Good question! You're right, this is surprisingly hard to Google. It looks like the FDA is responsible. I would not have guessed that!
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) would have been my guess, but I'm not finding much there. They have a spec for LIDAR speed measurement devices, and one for the required sensors in vehicles, but nothing on the the output of said sensors.
> For manufacturers of laser products, the standard of principal importance is the regulation of the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which regulates product performance. All laser products sold in the USA since August 1976 must be certified by the manufacturer as meeting certain product performance (safety) standards, and each laser must bear a label indicating compliance with the standard and denoting the laser hazard classification.
https://www.lia.org/resources/laser-safety-information/laser...
https://www.fda.gov/radiation-emitting-products/home-busines...
https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/fda-organization/center-device...
Sorry, I don’t believe the FDA is doing anything more than stamping a Class 1 or class 2 sticker on component parts. They are not testing LIDAR arrays in situ under simulated driving conditions
I would like to see crash test dummy style research around vehicular LIDAR
Crash tests in the US are also technically on the honors system too, but NHTSA does test the most common models. But many they don't. For example, the Cybertruck.
Classification should be sufficient. Remember that LIDAR is invisible, so distraction or flash-blindness are not relevant, just health effects. Class 1 has already been thoroughly tested and deemed "safe even for long term intentional viewing." Class 2 is visible only, so any LIDAR systems above 5mW would be Class 3, which are deemed harmful to humans. You can put a Class 3 laser in public (see laser light shows) but the FDA regulations require an indicator and to give the public enough warning to get clear if desired. These restrictions are going to make anything but Class 1 LIDAR exceedingly difficult for use in automotive applications.