cars news 10: IIHS: Truck Headlights Aren’t Much Better Than Cars or SUVs

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has just released its latest headlight test results, and this time around it’s all about trucks. Earlier this year the IIHS tested headlight performance on a number of new cars and SUVs and found most of them to be inadequate. Unfortunately, the results are largely the same for pickup trucks.

Out of 11 pickup trucks (and 23 possible headlight combinations) tested, the Honda Ridgeline was the only one to earn a “Good” rating, the highest mark possible. One truck earned an “Acceptable” rating, a few were deemed “Marginal,” and a majority scored a “Poor” ratings.

As previously reported, IIHS headlight testing includes high- and low-beam performance on straight roads and curves. The tests also include glare toward oncoming traffic.

The IIHS tested all possible headlight combinations, which include halogen, high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps, and LEDs. That said, the only truck to receive the institute’s highest mark was the Honda Ridgeline equipped with LED low-beam headlights–Ridgeline trucks with halogen units earned a “Poor” rating.

A similar disparity was found on the 2017 GMC Sierra. A Sierra with LEDs and automatic high-beam assist, for example, earned an “Acceptable” rating, but an HID-equipped Sierra was marked “Poor.” And according to test results, the Chevrolet Colorado had the worst headlights of the bunch due to halogens that only illuminate 124 feet ahead of the vehicle on a straightaway (on the right side). The top-rated Ridgeline with LED was more than double that length at 358 feet.

These findings should be worrisome for any automaker that covets the institute’s Top Safety Pick + award. According to the IIHS, vehicles must receive a headlight rating of “Good” or “Acceptable” to earn TSP+ status going forward.

Here are the complete results from the institute’s latest round of headlight safety testing for pickup trucks from model years 2016 and 2017. Please note that the list only includes the best result earned by each truck:

Good: Honda Ridgeline

Acceptable: GMC Sierra

Marginal: Nissan Titan, Ram 1500

Poor: Chevrolet Silverado, Chevrolet Colorado, Ford F-150, GMC Canyon, Nissan Frontier, Toyota Tundra, Toyota Tacoma