And it's not a small truck.
The engineers at Ram have something to celebrate right now as the 2020 Ram 1500 has secured a Top Safety Pick Plus award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Following an intensive evaluation and a violent roster of crash tests, the 2020 Ram 1500 now has the highest award for safety available from the institution.
Ram announced the award on Tuesday, revealing that the 1500 pickup truck had achieved "Good" ratings in all six crashworthiness tests, including the passenger-side small overlap front crash test that often trips vehicles up. Ram attributes the consistent result to its patented splayed front frame-rail construction technique that helps manage the impact through various frontal crashes.
For the Top Safety Pick Plus award, vehicles also have to score an "Advanced" or better rating in the frontal-crash avoidance category. For the 2020 Ram 1500 though, the Integrated Radar Camera Module (IRCM) for Forward Collision Mitigation is optional equipment. However, with it installed the truck achieved a "Superior" rating.
The hardest part of the tests is the headlamp section, and more than a couple of companies have had to tweak their equipment to pass. Ram is one of those, and engineers worked on the optional adaptive LED projector headlights with high-beam assist to get a "Good" rating, which is not as small of a feat as it sounds. More than few vehicles have missed out on a Top Safety Pick Plus award due to only getting an "Acceptable" or less mark.
There is the big clause in the award to address though, as the Top Safety Pick Plus award is specific to the crew-cab model and the optional active safety equipment mentioned along with the optional LED headlamps.
So far the only truck to get close to the Top Safety Pick Plus award is Honda's Ridgeline that earned a Top Safety Pick. However, while we're fans of the Ridgeline, it's not a body-on-frame vehicle and closer to a crossover with a truck bed than what we would call a "real" work truck. That leaves the Ram 1500 as the only "real" truck to pickup either award.
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