IIHS Tests HD Pickups: Ram 3500 Best, Silverado 3500HD and F-350 Poor

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety just ran heavy-duty pickups through its front crash prevention tests for the first time, and three of the four one-tons rated Poor at stopping for another vehicle. In ratings released October 8, 2026, the 2025–26 Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD, 2025–26 GMC Sierra 3500 and 2025 Ford F-350 all scored Poor in the vehicle-to-vehicle test. The 2025–27 Ram 3500 managed Marginal there and was the best pickup of the group. If you’re ordering a one-ton for work or towing, the trim sheet now matters as much as the axle ratio.

“These results are a wake-up call for commercial vehicle makers,” IIHS President David Harkey said. “Front crash prevention is especially important for these larger, heavier vans and trucks because of the danger they pose to other road users.”

Sources

• IIHS news release (October 8, 2026): first vehicle-to-vehicle and pedestrian front crash prevention ratings for cargo vans and Class 3 pickups; Harkey quote; 2024 fatality figure; headlight and rear AEB ratings coming; ratings table
• IIHS rating: 2025 Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD (tested crew cab 4WD; standard system; run-by-run results)
• IIHS rating: 2025 GMC Sierra 3500 (rating applies from the Silverado 3500HD test)
• IIHS rating: 2025 Ford F-350 (tested SuperCrew 4WD; optional AEB and the trims IIHS lists for it)
• IIHS rating: 2025 Ram 3500 (tested 4WD; standard system; run-by-run results)

TruckDaily take

Who this is for. Anyone shopping a 2025–2026 one-ton crew cab for a job site, a hotshot rig or a fifth-wheel, and anyone buying for a small fleet where the insurance carrier asks about safety tech. These are the first IIHS numbers that apply to Class 3 pickups, the 10,001 to 14,000-pound GVWR trucks most 3500s and F-350s fall into.

Who should skip. Skip reading this as a crash-test verdict. These ratings cover front crash prevention only: warnings and automatic emergency braking, not how the cab holds up in a wreck. Skip applying the ratings to a 2027 GM HD or a 2026 F-350 either; IIHS lists the model years each rating covers, and those aren’t on the list.

What we’d actually buy. If front crash prevention ranks high on your list, the Ram 3500 is the one-ton to beat on these results: standard AEB, Marginal against vehicles, Acceptable for pedestrians. Set on a Super Duty? Then order an F-350 trim that actually carries the AEB IIHS tested. IIHS lists it as optional and ties it to the Lariat with the Premium package, King Ranch and Platinum. A GM 3500 buyer gets AEB standard, but that system rated Poor and Marginal, so drive it like the truck won’t stop itself.

The ratings

IIHS scale runs Good, Acceptable, Marginal, Poor. The test protocols and rating requirements are the same ones IIHS uses for passenger vehicles. No van or pickup earned Good in both tests. Among cargo vans, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 was the only Good in the vehicle-to-vehicle test.

Where the one-tons came up short

The vehicle-to-vehicle test checks forward collision warning and AEB at 31, 37 and 43 mph against a passenger-car target and a motorcycle target, plus a warning-only run at a semitrailer. IIHS says the motorcycle was the biggest problem across the group. Some systems slowed well but got marked down for late warnings.

The GM pair had the roughest day. Against the car target, the Silverado 3500HD scrubbed 12 mph in one 31 mph run and recorded no speed reduction in every other car run, including all of the 37 and 43 mph tests. It also failed to give a timely warning in any motorcycle run.

The Ram 3500 avoided the car target at 31 and 43 mph and cut 27 to 28 mph at 37, but its warning came late in both 31 mph runs. At 43 mph it didn’t slow for the motorcycle at all. The F-350 avoided the car at 31 mph, then did less as speed climbed: 25 to 27 mph of reduction at 37, 23 mph in the centered 43 mph run and none off-center.

The child target problem

Pedestrian results were better overall, but the tall front end of a one-ton showed up. IIHS says the Acceptable-rated F-350 and Ram 3500 had a harder time with a child dummy crossing in daylight than with an adult at night. In the 25 mph child test, the Ram cut just 3 mph and the F-350 cut 21 mph. IIHS points to the short dummy, the tall hood and detection sensors mounted near the rearview mirror, and says in some runs the child was detected at a distance, then “disappeared” as the truck got closer.

Low beams hurt the GM trucks at night. In the 25 mph crossing-adult test on low beams, the Silverado 3500HD failed to slow; on high beams it cut 19 mph.

Why IIHS is testing work trucks now

IIHS says 6,215 people were killed in 2024 in crashes involving heavy- or medium-duty vehicles or light vans, 16% of U.S. roadway deaths. Many government standards for passenger vehicles, airbag requirements included, don’t apply to larger work pickups. IIHS started its commercial program in June with a driver-protection checklist (airbags, belt tech, belt reminders). Next up for Class 3 trucks this year and next: headlight ratings and rear AEB. Class 4–6 trucks come later.

Shopping a 2026 Super Duty? Also run the VIN against Ford’s LED headlamp recall covered in our 26V606 Super Duty headlight recall story. Watching GM’s next HD? MSRP and the $11,400 diesel option are in our 2027 Silverado HD pricing and 2027 Sierra HD pricing posts, and the plant shuffle behind them is in our Oshawa production story.

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