Evaluation of Class 7-8 trucks is required. (SharePoint Energy)
key takeaways:
- The IIHS released its first public commercial truck safety assessment, evaluating nine heavy-duty pickups and cargo vans for driver safety features.
- Less than half of the models evaluated offered the IIHS required safety, while there were 6,535 deaths in 2023 crashes involving heavy- or medium-duty trucks or light vans.
- IIHS plans further assessments of road-user safety in the coming months and aims to expand reviews to Class 4-6 cab chassis in 2027.
Safety evaluations of truck makers’ medium- and heavy-duty models have gotten a little closer to reality as the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety results released The independent research group’s first commercial truck evaluation.
Passenger vehicle safety ratings already have a decades-long history in the United States, but until now no comparable commercial vehicle evaluations had been conducted and the results were not made public.
IIHS evaluated nine heavy-duty pickups and cargo vans, less than half of which offered the features the group considers essential for driver safety.
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 the Ford F-350 SuperCrew – meet all of the IIHS’s driver safety requirements.
The Ford F-350 meets all IIHS driver safety requirements. (Ford Motor Company)
The Ram 3500 comes with the essential air bag and main 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 according to the IIHS, 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 limits.
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In the coming months, IIHS plans to evaluate the same vehicles for features 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.
The latest data shows that a total of 6,535 people died in crashes involving heavy- or medium-duty trucks or light vans in 2023, accounting for 16% of all road crashes in the US.
Initial IIHS evaluation focused on cargo vans and Class 3 pickup trucks. David Kidd, vice president of vehicle research, told Transportation Topics in May that the IIHS plans to expand its evaluation to Class 4-6 cab chassis in 2027. Class 7-8 trucks are expected to be evaluated, Kidd said.
Truck manufacturers are confident that third-party safety testing will benefit both original equipment manufacturers and their customers.
Madeline Sullivan, product marketing manager, Volvo Trucks North America, told attendees at the 2026 Advanced Clean Transportation Expo in May that third-party safety ratings will provide the biggest benefits and go a long way toward driving driver acceptance of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
ADAS can help increase fleet uptime and reduce total cost of ownership, Sullivan said.
One of those safety features is side-curtain air bags, which VTNA launched as standard for its VNL and VNR tractors in October.
Side-curtain air bags are now standard on Volvo VNL tractors. (Volvo Trucks North America)
Meanwhile, OEMs are extending ADAS capabilities beyond forward collision to 360-degree environments, with a particular focus on urban and workplace settings.
In one of the latest examples, Daimler Trucks North America began factory production of an exterior camera system for Freightliner and Western Star commercial and medium-duty models.
In March, Mack Trucks introduced CommandView – a 360-degree camera system that combined multiple feeds into a single panoramic view – for the revised Granite models. The 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.
Observers say enhancing safety protocols with blind spot minimization is seen as a strategy to slow the pace of rising insurance costs.
Insurance cost and availability ranks No. 3 on the American Transportation Research Institute’s top industry issues for 2025, up one spot from 2024.
Trucking auto liability premiums per mile increased 36% between 2018 and 2025, according to ATRI, which launched a research project in November to study rising insurance costs and risk mitigation techniques.
