Most Popular Pickup Trucks On The Road Cited For Headlight Deficiency

(WWJ) Your trusty pickup truck may be working hard on the roads, but a new report by a watchdog group finds that many popular rides have headlights that aren't as good as they could be.

The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety tested 11 small and full-size pickups. IIHS senior research engineer Matthew Brumbelow said their headlights don't light up enough of the road.

"Some headlights, even properly aimed, aren't going to provide enough distribution of light across the road to allow drivers to see where they need to," Brumbelow told WWJ.

Seven of the pick-up trucks earned the lowest score of "poor." That includes the top-selling Ford F-150, as well as the popular Chevrolet Silverado and Toyota Tundra.

Tom Evans owns a Dodge Ram 1500. He says its headlights don't shine directly on the road.

"There's supposed to be more of a direct beam, almost a spotlight-type effect," Evans said. "These particular ones seem to be diffused out a little bit."

Federal regulations require a certain amount of light to be projected from the headlights, but there is no standard for how far the light must reach, per ABC News.

Only one pickup truck's headlights were rated as good: the 2017 Honda Ridgeline.

Despite its poor headlight rating, Ford highlighted the overall safety record of the F-150 in a statement to ABC News.

"Safety continues to be one of the highest priorities in the design of our vehicles. In addition to being the only 2016 [Insurance Institute for Highway Safety] Top Safety Pick among full-size pickup trucks, F-150 has also earned the federal government's highest 5-star overall safety rating," Ford said in a statement to ABC News.