The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has upped its requirements for crash-prevention systems and back seat safety.

“This year, we’re asking automakers to make excellent protection for back seat passengers the norm,” IIHS President David Harkey said.

For the nonprofit organization's highest safety award, the Top Safety Pick+, it's now requiring crash-avoidance systems to do a better job of preventing crashes with pedestrians and high-speed crashes with other vehicles.

For back seat safety, vehicles must earn a “good” rating in the moderate overlap front test, an “offset crash between two vehicles traveling in opposite directions at a little under 40 mph each,” to earn either the Top Safety Pick+ or the next award under it, Top Safety Pick, the institute said. Last year, vehicles had to earn a “good” rating for the Pick+ award but only an “acceptable” rating for the base Top Safety Pick award. This test was first updated in 2022 to emphasize back seat safety.

For crash avoidance, qualifying front crash-prevention systems must be standard for the base award and the Pick+ award. Requirements for the pedestrian front crash-prevention test are the same as last year: either an “acceptable” or “good” rating for the base award. But for the Pick+ award vehicles must earn a “good” rating in that test and either an “acceptable” or “good” rating in the vehicle-to-vehicle front crash-prevention evaluation. The latter evaluation was introduced in 2025.

Also the same as last year, to qualify for the base and Pick+ awards vehicles must earn “good” ratings in crash tests when the front corner of a vehicle collides with another vehicle or object.

“Improving crash avoidance is key to achieving our 30x30 vision of reducing U.S. crash deaths by 30% by 2030,” Harkey said. “Stronger structures and better seat belts save lives, but the safest crash is the one that never happens.”

So far, the Institute has awarded 63 vehicles for IIHS awards, which is more than last year at this time. Forty-five of those winners earned a Top Safety Pick+ award, and 18 earned a Top Safety Pick award. The winners include a variety of models with the manufacturer suggested retail price starting under $30,000 for more than a dozen of the Pick+ winners.

Known for their safety and reliability, SUVs make up 35 of the 45 Pick+ winners and 12 of the 18 base award winners. Meanwhile, minicars, minivans and small pickups earned zero awards this year, and only two large pickups qualified: the Tesla Cybertruck and Toyota Tundra crew cab. IIHS said that many other models in those categories struggle with back seat safety in the moderate overlap tests.

Asian brands and German luxury models nearly swept the Top Safety Pick + awards, save for a model each by Tesla and fellow American electric-vehicle maker Rivian.