Tag Archives: annual vehicle inspection

Why are we working so hard to get weak rear underride guards replaced?

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , ,

Not only have we lost two daughters due to a weak rear underride guard, but we continue to see countless loved ones lost to other families in a similar way. Senseless deaths. Solutions are available — developed by innovative engineers but too often left on the shelf while people continue to die.

I get Google Alert notifications of truck crashes every day. Here are the rear underride fatalities which I have found in the last few months:

This memorial remembers a few of the countless underride victims from past years.

This video shows the difference between too weak & stronger guards:

Convinced?

Let’s work together to get damaged rear underride guards off the road!

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , ,

Anyone, who observes a rear underride guard in an obvious state of disrepair, can report it to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) via their online National Consumer Complaint Database. Make note of the name of the trucking company. If possible, memorize its DOT# and get a photo of the guard. Then follow these step-by-step instructions for reporting this truck safety hazard as soon as possible:

Here are some examples of rear underride guards in disrepair — a condition which weakens their ability to stop a car from riding under the truck in the event of a collision:

Millions of trucks on the road have rear underride guards which are already too weak to prevent deadly underride. When they are not properly maintained, their strength is reduced even further.

See the DIFFERENCE: IIHS crash tests of weak & stronger rear underride guards

As of December 9, 2021, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is requiring that trucking companies monitor the condition of the rear underride guards on the back of their trailers. Truck drivers should look over this safety equipment when they do a pre-trip inspection. If this Rear Impact Guard has not been properly maintained, the trucking company and the truck driver could receive violations with fines attached at the time of annual vehicle inspection due to a Final Rule published by the FMCSA.

If a truck fails the inspection, the violation could cost a motor carrier a maximum of $15,876 and a truck driver $3,969. This could lead to the replacement of many rear underride guards — hopefully, with guards that meet the TOUGHGuard level of strength proven possible by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and now on many new trailers.

Motorists who notice guards in questionable condition can help to make sure that this important regulation gets enforced by using this tool to report them to the U.S. Department of Transportation:

Let’s hope that trucking companies and truck drivers will take responsibility themselves to properly maintain this safety equipment and even go so far as to replace outdated equipment with the stronger retrofit kits which are available thanks to innovative engineers — at a cost less than that of fines!

Recent Rear Underride Fatalities:

Why are we working so hard to get weak rear underride guards replaced?

CVSA Responds to Senators Deciding to Spend a Day Inspecting Underride Guards

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Do you want to share the road with trucks which have bent, rusty, or cracked rear underride guards?
 
We are encouraged by CVSA’s response to our request that they add underride guards to their vehicle inspections. Guards that are weak to begin with become even weaker when they are not properly maintained.

“There are currently 15 items on the CVSA out-of-service criteria that render a commercial motor vehicle operator unqualified to drive if their trucks do not meet CVSA standards,” the [senators’] letter said. “This list includes lighting devices, windshield, wipers and frame of the vehicle.”

But NOT underride guards!

We’ll keep you updated on the results of their research across the country, August 27-31.

Annual Motor Vehicle Inspection Form: Are underride guards adequately inspected?

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , ,

While we were getting set up for a side guard crash test this morning, I was taking photos of the tractor-trailer that was part of the test. I noticed an Annual Motor Vehicle Inspection form on the trailer. I looked it over trying very hard to find a line item by which the inspector and truck owner/driver would be reminded to check the condition of the rear underride guard which is required by law to be installed and maintained.

Side Guard Crash Test May 2016 032

I could not find anything  listed about underride guards.

Actually, I had picked one of these forms up in a truck stop previously and couldn’t find anything related to inspection of underride guards in the past. Just thought I would check again.

Scan

There is something not right about this picture.