Are you having difficulties seeing clearly through your auto glass while driving during dark hours? You might be surprised by the reason behind. If you have good eyesight, the reason behind trouble seeing at night lies with your car’s headlights. According to studies, some headlights of new car models are poorly created. Therefore, drivers aren’t getting sufficient light they need to drive through the night.
According to a recent research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), headlights are among the leading causes of sight problems during nighttime driving. They tested 31 cars at their facility which established to such conclusion. Of the 31 cars, only one which is the Toyota Prius V earned a rating of “good”. The lowest rating belonged to the BMW 3, which was judged to have extremely poor headlights that it was advised to be unsafe to drive during night at 35 mph or higher.
The poor results of most car brands were unexpected since car makers have used new technology in making new cars such as LED headlights and the curve-adapting systems that are sometimes presented as safety enhancements. According to the IIHS, it’s not necessarily the case where a car’s price has no bearing on how the headlights are effective.
The results of the IIHS research is almost the same with what the AAA motor club has conducted recently. Their study has found that over 80% of the cars being driven on the road has the chance to fail in illuminating roads that are unlit at speeds lower than 40 miles per hour. AAA has also found that LED lights in cars can help in improving performance, however, they may still not fully illuminate roads over 45 miles per hour.
Some car makers incorporate halogen headlights into their production. Halogen lights has bulbs that are filled with halogen gas and been used since 1970s as they replaced incandescent bulbs. However, halogen headlights have been slowly replaced by light-emitting diodes or LED lights or with high-intensity-discharge HID lights.
Carmakers in Europe and Japan have been recently incorporating new headlights known as “adaptive driving beams” into their cars. Instead of changing between low and high beams, these new headlights will adjust and reduce glare to oncoming cars while at the same time giving sufficient high-beam visibility on the road.
However, until these new changes are being implemented, experts will always give this obvious tip to drivers: Use high beams as much as possible.
Thanks to First Response Glass for these tips.
