By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
Legislation to require that the headlamps of every motor vehicle must only emit “white light” died when the legislature adjourned for the year. All headlamps, both original and aftermarket, are required to comply with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). Under that standard, headlamps and replaceable bulbs intended for those headlamps are already required to emit “white” light. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has based its definition of “white” on a standard issued by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), which defines white by blue, yellow, green, red and purple boundaries within a chromaticity diagram. SEMA worked with the legislature to encourage language in future legislation making specific reference to FMVSS 108 as the standard to which all headlamps must comply.
For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.