[Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.]
IIHS Takes Next Step Toward Heavy-Duty Truck Safety Ratings
Only 4 of 9 Class 3 Pickups, Cargo Vans Make the Grade
Key Takeaways:
- IIHS released its first public commercial truck safety assessments, evaluating nine heavy-duty pickups and cargo vans for driver protection features.
- Fewer than half the evaluated models offered IIHS’ essential protections, while 2023 crashes involving heavy- or medium-duty trucks or light vans led to 6,535 fatalities.
- IIHS plans further assessments of road-user protections in coming months and aims to expand reviews to Classes 4-6 cab chassis in 2027.
Safety evaluations of truck makers’ medium- and heavy-duty models edged a little closer to reality as the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released the results of the independent research group’s first commercial truck assessments.
Passenger vehicle safety ratings already have decades of history in the United States, but until now no comparable commercial vehicle evaluations had been carried out and the results made public.
IIHS assessed nine heavy-duty pickups and cargo vans, fewer than half of which offered a suite of features the group considers essential for driver protection.
Those features include standard front and side air bags, advanced seat belt technology and effective seat belt reminders.
Two of the three pickup trucks evaluated — the Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD and Ford F-350 SuperCrew — meet all the IIHS’ driver protection requirements.
Image
The Ford F-350 meets all the IIHS’ driver protection requirements. (Ford Motor Co.)
The Ram 3500 comes with the necessary air bags and key seat belt technologies but lacks an effective seat belt reminder.
Two cargo vans — the Chevrolet BrightDrop 400 and Ram ProMaster 2500 — also have all the essentials.
But the Chevrolet Express 2500, Ford Transit T-250, Mercedes Sprinter 2500 and Rivian Delivery 500 lack effective seat belt reminders, and the Express 2500 is also missing standard force limiters, according to IIHS.
PCS Software CEO Mark Hill examines what “agentic AI” means for modern fleet operations. Tune in above or by going to RoadSigns.ttnews.com.
In the coming months, IIHS plans to assess the same vehicles for attributes that can protect other road users, including automatic emergency braking and headlights.
Many federal standards for passenger vehicles do not apply to delivery vans, box trucks or tractor-trailers.
A total of 6,535 people were killed in crashes involving heavy- or medium-duty trucks or light vans in 2023, accounting for 16% of all roadway fatalities in the U.S., the latest data shows.
The initial IIHS evaluations focus on cargo vans and Class 3 pickup trucks. IIHS plans to expand its assessments to Classes 4-6 cab chassis in 2027, Vice President of Vehicle Research David Kidd told Transport Topics in May. Evaluations of Classes 7-8 trucks are expected to follow, Kidd said.
Truck makers are confident third-party safety testing will benefit both the original equipment manufacturers and their customers.
Third-party safety ratings will go a long way toward driving the greatest benefits and driver acceptance of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), Volvo Trucks North America Product Marketing Manager Madeline Sullivan told attendees of the 2026 Advanced Clean Transportation Expo in May.
ADAS can help boost fleets’ uptime and reduce total cost of ownership, Sullivan added.
One of those safety features is side-curtain air bags, which VTNA launched as standard for its VNL and VNR tractors in October.
Image
Side-curtain air bags are now standard on Volvo VNL tractors. (Volvo Trucks North America)
OEMs, meanwhile, are extending ADAS capabilities beyond forward collision to a 360-degree environment, with urban and worksite settings a particular focus.
In one of the latest examples, Daimler Truck North America began factory production of an exterior camera system for Freightliner and Western Star vocational and medium-duty models.
In March, Mack Trucks introduced CommandView — a 360-degree camera system with multiple feeds stitched together into a single bird’s-eye view — for the revamped Granite model. CommandView will be available for order in late 2027.
Freightliner plans to upgrade the safety technology on its best-selling Cascadia tractors in 2027 with Cross Traffic Assist and Active Side Guard Assist 2, each of which can initiate partial or full braking assistance for drivers, parent company DTNA said in April.
Enhancing safety protocols with blind spot minimization is seen as one strategy for slowing the pace of insurance cost increases, observers say.
Insurance cost and availability ranked No. 3 in the American Transportation Research Institute’s 2025 Top Industry Issues, a spot higher than in 2024.
Trucking auto liability premiums rose 36% per mile between 2018 and 2025, according to ATRI, which in November launched a research project to study rising insurance costs and risk mitigation techniques.
