Tag Archives: comprehensive underride protection

Let’s manufacture new trucks that don’t have an underride problem, but let the existing ones stay in operation – as is. Excuse me?!

I’m a survivor of a truck crash (because my part of the car did not go under the truck) and the mom of two daughters who needlessly lost their lives to preventable rear underride. So I know what I’m saying when I tell you that every part of the STOP Underrides! Act will correct a specific aspect of the underride problem.

It is a comprehensive bill; if any part is left out, it will mean senseless deaths will continue. Any compromise made will be a compromise in human lives — a costly price paid by underride victims, survivors, their families, and all of society in the costs incurred.

Would Congress say, “When you manufacture new airplanes, make sure that they don’t have the problems of the 737 MAX,” and allow the existing ones to stay in operation — as is? In my mind, the question is the same for the underride problem. Will Congress say, “When you manufacture new trucks, make sure that they don’t have the underride problem,” and allow the existing ones to stay in operation — as is?

That would be to knowingly sentence countless people to sure Death By Underride over the next couple of decades until the existing trucks — which have a 10-15 year life — are no longer in service.

It will take an Act of Congress to bring about this needed change in the trucking industry.

How Underride Protection Could Prevent Fiery Crashes & Make Truck Crashes More Survivable

Lately, I have been thinking more and more about how often fiery truck crashes occur and whether comprehensive underride protection (CUP) could reduce the chance that a fire will occur when there is a collision between a truck and a smaller passenger vehicle. I am convinced that CUP (front, side, rear) could help to make truck crashes more survivable in so many ways — including protecting vulnerable areas under the two vehicles:

  1. The truck’s steering mechanism so that the truck driver can better stay in control during a collision.
  2. Gas tanks so that they do not rupture and create conditions for fire to erupt.

See the email below. And consider how the recent April 25, 2019, deadly truck crash in Colorado might have turned out differently. https://q13fox.com/2019/04/27/truck-driver-closed-his-eyes-in-fear-moments-before-deadly-colorado-pileup-crash/

I know that people will talk about collision avoidance technologies as a solution. But I think that it needs to be both/and. I have been studying what I can find out about that crash and it seems to me that the truck driver may have been in a situation where he lost the power to brake and CA would not change that. I had that happen to me in about 1987 or so. I was driving a Suburban pulling a camper on the expressway and suddenly realized that I had lost the ability to brake. I finally was able to pull into a gas station and turn the vehicle off and it turned out okay. But it was TERRIFYING. I felt so out of control. Imagine that truck driver.

Marianne

@MaryandAnnaLeah

p.s. Please support the STOP Underrides! Bill and make truck crashes more survivable!

 

———- Forwarded message ———
From: Marianne Karth <mariannekarth@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 11:13 PM
Subject: Fiery truck crashes and Front Underride/Override Protection
To: Matthew Brumbelow  @iihs.org>

Matt,

Have you ever studied fiery truck crashes and the factors which lead to that outcome?

I’ve been thinking about that question a lot because I receive Google Alert Notifications of truck crashes and see so many fiery crashes. It made me think of what I have learned by delving into the topic of front underride/override protection. I know that the FUP not only protects the passenger vehicle, but it also protects the steering mechanism of the truck — enabling the truck driver to stay more in control in a collision. and. . .  the fuel tank.

Marianne

p.s. It drives me up a wall that the industry and government just ignore the possibility that head on collisions and rear ending of cars by trucks, etc., could be mitigated. Putting all their eggs into the basket of  changing driver behavior and collision avoidance technology. Do we believe in a SAFE SYSTEM approach or don’t we?

image.png

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237383824_REVIEW_OF_TRUCK_SAFETY_STAGE_1_FRONTAL_SIDE_AND_REAR_UNDERRUN_PROTECTION

Offset front underrun in head on crashes where the light vehicle is likely to collide with the steer axle and compromise the heavy vehicles steering, and/or the underrun leads to heavy intrusion of the cabin space by the heavy vehicle structure.

Front underrun in truck into car crashes where the underrun can:
rotate the light vehicle downwards and lead to the heavy vehicle running over the light
vehicle with catastrophic results;
push the petrol tank down and lead to fire when the truck impacts the rear of the light vehicle

 

But we also get good protection for the components in the lower front part of the coach [where the steering mechanism is]:

See the references to protection from fires by FRONT UNDERRIDE PROTECTION in this eBook: Wheels of Progress?: Motor Transport, Pollution and the Environment

Society pay for Large Truck Crash Costs or Industry Pay for Safety Equipment as Cost of Doing Business?

