Techniques are disclosed for providing spatially-defined and/or distance-defined light-based communications within a vehicle/roadway environment. In some embodiments, the techniques can be used to vary the data content of a given transmitted light-based communications signal based on factors such as position, distance, and/or proximity of the transmitting source and the receiver. In some embodiments, the techniques can be used to vary the processing or other handling of a received light-based communications signal based on one or more of such factors. In some instances, the disclosed techniques can be utilized to tailor light-based vehicle-to-X (V2X) communications for dissemination between and among vehicles and infrastructure in a vehicle/roadway environment. To that end, a node may host a transmitter (e.g., laser, LED, or other solid-state light source) configured to emit such light-based communication signals and/or a receiver (e.g., a photosensor or other light-based data input device) configured to sense such signals.