Surprisingly Safe: OBS Chevy Trucks

The last-generation Chevy C/K truck (before the rename to Silverado), popularly known as the “OBS”, launched in the 1988 model year and was produced through 1999, overlapping production with the Silverado for one year. 

(Heavy-duty C/K’s were produced through 2002, but this post concerns the half-ton versions)

The 1988-1991 OBS trucks were already quite safe for their time. A 1988 model earned 3 stars for the driver and 4 stars for the passenger in the NHTSA full-frontal test; however, both of these star ratings were at the very high-end, bordering on 4 and 5 stars respectively. The risks of serious injury to both driver and passenger were 21% and 11% respectively. The average 1988 vehicle tested was at 35% and 19%, and this was at a time when pickup trucks were held to lower safety standards than cars. 

In 1992, the truck further improved, scoring 4 stars for the driver and 5 stars for the passenger that year, with injury risks of 15% and 8%. Average risks had dropped to 28% and 20% respectively by 1992.

In 1995, GM added a driver airbag to their full-size trucks, and one tested that year earned a perfect 5 star rating for both occupants, with 9% risk of severe injury to the driver and 10% for the passenger. The average for all 1995 vehicles tested was 20% and 19%, 

Finally, in 1997, GM added a passenger airbag to their full size trucks. The dual-airbag truck was tested in both 2WD and 4WD configurations; earning 9% and 12% risks for the 2WD and 7% and 12% for the 4WD. Although the truck lost its fifth star for the passenger, earning 5 stars for the driver and 4 for the passenger, the by now 10-year-old design still outperformed the 1997 averages of 19% and 19%. 

Unfortunately, the 1998’s redesigned airbag system put its risks at 16% and 22%, good for 4 driver stars and 3 passenger stars and slightly worse than the 1998 average of 16% and 16%.