New Study Shows Good Headlight Rating Equates to Fewer Crashes

Nowadays, car safety ratings dictate how well consumers can count on a vehicle. Essentially, they’ve become our guideline for judging whether a car is reliable enough or too risky to drive. These annual reports show the gritty details, and sometimes the facts we wish we didn’t know. Given that you love a certain model, it might become hard facing the reality that its IIHS score falls short of expectation.

Whether you have concern over fontal crashes or child safety latches, these safety reports hold all the answers. When it comes to headlights though, a rating of superior versus negligible will make all the difference on a specific models’ safety rating in 2021.

For every IIHS test, the scoring goes as followed:

• Good
• Acceptable
• Marginal
• Poor

A Good headlight rating is the optimal goal, and actually has the ability to improve driver safety. A recent study shows that every vehicle that scored top rank was more likely to experience fewer crashes. To understand the findings of this study, we dived headfirst into its analysis and found the results gratifying.

What the study concluded

The IIHS study analyzed 44,000 single-vehicle accidents that occurred in dark driving conditions. Of the reported crashes, the safety organization found that vehicles with a Good headlight rating had 19% fewer collisions in comparison to those with a Poor score. Those vehicles with an Acceptable headlight rating experienced 15% fewer crashes as well.

These discoveries provide firsthand evidence that quality headlights result in a decreased risk of a crash. Since more than 40% of fatal crashes occur at night, headlights play a crucial roll in reducing those odds. As the IIHS study demonstrates, the more automakers prioritize headlights, the safer their drivers will be on the road.

That is to say that car safety is closely associated with the cognizance of a driver. If a driver is impaired or distracted, the likelihood of a crash always increases. Therefore, it’s fundamental for all motorists to uphold safe driving practices no matter what safety score their vehicle is awarded.

A Good headlight rating has become automakers solution to Top Safety+ awards

The way things have been going, premier car safety is becoming more attainable for automakers across the board. Automatic emergency braking and blind spot detection are among the features transforming car safety today. Most automakers have begun making these features standard in many makes and models on their lineup. With a keener attention to safety, Top Safety Pick+ awards more than doubled from the last year.

Before 2020, headlight safety was not a serious component of an IIHS safety score. However, now headlights are judged and greatly impact how well a vehicle will rank upon testing. Automakers have quickly seen the light. Without a Good headlight rating, you might as well kiss Top Safety Pick+ rating goodbye. It’s making all the difference on whether or not a vehicle earns the loftier recognition. Subsequently, automakers are taking this car feature more seriously.

From underdog to determiner

It’s about time automakers upped the ante on headlight innovation. Those golden hues have kind of remained the underdog of safety ratings, even though their value is beyond compare. Luckily, that’s all changing. As headlight enthusiasts, we look forward to the groundbreaking advancements in headlight laws and regulations, and encourage legislators to do the same. It’s no secret that U.S. regulators can’t keep up with headlight innovation even though other countries have seen greater potential.

Headlamps, specifically with a Good headlight rating, are the clear path to safe driving at night. Above all, it is one safety feature that all drivers continually rely on. Day after day, night after night, drivers utilize headlights to guide them through daunting conditions. Rain, hail, snow, and darkness in general all require the use of headlights. Safe driver is not achievable without them.

Bottom line: the escalating pressure on automakers is delivering some good results. The uptick in vehicles with a Good headlight rating is promising for car safety as a whole. The IIHS study further concludes that an interest in headlight quality is far more important than some people may think. Every evening when those automatic lights switch on, just remember how valuable they really are. The proof is in the statistics.