Why are pop-up headlights banned?

[LeRose]

The reason for banning pop-up headlights is to protect pedestrian safety and reduce hazards during driving. Here is more relevant information: 1. Pop-up headlights: This refers to a hidden headlight design where the lights are recessed into the vehicle's front hood when turned off, and flip upward when activated. Not just the AE86 and RX-7, many classic car models adopted this "pop-up headlight" design. 2. Hazards of pop-up headlights: This design increases the vehicle's drag coefficient, leading to higher fuel consumption. Additionally, the mechanism requires extra mechanical components which carry higher failure risks. For modern increasingly popular xenon lights, the internal space of pop-up headlights is too cramped, making it difficult to install related xenon light components inside.

[McAlejandro]

I often wonder why pop-up headlights were banned. From a safety perspective, it's mainly because they pose a greater risk to pedestrians in accidents. Those lights, when popped up, act like rigid protrusions that don't collapse upon impact, easily causing severe cuts or impact injuries. In contrast, fixed headlights can be designed more humanely, with buffers to absorb force, reducing the likelihood of casualties. Regulations such as Europe's pedestrian protection standards strictly require this improvement, forcing manufacturers to phase out the old design. Additionally, with the need for aerodynamic optimization, pop-up lights increase drag, affecting efficiency. Overall, the ban represents progress, ensuring a safer and more humane driving environment.

[VanCollin]

As a car enthusiast, I think the phase-out of pop-up headlights makes perfect sense. Those old designs had significant aerodynamic disadvantages - when the lights retracted, they disrupted the streamlined shape, increasing wind resistance, reducing fuel efficiency, and affecting speed stability. Fixed headlights integrated into the body are more fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly, simplify the structure, and reduce malfunctions. Additionally, upgraded safety regulations, such as U.S. highway safety standards emphasizing mandatory pedestrian protection tests, made pop-up lights non-compliant due to their protruding design posing injury risks. The modern trend favors efficiency and reliability - these complex lighting mechanisms were difficult to repair and should have been replaced earlier with smarter, more convenient designs.

[LaMargaret]

From a legal perspective, the ban on pop-up headlights stems from global regulatory changes. I noticed in news reports that safety standards like Euro NCAP and regional traffic regulations have strengthened pedestrian protection requirements, deeming such headlight designs high-risk in collision scenarios during evaluations. Manufacturers were compelled to adopt safer fixed-headlight designs to comply with the new standards. This shift was also market-driven, as integrated lighting better aligns with modern automotive aesthetics and functional demands. Simply put, regulatory advancements left no room for such outdated technologies.