Feds want robotaxis to signal ‘I’m driving’ with cyan-colored lights
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has proposed a new federal standard requiring autonomous vehicles to use cyan-colored lights to signal their operational status. This move aims to standardize communication between robotaxis and other road users while removing outdated lighting requirements for human-driven cars.
Why it matters
Standardization of autonomous vehicle signaling is a critical step toward integrating driverless technology into public infrastructure safely.
After years of debating how driverless cars should tell the world no one is at the wheel — flashing text, audio alerts, custom lights — the feds just stepped in with a single answer: cyan.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released proposed changes to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, specifically rewriting the rules to fit autonomous vehicles. It’s a mix of cutting red tape for human-free designs and standardizing how robotaxis communicate with the world around them — starting with a distinctive blue-green light.
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