The Ram 3500, Ford Transit, Mercedes Sprinter, Chevy Express, and Rivian’s electric delivery van all failed a basic seatbelt reminder test. Not a crash test. Not a rollover simulation. A seatbelt reminder test.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety just started evaluating heavy-duty pickups and commercial vans for the first time, and the results from this initial round expose a regulatory blind spot that’s been hiding in plain sight for decades.
Here’s the backdrop most truck buyers don’t know: heavy-duty pickups like the Ford Super Duty, Chevy Silverado 3500HD, and Ram 3500 are not classified as passenger vehicles under federal law. They sit in Class 3, with gross vehicle weight ratings between 10,001 and 14,000 pounds. That means they don’t have to meet the same crash-safety or fuel-economy standards as their half-ton siblings.
No mandatory crash tests. No required front or side airbags. No seatbelt pre-tensioners. Nothing.
The IIHS, funded by insurance companies with a financial stake in reducing claims, decided to fill that vacuum. It tested three Class 3 pickups — a 2026 Chevy Silverado 3500HD, 2025 Ford F-350 SuperCrew, and 2025 Ram 3500 — along with six cargo vans including models from Ford, Chevy, Mercedes-Benz, Ram, Rivian, and the now-discontinued Chevy BrightDrop 400.
No metal was crushed. The IIHS checked for standard airbags, seatbelt pre-tensioners, force limiters, and whether the seatbelt reminder systems actually worked. To pass, a vehicle’s warning light and audible chime needed to persist for at least 90 seconds. The federal standard? Four to eight seconds.
Five of the nine vehicles couldn’t clear even that bar. The Ram 3500, Ford Transit, Mercedes Sprinter, Chevy Express, and Rivian Delivery 500 all failed the seatbelt reminder evaluation. The Express — a design that traces its bones back to the Clinton administration — also lacked effective seatbelt force limiters.
The three HD pickups all had standard front and side airbags and pre-tensioners, which sounds reassuring until you remember that no federal rule required any of it. Manufacturers installed them voluntarily. The Silverado 3500HD and F-350 passed the seatbelt reminder test, but the Ram 3500 did not.
These aren’t niche vehicles. Commercial vans are the backbone of last-mile delivery. HD pickups tow, haul, and operate in some of the most demanding driving conditions on American roads.
In 2023, crashes involving medium- and heavy-duty trucks or light commercial vans killed 6,535 people — 16 percent of all U.S. road fatalities that year.
The IIHS says it plans to expand testing to headlights, automatic emergency braking, and even larger Class 4-6 trucks. That progression matters because the gap between what regulators require of a Ram 1500 and what they require of a Ram 3500 is enormous, despite both trucks sharing roads, lanes, and intersections with the same sedans and pedestrians.
For years, the heaviest consumer trucks on American roads have operated in a regulatory gray zone — too big for passenger vehicle rules, too small for the scrutiny applied to semis. The IIHS just turned the lights on in that room. Five out of nine vehicles couldn’t handle the glare of a seatbelt chime test, and the crash tests haven’t even started yet.
Share this Story