While Rivian has had some hiccups in its first few years of operating, this is a significant win for the electric truck. The 2022-2023 Rivian R1T electric pickup truck earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Pick Plus award for 2022. Check out what sort of rigorous crash testing the Rivian truck went through to achieve this accolade.

The Rivian R1T electric pickup truck is an IIHS Top Safety Pick Plus winner

In its second year on the market, the Rivian R1T is making waves. Not only that, but the updated Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) testing has tripped up even some veteran cars, trucks, and SUVs. Some of the current crashworthiness tests include small overlap for driver and passenger, moderate overlap, and side, roof, and head restraints.

The Rivian electric truck received the highest ” good ” score in all categories. In newer testing areas like headlights and front crash prevention for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian, the 2022-23 Rivian R1T received the highest score again.

Headlights have been a primary source of headache for automakers, with the IIHS awarding LED projector headlights over traditional kinds. Rivian’s low-beam headlights provided good visibility on both sides of the road. The low beams did not exceed glare limits, and the high beams received similar positive remarks. These helped Rivian’s R1T achieve the Top Safety Pick Plus award.

Rivian’s R1T electric truck did well in the front crash-prevention areas

The IIHS recently introduced front crash prevention to testing. It looks at how the Rivian R1T performed in vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian crash prevention. The IIHS tests the requirements for forward collision warning by simulating accidents at 12 and 25 mph.

The truck was tested against a crossing child, crossing adult, and parallel adult in the front crash prevention vehicle-to-pedestrian test. Rivian’s R1T electric pickup truck avoided all three hazards.

Speaking of children, the truck also received high marks for the child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware. Testing found that the tether anchors were easy to find and attach, which earned it a high score. This is an essential modern test for those installing child seats in the truck at any point.

Rivian is in good company with the Ford F-150 and Toyota Tundra

Only five trucks have been thoroughly tested and awarded in the large pickup truck category. The 2022-23 Ford F-150 crew and extended cab are both IIHS Top Safety Pick winners, in addition to the 2022-23 Ram 1500. Only one other truck, the 2022 Toyota Tundra crew cab, is a Top Safety Pick Plus winner so far. Rivian’s R1T is also the only electric truck on the list (for now).

Only the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz crew cab for small pickup trucks earned the Top Safety Pick award. Crashworthiness tests like these are usually unforgiving to trucks, which results in lower scores. Automakers have been working to change that lately, hoping to offer more safe pickup trucks in the coming years.

Testing is ongoing at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, so expect more news about cars, trucks, and SUVs soon. For now, this is a major win for the 2022-2023 Rivian R1T electric pickup truck.