Banned: Audi Smart LED Lights

While buyers elsewhere on the planet will be free to take advantage of Audi’s latest lighting technology–it is banned in the States. The Audi smart LED lights (dubbed matrix-beam LED lighting) were unveiled via a 2012 Super Bowl ad, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has put the brakes on the technology for the time being.

Audi’s smart LED lighting is brighter than traditional lights, but have the ability to auto-dim when an oncoming vehicle is detected without input from the driver. The smart headlights can also ‘see’ around corners without blinding motorists. The issue with Audi’s smart lighting in the United States can be reduced to a very outdated law, created even prior to the founding of the NHTSA! The law was enacted in 1968 and requires that all vehicles have the capacity to switch from a high-beam light to a low beam. The regulation from decades ago remains in effect, and with the technological advancements of today, severely outdated!

NHTSA is not convinced that LED lights lead to improved safety on the roads. In fact, some tests have suggested that autos with LED brake lights are rear-ended with greater frequency than traditional incandescent lights.

Audi’s clusters of LED lamps that turn off and on in response to other vehicles are not entirely unprecedented, as Volvo has touted similar technology. Volvo’s ‘permanent’ high beams rely on sensors and cameras to shield other motorists from a glare while illuminating the road for maximum safety. Both companies will have to work to change current regulations in order to sell their stuff stateside. In the meantime, buyers in other countries can take advantage of the new lighting technology in the Audi A8 next year.