Shaky New Report attempts to Shed Light on Silverado’s Headlights
New study focused more on Silverado headlights’ glare over illumination.
California news station KSBY 6 recently ran a report discussing a new report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) regarding which modern vehicles have the safest, most effective headlights. And while the report points out that 67% of all vehicles tested scored below average, the report claims that Chevrolet Silverado is one of the worst when it comes to headlight safety and power. Of course, we have an issue with that!
So, let’s break this down and see just how strong the information in this report really is.
IIHS claims that the headlights of all Chevy half-ton trucks for 2018 scored “poor” in Insurance Institute for Highway Safety testing, noting that the same is true of the 2018 Ford F-150.
The report really focuses on forward illumination, pointing out that most fatal car crashes occur at night and noting that many vehicles basically fail the IIHS headlight tests. However, since the IIHS is not a government body, their scores do not play a role in whether or not a vehicle is legal for road use and in the long run, that is why vehicles with headlights that score marginal or poor are allowed to exist.
We dug into the IIHS testing for the 2018 Chevrolet Silverado a bit and found, among other things, that the testing is not simply based on forward illumination. That does play a key role in the tests, but the IIHS can also negatively score a vehicle if they feel that the headlights produce too much glare for oncoming traffic. In the case of the Silverado, illumination and glare were both an issue.
2018 Silverado Headlight Testing
The IIHS tested the headlights of the 2018 Chevrolet Silverado in three different forms. This included the HID projectors of the WT, LT and LS trim levels, the LED projectors of the LTZ and High Country trim levels and upgraded LED projectors of the LTZ and High Country packages. All three headlight systems scored poor in the IIHS testing.
For the WT, LS and LT Silverado headlights, the low beams were marked down for providing “some glare” while receiving inadequate marks when the truck is making gradual turns in either direction or a harder left turn. The high beams were inadequate in all of the turning tests and on one side of the road on the straightaway, with the low beams having the same issues on the straights.
Next, we come to a part of the test that makes you question the validity of the procedure. The LED projection headlights in the LTZ and High Country trim scored “good” in the low beam straightaway and turns, which is the highest mark. The high beams were scored “fair” on all four turning tests, but they were found to be inadequate on straight stretches. Overall, these headlights tested well, but they provided “excessive glare” and due to that, they were scored poor overall.
Finally, the upgraded LED projectors from the LTZ and High Country versions of the 2018 Silverado had the same scores, except high beam assist “compensates for some limitations of this vehicle’s low beams on both left curves”. In other words, these headlights illuminate the roads even better than the top-scoring LED’s mentioned above, but they still provided too much glare, so they also received the poor overall rating.
Click here to look at the full IIHS report on the Silverado’s headlights, including graphics of how the scoring works.
With all of this in mind, do you think that the IIHS headlight tests should be considered for legal road use? What is your opinion of the lights in the modern Chevrolet Silverado? Head into the forum to share your thoughts.
