NHTSA Proposes Easing Lighting Rules for Driverless Trucks

NHTSA proposes amending FMVSS No. 108, the lamps and lighting equipment standard that applies to trucks, buses and trailers as well as passenger vehicles, according to the notice. The agency said several changes target vehicles equipped with an Automated Driving System (ADS) that have no manually operated driving controls, such as a steering wheel or brake pedal.

For those vehicles, NHTSA would narrow current requirements for self-canceling turn signal controls, manual beam-switching devices, and dashboard telltales so they apply only to vehicles with manual controls. The agency said an ADS can manage these functions without the driver-oriented hardware the standard currently mandates, cutting what it called unnecessary cost and design burden.

Separately, NHTSA would let manufacturers test integral-beam headlamps at their design voltage rather than a fixed 12.8 volts, drop a requirement that lower beams sit above upper beams in vertical arrangements, and add specifications for an optional cyan-colored "ADS marker lamp" to signal when the automated system is in control. The agency is not proposing to require the marker lamp on any vehicle.

The notice does not change any requirements for vehicles that retain manual driving controls.

What's next

• 2026-10-26: Scheduled Federal Register publication.
• 2026-11-25: Comment deadline (30 days after publication, per the notice).
• Watch for a related NHTSA rulemaking on ADS telltales across multiple FMVSS, which the agency says it plans to initiate separately.

All sources

• Proposed Rule (public inspection): Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards: Modernization of No. 108 to Accommodate ADS-Equipped Vehicles — Federal Register public inspection (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), 2026-10-26