11-21-2012, 06:19 AM
Root cause is that DOT regulations specify "maximum wattage" for headlamps, and "wattage" is not a unit measure of "brightness" -- the excellent paper touches very loosely on this point where it mentions responsiveness of human eyesight.
The regs "should" be revised to specify both spectra and luminous intensity, just like the broadcast regs were revised to define "loudness" ... but without enforcement, the rules are meaningless, more accurate rules won't matter.
The regs "should" be revised to specify both spectra and luminous intensity, just like the broadcast regs were revised to define "loudness" ... but without enforcement, the rules are meaningless, more accurate rules won't matter.