NHTSA grants Mercedes exemption for flashy new S-Class lighting

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has given Mercedes-Benz the green light for its red lights.

Last month, NHTSA granted Benz a temporary exemption to its policy that all brake lights must remain constantly lit under braking. Benz's new Euro-model S-Class and CL-Class offerings are available with the company's Adaptive Brake Lights, a system that cycles a car's brake lights in panic stops in order to draw the eyeballs of trailing motorists to the rapidly decelerating vehicle. Mercedes claims that the system improves visibility and reduces rear-end collisions, and has been seeking to legally market the system in America.

Under the special dispensation measure, NHTSA will allow the company to sell up to 5,000 flashing-brake light-equipped vehicles in the U.S. over the next two years.

[Source: MSNBC]