Many headlights on our cars are simply not up to par.
Headlights are one of the most basic safety features on any car, which we quickly find out when one of ours goes out — it suddenly becomes much harder to navigate dark roads with only one beam lighting our way. In 2017, one would think that headlights would be consistently excellent in terms of performance, illuminating the road in front of us properly to prevent the risk of collisions. Yet a recent student by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found that most headlights fall far short of the mark.
Weak or ineffective headlights can lead to accidents in a number of ways. Poor visibility from shoddy headlights can cause accidents in the evenings as well as during bad weather such as fog, rain and snow. Bad headlights can also create glare, which makes it hard to see obstacles on the road or even oncoming traffic. Without strong, effective headlights, the chances of hitting an object — such as an animal, another vehicle, a pedestrian, or a bicyclist — increase substantially.
That is why the findings in the report from IIHS are so important. This study examined the headlights of 31 different vehicles. The lights could receive one of four possible ratings: good, acceptable, marginal or poor. Of the 31, only one of the vehicles (the Toyota Prius V) had “good” headlights. 11 of the vehicles had “acceptable” headlights, while 9 had “marginal” ratings. The remaining 10 vehicles had “poor” headlights — the lowest possible rating for headlights. These findings may be surprising for many, particularly given that the more expensive headlights — including those for the BMW 3 series — had the worst performance.
Since have established that many vehicles come with poor headlight systems, the question then becomes, what can be done about poor headlights? According to the IIHS report, part of the issue is poor aim — which can be readily fixed by vehicle manufacturers. If you are having trouble seeing the road at night, you may want to contact the dealership to ask for your headlights to be adjusted.
If you have been in an accident related to an inability to see the road clearly because of poor headlights, then you may be able to file a claim against the manufacturer for using a defective product on your vehicle. If the product was improperly manufactured or designed, and this defect led to your accident, then the accident may be the manufacturer’s responsibility — not yours.
Of course, accidents are often complicated matters that require a thorough investigation into potential causes — including defective products, poor lighting on the road, and the possibility that other drivers caused the accident. That is why having an experienced car accident attorney is so critical to getting the best possible recovery for your injuries. A knowledgeable car accident attorney will understand how to examine your case from every angle and pursue all potential avenues for recovery — even if it may initially look as though the accident was your fault.
At the Law Offices of Larry H. Parker, our attorneys are skilled at investigating car accident cases and helping clients recover for their losses. In fact, we have a 95% success rate and have recovered more than two billion dollars on behalf over more than 100,000 clients. Contact our office today at 800-333-0000 or info@larryhparker.com to schedule a free initial consultation. We never charge a fee unless we recover money for you!
