Georgia Injury Law Blog
Driving at night or in inclement weather in a car with poor visibility due to headlights can be very dangerous and a recipe for a car accident. However, for decades, federal laws have prevented high beam and low beam lights in a car from being operated at the same time. That comes to an end soon as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration scraps the old standard, thereby allowing adaptive headlights to become common in automobiles.
While most other types of car components and tech, including seat belts, have adapted and evolved over the years, headlight tech has remained the same. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108 determined that both high beam and low beam lights could not be operated together. That prevented the widespread adoption of technology like adaptive headlights which are found in other countries that do not have such restrictions.
The technology consists of dozens of cameras that can provide different types of lighting depending on the road conditions and can direct the flow of the lighting with precision. That means that high beam and low beam lights can be deployed simultaneously to extend visibility in all directions without blinding other drivers.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration press release, the tech will help better illuminate pedestrians and bicyclists, so that motorists can see these risks in time to avoid collisions. The technology will also illuminate animals in time to avoid accidents without impacting the visibility of other motorists. This system uses data processing tech, state-of–the-art sensors as well as lamps to reduce glare while at the same increasing visibility at night or low visibility conditions for motorists. The technology has been available in other countries for years now, but has only new been considered for approval in the United States.
These adaptive headlights will not be available any time soon, however. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration intends to establish rules and monitor the performance of these before these systems are widely available on all automobiles.
The approval by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration could not come at a more opportune time. Georgia and other states are recording high increases in traffic accident deaths, especially accidents involving bicyclists and pedestrians. The federal administration, in fact, has recently adopted the National Roadway Safety Strategy with a goal of reducing the number of traffic accident-related deaths on our roads and highways every year. Part of that manifesto is safer vehicle design, and adaptive headlights play a crucial role in this. These headlights will help motorists to reduce the risk of crashes in low visibility conditions, like night time or during poor weather, which is when most accidents occur.
The Atlanta car accident attorneys at the Katz Personal Injury Lawyers are dedicated to the representation of persons who have suffered injuries in car and auto accidents in the metro Atlanta region and across Georgia. If you or a loved one have suffered injuries in a car accident, talk to a lawyer at our firm and determine your options to a legal claim for damages. You may qualify for damages that include medical costs, lost income, pain and suffering and other damages. Talk to a lawyer at our firm, and discuss your rights. Initial consultations are free.