IIHS makes stronger protection for back seat passengers a must for 2025

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is requiring better protection for second-row occupants for the 2025 Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards, encouraging automakers to make advanced seat belt technology and other safety innovations the norm in the back seat.

As a result, only 48 models qualify for 2025 awards so far, compared with 71 last year at this time. Of this year’s winners, 36 earn Top Safety Pick+ and 12 earn Top Safety Pick.

“We’re once again challenging automakers to make their new models even safer than those they were building a year ago,” IIHS President David Harkey said. “Every vehicle that earns a 2025 award offers a high level of safety in both the front seat and the second row.”

The Institute’s updated moderate overlap front test adds a second dummy seated behind the driver and emphasizes back seat safety. Last year, an acceptable or good rating in the updated test was a requirement for the higher-tier Top Safety Pick+ award. However, a good rating in the original test was still enough to earn the base award.

This year, vehicles must earn an acceptable rating in the updated test to qualify for Top Safety Pick, while a good rating is required for the “plus.” The original test has been phased out completely.

As before, to earn either award, vehicles must also earn good ratings in the small overlap front and updated side tests as well as an acceptable or good rating in the pedestrian front crash prevention evaluation, which gauges performance in both daytime and nighttime conditions. All trims must be equipped with acceptable- or good-rated headlights.

A variety of models, ranging from small cars to large pickups and from economy cars to luxury vehicles, occupy the winner’s circle, and most major players in the U.S. market are represented.

SUVs, which make up a large percentage of new models for sale, account for the bulk of the awards. Eight small SUVs, nine midsize SUVs, eight midsize luxury SUVs and three large SUVs combine for 28 of the 36 total Top Safety Pick+ awards. Additional SUVs account for eight of the 12 Top Safety Picks.

In contrast, no minicars, large cars, minivans or small pickups feature among the winners, and only two large pickups, the Rivian R1T and Toyota Tundra, qualify for either accolade. The same two models, along with one small pickup, were also the only pickups to earn acceptable or good ratings in the updated moderate overlap test last year.

“The new emphasis on back seat protection appears to have winnowed minivans and pickups from the winners’ ranks,” Harkey said. “That’s unfortunate, considering that minivans are marketed as family haulers and extended cab and crew cab pickups are often used for that purpose.”

IIHS updated the moderate overlap front test in 2022. To excel in the original test, automakers had strengthened vehicle structures, improved airbags and developed advanced seat belts capable of absorbing crash forces. But many of those advancements were only applied in the front seat. As a result, in newer vehicles, the risk of a fatal injury is higher for belted adults in the rear seat than in the front.

The updated test is intended to push manufacturers to address that gap. Like its predecessor, it simulates a head-on collision in which the test vehicle strikes a vehicle of equal size and weight at 40 mph with 40% of their front widths overlapping. The difference is that the new test includes an additional dummy representing a small woman or 12-year-old child positioned in the second row behind the driver and uses new metrics that focus on the injuries most frequently seen in rear-seat occupants.

Regardless of a vehicle’s performance in the updated test, the second row remains the safest position for children under 13.

Two years after the update, around 60% of 2025 models tested earn acceptable or good ratings, heralding significant progress in back seat protection. However, including all 2023, 2024 and 2025 models tested so far, small and midsize SUVs account for the bulk of the top performers, with no minivans and only a handful of cars and pickups notching up good or acceptable scores.

“There’s still progress to be made, but these results show that manufacturers are working hard to make their vehicles as safe for back seat passengers as they are for those up front,” Harkey said. “Consumers looking for a new vehicle offering the highest level of protection for their families should put these award winners at the top of their list.”

More details about how the updated moderate overlap front and other required tests are conducted can be found in the “About our tests” section of this website. This resource also includes information about additional tests that are not yet included in the award criteria.