A headlamp is a lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to light the road ahead. While it is common for the term headlight to be used interchangeably in informal discussion, headlamp is the term for the device itself, while headlight properly refers to the beam of light produced and distributed by the device.
Headlamp performance has steadily improved throughout the automobile age, spurred by the great disparity betweendaytime 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.
Other vehicles, such as trains and aircraft, are required to have headlamps. Bicycle headlamps are often used on bicycles, and are required in some jurisdictions. They can be powered by a battery or a small generator mechanically integrated into the workings of the bicycles.
