Adaptive headlights, also called high definition headlights, have been available on luxury cars in Europe for several years, but have yet to be approved by NHTSA regulators for use on cars in the USA.
Not sure what the hype is all about? Check out this promotional video from Toyota, who have been pushing US regulators to step up their game and approve the tech:Â
So the question is, will adaptive headlight tech finally fix the glare problem? The answer is, unfortunately, no. Adaptive headlights really shine (no pun intended) as an enhancement for driver's vision. However this tech is not cheap. It is powered by the same type of digital mirror devices behind DLP projectors, which comes with a significantly more complex set of electronics and optical systems compared to a standard headlight. Furthermore, in order to "fix" the glare problem, this expensive and complex tech would have to be mandatory in all new cars, and even then, it would take decades for enough fleet turnover to start making a real difference.
And beyond just the technical issues of adopting this product on a large scale, the issue of enforcement of vehicle codes would have to be completely revolutionized. Because the worst offenders of headlight glare are actually illegally modified vehicles out of compliance with headlight aiming standards.
The basic reality is that the state of vehicle code compliance in America is extremely lax. There are many modifications to vehicles that may be technically "illegal", cars are not required to undergo any kind of annual or semi-annual inspection process to certify road worthiness, other than for smog emissions which only addresses one of many potential issues with a car's operation.
Where this hits on the issue of headlight glare relates in no small part to America's favorite car - the truck. Pickup trucks have high ground clearance, and one popular modification of pickup trucks is the lift kit - raising the entire body of the vehicle above its factory standard issue clearance. The problem with lifting of a vehicle is that it also raises the elevation of the headlights. To do this properly, headlights would need to be adjusted to point downward at a steeper angle to compensate. But who is checking? The answer is: no one.
In addition to obvious modifications like lift kits, even the simple act of swapping out an old halogen lamp headlight with an LED-based replacement as a DIY operation can cause beam aim misalignment resulting in excessive glare for other drivers.
And finally there is the issue of LED headlight spectral emissions, which are actually structured in such a way as to cause a greater amount of glare discomfort compared to standard halogen beam lights of equivalent brightness and color... but we'll address that in our next blog article!
So yes, adaptive headlights - great idea, we love it - but will it fix glare? Probably not, and definitely not any time soon!
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