Why the dark matters
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) says about half of US traffic deaths happen in the dark or at dawn or dusk. For pedestrians the gap is wider. In NHTSA's 2023 data, 77% of pedestrian deaths happened in the dark, against 19% in daylight. That year 7,314 people on foot were killed in US traffic crashes.
Tonight is Halloween, which adds children in dark costumes to the mix. NHTSA has long urged drivers to slow down in residential streets on Halloween evening and to take extra care at driveways and alleys.
Make sure your lights do their job
Headlights vary a lot from car to car, and it shows in crash data. IIHS found that vehicles with headlights rated good for visibility had 23% fewer nighttime pedestrian crashes than vehicles with poor rated lights.
Show the data
| Headlight rating and crash type | Fewer crashes, % |
|---|---|
| Good: pedestrian crashes | 23 |
| Good: single vehicle crashes | 19 |
| Acceptable: single vehicle crashes | 15 |
| Marginal: single vehicle crashes | 10 |
You cannot change the design of your headlights, but you can keep them working as designed:
- Walk around the car with the lights on. Check both low beams, both high beams, tail lights and brake lights. Replace a dead bulb promptly. Replacing headlight bulbs in pairs keeps both sides equally bright.
- Clean the lenses. Road grime cuts light output. If the plastic has turned yellow or cloudy, a lens restoration kit or a shop can clear it, and badly worn lenses can be replaced.
- Check the aim. Properly aimed low beams light the road without blinding oncoming drivers. If your beams point at the trees or straight at the pavement, or the car was recently in a front end collision, ask a shop to check the aim.
- Clean the glass inside and out. NHTSA's advice is to keep windshields, windows and mirrors clean and to make sure the defroster and wipers work. A film on the inside of the windshield turns oncoming headlights into glare.
Use your high beams more
High beams are the most underused safety feature in many cars. In one IIHS study near Ann Arbor, Michigan, only 18% of drivers used high beams when no other traffic was close enough to be dazzled. The difference is large: in an IIHS test of a 2024 Subaru Solterra, an obstacle in the left lane became visible at 202 feet on low beams and at 533 feet on high beams.
Switch to high beams on dark roads with no traffic ahead, and dip them for oncoming cars and when you follow another vehicle. If your car has automatic high beams, learn how to turn them on and leave them on.
Habits for the first dark weeks
- Slow down in neighborhoods and near schools, bus stops and shops, where people walk after work.
- Expect pedestrians where there is no crosswalk. People in dark clothes are hard to see until your lights reach them, and someone wearing headphones or a hood may not hear you.
- Look twice when turning. At intersections, check the crosswalk you are turning into before you go.
- Leave more distance. Your lights only reach so far, so give yourself time to stop for what they reveal.
- Watch for fatigue. The time change upsets sleep for a few days. If you feel drowsy, stop and rest.
- Stay sober and off the phone. On Halloween, NHTSA advises choosing a sober driver or another sober ride home in advance.
Keep a record
Bulbs, lens restoration and headlight aiming are small jobs that are easy to forget. Add them to Badger's maintenance schedule as service records, so you know what was done, when and at what mileage.
