Article from: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety,
Many more vehicles are available with headlights that illuminate an acceptable distance ahead without blinding oncoming drivers in 2020 than in previous years. Yet base models with headlights that earn a good rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety remain rare.
“Many carmakers still treat high-quality headlights as extras, rather than essential safety features,” says David Aylor, manager of active safety testing at IIHS. “Leather seats and sunroofs are nice, but you need high-quality headlights to avoid hazards.”
About half of all fatal crashes in the U.S. occur in the dark, and more than a quarter occur on unlit roads. Nevertheless, manufacturers have historically sold many models with several different headlight systems of varying quality.
For the first time in 2020, headlights that earn at least an acceptable rating must be installed across all the variants for sale, rather than merely available as options, for a vehicle to qualify for the highest IIHS award, TOP SAFETY PICK+.
