Varroc Wants Drivers to Forget About High Beams

A headlamp supplier wants U.S. regulators to approve its new design, which eliminates the need for drivers to switch their high beams on or off.

Varroc Lighting Systems, Inc., the U.S. division of the India-based company, developed a headlamp that automatically dims by shutting off individual LEDs, according to Crain’s Detroit Business (via Automotive News).

While auto-dimming headlamps are a common sight, Varroc’s new lighting system, called ADB, goes a step further. With ADB, a vehicle’s high beams would be on permanently, with several LEDs shutting off if the system detects an oncoming car. The manner in which the LEDs shut down keeps the road ahead brightly illuminated, but prevents glare for the oncoming driver.

Scott Montessi, Varroc Lighting’s director of product development, said six to seven LEDs would shut down out of a total of about 40. The headlamps would keep the oncoming driver in a dark patch, or “black box.”

“Lamps have been the same for nearly 60 years, but LEDs and new technologies are changing the landscape,” Montessi told Crain’s. The ADB system, which starts appearing on European models this year, provides an extra 100 feet of illumination, Montessi said. That’s good for an extra one or two seconds of reaction time.

U.S. and European regulators play by different rules, and the ADB system currently isn’t allowed on these shores. However, that could soon change. Varroc, along with Toyota, petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to allow the technology on U.S. vehicles.

The NHTSA is expected to adopt European standards within the next year. That can’t come soon enough for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which recently began rating headlamps (and found most of them to be awful).

[Image: Daniel Böswald/ Flickr]