Do you live in an area of Colorado or Wyoming with poor street lighting? If so, you may want to pay close attention to this blog. A new report released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has discovered headlights on many cars sold in the US perform poorly. Out of all 30 midsized sedans tested in the study, only one-third performed well. The remaining two-thirds had poor or marginal performance.

Some of the models may not offer drivers enough time to stop and avoid collisions. For example, the report shows the worst performing headlights project 128 feet, while the best performing offers 400 feet of visibility. The contrast between the best and worst performing lights could mean the difference between life and death for some drivers. It could mean the difference between hitting a deer and coming to a safe stop. Almost half of all car accidents occur at night, and primarily due to a lack of visibility.

Can NHTSA’s New Rating System Fix Headlight Safety Issues?

Under the new 5-Star Safety Rating initiative pushed by the Department of Transportation, headlight performance will become a more important priority in the coming years. To receive a 5-Star Safety Rating, auto manufacturers will be incentivized to adopt specific technologies, such as automatic braking.

For millions of vehicle owners, they may still continue to drive with potentially unsafe headlights. If you want to check if your car was mentioned in the IIHS study and how it performed, the data is published on the IIHS website.

The Wyoming and Colorado personal injury attorneys at Metier Law Firm will fight for accident survivors hurt by negligent auto manufacturers.