IIHS Pushing for Better Headlights

[billt460]

The headlights on my 2018 Toyota Camry, are the absolute WORST headlights on ANY car I've EVER driven in the last 54 years. They are horrible! They cut off to the point, that if you drive over 35 MPH, you are over driving them.

And the "high beams" are no such thing. They're absolutely worthless as such, because they don't reach any further down the road than the "low beams" do. They just make what's already illuminated a bit brighter. They are totally worthless as, "high beams". And they're not maladjusted.... They're just total crap.

When we moved from Phoenix to Lake Havasu 2 years ago, we made a total of 8 round trips. (400 miles round trip each). Most of them were at night when it was somewhat cooler out. On dark, unlit 2 lane desert roads, the headlights were downright dangerous. There was no way you could safely drive 55-60 MPH and not overdrive them.

In an urban, well lit city environment it's not so bad. Out in the middle of the country, or in the desert it is downright dangerous. I can't believe the DOT, along with the insurance industry would even allow headlights on a car this terrible.

"Only 1 car in 31 tested had headlights that received good marks from Insurance Institute for Highway Safety".

https://www.autoblog.com/2016/03/30/headlights-iihs-insurance-institute-highway-safety-car-led/

Study says high-tech headlights miss the mark

Despite the hype, most high-intensity discharge, LED and swivelling lamps don't illuminate the road well enough, according to the Insurance Institute for…

driving.ca

"Halogen headlights, which the auto club says are on 80% of the vehicles on the road today, fail to safely illuminate unlit roadways at speeds as low as 40 mph".

https://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-aaa-auto-headlights-failure-20150513-story.html

 

[SubLGT]

Do you have halogen headlights on your Camry? If they were equipped with long life bulbs, lumen output will be on the low end of what is allowed.

The LED headlights received a rating of "acceptable" and "good" from IIHS, depending on trim package

2018 Toyota Camry 4-door sedan

2018 Toyota Camry 4-door sedan - midsize car

www.iihs.org

 

[billt460]

It's not the output. It's the footprint of the beam itself. They don't shine out anywhere near far enough, to safely drive anything above 35 MPH.

 

[Jake_J]

Maybe it is young eyes are better, but I remember the round sealed beam glass headlights always lit the road beautifully. I liked driving at night. Now the plastic yellows and it just doesn't seem even when they are new that it is as good as way back when. Since there were no plastic LED aftermarket lights then everyone was in the same boat. The highway patrol used to set up inspections along roads and test headlights. I didn't pass once and had to get them aimed at a shop and reinspected. They seemed to understand then that oncoming blinding people causes accidents.

It's the young eye and nostalgia, I have an 83 300D with the 7" round halogen sealed beams and they're not good (on low beam). Sealed beams never have a proper cutoff like modern lights and the 7" H6024 have a weak pattern and light output on low beam which is common on all sealed beams. There's a reason that all automakers ditched them universally once composite headlights became legal in the US in the late 80's.

 

[Dave9]

This seems like a REALLY BAD THING. It suggests to me, that they're trying to make ALL vehicles, blinding, to "increase the performance", so everyone is blinded more, feels like they need even brighter headlights and so on.

Instead we need tighter regulations on headlight scatter, ban cold blue tint above a certain color temperature, and limit light exposure from side-facing nearby structures.

We also need to start giving people eye tests with every license renewal, focusing on their ability to see at night. I have no problem, safely seeing to drive any posted speed limit I've ever encountered using so-called crappy headlights. Until some jerk with blindingly bright, high color temperature lights comes along. LED retrofit drop-ins are the largest offender, but also many new vehicle stock LED lights are, and I BET IIHS wants more vehicles to have those!

It's also wonderful when your $500 headlights need replaced instead of a $2 bulb.

 

[Dave9]

It's not the output. It's the footprint of the beam itself. They don't shine out anywhere near far enough, to safely drive anything above 35 MPH.

Seems like a gross exaggeration, I've never been in a vehicle that couldn't do the posted speed limit safely unless the stock lens had oxidized horribly for a long time, so looked about like someone had smeared bacon grease over it.

 

[tyman]

This seems like a REALLY BAD THING. It suggests to me, that they're trying to make ALL vehicles, blinding, to "increase the performance", so everyone is blinded more, feels like they need even brighter headlights and so on.

Instead we need tighter regulations on headlight scatter, ban cold blue tint above a certain color temperature, and limit light exposure from side-facing nearby structures.

We also need to start giving people eye tests with every license renewal, focusing on their ability to see at night. I have no problem, safely seeing to drive any posted speed limit I've ever encountered using so-called crappy headlights. Until some jerk with blindingly bright, high color temperature lights comes along. LED retrofit drop-ins are the largest offender, but also many new vehicle stock LED lights are, and I BET IIHS wants more vehicles to have those!

