Canadian vehicle regulations are usually more or less in lockstep with U.S. standards; automakers prefer to sell substantially the same vehicle on both sides of the border. But even Canadians can grow tired of politely waiting: there’s still no news from NHTSA, but AFS and ADB are permitted in Canada as of last Wednesday, 21 April 2018. That’s when the newly-revised Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard № 108 (CMVSS 108) was published in the Canada Gazette, which makes it official as a final rule; an adoption of the regulatory amendment. The new CMVSS 108 also contains upgrades to Canada’s DRL requirements and other improvements.
Noted international vehicle lighting regulation expert Marcin Gorzkowski was in charge of car lights and reflectors for many years at Transport Canada, and he also served as the very highly regarded chairman of GRE. Now he’s the proprietor & principal adviser of the GlobalCarLight vehicle lighting regulation consultancy based in Ottawa, Ontario, and he was kind enough to grant us an interview:
DVN: Is there greater significance to this event, beyond just adding Canada to the list of countries where ADB is permitted?
M.G.: Having the adaptive driving beam (ADB)—and, what is more critical, the adaptive forward-illumination system (AFS)—allowed in Canada goes beyond just having another country allowing these systems.
As DVN readers know, ADB is one function of AFS. Allowing just ADB would not help Canadians get access to better and safer road illumination; as far as I know, no manufacturer offers ADB on a conventional high/low beam headlamp system. What is very important is that Canada now allows full AFS system as described in UN Regulation 123 and as installed per UN Regulation 48, including allowance for the aggregated maximum high beam output allowed by UN R48 (as long as the centre of the high beam is not more than 85 cm above the road surface).