Did you ever wonder if your car headlights are safe? Turns out those Hi-Tech LED and other new model headlights so popular in so many cars and trucks these days…may NOT be such a “bright ” idea after all.
In a first ever safety study by the Insurance Institute found dozens of the most popular new designs may not really light up the road at night like the older models used to.
Carmakers have long criticized the IIHS studies and insist they meet all Federal Requirements. According to IIHS researchers “A vehicle’s price tag is no guarantee of decent headlights. Many of the poor-rated headlights belong to luxury vehicles.
“If you’re having trouble seeing behind the wheel at night, it could very well be your headlights and not your eyes that are to blame,” says David Zuby, IIHS executive vice president and chief research officer.
The ability to see the road ahead, along with any pedestrians, bicyclists or obstacles, is an obvious essential for drivers. However, government standards for headlights, based on laboratory tests, allow huge variation in the amount of illumination that headlights provide in actual on-road driving. With about half of traffic deaths occurring either in the dark or in dawn or dusk conditions, improved headlights have the potential to bring about substantial reductions in fatalities.”
By Al Sunshine, SouthFloridaReporter.com, Consumer Investigator, Mar. 31, 2016
