Forvia Hella ready to light the night with ADB, but NHTSA test stands in the way

A demonstration ride shows the glare-free, game-changing power of adaptive driving beams, already available in Europe. An approval test from NHTSA is proving difficult for OEMs to pass.

I'm riding in the second row of a Lincoln Navigator fitted with Forvia Hella's adaptive driving beam (ADB) headlight system. The low- and high-beams are on, blasting everything in front of us for between 350 and 500 feet (122 and 152 m) with a bright, daylight-temperature LED light. Even traffic and street signs at the edges of the road, which normally aren't as well illuminated, are bathed in brightness.

A car pulls out in front of us, and the system instantly adjusts, creating a tunnel of unlit space on and just next to the vehicle ahead. So even though we still have high beams on the rest of the road, that driver isn't facing the harsh glare that is the No. 1 complaint about today's high-intensity headlight systems.