A semi dragging a car with which it collided on a California highway this week has caught media attention. But while many are shaking their heads with disbelief that the truck driver apparently didn’t notice the car, they are overlooking the disturbing fact that trucks have been defectively designed with a “geometric mismatch” that allows cars to ride under them.
And, despite the fact that this is well-known, little or nothing has been done to change this deadly problem.
Car dragged for miles by semi-truck, police say.
Unfortunately, this recent underride crash is not uncommon. This kind of collision happens hundreds of times each year. And the crash in California likely would have ended in a death if someone had been in the front passenger seat — like there was 12 years ago when my friend Lois Durso’s daughter, Roya Sadigh, was killed in a similar crash.
I know what I am talking about because I lost my two youngest daughters, AnnaLeah and Mary, in a truck underride crash on May 4, 2013. And it can happen to anyone at anytime — changing life forever without any warning.
This will continue to happen until we, as a country, decide that enough is enough and require every large truck to have effective underride protection — like we are asking for in the Roya, AnnaLeah & Mary Comprehensive Underride Protection Act of 2017.
Car dragged for miles by semi-truck, police say. https://t.co/QPVu0XUh4X
— WMAR-2 News (@WMAR2News) April 22, 2017
http://wane.com/2016/09/09/car-dragged-under-semi-driver-critically-hurt/
This was possible because the underride guard was not full width. A design failure allowed by law, unfortunately.
Yes, allowed by law, but still a defective design flaw.