The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has released its first driver protection evaluations of commercial vehicles, with four of the nine cargo vans and heavy-duty pickups assessed carrying every feature the group considers essential. The initial evaluations cover cargo vans and Class 3 pickups — those with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 to 14,000 pounds — and assess five features: standard front and side airbags, seat belt pretensioners and force limiters, and an effective seat belt reminder. The program targets a segment that sits largely outside federal safety rules, where even airbags are not required.
Highlights
- Four of the nine vehicles meet every criterion: the Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD, Ford F350 SuperCrew, Chevrolet BrightDrop 400, and Ram ProMaster 2500.
- Front airbags reduce driver fatalities in frontal crashes by 29%, and side airbags reduce the risk of driver death in a side crash by 25% to 52%, according to IIHS research.
- An IIHS study of part-time belt users found that persistent belt reminders increased belt use by 30%.
- In 2023, 6,535 people died in crashes involving heavy- or medium-duty trucks or light vans — 16% of all U.S. roadway fatalities.
Why Commercial Vehicles Lack Basic Safety Gear
Many government standards written for passenger vehicles do not apply to delivery vans, box trucks, tractor-trailers, and certain work pickups, which means features as basic as airbags are not mandated. Headlight performance among models that meet the standards varies widely, and U.S. regulators do not currently require automatic emergency braking or other advanced driver assistance systems on commercial vehicles — systems IIHS notes are especially important for large trucks and vans, whose size makes them a greater danger to other road users. Commercial vehicles have long sat outside much of that framework, and IIHS is moving to fill the resulting information gap so fleet buyers can weigh safety in their purchasing decisions.
“For decades, IIHS has helped consumers prioritize safety in their car-buying decisions,” IIHS President David Harkey said. “These initial evaluations mark our first foray into commercial vehicles, which for too long have been an afterthought when it comes to regulations and safety information.”
Reducing the commercial-vehicle death toll is part of the Institute’s 30×30 vision of cutting U.S. roadway fatalities 30% by 2030.
The Five Features IIHS Looked For
The assessment centers on airbags, seat belt pretensioners and force limiters, and belt reminder systems — equipment that is not consistently fitted to commercial vehicles. Pretensioners tighten the belt around the driver the instant a crash begins, while force limiters then pay the belt out in a controlled extension a split second later to reduce stress on the chest. In IIHS crash testing of passenger vehicles, the two technologies are often the difference between acceptable and excessively high chest injury measurements.
Loud, persistent belt reminders matter because commercial drivers may skip buckling up during frequent pickup and delivery stops, even where company policy requires it.
How Does IIHS Evaluate Driver Protection?
For airbags, pretensioners, and force limiters, IIHS relies on manufacturer documentation and other sources to confirm whether the equipment is standard on the driver side; no crash testing is performed to gauge effectiveness. Belt reminders are evaluated on the Institute’s test track, using a process similar to its passenger-vehicle rating but limited to the driver seat.
To count as effective, a reminder must combine a visual indicator with a persistent audible tone loud enough to be heard over cabin noise. Both alerts must start within 30 seconds when the driver’s belt is unfastened and the vehicle is traveling 6 to 24 mph, and within two seconds at higher speeds, then continue for at least 90 seconds or until the belt is fastened. By contrast, current federal standards require the audible signal to last only 4 to 8 seconds, though stricter rules are slated to take effect for passenger vehicles and some commercial counterparts in 2028.
How the Nine Vehicles Performed
Among the Class 3 pickups, the Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD and Ford F350 SuperCrew met all five criteria, while the Ram 3500 carried the required airbags and key belt technologies but lacked an effective reminder. On the van side, the Chevrolet BrightDrop 400 and Ram ProMaster 2500 met every criterion. The Ford Transit T250, Mercedes Sprinter 2500, and Rivian Delivery 500 each fell short only on the reminder, and the Chevrolet Express 2500 lacked both an effective reminder and standard force limiters.
| Model | Class | Meets all five criteria | Gap noted by IIHS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD | Class 3 pickup | Yes | — |
| Ford F350 SuperCrew | Class 3 pickup | Yes | — |
| Ram 3500 | Class 3 pickup | No | Effective seat belt reminder |
| Chevrolet BrightDrop 400 | Cargo van | Yes | — |
| Ram ProMaster 2500 | Cargo van | Yes | — |
| Ford Transit T250 | Cargo van | No | Effective seat belt reminder |
| Mercedes Sprinter 2500 | Cargo van | No | Effective seat belt reminder |
| Rivian Delivery 500 | Cargo van | No | Effective seat belt reminder |
| Chevrolet Express 2500 | Cargo van | No | Effective reminder and standard force limiters |
IIHS plans to assess the same vehicles for automatic emergency braking and headlights in the coming months, and is preparing evaluations of larger Class 4-6 trucks rated at 14,001 to 26,000 pounds.
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