Commercial vehicles aren’t regulated the same way as passenger vehicles, and in some areas, that makes sense. One where it doesn’t, however, is safety. Not only do medium- and heavy-duty work rigs exist outside of most government safety standards, but up to now, they haven’t really been evaluated by independent orgs, either. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is working to change that, as it’ll soon start rating commercial vehicles based on crash avoidance and the presence of advanced seatbelts and airbags, which, even now, aren’t standard across the board.
That fact alone about airbags should clue you in to how needed this is. And according to the IIHS, 6,535 people were killed in crashes with work vehicles like medium- and heavy-duty trucks, as well as light vans, in 2023. In total, that translates to 16% of roadway fatalities just three years ago. Most of those fatalities were other road users, which is why the IIHS plans to push manufacturers on active safety features that help prevent collisions in the first place.
Whereas we’ve seen automatic emergency braking and other …
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Author: Caleb Jacobs
