Check out this animated illustration of Airflow Deflector’s Angel Wing side guard. . .
AngelWing Side Underride Protection Device – @IIHS_autosafety tested. It's what's behind the skirt that saves lives #underride #sideguards pic.twitter.com/d17tX4BTuW
— AirFlow Deflector (@AirFlowDeflect) June 28, 2017
Stoughton Trailers sent me a copy of their flyer which they will be sharing publicly over the next few months — announcing the wonderful news that Terry Rivet and his passenger, Mark Robinson, survived a truck crash, on March 2, 2017 in New York, because the improved rear underride guard on the new Stoughton trailer stopped their car from going under the trailer, thus preventing an underride tragedy!
At least 3 people injured in pileup on NYS Thruway in Warners, By on March 02, 2017 at 1:46 PM, updated March 02, 2017 at 4:38 PM
I Survived Because Of Stoughton
Congressman LaMalfa, a member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, “. . . introduced a bill Tuesday to repeal a 12 percent federal excise tax on heavy trucks originally designed to help pay the cost of fighting World War I a century ago.”
Would this tax savings cover all of the costs of comprehensive underride protection? Just sayin’. . . a Win/Win solution.
A Republican congressman from California introduced a bill Tuesday to repeal a 12 percent federal excise tax on heavy trucks originally designed to help pay the cost of fighting World War I a century ago.
The bill by Rep. Doug LaMalfa, H.R. 2946, called the Heavy Truck, Tractor and Trailer Retail Federal Excise Tax Repeal Act of 2017, now heads to the House Ways and Means Committee for review.
The tax “adds tens of thousands of dollars to truck purchases and directly impacts the cost of food, consumer goods and other products Americans need,” LaMalfa said. “Even worse, truck owners large and small pay this tax whether a truck is driven 100,000 miles or never driven at all, forcing them to pay taxes on an investment that may not be generating any revenue.” Bill Seeks to Repeal Federal Excise Tax on Heavy-Duty Trucks
Truck Underride 101: Part V. Bipartisan Discussion of Legislative Strategy
WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT? Because it is not necessarily always the collision of a passenger vehicle with a large truck which causes horrific deaths and injuries but rather the collision of the truck with the passenger occupant space in the SECOND COLLISION which occurs with truck underride. This is what we aim to end.
Becoming educated about underride was not a direction I had planned on going with my life and time. But I have gained a great deal of knowledge related to the fact that AnnaLeah’s and Mary’s deaths (and Roya’s, too, along with countless other individual loved ones) might have been prevented had adequate underride protection been on the truck, into which our sturdy Crown Vic crashed — along with the fact that many more countless, unknown individuals will die unless this country takes decisive action.
This information, along with my unresolved grief due to the frustration of knowing that years have gone by without effective protection, fuels my efforts to work collaboratively to bring about widespread and significant change. It is now my aim to equip everyone with the same information — without the accompanying unwanted grief.
It has actually been encouraging for Lois Durso and I to see the extent of interest from the trucking industry, NTSB, DOT, and Congressional leaders — including both the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee members and the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee members. And our meetings and discussions have included both Republican and Democratic Offices.
We have appreciated the degree of engagement in discussion and the enlightenment taking place as we share detailed information about the underride problem and its promising solutions. We are excited to see the needle moving as we continue to push for bipartisan collaboration to get a stand-alone bill introduced and passed in order to end this decades-old public health problem.
V. Bipartisan Discussion of Legislative Strategy
Legislative Process and Discussion Handouts: Bipartisan Discussion RAMCUP Handouts FOR RAMCUP Draft 15 with Cover (knowing that our draft will be fine-tuned to be the best legislative package to achieve our objective); See more information here: 2 Moms, Sick & Tired of Waiting, Draft Truck Underride Legislation 
Non-negotiables for RAMCUP:
a. Keep it comprehensive; don’t divide it up into separate bills or amendments or rulemaking.
b. Mandate the establishment of a committee to oversee underride protection (COUP) rulemaking (include at least two victim advocates).
c. Specific deadlines for rulemaking timeline (due to The Glacial Pace of Truck Underride Improvements (along with countless other safety issues) )
d. Research $ to determine the outer limits of underride protection.
e. Strongly encourage the development of a voluntary truck safety certification program to include certification of underride protection (COUP).
COUP/COUP: Upon reflection, it is my belief that the system for arriving at regulations has been working harder to protect the industry from liability than to protect road users from harm. Furthermore, this has led to a non-transparent process for arriving at appropriate and effective safety measures.
