Good IIHS headlight ratings linked to lower crash rates
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Thursday, October 14, 2021
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Nighttime crash rates per mile are nearly 20 percent lower for vehicles with headlights that earn a good rating in the IIHS evaluation, compared with those with poor-rated headlights, the study found.
Key Points:
- Nighttime crash rates per mile are nearly 20 percent lower for vehicles with headlights that earn a good rating in the IIHS evaluation, compared with those with poor-rated headlights, the study found.
- For vehicles with acceptable or marginal headlights, crash rates are 15 percent and 10 percent lower than for those with poor ratings.
- Until 2016, when IIHS launched its headlight ratings program, neither drivers nor researchers had any real way to compare how well different headlights lit up the roadway.
- Five years on, IIHS has rated around 1,000 different headlight systems, allowing Brumbelow to examine how headlights with good, acceptable, marginal and poor ratings affect crash rates.