Cargo Vans, Work Pickups Struggled in IIHS Crash Avoidance Tests

Cargo vans and heavy-duty pickups are not as safe as passenger vehicles in front crash prevention, achieving marginal and poor ratings common in new testing by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Cargo vans were the best performers. The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 earned a good rating for vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention, while the Chevrolet BrightDrop 400 and Rivian RCV-Delivery 500 earned good ratings for pedestrian crash avoidance.

The Chevrolet Express 2500 and GMC Savana 2500 received poor ratings in both vehicle-to-vehicle and pedestrian testing because they lack automatic emergency braking. Both are available with optional forward collision warning systems, according to the IIHS.

The IIHS said performance varied widely among the other vans and pickups in the vehicle-to-vehicle test, which evaluates forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking at different speeds using passenger car and motorcycle targets. It also tests forward collision warnings with a semitrailer.

Several systems failed to issue warnings or slow in most motorcycle trials. Other systems slowed enough to avoid or mitigate crashes at most speeds but were downgraded because they did not provide timely warnings, tests show

Vehicles generally performed better in pedestrian testing. The BrightDrop 400 and RCV-Delivery 500 earned good ratings, while the Sprinter 2500 received an acceptable rating. Among Class 3 pickups, the Ford F-350 and Ram 3500 received acceptable ratings.

Several vehicles had more difficulty detecting and avoiding a child during daylight testing than an adult at night. IIHS said the problem may be related to the shorter height of the child dummy and the tall front ends of the vehicles. Sensors used for detection are positioned near the rearview mirror, and in some tests the child dummy was initially detected but disappeared from the system as the vehicle approached.

The initial evaluations focus on cargo vans and Class 3 pickup trucks, which have gross vehicle weight ratings of 10,001 to 14,000 pounds. IIHS plans to add headlight and rear automatic emergency braking ratings for Class 3 vehicles and later phase in testing of larger Class 4-6 trucks.

In 2024, 6,215 people were killed in crashes involving heavy- or medium-duty vehicles or light vans, representing 16% of U.S. roadway fatalities, according to IIHS, an independent nonprofit research organization supported by auto insurers.