The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed optional cyan marker lamps on Friday to show when an automated driving system is operating a vehicle. The agency said the lamps would let police and other drivers know that no person is driving.
The proposal would set specifications for the lamps' color, mounting locations, activation and visibility, NHTSA said. Vehicles would be fitted with a single lamp or a pair at the front, on each side and at the back, mounted no lower than 15 inches off the pavement, according to Bloomberg.
The proposal would change Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108. It would modernize manual turn signal, hazard warning and beam-switching control requirements for vehicles operated by automated driving systems. It would replace the 12.8-volt test requirement for integral beam headlamps, letting manufacturers certify performance at design voltages suited to LED systems. It would also remove rules that dictate the vertical order of lower and upper headlamp beams.
"These proposed updates address unnecessary regulatory burdens for vehicles built without traditional manual controls while establishing clear performance standards for automated vehicle marker lamps," NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said in a statement.
Cyan would join a short list of colors that has covered only red for braking, amber for turning and white for headlamps, according to Bloomberg. A federal standard would let vehicles be recognized the same way everywhere, rather than leaving a mix of competing methods that might puzzle other motorists, according to Bloomberg. Mercedes-Benz has already received approval from a state for turquoise marker lamps, a similar hue, on its Level 3 Drive Pilot vehicles, according to The Verge.
NHTSA is opening a 30-day public comment period after the notice appears in the Federal Register. Comments can be submitted on Docket No. NHTSA-2026-1519 at www.regulations.gov. Such proposals frequently need many months or longer before becoming final, according to Bloomberg.
NHTSA is proposing these lighting changes apart from the negotiated rulemaking it announced earlier this month to rewrite federal vehicle lighting standards and address headlight glare. The agency expects that process to address other parts of the same standard. Comments on the scope and membership of that rulemaking are due by Nov. 9.
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