It's also wonderful when your $500 headlights need replaced instead of a $2 bulb.

The biggest fix to this would be stop using reflectors and go to projectors for everything.

 

[Cujet]

Halogen equipped F150’s have traditionally been awful. I’m truly amazed at how awful
they are when driving next to cars with good OEM lights.

 

[billt460]

Seems like a gross exaggeration, I've never been in a vehicle that couldn't do the posted speed limit safely unless the stock lens had oxidized horribly for a long time, so looked about like someone had smeared bacon grease over it.

Go drive one, then come back and tell me what a "gross exaggeration" it is. Do you think the people who tested these cars, and wrote the articles I posted are making this stuff up? The headlights are garbage, pure and simple.

 

[billt460]

Halogen equipped F150’s have traditionally been awful. I’m truly amazed at how awful
they are when driving next to cars with good OEM lights.

I have to say that the headlights on my 30 year old F-150 are some of the best I've ever driven. They cast a beam far enough down the road without blinding oncoming vehicles. On "high beam" they literally flood the road with light.... Like they're supposed to. It is all but impossible to overdrive them on a flat level road.

 

[Dave9]

Go drive one, then come back and tell me what a "gross exaggeration" it is. Do you think the people who tested these cars, and wrote the articles I posted are making this stuff up? The headlights are garbage, pure and simple.

No I think they are leaping to a false conclusion that more is better, without realizing what the real problems are. Headlights have lit up the road sufficiently to see as far ahead as needed to stop in time, for decades. Headlights are now better than they were 50 years ago, and only an irresponsible driver would have a wreck - not due to the headlights - 50 years ago. 50 years is a nice round # for me to state because I once daily drove a car made then, and ZERO issues, in fact it is much harder to see to drive today because of everyone else's, excessive headlights including the OEM/factory LED headlights.

I can accept that if you are the only person on the road, and no side-lights around for miles, higher performance matters more than that, but it's not the typical driving scenario for most of a night commute when instead, you have vehicles behind and coming the other direction, constantly.

 

[Dave9]

The biggest fix to this would be stop using reflectors and go to projectors for everything.

It would definitely help, but the article seems to suggest doing more. I'm thinking also auto-dimming (not just from high to low but rather even lower than low) while a proximity sensor detects a vehicle within a certain distance ahead, limiting side scatter through measurement rather than just assuming it'll happen due to use of projectors, limits on the max color temperature, and ultimately limits on lumens too because there's always going to be not only scatter, but also twists and turns on roads. A laser focused beam, directly into my eyes on a curve, isn't a solution. "Higher performance" suggests blinding people more in critical situations, rather than keeping performance where it is and imposing more limitations that reduce blinding people.

It also seems like the government needs to crack down on Amazon/ebay/etc for turning a blind eye to the aftermarket LED bulb sales. I bet they have the same false conclusion, that the solution is MORE instead of restrictions.

 

[billt460]

No I think they are leaping to a false conclusion that more is better, without realizing what the real problems are. Headlights have lit up the road sufficiently to see as far ahead as needed to stop in time, for decades. Headlights are now better than they were 50 years ago, and only an irresponsible driver would have a wreck - not due to the headlights - 50 years ago. 50 years is a nice round # for me to state because I once daily drove a car made then, and ZERO issues, in fact it is much harder to see to drive today because of everyone else's, excessive headlights including the OEM/factory LED headlights.

I can accept that if you are the only person on the road, and no side-lights around for miles, higher performance matters more than that, but it's not the typical driving scenario for most of a night commute when instead, you have vehicles behind and coming the other direction, constantly.

You should be able to drive at night at posted speed limits safely, without overdriving your headlights. Period. This is the only car I've ever owned or driven in over 50 years that I can't. And judging from what I turned up with a 5 minute Google search, I'm not alone by a long shot.

 

[billt460]

"Many of the poorest-scoring vehicles were luxury cars. Case in point: The headlights on the BMW 3-Series received the lowest marks of any car tested. Researchers said a driver with a BMW equipped with those headlines would have to be going 35 miles per hour or slower to stop in time to avoid an obstacle in the travel lane.

"Headlights on most new cars are downright terrible, according to the findings of a new study. As a result, motorists aren't getting the illumination they need to see the road and avoid obstacles at night".

They're not lying. My Toyota will match it easily.

Can't see at night? It's your headlights, not your eyes - Autoblog

Having trouble seeing while driving at night? It may not be your eyes. Headlights on most new cars are downright terrible, according to the findings of a new study. As a result, motorists aren't getting the illumination they need to see the road and avoid obstacles at night.

www.autoblog.com

 

[Zaedock]

The headlights on my wife's car follow the road as you steer.

