IIHS Will Begin Rating The Safety Of Cargo Vans, Work Trucks, And Other Commercial Vehicles This Spring

[mahatmakanejeeves]

IIHS Will Begin Rating The Safety Of Cargo Vans, Work Trucks, And Other Commercial Vehicles This Spring

BY LOGAN K. CARTER MARCH 20, 2026 3:25 PM EST



The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, or IIHS, is best-known for its independent evaluations and rankings of new vehicles and their crashworthiness, but it does a lot more than that. It also encompasses the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), which studies real-world crash data to determine sticking points for safety on U.S. roads. And last week, the IIHS announced that it will release its first safety ratings for cargo vans, work trucks, and other commercial vehicles this spring. 

Unlike crash test ratings, the first commercial vehicle results will focus on whether the vehicles are equipped with things like airbags and advanced seatbelts, which they refer to as occupant protection ratings. Evaluation of the vehicle's crash avoidance capabilities will be published later. In a press release, Vice President of Vehicle Research at the IIS, David Kidd, said, "Cargo vans and big pickups are only the beginning. In the coming years, we expect to expand our evaluations to include box trucks and potentially even tractor-trailers."

Government safety standards that apply to passenger cars don't always apply to commercial vehicles, and 16% of all roadway fatalities in the U.S. in 2023 involved heavy or medium-duty trucks and light vans. The IIHS aims to reduce those numbers by issuing safety ratings for these vehicles.

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[Bobstandard]

1. Uh oh. Republicans aren't going to like this

They don’t like anything that might make it harder for big companies to cut corners and make more money, worker safety be damned.