In stark contrast, the crafting of this bill, the Roya, AnnaLeah & Mary Comprehensive Underride Protection Act of 2017, was based upon extensive research and the gathering of experts and interested parties over the last four years,
· first of all, at the Underride Roundtable at IIHS on May 5, 2016;
· secondly, through a follow-up meeting at IIHS on June 24, 2016, to hammer out details of the Rear Underride Guard specifications then submitted to NHTSA on August 8, 2016, and IIHS Underride Test Protocol submitted to NHTSA on December 23, 2016;
· and third, through a continued discussion among engineering experts which led to the Comprehensive Underride Consensus Petition presented to Secretary Foxx on September 23, 2016 (see attached) — upon which this Bill is based.
These discussions involved trucking industry representatives, including Ted Scott, VP of Engineering for the American Trucking Associations (ATA), and Gary Fenton, who is VP of Engineering for Stoughton Trailers and Chairman of the Engineering Committee for the Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association (TTMA). Participants also have included engineering experts from universities, international experts in truck underride, and two engineers who have designed side guards which have
recently been successfully tested.
In my humble opinion, the interests of this country would best be served if this group would be formally recognized and commissioned to work with NHTSA and to develop the specifications for the final comprehensive underride protection rule. Why re-invent the wheel? Why delay the process any longer than necessary? Wasted time translates into more unnecessary death and life-long grief. AND
The COUP truck safety certification program (modeled after the Transport for London FORS) could also be integrated into the comprehensive underride protection vision/scenario/strategy/bill:
COUP (Certification Of Underride Protection). In order to get fully certified, a trucking company would have to get an award in each aspect of underride protection, including:
1. Rear (Already introduced by the IIHS with their recent presentation of a ToughGuard award to five trailer manufacturers)
2. Front
3. Side
4. Maintenance of underride devices (annual inspection and training in how to do pre-trip inspections of the devices)
5. Training for drivers in what to do and not do in terms of parking and U-turns
6. Other (whatever I am forgetting right now)
This would be required for ALL trucks, including Single Unit Trucks (Straight, Box).
I plan to add this aspect to the drafted bill, along with a mandate for establishment of a Committee of Experts to Oversee This.
FORS Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme: It is my recommendation that this comprehensive underride protection mandate work hand in hand with a truck safety certification program and I am taking steps to help the ball get rolling on this.
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Truck Underride 101: Discussion Topics |
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I. When Will We Tackle Truck Underride? Truck Underride 101: I. When Will We Tackle Truck Underride? |
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II. Why Comprehensive Underride Protection? Truck Underride 101: II. Why Comprehensive Underride Protection? |
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III. Cost Benefit Analysis, Underride Rulemaking, and Vision Zero Truck Underride 101: Part III. Cost Benefit Analysis, Underride Rulemaking, and Vision Zero |
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IV. Win/Win |
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V. Bipartisan Discussion of Legislative Strategy Truck Underride 101: Part V. Bipartisan Discussion of Legislative Strategy |
Becoming educated about underride was not a direction I had planned on going with my life and time. But I have gained a great deal of knowledge related to the fact that AnnaLeah’s and Mary’s deaths (and Roya’s, too, along with countless other individual loved ones) might have been prevented had adequate underride protection been on the truck, into which our sturdy Crown Vic crashed — along with the fact that many more countless, unknown individuals will die unless this country takes decisive action.
This information, along with my unresolved grief due to the frustration of knowing that years have gone by without effective protection, fuels my efforts to work collaboratively to bring about widespread and significant change. It is now my aim to equip everyone with the same information — without the accompanying unwanted grief.
When you think about it, this should really be a win/win situation. Here is Truck Underride 101: Part IV Win/Win.
IV. Win/Win
Job Creation Quite simply put, a mandate for comprehensive underride protection (which some members of the manufacturing industry have said would take the burden off of them to persuade their customers to install these safety features) would lead to a demand for equipment which would, in effect, create new jobs.
Fuel Savings/Super Truck Project:
Perfect Opportunity to Transform SuperTruck Into An ESV To Advance Underride Protection; DOT & DOE?/
Underride Protection: RETROFIT
A Question About FMCSA Monitoring & Enforcement of Underride Guards
(3) Trailer manufacturers shall provide Retrofit Kits, which meet the highest standard of underride protection. These shall be installed on trucks with rear underride guards. . . The TTMA shall be encouraged to provide a Generic Retrofit Kit.