 

[tyman]

The headlights on my wife's car follow the road as you steer.

Adaptive headlights are awesome. Be nice when more manufacturers start putting them in everyday cars rather than just a "luxury vehicle item."

 

[Skippy722]

It's not the output. It's the footprint of the beam itself. They don't shine out anywhere near far enough, to safely drive anything above 35 MPH.

Make sure they’re aimed properly. Toyota generally does a good job at it, but things happen and yours could just be aimed too far down.

 

[Dave9]

"Many of the poorest-scoring vehicles were luxury cars. Case in point: The headlights on the BMW 3-Series received the lowest marks of any car tested. Researchers said a driver with a BMW equipped with those headlines would have to be going 35 miles per hour or slower to stop in time to avoid an obstacle in the travel lane.

"Headlights on most new cars are downright terrible, according to the findings of a new study. As a result, motorists aren't getting the illumination they need to see the road and avoid obstacles at night".

They're not lying. My Toyota will match it easily.

Can't see at night? It's your headlights, not your eyes - Autoblog

Having trouble seeing while driving at night? It may not be your eyes. Headlights on most new cars are downright terrible, according to the findings of a new study. As a result, motorists aren't getting the illumination they need to see the road and avoid obstacles at night.

www.autoblog.com

No. They're just comparing the worse (say 30%, just pulling numbers out of air because exact % doesn't matter) to the best fewer % and declaring them bad, because they are ignorant fools with no common sense.

In any scenario besides driving around others with excessively bright headlights, or high ambient glaring light disturbing night vision, I could come very near stopping in time doing 35MPH with NO headlights on.

Realize what "researchers" are, pretend scientists desperate to produce data that shows their study wasn't a waste of time, and their paycheck, a waste of money. Their piddly study is countered by trillions of road hours of people driving for decades.

You linked a BLOG post, that is ridiculous, stating "only 1 car in 31 tested", then threw in 35MPH. That is such an absurd connection you made, that I don't even know where to start except to state that you most probably, are going blind and shouldn't drive at night.

All they are really doing is taking the upper % of excessive blinding/glaring OEM headlights available and then suggesting "let's make them all like that". That's because they have low intelligence and can only see a number but not realize the context so just think bigger number better, kind of like how monkeys like shiny things. Ever notice that? Monkeys like bling. It's because it's outside of their primitive understanding, that light fascinates them. They are idiots, and I hope someone sets then on a more sane path towards reality soon.

35MPH? I'll give you a hint, how absurd that is. I have a pocket flashlight that puts out enough light to stop within a mere 35MPH. It's an absurd notion if someone is fit to drive at night at all. It seems like you can't sort through the lies and money trail and get to the reality of the situation.

The bottom line is, if you can't see to drive with any factory headlights in good condition, you should not drive at night and I should not have to put up with being blinded by your headlights due to that mistake in judgement.

It only gets worse, the more everyone puts brighter headlights on. Again, they were far worse 50 years ago yet still plenty good enough to drive the posted speed limits. It's not the headlights, it's YOU.

Above all else, stay off roads if you think all those millions of headlights other people are using are a problem. They might wreck into you, if you legitimately think this is a serious problem instead of nonsense, so the only way for you to be sincere is not drive at night. I'm very serious about this, you can't have your pie and eat it too, either it isn't really a problem or you can't drive at night due to the safety risk if you sincerely think what you stated is true.

There are a half dozen ways to look at it and in all of them, it's nonsense. The rest of society should not be blinded if you can't see well at night, otherwise you'd already realize these supposed "studies" were a load of bull.

Bottom line is, before we increase the average headlight performance, we need a way to decrease the average headlight performance in any situation where other motorists are around. They are already excessive around others and causing more problems than they solve. I witness this daily, not like I'm talking about being an astronaut on mars rather than just another driver, with good night vision, constantly blinded by glaring headlights. I'm not alone, the complaints I've seen about excessive headlights, continues to grow with every day they get "higher performance", it is more the illegal retrofits but also the OEM factory lights.

 

[billt460]

.......... The bottom line is,

You are trying to make this into a Moon shot. Bad headlights are just that, BAD. I can face that fact. You can't. And a dozen paragraphs of your complete and total B.S. doesn't change that fact.

 

[billt460]

Make sure they’re aimed properly. Toyota generally does a good job at it, but things happen and yours could just be aimed too far down.

There is nothing wrong with the way they're adjusted. It's the way they are designed. When you turn on the high beams, they accomplish nothing, except to make what the low beams have illuminated, a bit brighter. They provide nothing as far as casting additional illumination further down the road.... Like high beams are supposed to, and have done so for decades. Which is why they're called "high beams" to begin with.