R1T Truck

Make
Rivian
Segment
Sports Car

The 2022 Rivian R1T is now one of the safest vehicles on the road, according to the IIHS. The truck recently passed the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's crash tests to earn its Top Safety Pick+ rating. Earlier this year, Rivian confidently told us it expected both the R1T, and the newly-debuted R1S, to earn the award.

Evidently, the brand was right to be confident. To earn either of the IIHS' two awards in 202, the R1T had to earn a "good" rating in six IIHS crashworthiness tests. These include "driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, original side, roof strength, and head restraint tests."

Additionally, the R1T needed to be available with a frontal crash prevention system that has earned "advanced" or "superior" ratings in vehicle-to-vehicle and daytime vehicle-to-pedestrian tests. Again, the R1T meets those criteria. The IIHS also notes that all R1T trims come with good-rated LED lights and that front crash system we detailed above as standard.

Given the shared architecture, layout, and parts similarity between this and the R1S, we're confident the R1S' IIHS certification for this highest safety award category isn't all too far behind. You can watch some of the crash testing above, and we admit it is pretty fun to watch.

The reason Rivian was so confident in the statement given during the R1S reveal is because the R1T was sent for crash testing at an independent lab before going to the IIHS. Rivian was able to do a "dry run" so to speak, all but ensuring it met the IIHS' requirements.

This is an important win for Rivian. There are not a lot of trucks this size with the IIHS' coveted rating, and now the R1T is one of them. Currently, the only other truck that holds an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award is the Toyota Tundra.