Editing Headlamp (section)

{{Short description|Lamp mounted in the front of a vehicle}}
{{About|the device for vehicles|the personal lighting device worn on the head|Headlamp (outdoor)}}
{{redirect|Headlight}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
[[File:Scooter headlights.jpg|thumb|A [[scooter (motorcycle)|motor scooter]]'s front with an impractical number and variety of headlamps, added for decorative purposes and characteristic of [[Mod culture]]]]
A '''headlamp''' is a [[lamp (electrical component)|lamp]] attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called '''headlights''', but in the most precise usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the device itself and ''headlight'' is the term for the beam of light produced and distributed by the device.

Headlamp performance has steadily improved throughout the automobile age, spurred by the great disparity between daytime and nighttime traffic fatalities: the US [[National Highway Traffic Safety Administration]] states that nearly half of all traffic-related fatalities occur in the dark, despite only 25% of traffic travelling during darkness.<ref>{{cite journal|url= http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/810637.PDF |first1=Cherian |last1=Varghese |first2=Umesh |last2=Shankar |title=Passenger Vehicle Occupant Fatalities by Day and Night – A Contrast |journal=Traffic Safety Facts, Research Note (DOT HS 810 637) |date=May 2007 |access-date=29 May 2014}}</ref>

Other vehicles, such as trains and aircraft, are required to have headlamps. [[Bicycle lighting|Bicycle headlamps]] are often used on bicycles, and are required in some jurisdictions. They can be powered by a [[battery (electricity)|battery]] or a small generator like a [[bottle dynamo|bottle]] or [[hub dynamo]].

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