The UK comparison video would most likely be identical if done in the US. The headlight hardware itself will be the same. Matrix headlights are not illegal in the US. US regulation requires there be a high beam and a low beam and not anything in-between. Matrix headlights allow for an adaptive driving beam that will dynamically change the beam pattern to adapt to the road and not blind other drivers. However, you could make those same matrix headlights "dumb" by just having a high beam and low beam. All Teslas with the new headlights are "dumb" right now, but could improve with a software update based on US regulations. Not sure if EU Teslas make use of adaptive driving beam yet, but in the comparison video linked in a previous post, there was no on-coming traffic. Both high and low beam "dumb" modes were demonstrated. I am pretty sure the hardware itself is identical, so the comparison holds for US spec.
There is also the power issue I referenced above Due to lack of headlight washers. Without washer Euro regulations require output to be reduced.
Meanwhile, halogen and LED headlamps do need one if their light sources emit more than 2000 lumens. Indeed, this is required for ECE approval. (Under the DOT regulations in North America headlamp washers are not mandatory at all.) These do not refer specifically to xenon, but as no approved halogen lamp exceeds this threshold value and as this also is the case with most LED systems, only xenon headlamps are, in fact, affected in practice. They emit around 3000 lumens.
Here is the wording why advanced headlight systems are illegal here. From a AAA study.
2. Regulatory limitations to allowing advanced headlamp systems in the U.S.
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) developed by NHTSA specify technical requirements for all vehicles sold in the United States. Automotive headlamps are regulated by FMVSS 108. This regulation clearly defines headlamp performance, installed position, luminescence, considerations for glare, and aiming for both low beams and high beams. Although FMVSS 108 does not specifically address or prohibit the use of ADB lighting systems, certain technical requirements have been interpreted to rule out their use. Two relevant sections of FMVSS 108:
• §9.4: Low and high beam headlight beams cannot be energized at the same time. This is a fundamental obstacle to allowing ADB headlamp systems in the U.S.
• §6.1.5.2.1 to §6.1.5.2.3: These sections detail scenarios where high and low beams are allowed to be used simultaneously, but they do not include the basic function of ADB systems.
FMVSS 108 also outlines detailed photometric requirements for both low and high beams. ADB headlamps use a combination of low and high beams at the same time, and deactivate the lights in specific areas to prevent glare. Unfortunately, this dynamic lighting control makes ADB headlamps unable to meet all of the requirements specified in the FMVSS standard.
electrek.co
