Sponsor
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez
Representative · D-WA
Representative · D-WA
The bill aims to reduce nighttime headlight glare and create a uniform federal brightness standard, but does so at the cost of potential compliance expenses for manufacturers and consumers and with a risk that an overly low or hastily written cap could reduce visibility or produce a rushed rulemaking.
Drivers and other road users (including transportation workers and residents of urban and rural communities) would experience fewer glare-related visibility problems because the bill caps low-beam headlight brightness, improving nighttime driving safety.
Vehicle manufacturers and consumers gain a clear federal brightness standard, reducing regulatory uncertainty for manufacturers and potentially lowering long-run compliance costs.
Drivers in low-light and rural areas (including transportation workers) could have reduced forward illumination if the brightness cap is set too low, decreasing visibility distance and raising crash risk.
Auto manufacturers and vehicle buyers could face added redesign, testing, and certification costs to meet the new maximum brightness standard, potentially raising vehicle prices.
NHTSA and state/local governments could be strained by the bill's one-year rulemaking deadline, risking a rushed regulation with limited stakeholder input or technical analysis.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Directs NHTSA to issue a final rule within one year to set a maximum brightness limit for motor vehicle low‑beam headlamps in FMVSS No. 108.
Official title: To direct the Secretary of Transportation to revise the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to establish a maximum allowable brightness standard for low beam headlamps on motor vehicles, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 3, 2026 by Marie Gluesenkamp Perez · Last progress March 3, 2026
Requires the Department of Transportation (through NHTSA) to issue a final rule within one year that revises Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108 to set a maximum allowable brightness for motor vehicle low‑beam headlamps, measured in lumens or another photometric metric. The rule would limit how bright low‑beam headlights can be to reduce glare for oncoming drivers and improve two‑lane roadway safety. The bill directs a regulatory change to an existing federal vehicle safety standard rather than creating a new program or providing funding; it sets a firm deadline for a rulemaking to define and enforce the brightness cap.