US approves new headlights that won’t blind oncoming drivers

fox13 ^

[algore]

DETROIT – Anyone who has ever been temporarily blinded by high-beam headlights from an oncoming car will be happy to hear this.

U.S. highway safety regulators are about to allow new high-tech headlights that can automatically tailor beams so they focus on dark areas of the road and don't create glare for oncoming drivers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it issued a final rule allowing what's called “adaptive driving beam headlights” on new vehicles. It will go into effect when published in the Federal Register in the next few days.

The headlights, commonly used in Europe, have LED lamps that can focus beams on darkness such as the driver's lane and areas along the roadside. They also lower the intensity of the light beams if there's oncoming traffic. Camera sensors and computers help determine where the light should go.

"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 agency said in a news release on Tuesday.

The new rule, which was supported by the auto industry, comes as the safety agency grapples with a dramatic rise in traffic deaths nationwide.

[oldvirginian]

“The real world has taught me that it is undeniable that nepotism and quid pro quo are what keeps many over employed which often diminishes the progress of those around them.”

I’ve run into that a few times.
When I was in my twenties I tried to get a job with Babcock and Wilcox nuclear fuels division in Lynchburg, Va. Damned good money and benefits. Never got the job because I didn’t have a relative working there.
That happened with several jobs. No family involved, no job.
Ah well, things turned out okay anyway.

One of my sons is butting heads with it now. The shop he works at only has two shifts. First shift pulls all the weight while second shift plays around. The day shift does more in two days than the night shift does in a week.
Everyone wants my son to take the shift supervisors job at nights but it will never happen. The night shift supervisor is the plant managers nephew.