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Consumer Reports: Not All Headlights Offer Margin Of SafetyWRAL News 5, February 16, 2005 |
Volume 4 Issue 39February 2005 |
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When you are buying a car, headlights are not something you usually think about. Is there really a difference? Depending on how well they light the road, it can be a matter of life and death. Consumer Reports found that when it comes to headlights, you need to be more concerned with how well the lights work, rather than how good they look. When the highway is at a standstill, all you see are headlights. There are high-intensity discharge headlights, yellowish halogen lights and all kinds of reflectors and lenses to help direct the light. |
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Consumer Reports found a big change in the wide variety of headlight designs. "Up until the 80s, the only type of light that was permissible by the government was one of the sealed beam units where the bulb and lens is all in one," said David Champion, of Consumer Reports. "After the 80s, car designers were given much more leeway on the type of light that they use and also the style of light." Consumer Reports put headlights to the test. Posts were evenly spaced out along a stretch of track. Then, at night, the tester counted how many could be seen. Consumer Reports' tests found that not all headlights give you the same margin of safety. "With [the] Mercedes E320, we couldn't actually see any of the low-beam signs, which means you don't have the time to brake or react to an object that's out in front of you," said Jennifer Stockburger, of Consumer Reports. The Mercedes has high intensity discharge (HID) lights. Consumer Reports said while HID lights typically shine brighter and wider, they do not necessarily shine any farther down the road. Because the tests show poor performance of many headlights, Consumer Reports said it is an important safety consideration. Consumer Reports now rates the headlights of every car it tests because engineers have found so much variation in headlight performance. The next time you shop for a car, Consumer Reports suggests arranging a test drive at night so you can check out the headlights yourself. Consumer Reports is a not for profit organization which accepts no advertising. It has no commercial relationship with any advertiser or sponsor on this site. Copyright ©2005 Consumers Union of U.S., Inc. |
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