GoKawiilNHTSA proposes cyan lights as national signal for self-driving vehicles
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has proposed revisions to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108 that would let automakers use cyan-colored marker lamps to indicate when a vehicle's automated driving system is in control. The lights would be optional, but NHTSA wants to standardize their color, brightness and placement so operators like Waymo, Nuro, Zoox, GM and Mercedes-Benz use a consistent signal rather than varied designs.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
A single federal color standard could prevent a patchwork of competing visual signals as more robotaxis hit public roads, making it easier for police and pedestrians to recognize driverless vehicles. The move builds on earlier state-level experiments, such as Mercedes-Benz's turquoise lights for its now-abandoned Level 3 system, suggesting regulators see vehicle-to-road communication as a safety issue worth standardizing even before adoption is widespread.
- NHTSA has proposed cyan marker lights to signal when an automated driving system is operating a vehicle.
- The lights would be optional, but their color, brightness and placement would be federally standardized if used.
- The proposal also aims to streamline other FMVSS 108 rules that currently assume a human driver is present.
Source: theverge.com — Andrew J. Hawkins, 2026-10-23
Published there as: “Feds want robotaxis to signal ‘I’m driving’ with cyan-colored lights”
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