A mid-size SUV, the 2021 Chevrolet Traverse recently earned a Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety when the vehicle is equipped with specific headlights. 

IIHS engineers put the Traverse through the paces of six rigorous crashworthiness tests. These included the driver-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests, as well as the passenger-side small overlap front test — an evaluation the 2020 Traverse did not go through in the past. 

The 2021 Traverse garnered good scores in all six tests, giving it a solid start in capturing the safety award. 

However, in order to obtain Top Safety Pick recognition, vehicles must also be available with a front crash prevention system that earns advanced or superior ratings in both the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations.

Here again, the SUV met the exacting standards of IIHS engineers. The two optional automatic emergency braking systems available on the Traverse both earn superior ratings in the vehicle-to-vehicle evaluation. In the vehicle-to-pedestrian test, the Automatic Emergency Braking with Front Pedestrian Braking system earns a superior rating, while the Enhanced Automatic Emergency Braking with Front Pedestrian Braking system earns an advanced rating.

But the final headlight evaluation is where many vehicles fall short. To earn a Top Safety Pick, vehicles must offer at least one headlight package that earns a good or acceptable rating.

The Traverse claims Top Safety Pick status when equipped with the LED projector headlights that come with the Premier and High Country trims, which earn an acceptable rating. Other trims that include poor-rated HID projector headlights do not qualify for the award.