How do “we” want to handle it? Ask the trucking industry to pay for underride protection as a Cost of Doing Business or continue to force the society and victims to pay for the cost of large truck crashes?

Costs of large truck-involved crashes in the United States

Zaloshnja_Cost Truck Injuries USA[14648]

Is safety equipment (like underride guards) a legitimate “cost of doing business” for the trucking industry?

Underride Question: Litigation or Legislation?

Win/Win: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the STOP Underrides! Bill

My Underride Protection Win/Win List:

  1. Fuel Savings (aerondynamics when combined with side skirts)
  2. Return On Investment (see #1)
  3. Trucks get Back on the Road more quickly when a crash does not involve a fatality.
  4. Driver Benefit: less negative impact on their career and avoidance of PTSD from someone dying under their truck.
  5. Job Creation (design, manufacture, installation, and maintenance of underride protective devices).
  6. Trailer Manufacturers burden lifted if mandated; they no longer have to persuade customers to buy trailers with safer equipment/design.
  7. BTW, lives are saved and serious injuries are prevented
Incentives:
  • Sponsors of the STOP Underrides! Bill are open to discussing a weight exemption for added weight of safety equipment (so that payload is not impacted).
  • Section 179 of the IRS Tax Code allows for a tax deduction for safety equipment purchased by trucking companies.
  • Decreased insurance risk. Wouldn’t it be great if the insurance industry would play their part and provide incentives for use of this equipment (perhaps discounts for early adopters of this life-saving technology)?

Is safety equipment (like underride guards) a legitimate “cost of doing business” for the trucking industry?

It’s a simple question:  Is safety equipment a legitimate “cost of doing business” for the trucking industry?

Here’s one opinion from Country Supply, Inc. (they service semi-trailers):

It looks like another rule/law is coming down the pipeline for the American transportation sector, specifically the trucking industry. In December of 2017 some members of Congress put forth legislation that will mandate new safety regulations for semis. This bill, introduced as S.2219 Stop the Underrides Act of 2017, would mandate front and side underride guards. It would also require the rear underride guards be brought up to higher and stronger standards. Safety of passenger vehicle occupants is the premise for this legislation.

If this law is passed, should we just consider it another cost of doing business for the trucking industry? If the past is any indication to what new regulations and laws will bear, then the answer is a definitive yes. For those who haven’t voluntarily installed these underride guards it might be wise to think about the ramifications of what the enactment of this law will bring and how this will potentially impact your future business costs. Hopefully, the mandating of any new requirements such as this will allow for ample time for compliance and implementation. Naturally, there are varied opinions about this bill. Not everyone is a proponent. Are You for or Against S.2219 Stop the Underrides Act of 2017?

Now wouldn’t that be wonderful if the entire industry embraced that attitude and we were all proponents of this life-saving technology? In fact, I’m chomping at the bit to organize a Third Underride Roundtable. My vision is to bring all the stakeholders back together again in order to collaborate and figure out how we can most effectively move ahead together to implement a mandate for comprehensive underride protection.

Society pay for Large Truck Crash Costs or Industry Pay for Safety Equipment as Cost of Doing Business?

 

Some say not much room to improve passive safety. I say: Plenty of room to improve underride protection!

Preventing traffic deaths and injuries can be accomplished in multiple ways. Some involve active safety and some passive safety countermeasures. Some say that “passive safety technology is reaching a level of maturity, so further room for improvement is limited.”

Active Safety System Vs Passive Safety System – What Is The Difference?

As far as I am concerned, there is plenty of room for improvement in comprehensive underride protection — a form of passive safety — both in the U.S. and globally.

Let’s work together to make it happen!

Understanding Underride VIII: Making the Case for Comprehensive Underride Protection Legislation

The basic problem of truck underride is the fact that there is a geometric mismatch between the large trucks and the smaller passenger vehicles. Crush zones are structural areas in a vehicle that are designed to absorb energy upon impact in a predictable way. However, upon collision of a passenger vehicle with a truck, there is no opportunity for engagement of the passenger vehicle crush/crumple zone with a solid portion of the truck.

The result? The crashworthiness of the passenger vehicle is not initiated. The car is allowed to go under the truck and the first point of impact is in the Passenger Occupant Space. The passengers are left vulnerable to horrific injuries and violent deaths.

In fact, although underride deaths are vastly underreported and undercounted, FARS data from the NHTSA show that hundreds of people die every year from truck underride passenger compartment intrusion (PCI). NHTSA reported 4,006 underride deaths from 1994 to 2014.

