TRANSPORT
F-150 All Aluminium Pickup Achieves Top-Pick Safety Rating
The Insurance for Highway Safety (IIHS), an independent scientific and educational non profit organisation charged with reducing the losses from road accidents on US roads, recently evaluated the safety of seven large pick up trucks in their latest round of crash tests.
24 May, 2016
The IIHS looked at two body styles for each of this years pickup models, the extended cab and the crew cab. The extended cab model has two large front doors combined with two smaller rear doors and seats. Meanwhile, the crew cab is more spacious, boasting four full sized doors, and four full sized seats.
The decision by the IIHS to carry out crash tests on both types of cab follows their discovery that, while the Ford F-150 extended cab achieved a marginal rating at the small overlap test (a type of frontal crash test) last year, the crew cab lacked the same structural counter measures. To be undertaken for the first time with both types of cab models, the small overlap test is intended to reproduce the effects of a vehicle leaving the road and hitting a tree or similar obstruction.
The decision by the IIHS to carry out crash tests on both types of cab follows their discovery that, while the Ford F-150 extended cab achieved a marginal rating at the small overlap test (a type of frontal crash test) last year, the crew cab lacked the same structural counter measures. To be undertaken for the first time with both types of cab models, the small overlap test is intended to reproduce the effects of a vehicle leaving the road and hitting a tree or similar obstruction.
From left to right: Ford F-150 SuperCab (photo by Motors Town), Ford F-150 SuperCrew (photo by Car Gurus)
Since 2016, Ford has been working hard to improve the safety of their pickups. And it appears its hard work has paid off: after this years tests the 2016 model F-150, made with an aluminium body, earned a good rating in the small overlap crash test, making it the only big pickup truck in the group to gain the Institutes top ranking for the test. Both versions of the F-150 cab now hold a 2016 Top Safety Pick award when fitted with Ford's basic forward collision warning system.
The Top Pick award is given when a vehicle achieves a basic rating for front crash prevention, a good rating in the small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint evaluations.
The Top Pick award is given when a vehicle achieves a basic rating for front crash prevention, a good rating in the small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint evaluations.
Ford is leading the way among large pickup manufacturers when it comes to protecting people in a range of crashes and offering technology to warn drivers of imminent frontal crashes ... We commend Ford for taking last year's test results to heart and upgrading protection for SuperCab occupants in small overlap crashes.
Raul Arbelaez
Vice President of the Institute's Vehicle Research Centre
The all aluminium F-150 was the only pickup tested which did not suffer from moderate to severe intrusion into the driver footwell area as a result of the small overlap test. In most other cases the footrest, brake pedal, parking brake etc, were pushed into the test dummy's legs, with some intrusions reaching as far as 16-17 inches. With the exception of the F-150, it is likely that occupants of all these vehicles would have sustained serious leg injuries.
"Drivers in these pickups would need help freeing their legs from the wreckage following a small overlap crash. We encourage manufacturers to redesign their pickups to resist intrusion in the lower occupant compartment to safeguard people from serious leg and foot injuries that might require months of rehabilitation"
When it came to roof strength, the results were more encouraging for the other models. Four pickups were able to earn good ratings for protecting occupants during a rollover crash: the F-150, the Silverados and the Tundra Double Cab.
These tests are considered particularly important to help protect passengers from serious injuries from crashes involving pickups. Overall it was the aluminium bodied F-150 which shone throughout these tests.
These tests are considered particularly important to help protect passengers from serious injuries from crashes involving pickups. Overall it was the aluminium bodied F-150 which shone throughout these tests.
Cover Photo: Ford F-150 Super Crew by Auto Evolution