Second Collision: Crash Avoidance/Underride Protection: What is a “Second Collision”? Read about it here: Second Collision and Underride Protection
BOTH/AND and opposing arguments: This post contains numerous links dealing with the issue of crash avoidance vs underride protection: Preventing deadly crashes doesn’t require Either crash avoidance Or underride guards but Both/And.
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Truck Underride 101: Discussion Topics |
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I. When Will We Tackle Truck Underride? Truck Underride 101: I. When Will We Tackle Truck Underride? |
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II. Why Comprehensive Underride Protection? Truck Underride 101: II. Why Comprehensive Underride Protection? |
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III. Cost Benefit Analysis, Underride Rulemaking, and Vision Zero Truck Underride 101: Part III. Cost Benefit Analysis, Underride Rulemaking, and Vision Zero |
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IV. Win/Win |
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V. Bipartisan Discussion of Legislative Strategy |
Becoming educated about underride was not a direction I had planned on going with my life and time. But I have gained a great deal of knowledge related to the fact that AnnaLeah’s and Mary’s deaths (and Roya’s, too, along with countless other individual loved ones) might have been prevented had adequate underride protection been on the truck, into which our sturdy Crown Vic crashed — along with the fact that many more countless, unknown individuals will die unless this country takes decisive action.
This information, along with my unresolved grief due to the frustration of knowing that years have gone by without effective protection, fuels my efforts to work collaboratively to bring about widespread and significant change. It is now my aim to equip everyone with the same information — without the accompanying unwanted grief.
The reason we are devoting our lives to pounding on this door and asking for change is that our daughters may have lost their lives due to the lack of a Vision Zero policy. A decision which concluded that recommended changes would not be cost effective—in other words, that it would supposedly cost more to implement safety measures than the lives saved would be worth—may have led to lax underride guard standards.
If the best possible protection had been pursued when the regulations were last updated (1996), the trucks on the road today (including the one on the road May 4, 2013) might be much safer to be driving around. Mary and AnnaLeah might even still be around.
So, here is Part III of Truck Underride 101.
III. Cost Benefit Analysis, Underride Rulemaking, and Vision Zero
Public Comments on Underrride Rulemaking & Cost/Benefit Analysis: Public Comments Re: Cost/Benefit Analysis in NHTSA Proposed Underride Rulemaking on Rear Guards for Tractor-Trailers & for Single Unit Trucks and Current NHTSA #Underride Rulemaking (Cost/Benefit Analysis): Summary of Public Comments and https://annaleahmary.com/2016/10/dot-omb-are-you-using-cea-or-cba-rulemaking-road-to-zero-requires-vision-zero-rulemaking/
Jerry Karth’s Public Comments on Underride Rulemaking: Comments on the NPRM for Rear Underride Guards on Trailers and Reflections from a bereaved dad on the Underride Roundtable & what that means for rulemaking
Underride Statistics
NHTSA Underride Statistics 1994-2014 Truck Underride Fatalities Chart from the FARS, 1994-2014
NHTSA Underride Statistics By TYPE (Front, Side, Rear): The side guard research has the potential to save 1,534 lives in the next ten years. (Per the NHTSA Truck Underride Statistics Chart, 1994-2014: Truck Underride Tragedies Need to End; Enough is enough! and https://annaleahmary.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Truck-Underride-Deaths-by-TYPE-1994-2014.pdf)
More recent statistics from IIHS (May 10, 2017): IIHS tests show benefits of side underride guards for semitrailers
The Future of Trucking: Who pays for the costs of safer roads?
I thought about all of this, on a recent trip “back home”, as I reflected on the plight of small trucking companies and independent owner-operator truck drivers. Are the costs of owning a company and the pressure to drive many miles creating a situation where they won’t be able to stay in business?
Frequently, I hear that changes of one kind or another in the trucking industry–in order to improve safety (i.e., reduce crashes, injuries and deaths)–will result in increased costs for the trucking companies. I hear that it will put them out of business.
Is this true? According to whom and based on what information? If it is true, then does something need to change in the trucking industry itself in order to allow for the beneficial work, which trucking provides, to continue but to also allow for truckers to make a decent living wage–without jeopardizing their health and the safety of travelers on the roads? . . . Read more here: The Future of Trucking; Who pays for the costs of safer roads?
Whose lives are you going to sacrifice? If decisive action is not taken to end these preventable deaths, then who should we hold responsible? Whose lives are we thereby choosing to sacrifice?
TTMA: Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association Reminds NHTSA Why Side Guards Are Not Cost Effective, May 18, 2016 post:
Yesterday morning, I checked my email and saw that there was a new Public Comment posted on the Federal Register regarding the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Underride Guards.
