This page details our regulatory petitions and personal lawsuits.
NHTSA
Sign the petition to Ban Blinding Headlights! – Our petition to ban blinding LED headlights has over 75,000 signatures and heartbreaking comments. Our goal is to have a US Senator formally submit this petition to the US National Highway Traffic Administration.
November 18, 2024 – Soft Lights Foundation President Mark Baker sent the following letter to GM, Stellantis, and NHTSA:
Dear Mary Barra, CEO, General Motors,
49 U.S.C. 30118(c)(1) states, “A manufacturer of a motor vehicle or replacement equipment shall notify the Secretary by certified mail or electronic mail, and the owners, purchasers, and dealers of the vehicle or equipment as provided in section 30119(d) of this section, if the manufacturer learns the vehicle or equipment contains a defect and decides in good faith that the defect is related to motor vehicle safety.”
A defective product is one that is unreasonably dangerous. Over 64,000 individuals have signed a petition notifying GM and NHTSA that LED headlight technology is unreasonably dangerous, and therefore defective. (https://www.change.org/p/u-s-dot-ban-blinding-headlights-and-save-lives). The Reddit site /r/fuckyourheadlights contains photo and video evidence of this defective and dangerous LED headlight technology. (https://www.reddit.com/r/fuckyourheadlights/)
Therefore, as per 49 U.S.C. 30118(c)(1), as an act of good faith, General Motors is required to notify NHTSA, vehicle owners, and dealers that LED headlight technology is defective and poses an unacceptable safety risk.
November 16, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation emailed Ford and NHTSA and notified them that they have failed to comply with 49 U.S.C. Section 30118 and that Soft Lights Foundation President Mark Baker intends to file a lawsuit for non-compliance.
October 22, 2024 – NHTSA failed to make a decision on the Soft Lights Foundation petition to set an upper limit on headlamp intensity within the required 120 days. The Soft Lights Foundation sent a letter to NHTSA requesting a justification for the delay.
September 23, 2024 – Mark Baker, President of the Soft Lights Foundation, filed a lawsuit against the US Food and Drug Administration and US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for failure to comply with 21 U.S.C. 360ii(a)(6)(A) and maintain a liaison for LED vehicle headlamps, and against the FDA for dissolving TEPRSSC, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 360kk(f). December 3, 2024 – The FDA/NHTSA filed a Motion to Dismiss. December 5, 2024 – Plaintiff filed a Response to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss. December 17, 2024 – Plaintiff filed a Petition for Writ of Mandate, Rule 26(f). December 23, 2024 – DOJ filed a Response to the Petition for Writ of Mandate. December 26, 2024 – Plaintiff filed a Response to Defendant’s Response, focusing on the government’s bad faith actions. January 10, 2025 – DOJ sends letter denying request for discovery. January 10, 2025 – Plaintiff responds to DOJ 1-10-2025 letter. 1-14-2025 – DOJ Responds to Plaintiff’s Response to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss.
June 30, 2024 – The Soft Lights Foundation submitted a letter to NHTSA requesting compliance with 21 U.S.C. 360ii(a).
June 11, 2024 – US Representative Mike Thompson submitted a letter to the US House Energy and Commerce Committee requesting that the committee hold a hearing with NHTSA officials to discuss blinding LED headlights.
June 7, 2024 – NHTSA acknowledges the Soft Lights Foundation petition to regulate Correlated Color Temperature for headlights.
May 15, 2024 – We submitted a federal regulatory petition to NHTSA to set limits on Correlated Color Temperature for vehicle headlamps and daytime running lights.
March 20, 2024 – We received a letter from NHTSA stating that they have received our petition to set an overall limit on lower beam headlight intensity.
March 1, 2024 – We submitted a federal regulatory petition to NHTSA to set an overall limit on lower beam headlight intensity.
February 13, 2024 – Response letter from NHTSA to our 2021 letters about blinding LED headlights. NHTSA states that aftermarket LED bulbs are illegal, but that there is no enforcement. NHTSA states that the FDA is responsible for protecting our eyes. NHTSA states that maximum limits on intensity are only for certain test points.
December 25, 2023 – We submitted a federal regulatory petition to NHTSA describing the automaker’s failure to comply with 5 U.S.C. 551-559 and NHTSA’s failure to update FMVSS-108 for LED headlights. We requested that NHTSA issue a notice of non-compliance to Stellantis for the 2023 Jeep Grand Wagoneer.
September 27, 2023 – We submitted a Request for Interpretation to NHTSA regarding the requirement that the automakers comply with the Administrative Procedure Act and petition NHTSA for authorization to use LED headlights in their vehicles.
September 23, 2023 – We submitted a formal request to NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation to investigate the auto industry’s switch to LED headlights.
August 22, 2023 – The DOT OIG rejected our complaint.
August 22, 2023 – The DOT OIG rejected our complaint.
August 20, 2023 – We filed a complaint with the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General.
May 29, 2023 – We submitted a petition to NHTSA to comply with 21 USC Section 360ii to collaborate with the FDA to publish performance standards for LED visible radiation on vehicles.
March 10, 2023 – NHTSA sent letter acknowledging our petition to require that all lamps emit spatially uniform visible radiation.
December 10, 2022 – We submitted a petition to NHTSA to require that all vehicle lamps emit spatially uniform visible radiation that follows an inverse square law for dispersion. Petition.
December 8, 2022 – NHTSA published their denial of our petitions to recall several vehicles in the Federal Register.
December 5, 2022 – We filed a request for an investigation into Ford’s use of non-compliant LED headlights with the US Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General. Complaint.
December 2, 2022 – NHTSA Rejected our petitions to issue orders of non-compliance. – Letter.
November 15, 2022 – Senator Markey and 9 other Senators wrote to NHTSA asking for a status update on safety regulations, including headlights. We wrote to Senator Markey about non-compliant LED headlights. Letter.
September 9, 2022 – Petition for non-compliance for Rivian RT1. Petition
September 30, 2022 – NHTSA Responded that they have received our three petitions and assigned case numbers NHTSA-220815-006, 220818-001, and 220919-008. Letter.
August 11, 2022 – Petition for non-compliance for Tesla Model 3. Petition
August 5, 2022 – We submitted a formal petition to NHTSA to issue an order of non-compliance to Ford for non-compliant LED headlights. In this petition, we lay out the case for why LED headlights are non-compliant and dangerous, and how Ford failed to request and receive regulatory approval to use LED headlights. Petition.
June 27, 2021 – Letter from the Soft Lights Foundation to Ann Carlson, NHTSA.
August 20, 2020 – NHTSA acknowledges that replacement kits using LED bulbs are not legal. Letter from LeRoy Angeles.
Department of Transportation
April 2, 2024 – We formally submitted 202 pages of comments, representing 60,000 signatures, from our petition to ban blinding headlights to Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg.
April 3, 2024 – We submitted a letter to Secretary Buttigieg notifying him that the auto industry is relying on a single Letter of Interpretation from a NHTSA lawyer for authorization to use LED headlights. We request that NHTSA comply with federal regulatory procedures and publish performance standards to the federal register for public comment.