A recent IIHS evaluation highlights significant detection failures in widely used U.S. trucks and cargo vans, particularly when identifying pedestrians or other vehicles. The assessment covered 11 commercial models, featuring four Class 3 pickups alongside seven cargo vans.
In fact, three received the lowest possible rating, including the Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD, GMC Sierra 3500, and Ford F-350.
The Ram 3500 performed slightly better, earning a marginal rating. They also evaluated how effectively these vehicles’ systems detected motorcycles and semi trailers. Motorcycles appear to pose a particular challenge for these trucks.
Most of the vehicles failed to alert their drivers or reduce speed during this part of the testing. Some managed to slow down, but none issued early enough warnings to meet IIHS standards.
The most concerning findings were part of the pedestrian crash prevention tests. The Ford F-350 and Ram 3500 both earned acceptable ratings, while the Silverado 3500HD and Sierra 3500 received marginal scores.
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Even the top-performing pickups showed notable flaws. In several scenarios, the vehicles struggled more to identify a child-sized pedestrian in daylight than an adult pedestrian at night.
The IIHS believes the problem could be related to the combination of tall front ends and cameras mounted near the rearview mirror. It is worse that in some scenarios, the trucks would recognize the kid but then lose track of them as they approached.
Commercial vans performed better than pickups, with the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 achieving a good rating for vehicle-to-vehicle crash prevention. The Chevy Brightdrop 400 and Rivian RCV-Delivery 500 both managed good pedestrian crash prevention ratings.
The Chevrolet Express 2500 and GMC Savana 2500 earned poor ratings in both tests. Perhaps unsurprisingly given their age, neither offers automatic emergency braking.
According to the IIHS, crashes involving heavy- or medium-duty vehicles and light vans killed 6,215 people in 2024, representing 16 percent of all U.S. traffic fatalities. These findings also spotlight a regulatory gap, with plenty of commercial vehicles not subject to the same safety requirements as passenger cars.
