In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Sierra 1500 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Sierra 1500 has standard Automatic Emergency Braking, which use forward mounted sensors to warn the driver of a possible collision ahead. If the driver doesn’t react and the system determines a collision is imminent, it automatically applies the brakes at full-force in order to reduce the force of the crash or avoid it altogether. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn't offer collision warning or crash mitigation brakes.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Sierra 1500 offers optional Rear Cross Traffic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Sierra 1500 4x4’s optional Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.
The GMC Sierra 1500 has Daytime Running Lights to help keep it more visible under all conditions. Canadian government studies show that driving with lights during the day reduces accidents by 11% by making vehicles more conspicuous. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer Daytime Running Lights.
The Sierra 1500’s lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer a lane departure warning system.
The Sierra 1500 (except Pro) offers an optional HD Surround Vision to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Ram 1500 Classic only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Sierra 1500’s optional Rear Cross Traffic Alert uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side and Rear Cross Traffic Braking automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.
Both the Sierra 1500 and the Ram 1500 Classic have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, rearview cameras, available four-wheel drive and blind spot warning systems.
A significantly tougher test than their original offset frontal crash test, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH small overlap frontal offset crash tests. In this test, where only 25% of the total width of the vehicle is struck, results indicate that the GMC Sierra 1500 Crew Cab is safer than the Ram 1500 Classic Crew Cab:
|
Sierra 1500 |
1500 Classic |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Restraints |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Head Neck Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head injury index |
110 |
139 |
Peak Head Forces |
0 G’s |
0 G’s |
Steering Column Movement Rearward |
4 cm |
27 cm |
Chest Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Max Chest Compression |
23 cm |
26 cm |
Hip & Thigh Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Femur Force R/L |
.7/.9 kN |
4.6/1.8 kN |
Hip & Thigh Injury Risk R/L |
0%/0% |
2%/0% |
Lower Leg Evaluation |
ACCEPTABLE |
POOR |
Tibia index R/L |
.36/.99 |
1.33/.59 |
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) performs roof strength tests. In that test the Sierra 1500 earned the top rating of “Good” because its roof supported over four times the Sierra 1500’s weight before being crushed five inches. The Ram 1500 Classic was rated two rankings lower at “Marginal.”