NHTSA proposes cyan marker lights for self-driving vehicles and drops manual-switch rules

By Miriam Tolliver

WASHINGTON — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has proposed letting automated vehicles carry optional cyan-colored marker lamps that would signal to police and other road users when a computer, not a person, is driving, according to a notice set for publication in the Federal Register on Monday.

The proposal would also drop requirements for manually operated turn signal, hazard warning and high-beam switches in vehicles that have no steering wheel or pedals, and would ease two headlamp rules that the agency described as outdated, according to the agency’s announcement Friday.

“As automotive technology continues to evolve, our safety standards must keep pace with innovation in ways that do not compromise public safety,” NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said in the release. “These proposed updates address unnecessary regulatory burdens for vehicles built without traditional manual controls while establishing clear performance standards for automated vehicle marker lamps.”

The Transportation Department described the change as the latest step in the Trump administration’s framework for automated vehicles, which has included proposals to modernize other safety standards written for human drivers and changes to its exemption programs, according to the release. NHTSA said it has granted its first exemption for a commercial robotaxi deployment under that framework.

What would change

The standard at issue, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108, governs lamps, reflective devices and associated equipment on cars, trucks, buses and trailers. The rule “was developed at a time when all vehicles were operated by human drivers,” the agency wrote in the proposal.

For vehicles built to be driven only by an automated driving system, the proposal would limit requirements for manually operated turn signal, hazard and beam-switching controls, and telltale indicators on the dashboard, to vehicles that have manual driving controls. NHTSA said that such vehicles “currently are not available for consumer purchase,” but that “some manufacturers and rideshare operators have deployed such vehicles in a number of cities,” according to the notice.

The agency would not require marker lamps. It would set specifications for color, mounting location, activation and visibility for lamps on the front, rear and sides of a vehicle if a manufacturer chooses to install them. The proposal “largely, but not entirely, aligns” with an industry standard, SAE J3134, revised in December 2025, NHTSA wrote in the notice.

The notice says the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators recommends such lamps to help law enforcement tell whether a vehicle is being operated by its automated system or a driver. It also describes a two-year on-road test of cyan marker lamps that Mercedes-Benz ran in California from 2023 to 2025 with five vehicles, according to the document.

Headlamp changes

Separately, NHTSA would replace a fixed 12.8-volt test requirement for integral beam headlamps with a test based on power, so that lights designed for other voltages, such as long-lasting LED systems, can be certified. It would also remove a rule requiring the lower beam to come from the uppermost lamp when headlamps are stacked vertically, saying “it is possible to provide adequate illumination for safe driving” without it, according to the notice.

NHTSA said it does not expect the changes to add costs or reduce safety. The Office of Management and Budget reviewed the action as significant, and the agency expects it to count as a deregulatory action under President Trump’s Executive Order 14192, “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation,” according to the notice.

Comments will be accepted for 30 days after publication on docket NHTSA-2026-1519 at Regulations.gov. NHTSA said it is handling these changes separately from a negotiated rulemaking it announced earlier this month on other parts of the lighting standard, according to the release.

The Inquisitor sought comment from NHTSA’s press office, the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. NHTSA referred questions to its press release. This story will be updated with any other response.

Update, Oct. 26, 2026: This story has been updated with a response from NHTSA.