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

2017 Honda Ridgeline grille 2017 Honda Ridgeline Black Edition front three quarter in motion 02 2016 Chevrolet Colorado Z71 Duramax headlight 2016 Chevrolet Colorado Z71 Duramax front three quarters 2017 GMC Canyon All Terrain X front three quarter crop 2017 GMC Canyon Denali front 2016 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali 4x4 front three quarters in motion 2016 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali 4x4 front end 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 front view 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 front three quarter 11 2017 Nissan Titan SV Single Cab front three quarter 02 660x440 1 2017 Nissan Titan XD S Single Cab grille 2016 Nissan Frontier front three quarters 2016 Nissan Frontier front end 2017 Ford F 150 front end 2017 Ford F 150 Raptor headlight Toyota Tacoma TRD Off Road front three quarter 04 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off Road front three quarter 06 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro front end 05 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro going through water 01

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