The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has released its first crash avoidance ratings for commercial vehicles, highlighting significant safety concerns in the industry. Heavy-duty pickups and cargo vans generally perform worse than passenger cars in front crash prevention tests. Notably, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 achieved good ratings for avoiding other vehicles, while the Chevrolet BrightDrop 400 and Rivian RCV-Delivery 500 excelled in pedestrian protection.
In 2024, crashes involving light vans and medium- or heavy-duty vehicles resulted in 6,215 fatalities in the US, accounting for 16% of all road deaths. The absence of certain federal safety standards, such as those for airbags, makes these independent ratings crucial for fleet buyers and manufacturers.
David Harkey, IIHS President, emphasized the importance of front crash prevention for these larger vehicles due to the heightened risks they pose to other road users. The Chevrolet Express 2500 and GMC Savana 2500 received poor ratings, primarily because they lack automatic emergency braking systems. On the other hand, some vehicles performed better in pedestrian safety tests but faced challenges, especially in detecting children.
These findings underline the need for improved safety measures in the commercial vehicle sector. For further details, you can refer to the original IIHS report here.
