Driving at night can be difficult, especially when you’re faced with those super bright headlights blinding you from oncoming traffic.
That may soon change thanks to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The NHTSA has approved new lights that will focus on dark areas of the road like the driver’s lane and the roadside. The lights can automatically be made less bright when faced with oncoming traffic, The Associated Press reported.
The adaptive driving beam headlights work thanks to camera sensors and computers that will help direct the beams.
“This final rule will improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists by making them more visible at night, and will help prevent crashes by better illuminating animals and objects in and along the road,” the NHTSA said in a news release, according to the AP.
The auto industry supported the technology.
According to a government report released this week, traffic deaths in the United States for the first nine months of 2021 surged to 31,720 and was 12% higher from January to September 2021 than the same time frame as 2020.
The Transportation Department said that it is the highest percentage increase over the nine-month period since it started recording deadly crashes in 1975 and the highest number of deaths since 2006, the AP reported.
The lights are expected to be rolled out in higher-end luxury vehicles first, then will become available on regular cars as the cost of the technology becomes more economical.
