Shining a light on pickup truck safety

Many brand-new pickup trucks are not giving drivers a good look at the road when it comes to bad weather or nighttime driving, according to a new report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

The IIHS rated headlights available on eleven large and small pickup trucks, and found that all of them come with lights rated "poor," although you can get improved headlights on several models if you choose to buy a more expensive trim option.

IIHS says the 2017 Honda Ridgeline is the only pickup truck that has available headlights that merit a "good" rating.  The GMC Sierra offers "acceptable" headlights, but even the best headlights on the Chevrolet Silverado, the Ford F-150, the Toyota Tundra, and the Nissan Frontier are rated "poor."  You can see the full report here.

IIHS says the issue is so important, starting next year headlight safety ratings will be one of the factors determining which vehicles win their Top Safety Pick+ award.