The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has started the process of rewriting the federal headlight standard, and the glare that bothers so many night drivers is first on its list. The agency published a notice in the Federal Register on October 8 saying it intends to form a Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee for Vehicle Lighting, which would recommend changes to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108, the rule that governs lamps, reflectors and related equipment.
NHTSA announced the plan on October 6 and says it is the first time in more than 25 years that it has used negotiated rulemaking for vehicle lighting. The notice, signed by NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison, sets no deadline for a final rule.
What the committee will look at
The list is broad. According to the notice, the committee would cover glare caused by headlighting systems, replaceable light sources such as LED replacement bulbs, dusk sensors, plastic optical materials, semiautomatic beam switching, minimum lamp sizes, low- and high-beam light output, and how on-vehicle headlamp performance is affected by aim and mounting height. Auxiliary lamps, three-wheel motorcycles, outdated physical test requirements and harmonization with international standards are also on the agenda.
Aim and mounting height are on the list because the notice ties real-world headlamp performance to where the lamps sit and point on the vehicle. The modernization effort itself is not new: NHTSA opened a rulemaking to assess its lighting standards in the spring 2018 Unified Agenda, and the notice says a December 2019 petition from Osram Sylvania on LED replacement light sources gave it more momentum.
The process has a precedent. In February 2022, NHTSA issued a final rule allowing adaptive driving beam headlamps, which dim only the part of the high beam that would hit other road users.
Who gets a seat, and how to weigh in
Proposed committee membership (up to 18 members)
| Group | Seats |
|---|---|
| Vehicle lighting manufacturers or lighting retailers | 4 |
| National motor vehicle manufacturers | 2 |
| Vehicle or equipment manufacturing associations | 4 |
| Vehicle or equipment safety organizations | 2 |
| Educational, research or testing institutions | 3 |
| Professional engineering or standard-setting associations | 3 |
Source: NHTSA notice, 91 FR 64462, October 8, 2026. A NHTSA representative also takes part in negotiations.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy would appoint the members, who serve without pay. The committee would meet about four times a year in public, mostly virtual sessions run by a neutral facilitator, and has a charter of up to two years. If it reaches consensus, NHTSA says it intends to publish a proposed rule promptly afterward, which would then go through the normal public comment process.
Comments on the plan and applications for membership are due by 5 p.m. Eastern on November 9, 2026, through regulations.gov under docket NHTSA-2026-1981. NHTSA is specifically asking whether the scope is right and whether the seat allocation is balanced.
How big is the glare problem
Drivers say it is big. In a AAA survey of 1,092 adults released in March 2026, six in ten drivers said headlight glare is a problem after dark, and 73% of those affected said it has gotten worse over the past decade. Oncoming headlights were the top complaint, named by 92% of drivers who experience glare.
Crash data tells a more complicated story. An October 2025 study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found glare was cited in only one or two of every 1,000 nighttime crashes in 11 states from 2015 to 2023, with little change over that period, while brighter headlights cut crashes tied to poor visibility. IIHS testing found excessive glare from 21% of headlights on 2017 models but only 3% on 2025 models. IIHS President David Harkey said glare contributes to far fewer crashes than insufficient visibility. That is the balance a new rule has to strike: less dazzle for oncoming drivers without dimming the light drivers need to see the road.
Until then, AAA advises keeping headlights clean and in their original factory design, and having aim checked by a repair shop. The vehicles in the photos are shown for illustration and are not the subject of the rulemaking.
