Equipping the light vans that fulfill America’s online orders with four safety features could prevent or mitigate close to four out of ten fatal crashes involving such vehicles, a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has revealed.
Using federal crash data from 2016 to 2021, IIHS researchers estimated that equipping every light van on the road with front crash prevention, lane departure prevention, blind spot detection and intelligent speed assistance (ISA) could address 26 percent of all police-reported crashes, 22 percent of injury crashes and 37 percent of fatal crashes involving such vehicles.
“Equipping delivery vans with these technologies would deliver big safety benefits,” IIHS David Harkey said. “These vehicles are growing rapidly in number and are more dangerous to other road users because of their large size.”
While most new passenger cars and SUVs come equipped with AEB and at least offer lane departure prevention and blind spot detection as options, the features are comparatively rare on light vans. ISA that makes it difficult or impossible for drivers to speed, as opposed to providing a visual warning, is not widely available, regardless of vehicle type.
“The potential benefits of these technologies are simply too big to ignore,” Harkey added. “Manufacturers should make them standard equipment as soon as possible, and fleet owners should explore aftermarket products for their current delivery vans.”
Read the study in full on the IIHS website.
