The world’s governments, automakers, and lighting suppliers sent delegates to the recent 59th meeting of the Groupe des Rapporteurs d’Éclairage – GRE. Conspicuously absent, however, was any representative from the United States. The US does not recognise the internationalised European ECE regulations that govern vehicular lighting throughout the rest of the world. Nevertheless, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which writes its own regulations for the US, has traditionally sent a delegation to GRE to provide the US perspective on matters related to car and truck lights and reflectors.
International regulators view the US pullout from the international effort as the latest troubling sign that the United States is interested in internationalised lighting regulations only to the degree that other countries accept the existing US regulations. That idea hasn’t gained much traction with other countries, since US regulations are more permissive than internationalised ECE regulations, and the US rules are predicated on the philosophy that crash avoidance systems like lighting don’t merit significant regulatory attention because they don’t contribute to a vehicle’s crashworthiness. This stands in sharp contrast to pan-European — and increasingly global — philosophy that crash avoidance is paramount to overall roadway safety. Thus, for example, ECE regulations require amber rear turn signals while US rules permit amber or red, ECE rules require strict control of low-beam headlamp glare while US regulations don’t, and international rules require side turn signal repeaters and rear fog lamps, which are permitted but not compulsory in the US.
Nevertheless, the US absence from the international discussion means good lighting ideas originating in the US will be slower to appear in international ECE regulations. US participation in GRE facilitated the European and international adoption of the centre high-mount brake lamp in the mid-1990s, but now the US has abandoned GRE, the front amber and red rear sidemarker lights and reflectors required since 1970 in the US aren’t likely to spread soon throughout the world.