The US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has tested another class of vehicles—small/midsize pickup trucks—and the institute found every model they tested had poor headlamps. As a result, not a single tested truck was eligible for the IIHS “Top Safety Pick” or “Top Safety Pick Plus” ratings. The trucks tested were the Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, Toyota Tacoma, and Nissan Frontier. All were 2017 models, and all available headlamp packages were tested on each model. Despite pickup trucks’ relatively high headlamp mounting height, some models gave a useful illumination distance (defined as at least 5 lux) down the right side of the road of less than 38 metres (123 feet)—not nearly enough for anything like the speeds people actually drive.
Some of the tested trucks had short seeing distance and no low beam glare violations, suggesting maybe the headlamps could be aimed higher. But some of the tests showed inadequate seeing distance and excessive glare, suggesting a more fundamental problem with the engineering of the lamps. All of the trucks had halogen headlamps—some reflector, some projector, almost all with separate low beam and high beam bulbs and optics (one model had very basic reflector high/low beam lamps with HB5 bulbs).
David Zuby, IIHS’ Chief Research Officer, said “Headlights are basic but vital safety equipment. Drivers shouldn’t have to give up the ability to see the road at night when they choose a small pickup”.
