Feds get ready to rewrite car headlight rules

One of the regulations that make vehicles in the US different from those in Europe or Japan is our headlight rules. They’re laid out in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), and changing them is—or used to be—a lengthy, laborious process, which is a major reason automotive lighting technology has lagged in the US.

使美国车辆有别于欧洲或日本的法规之一，就是我们的前大灯规则。这些规则载于《联邦机动车安全标准》（FMVSS）中，而修改它们是一个——或者说曾经是一个——漫长且费力的过程，这也是美国汽车照明技术滞后的主要原因。

But the current administration says it’s time for “bolstering driver safety, slashing red tape, and embracing new technologies,” so it’s going to start a negotiated rulemaking process to rewrite the regulations to suit 2026. “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,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Jonathan Morrison said. “This collaborative approach will allow us to update outdated regulations, foster innovation, and keep everyone on our roads safer.”

但现任政府表示，现在是“加强驾驶员安全、削减繁文缛节并拥抱新技术”的时候了，因此将启动一项协商规则制定程序，以重写法规来适应 2026 年的需求。美国国家公路交通安全管理局的乔纳森·莫里森（Jonathan Morrison）表示：“现行标准不允许汽车制造商部署最新的安全改进照明技术，因此我们正在召集关键专家和利益相关者，以实现标准现代化并解决潜在的眩光问题。这种协作方式将使我们能够更新过时的法规，促进创新，并确保道路上每个人的安全。”

While it is fair to be skeptical of the government’s efforts to streamline bureaucracy, it is also fair to say US headlight regulations really could use an update. When Ars started covering cars, automakers like Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, and Volvo were trying to import adaptive headlight technology. At the time, the FMVSS only allowed for “dumb” high- and low-beams, nothing else.

虽然对政府精简官僚机构的努力持怀疑态度是合理的，但同样公平地说，美国的前大灯法规确实需要更新。当 Ars 开始报道汽车时，奥迪、宝马、奔驰、丰田和沃尔沃等汽车制造商正试图引入自适应前大灯技术。当时，FMVSS 只允许使用“笨拙”的远光灯和近光灯，别无其他。

Meanwhile, lighting technology evolved, adopting first lasers and then LEDs with addressable pixels that can block out those that would otherwise illuminate oncoming cars. In 2013, in response to Toyota’s petition, NHTSA said it would start the rulemaking process. It took another five years before a rule was published for consideration; in the interim, the NHTSA was considering adopting Europe’s rules before deciding that if a car with adaptive beam lights “does not have a long preview of another vehicle, such as in an intersection scenario or when two vehicles are oncoming on a curved road, ADB does not have enough time to react to adapt its beam pattern.”

与此同时，照明技术不断演进，先是采用了激光，随后又采用了带有可寻址像素的 LED，这些像素可以遮挡住原本会照向迎面而来车辆的光线。2013 年，针对丰田的请愿，美国国家公路交通安全管理局（NHTSA）表示将启动规则制定程序。又过了五年，一项规则才被发布以供审议；在此期间，NHTSA 曾考虑采用欧洲的规则，但随后决定，如果配备自适应光束灯的汽车“无法提前很远预判到另一辆车，例如在交叉路口场景或两车在弯道上迎面驶来时，自适应远光灯（ADB）就没有足够的时间来反应并调整其光束模式。”

One key difference is how vehicles are regulated. In Europe, cars are homologated for type approval; manufacturers submit examples to authorities for testing to ensure they conform to the rules, and then the authorities approve the car for sale. In the US, OEMs tell NHTSA their cars comply with the FMVSS, or face sanctions if that turns out to be false later. At the time, NHTSA felt that Europe’s glare tests were too subjective for a self-certification regime and decided instead to write its own.

一个关键的区别在于车辆的监管方式。在欧洲，汽车需要进行型式认证；制造商将样品提交给当局进行测试，以确保其符合规则，然后当局批准该车销售。在美国，原始设备制造商（OEM）告知 NHTSA 其车辆符合 FMVSS，如果事后证明不符，则会面临制裁。当时，NHTSA 认为欧洲的眩光测试对于自我认证制度来说过于主观，因此决定自行制定标准。

In 2022, that final rule was ready. Since then, cars with active beam matrix LED headlights have gone on sale in the US; Audi’s big new SUVs are a good example, although they are limited in functionality compared with the same technology fitted to European-spec cars.

2022 年，该最终规则准备就绪。从那时起，配备主动光束矩阵 LED 前大灯的汽车已在美国上市；奥迪新款大型 SUV 就是一个很好的例子，尽管与欧洲规格汽车上配备的相同技术相比，它们的功能受到限制。

Among NHTSA’s goals for an updated FMVSS 108 are harmonizing US standards with their global counterparts, updating the rules for technologies like LEDs, ambient light sensors, automatic high beams, and replaceable light sources, improving test procedures for lenses and optics, understanding how to better aim headlights, and making sure that none of this blinds anyone else on the road with glare.

NHTSA 更新 FMVSS 108 的目标包括：使美国标准与全球标准保持一致；更新有关 LED、环境光传感器、自动远光灯和可更换光源等技术的规则；改进透镜和光学元件的测试程序；了解如何更好地调整前大灯的照射方向；并确保所有这些都不会因眩光而使道路上的其他人致盲。