IIHS headlight ratings American Traffic Safety Services Association November 2, 2016 Matthew Brumbelow Sr. Research Engineer

Motivation for headlight evaluation program 16,768 annual crash deaths in dark/dawn/dusk light conditions (2013 FARS) HLDI analyses point to benefits for curve-adaptive headlights (2012 HLDI analyses of Mazda, Acura, Mercedes, Volvo claims) Human factors experiments have established link between improved lighting and detection performance FMVSS 108 produces wide range of on-road visibility Large variation in allowable intensity Performance is not measured when installed, so factors like lamp height and spread are not captured Aim is not regulated and varies widely, often by manufacturer

Dynamic headlight test setup Vehicle approaches: 150 m radius left and right curves at 40 mph 250 m radius left and right curves at 50 mph Straightaway at 40 mph Record illuminance readings for: Visibility – edges of road at 25 cm above ground Glare – center of oncoming lane (110 cm) Light sensor array 150 m radius straightaway direction of travel 250 m radius

Sample data: straightaway 3 different approaches for same vehicle Visibility metric: distance at which 5 lux illumination is reached

Other protocol details Headlights are tested with factory aim (no re-aiming) Average 3 valid runs from each test condition Testing every available headlight system on rated models

Initial midsize car results: low beam 4 curve average

Initial midsize car results: low beam straightaway

Differences in headlight illumination Deer is 270 feet from front of car; approximate reach of Accord’s 5 lux Honda Accord Mercedes C300

Translating test results to ratings Rating based on: Straightaway and curve visibility (weighting roughly 60/40) Low and high beams (weighting roughly 75/25) Acceptable glare: downgrade for each individual low beam scenario with excessive glare Bonus given for high beam assist 2016 IIHS study: only 18% of isolated vehicles used high beams Results of all tests are combined into an overall demerit score with rating boundaries applied

Midsize car results

First ratings release: March 30 Toyota Prius v Website example of results presentation:

Subsequent releases Small SUVs: July 12 Pickups: October 25

Moving forward Beginning with the 2017 model year, Good or Acceptable headlight ratings are required for the highest IIHS award—Top Safety Pick+ Manufacturers have been improving performance by offering new headlight systems and improving their factory aiming procedures and tolerance As with all our evaluations, when there is sufficient crash data we will study the real-world effect of ratings differences The ratings have been very popular with consumers—highest web traffic days have come on headlight release dates