Passengers in newer pickups are a higher risk for injury or death than the drivers, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The IIHS has been conducting crash tests on both driver and passenger sides of vehicles since 2017, and it discovered this discrepancy after a round of tests on 11 two-row pickup trucks. California residents will want to know what the pickups were and how they were ranked.
The worst was the Toyota Tundra with a rating of “poor.” Researchers stated that the Tundra struggled to maintain its structure in the crash tests. Part of the reason for this poor performance may be that the Tundra has not seen a major redesign since 2014, whereas some of the other vehicles tested have been recently overhauled.
Five pickups saw slightly better performance with a ranking of “marginal.” One was the Nissan Frontier, and the others were General Motors vehicles: the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon and GMC Sierra 1500. Above that were two vehicles, the Honda Ridgeline and the Toyota Tacoma, with “acceptable” results.
Three scored the highest rating of “good”: the Ford F-150, Ram 1500 and Nissan Titan. By comparison, all but two of the pickups received a “good” rating for drivers-side protection (the Toyota Tundra and Nissan Frontier ranked “marginal” in this regard).
So long as automakers neglect the safety of the passenger’s side of their vehicles, passengers are liable to incur serious injuries in a crash. If passengers know that the driver they were riding with was responsible, they may file a claim against his or her auto insurance company and be reimbursed for medical bills, short- or long-term disability leave, lost wages and more. It might be a good idea to hire a lawyer, though, since insurers have their own legal team ready to deny payment.