IIHS: cargo vans and work pickups lag on front crash prevention; Sprinter and BrightDrop lead
IIHS's first crash avoidance ratings for commercial vehicles show cargo vans and heavy-duty pickups mostly falling short, with marginal and poor grades common.
- 6,215
- 16%
- 10,001 to 14,000 pounds
- 30%
What Happened
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's first crash avoidance ratings for commercial vehicles show cargo vans and heavy-duty pickups lagging behind passenger vehicles on front crash prevention. Marginal and poor ratings are common among the first commercial vehicles put through the institute's vehicle-to-vehicle and pedestrian crash avoidance tests, though each test produced at least one good performer, showing the challenge is not out of reach for manufacturers. The initial evaluations focus on cargo vans and Class 3 pickup trucks, which have a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 to 14,000 pounds. The test protocols and rating requirements are the same as those used for passenger vehicles, unlike the institute's separate driver protection evaluation, which checks for standard front and side airbags, advanced seat belt technology and effective seat belt reminders.
6,215
That was 16% of all U.S. roadway fatalities; reducing the toll is a key part of IIHS's 30x30 vision of cutting fatalities 30% by 2030.
“These results are a wake-up call for commercial vehicle makers. Front crash prevention is especially important for these larger, heavier vans and trucks because of the danger they pose to other road users.”
- Good in the vehicle-to-vehicle test, acceptable in the pedestrian test
- Good in the pedestrian test; the BrightDrop 400 is acceptable in the vehicle-to-vehicle test
- Poor in both tests because they lack automatic emergency braking and offer only an optional forward collision warning system
The vehicle-to-vehicle test evaluates forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking at different speeds with a passenger car target and a motorcycle target, and also evaluates forward collision warning with a semitrailer. The motorcycle target was the biggest challenge: several systems did not issue warnings or slow at all in most motorcycle trials, while others slowed to avoid or mitigate collisions at most speeds with both targets but were downgraded for failing to warn the driver in time. Vehicles generally performed better in the pedestrian evaluation, which represents common daytime and nighttime crashes involving an adult or child crossing the road or an adult walking in the travel lane; the poor and marginal systems failed to slow enough in most nighttime trials with the adult, run first with low beams and again with high beams, and some did substantially worse with low beams. Several vehicles, including the acceptable-rated F-350 and Ram 3500, had a harder time detecting and avoiding the child in daylight than the adult at night, which may relate to the shorter height of the child dummy and the tall front ends of the vehicles, since the sensors used for detection sit near the rearview mirror. In some instances the child dummy was detected at a distance but then disappeared as the vehicle got closer.
- Cargo vans: 2025-26 Chevrolet BrightDrop 400, 2025-27 Chevrolet Express 2500, 2025 Ford Transit T250, 2025-27 GMC Savana 2500
- Cargo vans: 2025 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500, 2025-27 Ram ProMaster 2500, 2025 Rivian RCV-Delivery 500
- Class 3 pickups: 2025-26 Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD, 2025 Ford F-350
- Class 3 pickups: 2025-26 GMC Sierra 3500, 2025-27 Ram 3500
IIHS launched its commercial vehicle assessment program with information about driver protection, checking for standard front and side airbags, advanced seat belt technology and effective seat belt reminders.
IIHS publishes its first vehicle-to-vehicle and pedestrian front crash prevention ratings for cargo vans and Class 3 pickups.
IIHS will continue evaluating Class 3 vehicles, adding ratings for headlights and rear automatic emergency braking.
Testing of larger Class 4-6 trucks will be phased in.
The institute's 30x30 vision aims to reduce U.S. roadway fatalities 30%.
Previously from Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
IIHS has a long record of pushing vehicle safety through its ratings programs. An earlier study we covered found that safety improvements driven by the institute's crashworthiness tests saved an estimated 48,352 lives between 1999 and 2024, nearly 50,000 lives since 1995.
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's official releases.
Why this matters
The ratings cover delivery vans and work pickups that are heavier than passenger cars and often lack the crash avoidance features buyers expect; many U.S. government standards for passenger vehicles do not apply to them. In 2024, 6,215 people died in crashes involving heavy- or medium-duty vehicles or light vans, 16% of all U.S. roadway deaths. The new ratings are meant to help buyers choose safer vehicles and push manufacturers to improve.
Terms in This Story
- Automatic emergency braking (AEB)
- A system that automatically applies a vehicle's brakes to avoid a crash or reduce its severity.
- Gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR)
- The maximum weight a vehicle can carry safely, including passengers, cargo and the weight of the vehicle itself.
- Forward collision warning
- A system that alerts the driver to a potential collision ahead; it does not apply the brakes on its own.
- Class 3 pickup
- A pickup truck weight class with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 to 14,000 pounds.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.