Riding in a crew cab pickup? Crash tests shows why rear-seat passengers should beware.
Front crash tests of four 2023 crew cab pickup trucks indicate good protection for front-seat passengers but a higher risk of injury for those in back, a safety study shows.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tested four large pickups with crew cabs, pickups with four full-size doors and a full back seat. The vehicles were assessed on how occupants were protected in front and side crashes.
In front collisions, Chevrolet, Ford and Ram trucks rated "poor" in back-seat protection, and the Toyota truck rated "marginal."
Which pickup trucks were tested?
"All four pickups provided good protection in the front seat," the report said. "But the restraint systems in the rear were inadequate." Restraint systems include seat belts and air bags.
Proper seating and seat belt fit may help prevent injuries to rear-seat passengers in crashes, the report said.
The insurance institute evaluates vehicles using four categories of crashes but focused on front and side tests in its latest report on the trucks. Crew cab versions performed well in side crashes but poorly in front collisions.
How pickups rated in front and side crashes
The institute evaluated the safety of each truck based on these categories:
How do front crash tests work?
The moderate overlap front crash test sends a vehicle into a stationary barrier to simulate a 40 mph front-end crash of two vehicles. "Overlap" means an offset crash, or less than a full head-on collision.
How do side crash tests work?
The side test sends a 4,180-pound wheeled barrier into the driver's side of a stationary vehicle at 37 mph to simulate a side collision.
Breakdown of front and side truck crash test results
Adjust your belt and don't slouch, or you could get hurt in a crash
Paying attention to how people sit in vehicles is important to prevent injury, Joe Nolan, senior vice president of research at the insurance institute, told the Detroit Free Press.
"Try to make sure people in the back have good seating posture, that they’re not slouching or lounging and their seat isn’t reclining," Nolan told the Free Press. "That will contribute to submarining.”
Submarining is a term for sliding forward beneath the lap belt, which increases risk of abdominal injuries in a crash.
Seat belts should be over a passenger's pelvic and hip bones to help stop them from moving forward, Nolan said.
Front seats got better crash protection. Rear seats did not.
The institute said it revamped the front crash test last year after research indicted a higher risk of injury for passengers in rear seats wearing seat belts. The risk was higher than for those in front.
That's not because the second row has become less safe, the institute said. Improved airbags and advanced seat belts have made front seats safer. Those devices usually aren't available in back seats.
The back seat remains the safest place for children, who can be injured by an inflating front airbag, the institute said. The rating does not apply to children secured properly in child safety seats, the report said.
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CONTRIBUTING Phoebe Wall Howard, Detroit Free Press
SOURCE Paste BN Network reporting and research; Insurance Institute for Highway Safety