File photo of State Rep. Lindsay Sabadossa (D-Northampton).
A bill under consideration in the state Legislature would require all new cars sold in the state after Jan. 1, 2026 to be equipped with adaptive headlights that illuminate the road without shining light into oncoming vehicles’ windshields.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, adaptive driving beam headlight systems (ADB) use automatic headlight beam switching technology to reduce illumination to occupied areas of the road and increase illumination to unoccupied areas. Adaptive beams are particularly useful for illuminating pedestrians, animals and objects from long distances without reducing visibility to drivers of other vehicles.
“A study by the American Automobile Association found that ADB illuminates the road 86 percent more brightly than current headlight technology, but without the glare,” sponsor Rep. Lindsey Sabadosa (D-Northampton) said in a statement. “Smart headlights adjust approximately 5,000 times per second to navigate around parts of the road already illuminated by oncoming traffic, so they don’t shine light directly into oncoming drivers’ faces.”
Sabadosa said automakers have changed headlight bulbs from halogen bulbs that emit a yellow light to bright blue LED bulbs that are at least four times brighter than the previous bulbs. The result is brighter light without having to turn on the high beams. The brighter light has greatly improved nighttime visibility for drivers, but the positioning and glare of the headlights are dangerous to oncoming traffic.
“This law seeks to address the problem of overly bright headlights,” Sabadosa said. There have been countless news articles about the growing problem of overly bright headlights on Massachusetts highways. While the headlights improve driver safety to some extent, they also dazzle oncoming vehicles and don’t make the roads safer. The solution is adaptive headlight technology, or smart headlights.
Sabadosa has received several emails from constituents who are worried about driving at night because of bright headlights, and they’re not alone: A Boston.com poll found that 93 percent of 600 respondents said today’s car headlights are too bright.
Many luxury cars, including BMW and Mercedes, already have the technology, and adaptive headlights are mandated in Canada, China and the European Union.
“There’s talk of bringing it to the U.S., but someone will have to start pushing it in multiple states before more OEMs start offering it,” Sabadosa added.
Emilee Klein can be reached at eklein@gazettenet.com.
