AI in the car to detect a drunk person behind the wheel. This is HN so I'm sure readers could spend 10 seconds and think of numerous ways this could be accomplished and many otherideas about what could be done when a drunk driver is de…

You may find it interesting the NHTSA is pushing for breathalizers in cars starting in 2026. Personally I'm more in favor of smart road like technologies where a highway has a mechanical or physical properties to assist self-driving vehicles stay in line with the road. Mostly because a 100% software solution will likely not work, particularly in the midwest and great lakes states during the wintertime. It need not be…

I've wondered about the possibility of such a nail mechanism being tampered with. Sounds a bit dangerous to blindly trust such a mechanism
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