The rear underride guards, which are installed on semi-trailers, are supposed to prevent underride. But the IIHS, in 2011 and 2013, conducted crash testing which proved that the guards of eight major trailer manufacturers, though designed the meet the 1998 federal standard, too often fail. Subsequently, improved rear underride guards and side guards have been crash tested by the IIHS; crash dummies emerge with survivable results.

The majority of the large trucks on the road either have weak, ineffective rear underride guards – even though they meet the current federal standard – or none at all (as in the case of exempt single-unit trucks) or improperly maintained rear guards (initially known as ICC bumpers, later as Mansfield bars, or sometimes as Rear Impact Guards or RIGs). In addition, there is currently no federal requirement for commercial motor vehicles to have side guards – despite the fact that there is normally 4 feet between the bottom of the trailer and the road. And, although Europe has standards for Front Underrun Protection, the U.S. does not.

There were 340,000 large trucks manufactured in 2015. The majority of those have weak rear guards and no side guards. Volvo Trucks produces tractors with front underride protection in Europe but not on their North American trucks. There are nearly 2 million semi trucks in operation in the U.S. and around 5.6 million semi trailers. These drive around every day on our roads putting travelers at risk of Death by Underride.

The truck industry has known about the problem of underride for over a century. In fact, a patent was filed for a side guard in 1913. In response to the rear underride death of actress Jayne Mansfield in 1967, we saw some improvement in rear underride protection with a 1998 standard – although you will notice that that took 31 years to achieve and it still falls short of what is technologically possible some 50 years after her death.

The government is also well aware of the side underride problem. On March 19, 1969, the FHWA indicated in the Federal Register, in an analysis on rear underride rulemaking, that they intended to extend underride protection to the sides of large trucks after further studies. However, DOT has not done so and the industry – despite some voluntary improvement in response to appeals from victim families armed with information on the IIHS crash testing – has not shown an ability or willingness to solve this problem on their own.

As David Ward recently said, at the Road to Zero Coalition October 2017 quarterly meeting, there will always be a strong need for regulation and/or fiscal incentives to break market failure. Only then will we see 100% adoption of comprehensive underride protection. In fact, trailer manufacturers have said that a mandate would lift the burden from them; they would no longer have to persuade their customers to buy safer trailers.

The underride problem has been documented in numerous studies. The IIHS petitioned NHTSA in 2011 and the NTSB made recommendations in April 2014 that NHTSA initiate underride rulemaking to address safety vulnerabilities. The Volpe National Transportation Systems Center has recognized the problem and has worked with numerous Vision Zero Cities to install side guards on city trucks in order to protect Vulnerable Road Users.

A comprehensive underride protection rule, STOP Underrides!  because it will include single-unit trucks — will make it easier for cities throughout the U.S. to protect vulnerable road users. Every truck that drives on their streets will be equipped with comprehensive underride protection – a significant victory in the battle to create safer mobility for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists, as well as passenger vehicles.

With comprehensive underride protection installed on the entire large truck fleet, we should see a significant decrease in the 4,000 truck crash fatalities/year (4,713 in 2016), along with a major reduction in debilitating injuries. Truck crashes can be made more survivable.

Or do we want to continue to allow people to die?

Underride Briefing on The Hill; Video Excerpts of Panel Discussion on October 12

On October 12, 2017, staff from Congressional Offices gathered to hear presentations from five experts on the topic of truck underride. The presentations were followed by a question & answer period as legislative staff sought to understand the problem and solutions of deadly but preventable underride crashes.

The STOP Underrides! Act of 2017 has been drafted by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. She is working with Congressman Steve Cohen, who will be drafting a House Companion Measure.  They are both seeking Republican co-leads for this long-overdue, life-saving legislation.

The videos below cover the individual presentations but, unfortunately, the question period was not recorded. Questions about any of the topics covered can be directed to marianne@annaleahmary.com, for follow-up with these and other experts nationally and internationally.

This video includes all five presentations:

Malcolm Deighton, engineer with Hydro (formerly Sapa), discusses their aluminum rear underride guard — successfully crash tested at 40 mph:

Jason Levine, Director of the Center for Auto Safety, discusses the flaws in the cost/benefit analysis of truck underride protection:

Robert Lane, VP of Product Engineering at Wabash National — a trailer manufacturer, discusses their commitment to development of rear and side underride protective devices for the prevention of underride deaths and debilitating injuries:

Matt Brumbelow, a research engineer at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), discusses the problem of truck underride and the research which IIHS has done to study rear and side underride protection:

Keith Friedman, Friedman Research Corporation, discusses Front Underride Protection:

Further information on truck underride can be found at:

Hosted by Lois Durso (https://stopunderrides.org/) and Marianne Karth (https://annaleahmary.com) who are working to STOP Underrides! in memory of their daughters — Roya Sadigh and sisters AnnaLeah & Mary Karth.

