Did you think your truck was perfectly safe because it was large, heavy, and could haul 10,000 pounds? Think again.
The IIHS just published the results of a 2016 small-overlap crash test performed on 10 different truck models, and only two successfully protected the driver's legs and feet from severe injury.
Which two?
Well... this is a Ford blog. It should come as little surprise that the top contender was the 2016 Ford F-150. The IIHS tested the extended cab and crew cab models of each truck nameplate.
The key here is the small overlap. For years and years, crash tests were performed by bashing a car headlong into a solid wall so that the entire width of the hood is struck. In real life, most crashes only strike a small portion of the front of the vehicle.
Drive a truck straight into a wall at 40mph -- the occupants are probably okay. Drive the same truck into the edge of a wall at 40mph with only 25 percent of the hood striking, and in 8 out of 10 trucks, the foot well collapses into the driver's legs and feet.
Small-overlap crashes are a serious weak point in most trucks, but since first being tested in 2015, Ford has worked to withstand those types of crashes (and all others), earning a Top Safety Pick from the IIHS.
Test drive one today at McLarty Ford in Texarkana.