The 2019-2020 Ram 1500 Is The First Full-Size Truck To Score IIHS Top Safety+ Pick

2019 Ram 1500 Top Safety Pick
[Photos: Ram]

Headlights tweaks put the Ram 1500 over the top.

Last year, we reported crash test results for the fifth-generation Ram 1500 DT. What was remarkable about the changeover from the previous DS generation truck was that it scored green “Good” marks across the board form the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), but it just missed a “Top Safety Pick” ranking based on its headlights. Now, the new Ram 1500 is the first full-size truck to get a Top Safety Pick+ rating from the IIHS, thanks to headlight changes on the Laramie Longhorn and Limited trims.

As with other car and truck safety picks, there is a slight caveat here. The structure of the 2020 Ram 1500 hasn’t changed, so the crash results are identical to the 2019 model year. So far as the Top Safety+ rating is concerned, it only hits that mark with certain headlights equipped.

Laramie and Rebel trims performed worse with their LED headlights.

Halogen-style headlights on the Tradesman, Big Horn and Lone Star trims still score a Marginal rating due to poor visibility on curves. On Laramie and Rebel trims, the LED headlights performed better, but still scored a Marginal rating. Finally, the headlight performance on Longhorn and Limited trims did provide enough illumination to score “Good” in the IIHS tests.

The Good rating only applies to those trucks with curve-adaptive LED headlights built after May 2019. Earlier models ended up with a poorer headlight rating due to excessive glare. The new Ram 1500’s optional front crash prevention system also scored a “Superior” rating in IIHS tests, on a scale of Basic, Advanced and Superior. According to the IIHS release, the truck avoided collisions in 12 and 25 mph track tests, per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s criteria.