The first IIHS front crash prevention ratings for commercial vehicles show poor and marginal results are common, but a handful of vans prove good scores are achievable.
Commercial vans and work trucks are some of the heaviest vehicles in everyday traffic. So why do so many of them struggle to stop for a motorcyclist or a child? New ratings from the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) suggest the answer lies in technology that is missing, slow to react or poorly placed.
The institute ran its first commercial vehicles through its vehicle-to-vehicle and pedestrian front crash prevention tests. Marginal and poor ratings turned up often. Still, each test produced at least one good performer, so better results are clearly possible.
Vans Lead the Way
Cargo vans took the top spots in both evaluations. The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 earned a good rating in the vehicle-to-vehicle test. The Chevrolet BrightDrop 400 and Rivian RCV-Delivery 500 both scored good for pedestrian crash avoidance.
At the other end, the Chevrolet Express 2500 and GMC Savana 2500 rated poor in both tests. Neither van has automatic emergency braking (AEB), and forward collision warning is only an option. IIHS President David Harkey called the results “a wake-up call” for commercial vehicle makers.
Motorcycles Proved the Hardest Target
The vehicle-to-vehicle test checks warnings and AEB at several speeds, using a passenger car target and a motorcycle target. It also checks warnings for a semitrailer. Here, the Sprinter rated good, the BrightDrop acceptable, and everything else marginal or poor.
The motorcycle was the biggest problem. In most motorcycle trials, several systems gave no warning and did not slow at all. Other systems braked well enough but lost marks because they warned the driver too late.
Tall Bonnets, Small Pedestrians
Overall, the vehicles did better in the pedestrian test. It covers adults and children crossing the road, plus an adult walking in the lane, in daylight and at night. The Sprinter rated acceptable, as did the Ford F-350 and Ram 3500 among Class 3 pickups.
However, several vehicles, including the F-350 and Ram, had more trouble with the child in daylight than with the adult at night. IIHS links this to the child dummy’s lower height and the trucks’ tall front ends. Their sensors sit near the rear-view mirror, and in some runs the child was spotted early, then “disappeared” as the vehicle got closer.
Night-time results also varied. The weaker systems failed to slow enough in most adult trials, and some did noticeably worse on low beam than on high beam.
Why the Ratings Matter
Many US passenger vehicle rules, including airbag requirements, do not cover delivery vans, box trucks and larger work pickups. In 2024, crashes involving heavy- or medium-duty vehicles or light vans killed 6,215 people. That is 16% of all US road deaths.
IIHS launched its commercial vehicle programme in June with driver protection checks. The crash avoidance tests use the same protocols and requirements as passenger cars. So far they cover cargo vans and Class 3 pickups, which have a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 to 14,000 pounds.
Next up are headlight and rear AEB ratings for Class 3 vehicles this year and next. Larger Class 4-6 trucks will follow later. Fleet buyers will finally have the same safety yardstick private car buyers have used for years, and manufacturers can no longer treat a work vehicle as exempt from the standard.
