‘Autosensa’, prototype dipping motor car headlight

‘Autosensa’ driving light, a prototype motor car headlight that automatically ‘dips’ in order to prevent dazzle when a car approaches, by Joseph Lucas Limited, Birmingham, England, 1969-1970

The Lucas Autosensa was a significant late 1960s experiment in improving motoring safety at night. Developed by Lucas in 1969-70, it was a driving light, designed to be mounted in a pair alongside the motor car headlights to create a four-light array. It would automatically shade itself when oncoming vehicles approached in order to not dazzle the oncoming driver. Although this prototype technology never made it into production, it demonstrates a rapidly growing international concern with road safety in the 1960s and 1970s in the face of dramatically increasing car use.