This Is (Likely) The First Country To Introduce Mandatory Automatic Headlights On All New Cars

All new cars launched require a minimum level of safety gear, which varies from market to market. From the two frontal airbags to the daytime running lights (DRL), these are all mandatory in today’s industry.

Nonetheless, Japan is believed to have become the first country to make another feature mandatory: automatic headlamps. According to DrivingVisionNews, it applies to newly introduced passenger vehicles from April 1, 2020, while current models will not be allowed to be sold without this tech from October 2021.

The feature won’t allow drivers to switch the headlamps off at night, which is common practice in Japan while waiting at red lights out of politeness for other drivers, as some of them forget to switch them back on when the light turns green, thus making pedestrians and cyclists vulnerable.

The requirement falls under the UN Regulation 48, which states that the lights must be switched on when the ambient light decreases to less than 1,000 lux – comparable to 15 minutes before sunset on a clear day, within two seconds. They will turn off on their own in 5-300 seconds when the ambient light goes over 7,000 lux, which is recognized internationally as enough for safe driving.

“Switching on car lights earlier is important, not only in that it allows drivers to see objects outside more clearly, but that it helps pedestrians see approaching cars, an official of the ministry’s Road Transport Bureau was quoted saying. “We believe turning on the headlights earlier will help elderly people, who have weakened eyesight, see vehicles around them, leading to fewer accidents at dusk.”

As of August 2014, 30 percent of all cars in the Land of the Rising Sun were equipped with automatic headlights, according to a Japan Automobile Federation survey. Those systems allow drivers to switch them off whenever they please, but under the new guidelines, they will only be able to manually operate the headlamps in daylight.

Newly-introduced trucks that tip the scales at over 3.5 tons and buses with more than 11 seats will have to be equipped with dusk-sensing headlights from April 2021, and all vehicles will have to comply to the new standards from October 2023. Reports indicate that DRLs will be phased in during this timeframe as well.