R1T awarded the 2024 IIHS Top Safety+ Rating ? Only Pickup Truck to earn this award!

[Chewy734]

I’m grateful for no seatbelt reminders. I’m a grown ass adult; I don’t need a minder, nor a nannie. If the belt’s off, trust me I know. Uncommon opinion perhaps but there it is.

Despite being adults, we get constant reminders daily about things we should already know. Are seatbelt reminders annoying? Yes. But, for example, given how many drivers “forget” to turn on their headlights at night, I appreciate the auto headlight feature of modern cars.

Do the airbags deploy if you are in an accident when not wearing a seatbelt? If so, then one could argue that not wearing a seat belt during airbag deployment could injure you more than the accident itself.

I believe that a safety system really only keeps you safe if you follow all the safety instructions, not just selectively some.

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[CharonPDX]

All pickups are giant Turd Ferguson when it comes to safety...I'd argue it's a pretty low bar for Rivian.

Just like "most efficient pickup" at 84 MPGe. That's objectively terrible for an EV; it just happens to be good for a pickup.

 

[Electric Rivilution]

Just like "most efficient pickup" at 84 MPGe. That's objectively terrible for an EV; it just happens to be good for a pickup.

Again, the Top Safety+ Rating is scored/awarded based on a comparison against the particular vehicle segment (i.e. against other pickups), but simply against IIHS's own testing standards that applies to all vehicles it tests.

 

[TexasBob]

I'm with you 100% and I'm sure there are a lot who hold this opinion. Seat belt reminders? Complete B.S. That should NOT be counted toward the physical (impact) safety aspect.

All I care is how safe the car is in the areas that actually matters to me.

If one forgets to put on their seat belt, they've got bigger problems. To forget something habitual like that is like forgetting to press the brakes to stop. It goes against common logic. A driver doesn't go "oh yea I need to press the brakes or press the pedal to accelerate." Duhhh?

IIHS really needs to rework their rating system.

The IIHS rating system is designed to lower the claims costs for Insurance Companies (who pay for the testing etc.). Its rating system is designed to flag the things that are driving insurance costs, hence the seat belt reminders.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

*safest for the vehicle occupants. Not so much for pedestrians and bicyclists, although that's not specific to Rivian...

I believe IIHS includes pedestrian-collision avoidance in at least some of their ratings, including the "Top Safety Pick+" rating. Is this correct?

Rivians' large mass means that I don't worry nearly as much about colliding with deer and elk. I still do everything I can to avoid these crashes, and I only had one deer crash in my life (fall 2016), but I'm confident my family and I will survive one if it happens.

Rivians' large mass can increase the consequences of a crash for others -- pedestrians, cyclists, and those in smaller vehicles. That's a big responsibility. I try never to forget that!

 

[RivianRunner]

I believe IIHS includes pedestrian-collision avoidance in at least some of their ratings, including the "Top Safety Pick+" rating. Is this correct?

Rivians' large mass means that I don't worry nearly as much about colliding with deer and elk. I still do everything I can to avoid these crashes, and I only had one deer crash in my life (fall 2016), but I'm confident my family and I will survive one if it happens.

Rivians' large mass can increase the consequences of a crash for others -- pedestrians, cyclists, and those in smaller vehicles. That's a big responsibility. I try never to forget that!

Vehicle weight has only a tiny impact on pedestrian safety. This has been studied extensively and the most predictive metric for how dangerous any vehicle is to a pedestrian is how high the hood line is. The higher the hood, the more severe the pedestrian injuries.

That's because a high hood line causes an impact that smashes the pedestrian like a wall, with the full velocity of the vehicle. The pedestrian doesn't have enough mass for the weight of the vehicle to play into it. Even a 3000 lb. sedan has enough mass that the pedestrian cannot compete with that. It's only in vehicle-to-vehicle impacts that the lack of mass disadvantage plays out for one of the vehicles. In pedestrian collisions, the mass matters very little, it's all about the speed and height of the hood line.

A sedan has a low enough hood height that it can flip the pedestrian off their feet, up onto the hood and over the windshield (if the impact speed is high enough) giving the pedestrian a fighting chance of living compared to being smacked by a high vertical hood line that the pedestrian cannot be "scooped up" by. It's like being hit by a brick wall. That sloping hoodline is one advantage the Cybertruck has that legacy trucks with their high/straight hood lines cannot compete with when it comes to pedestrian safety. Contrary to what you may have heard, the Cybertruck's wedge-like shape gives it significant pedestrian safety advantages that the media won't tell you about.

 

[ThirteenElectrics]

Tesla Model X being the overall champ and Rivian coming in very strong.

As a former owner, I disqualify the X personally. If the car is ever submerged everyone in the back is dead. Generally you don’t want to drive a car designed by an egoist who is mentally ill (Elon).

 

[Rizzian]

Has this changed for 2025?
I just got a Tesla newsletter (email) indicating that IIHS ranks Cybertruck :

"The Safest of Any Truck Tested"

"With the lowest overall probability of injury of any pickup truck tested by NHTSA, Cybertruck is designed to be the safest truck you can drive."

 

[TexasBob]

Has this changed for 2025?
I just got a Tesla newsletter (email) indicating that IIHS ranks Cybertruck :

"The Safest of Any Truck Tested"

"With the lowest overall probability of injury of any pickup truck tested by NHTSA, Cybertruck is designed to be the safest truck you can drive."

Typical Tesla marketing. It may be true, it may not. As of now IIHS does not have a Tesla Cybertruck rating.
https://www.iihs.org/ratings

2025 R1S is TSP+, R1T is TSP (in 2024 it was other way around TSP for the S and TSP+ for the T).

Also see:
https://www.iihs.org/ratings/top-safety-picks/2025/large-pickups/all#award-winners
And:
https://www.iihs.org/ratings/top-safety-picks/2025/large-suvs/all#award-winners

 

[Dark-Fx]

Has this changed for 2025?
I just got a Tesla newsletter (email) indicating that IIHS ranks Cybertruck :

"The Safest of Any Truck Tested"

"With the lowest overall probability of injury of any pickup truck tested by NHTSA, Cybertruck is designed to be the safest truck you can drive."

What's the asterisk? "... On a Tuesday"

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