Pickup trucks were once primarily used as work vehicles but have since transitioned into family vehicles.
If you're in the market for a new truck and want to know about the safest models available, there are some new recommendations from The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
11 models of trucks, large and small, were tested by the institute. The goal, to determine how much protection the vehicles offer front seat passengers.
"We were disappointed with the results," said David Zuby with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "It's the kind of thing that might happen if a driver tried unsuccessfully to avoid a frontal crash with another vehicle," he added.
The findings show that a couple of models did well in the test.
"The Ford F150, the Ram 1500, the Nissan Titan are already good in this test," said Zuby.
As for some of the other models, researchers said there's room for improvement.
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"The worst performer is the Toyota Tundra but we also have less than good performances from the Nissan Frontier and both the large and small version of the Chevy GMC pickup trucks," said Zuby.
The Institute said only one model made their list of top safety picks.
"The best among the 11 here is the Honda Ridgeline because it's got pretty good performance in the right side overlap, good performance in all the other tests," said Zuby.
Something to consider, with more families using trucks to carry the kids rather than cargo.
