U.S. regulators propose cyan lights so people can see when a car is driving itself

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has proposed lighting rules for autonomous vehicles, including an option to use cyan lights when a vehicle is driving itself with no human monitoring the road, TechCrunch reported Sunday. The agency is not proposing a mandate. Under the idea, the lights would stay steadily lit, not flash, and be visible from the front, rear and both sides. The proposal would also drop requirements for some manually operated controls.

Administrator Jonathan Morrison said the proposal is part of a broader effort to update rules so autonomous vehicles can be adopted faster without dropping safety standards. Federal motor-vehicle standards were not written for vehicles such as the Tesla Cybercab and the Zoox robotaxi, which lack pedals, steering wheels and mirrors. Zoox is the Foster City robotaxi company.