The American Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) tested the collision prevention systems of 11 commercial vehicles — four heavy-duty pickups and seven cargo vans. The results showed that it is currently more difficult for large vehicles to recognize obstacles and avoid accidents than for passenger cars.

Ford, Chevrolet, and GMC pickups failed crash prevention system tests
Image source: Chatgpt

In the collision prevention test with other vehicles, none of the four pickups received a high or acceptable rating. The Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD, GMC Sierra 3500, and Ford F-350 received the lowest rating, while the Ram 3500 received a 'marginal' rating. The systems were tested not only on cars but also on motorcycles and semi-trailers. In most tests with motorcycles, the electronics did not warn the driver early enough and did not reduce speed to the necessary extent.

Separate problems were identified in pedestrian recognition. The Ford F-350 and Ram 3500 received acceptable ratings, while the Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD and GMC Sierra 3500 received marginal ratings. In some scenarios, pickups were worse at recognizing a child during the day than an adult pedestrian at night. Sometimes the system initially detected a child mannequin but lost sight of it as the vehicle approached. The IIHS attributes this, in particular, to the high front end of the body and the placement of cameras near the rearview mirror.

Among the vans, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 performed best: it received the highest rating for collision prevention with other vehicles. The Chevrolet BrightDrop 400 and Rivian RCV-Delivery 500 showed the best results in the pedestrian recognition test. The Chevrolet Express 2500 and GMC Savana 2500, on the other hand, received the lowest ratings in both categories: these models do not have an automatic emergency braking system.

According to the IIHS, in 2024, 6,215 people died in the US in accidents involving medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and light vans — about 16% of all road fatalities. The Institute plans to continue testing commercial vehicles and expand the program to include larger trucks.

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