Did you know that your headlights aren’t just required by law, but that they could save your life? Headlights give you much more visibility when driving on the road, particularly in rain, fog, and other adverse weather conditions. That’s why it matters that you replace a missing headlight as soon as possible.

Headlights can illuminate obstacles in the road immediately around you and also make you more visible to oncoming traffic. When your headlights are working properly for these purposes, your chances of an accident decrease. A new study, however, says that plenty of headlights on the market for SUVs don’t do enough to protect drivers and prevent accidents. Have you already been involved in an accident because you couldn’t see another driver?

Automobile technology should be designed to help keep you safe and make things easier for you on the road. However, headlights have been one area that have made slow improvements and continue to lag behind acceptable standards despite fact that there are plenty of new sleek designs and updated technology offerings.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety identified that only two out of the 37 mid-sized SUV vehicles have headlight packages that perform well. IIHS has been testing hundreds of models sold throughout the country and determined that 11 of them are poor headlights, 12 are marginable and 12 are acceptable.

They then ranked vehicle models based on the best available headlight package for every vehicle. If your headlights make it difficult for you to see while you are on the road, you may be more likely to get involved in a serious vehicle accident. Depending on whether or not these headlights were defective or not, you may have grounds for a product liability claim or potentially a personal injury claim if another person’s negligence was at fault. Consulting with an experienced attorney is strongly recommended if you find yourself in this position as poor headlights and other defective parts on your vehicle can have a significant impact on your ability to operate the car safely.