Study illuminates substantial gap in car headlight performance

There may be a reason why people have trouble seeing while driving at night, and it's not their eyesight. A new rating of the headlights of more than 30 midsized car models gave only one model a grade of "good."

Of the rest, about a third were rated "acceptable," a third "marginal" and a third "poor." The difference between the top- and bottom-rated models for a driver's ability to see down a dark road was substantial, according to the study released Wednesday by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, an industry-funded organization that evaluates automotive safety. Continue reading the original article on manufacturing.net.

The top rated headlights in this study were the LED headlights on the high-end Toyota Prius V, while the worst-rated headlights were the halogen headlights in the BMW 3 series. Laser headlights--such as those in development or available for the BMW i8 and BMW K 1600 GTL motorcycle--were not evaluated. But with roughly half of the 32,000 traffic deaths in the U.S. happening at night or in the dim light of dawn and dusk, it's clear that LED and laser headlights have a market opportunity.

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What do you think about the next wave in automotive headlights? Use the Comments box below.

Conard Holton, Editor in Chief
Laser Focus World