Large trailer manufacturers built 340,000 in 2015. How many purchased in 2017 will have strong rear guards?

Some of the trailer manufacturers are offering the new stronger rear underride guard as standard to their customers on their new trailers. Some are not. Why is that? If the new guards have been proven to be safer, why still sell trailers with the weaker, ineffective rear guards which — if involved in a crash — could so easily lead to Death by Underride?

I wonder how many trailers have been sold with the newer guards which meet the IIHS ToughGuard award standards. I know that one transport company, J.B. Hunt, ordered 4,000 of the improved Wabash trailers in January 2016. But the stronger guard is not yet standard on Wabash trailers. So, what percentage of the total new purchases is that?

According to Trailer Body Builders“THE 25 largest trailer manufacturers in North America built some 340,000 truck-trailers and container chassis in 2015, a 16.6 percent increase over the preceding year.” So J.B. Hunt’s order would have been 1.2% of the total truck-trailer and container chassis purchases for that year.

What about the other 336,000 trucks potentially purchased last year? Did they have safer rear underride guards? (And how long will they stay in the fleet?) I know that they did not have side guards. And that is not even mentioning the millions of existing trucks on the road which are Death by Underride waiting to happen — especially because many of them are not properly maintained.

If only the industry would voluntarily take the initiative to make it right and correct their defectively-designed products by making sure that every truck on the road had the best possible underride protection. New and existing.

I find it interesting that at least some in the industry are thinking comprehensively about some aspects of safety technology. . .

Powell said his first advice when talking with fleet customers (Velociti specalizes in “technology deployment services”) is to suggest they “synergize” their technology adoption efforts in order to make them more complete and easier to handle. For example, he said, if your fleet is looking at putting collision avoidance systems on your trucks, why not put them on your yard tractors and forklifts at the same time?

Likewise, instead of dividing the tasks of putting different safety systems on vehicles such as electronic logging devices, in-cab camera systems, and lane-departure warning systems, treat all those initiatives as a single, unified action plan. Fleets Share Best Practices on Implementing New Technologies Looking at technology as a problem-solver first can go a long way toward its successful deployment in real-world fleet operations.

See, the industry understands the logic of approaching safety technology with a COMPREHENSIVE strategy! Now if only they would apply that by including comprehensive underride protection in the Super Truck Project!

Perfect Opportunity to Transform SuperTruck Into An ESV To Advance Underride Protection; DOT & DOE?

Lawmaker first to publicly back truck underride bill written by grieving moms

Thank you, Congressman Mark DeSaulnier, for your strong commitment to ending truck underride tragedies.

Media Coverage of the Second Underride Roundtable

The Second Underride Roundtable was held at the IIHS Vehicle Research Center in Ruckersville, Virginia, on August 29, 2017. Read media reports of this successful gathering of various stakeholders to work together to improve comprehensive underride protection:

  1. Insurance Institute Conducts Successful Test of Side Underguard Protection http://www.ttnews.com/articles/insurance-institute-conducts-sucessful-test-side-underguard-protection 
  2.  Side guard on semitrailer prevents underride in 40 mph test http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/desktopnews/side-guard-on-semitrailer-prevents-underride-in-40-mph-test
  3. Advocates for Truck Safety Hold Underride Roundtable and Crash Test at IIHS http://www.nbc29.com/story/36245364/advocates-for-truck-safety-hold-underride-roundtable-and-crash-test-at-iihs
  4. Grieving parents break down after crash test shows life-saving technology http://www.wusa9.com/news/investigations/underrides/grieving-parents-break-down-after-crash-test-shows-technology-that-could-have-saved-their-kids/469019354
  5. “Hall of Crashes” may hold the key to safer cars and roads  http://www.wusa9.com/news/investigations/underrides/hall-of-crashes-may-hold-the-key-to-safer-cars-and-roads/466377388
  6. Once again, Eric Flack and WUSA 9 continued an in-depth investigation of the truck underride problem & solution with insight, energy, & intent. Facebook Live at the Roundtable Crash Test:  https://www.facebook.com/marianne.karth/posts/10214194153315951

How You Can Help Us Get Comprehensive Underride Protection On Trucks

I know that I can’t be the only person in this country (or the planet for that matter) who would like to see trucks made safer to drive around. So, for anyone else who would like to help get comprehensive underride protection on trucks in the U.S., here are some ideas:  https://annaleahmary.com/how-you-can-help/