Safer headlights coming to a car near you as U.S. traffic fatalities skyrocket

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will now allow adaptive driving beams on vehicles sold in the United States in an effort to reduce traffic crashes that happen at night.

Seventy-five percent of pedestrian fatalities happen in the dark.

AAA research has demonstrated the inadequacy of headlights used on most U.S. vehicles and, given the compelling findings, federal lawmakers have now updated U.S. headlight standards for the first time in decades.

“Driving at night carries the highest fatality rate for both drivers and pedestrians,” says Morgan Dean, spokesperson for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “Given the sharp increase in fatalities on U.S. roadways – especially pedestrian fatalities – the updated headlight standards will literally be a lifesaving improvement.”

According to a NHTSA report released earlier this month, U.S. traffic fatalities were up 12 percent during the first nine months of 2021 compared to the same time period in 2020. That’s the highest number of fatalities during the first nine months of the year since 2006 and the highest year to year increase in NHTSA’s reporting history.

AAA Automotive Engineering research previously showed that the halogen headlights found on most U.S. vehicles failed to safely light unlit roadways at speeds above 40mph. These headlights do not give drivers enough time to see, react and brake to avoid a pedestrian or object in the roadway.

To the contrary, a study of the adaptive driving beam headlights (ADB) found on European vehicles determined that they were far better – increasing roadway lighting by as much as 86 percent when compared to the U.S. low beam headlights. The new headlights use switching technology to shine more light on areas in and around the road without reducing visibility for drivers in other vehicles.

As a result of AAA sharing these findings with lawmakers, the infrastructure bill recently signed into law included language requiring the federal government to update safety standards for headlamps, and allowing for the adaptive driving beam headlamps. NHTSA’s announcement this week allows automakers to install the adaptive driving beam headlights on new vehicles.

The successful push for updated headlight standards illustrates how AAA uses its automotive research to influence vehicle design and ultimately make driving safer.