Dear Supporters,

After several years of involvement with this topic, the Soft Lights Foundation has come to understand what the government refuses to understand: Light Emitting Diodes emit radiation that has become so powerful, it is harming us.  We are now demanding that the government treat LEDs as radiation, not just harmless light.

The NHTSA FMVSS-108 standard was written in 1967 and is applicable to a subset of all radiation. The radiation that FMVSS-108 applies to is electromagnetic (not particulate), in the visible range (not microwaves, x rays, etc.), and spatially homogeneous (not non-homogeneous such as LEDs and lasers). The LED headlights and Daytime Running Lights that the auto industry claims are compliant with FMVSS-108 are spatially non-homogeneous, directed energy radiation sources for which FMVSS-108 is not applicable, and therefore these LED lights are non-compliant with federal safety regulations.

In addition, NHTSA has no regulations for protecting our eyes from directed energy LEDs. As per David A. Ackerman, Chief Scientist, Princeton Identity, "Therefore, if eye-safety is your interest, you must know both irradiance which poses a hazard for the cornea and lens of the eye and radiance which poses a hazard for the retina.”  We are therefore demanding that NHTSA set standards to protect our eyes from excessive radiance from LED headlights.

Sincerely,

Mark Baker, President, Soft Lights Foundation