I quickly went to the site and saw that the Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association had posted a comment (see their comments in the PDFs below). Apparently our Underride Roundtable two weeks ago at IIHS has spurred them to spell out the steps which have been taken over the years to squash side guards from being mandated and manufactured to prevent smaller passenger vehicles from riding under trucks upon collision with the side of the larger vehicle.
TTMA_Side_Impact_Main_Comment_2016-05-13
TTMA_Side_impact_Exhibits_A-D_2016-05-13
Their rationale: Cost/Benefit Analysis shows that adding side guard to trucks is “not cost-effective”. From this post: Truck Trailer Manufacturers Ass’n “Reminds” NHTSA: Side Guards Are “Not Cost-Effective” Says Who?
I am encouraged by the closing paragraph of the TTMA letter to NHTSA:
TTMA would support the implementation of side guards if they ever become justified and technologically feasible. We continue to support the NHTSA review of Petitioners’ requests and stand ready to partner in the development of justified and feasible designs if they possibly emerge. Jeff Sims, President
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Truck Underride 101: Discussion Topics |
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I. When Will We Tackle Truck Underride? Truck Underride 101: I. When Will We Tackle Truck Underride? |
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II. Why Comprehensive Underride Protection? Truck Underride 101: II. Why Comprehensive Underride Protection? |
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III. Cost Benefit Analysis, Underride Rulemaking, and Vision Zero |
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IV. Win/Win |
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V. Bipartisan Discussion of Legislative Strategy |
Becoming educated about underride was not a direction I had planned on going with my life and time. But I have gained a great deal of knowledge related to the fact that AnnaLeah’s and Mary’s deaths (and Roya’s, too, along with countless other individual loved ones) might have been prevented had adequate underride protection been on the truck, into which our sturdy Crown Vic crashed — along with the fact that many more countless, unknown individuals will die unless this country takes decisive action.
This information, along with my unresolved grief due to the frustration of knowing that years have gone by without effective protection, fuels my efforts to work collaboratively to bring about widespread and significant change. It is now my aim to equip everyone with the same information — without the accompanying unwanted grief.
So, here is Part II of Truck Underride 101.
II. Why Comprehensive Underride Protection?
Why, you might ask, would we write a piece of legislation calling for a comprehensive underride protection rule? Why not have separate bills for side underride and rear underride and front underride and Single Unit Trucks (SUTs), et cetera?
I am convinced of the importance of this strategy and want to share some of my thoughts here.
RAM CUP: A DIFFERENT STRATEGY
TO ACHIEVE UNDERRIDE PROTECTION
For Such A Time As This
What can we discover from past attitudes or strategies to address underride deaths? Read more here: Why COMPREHENSIVE Underride Protection Legislation?
International Research and the Underride Roundtable: On May 5, 2016, over 65 representatives from the trucking industry, government, safety advocates, engineers, crash reconstructionists, attorneys, and media will be on hand at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Vehicle Research Center to discuss and demonstrate truck underride crashes.
In order to prepare for that, I am going to highlight some past and current underride research papers and efforts here. It will, of course, not cover everything and others are welcome to send additional information my way, which I would be more than happy to add to the list.
Although most of the research below will not appear as a presentation on the agenda, I am hopeful that the information will be considered by all as recommendations for underride protection are discussed and proposed.
I had actually wanted to put together a packet of this kind of information to hand out to participants. Then I thought that it might be more useful to provide it to a wider audience by posting it on our website. So here it is. . . Underride Roundtable To Consider Underride Research From Around the Globe
Knights of the Roundtable:
Rear Guard Consensus Specifications submitted to NHTSA: Underride Roundtable Led to Recommendations Submitted as a Consensus Public Comment to NHTSA, August 9, 2016
Comprehensive Underride Consensus Petition Letter to Secretary Foxx:
In fact, the development of a COMPREHENSIVE approach to taking care of the truck underride problem was probably first planted in my mind at the Underride Roundtable on May 5, 2016, with the suggestion of a member of the trucking industry.
Read about that here, including the subsequent actions that resulted in a Comprehensive Underride Consensus Petition which a group of us submitted to Secretary Foxx at DOT on September 23, 2016, and upon which the Roya, AnnaLeah & Mary Comprehensive Underride Protection Act of 2017 is based.
I. When Will We Tackle Truck Underride?
It’s past time for the industry, truck and trailer manufacturers and NHTSA to get together and establish tough standards for underride guards. We need guards that will withstand the impact of a spinning Crown Victoria like mine and prevent the deadly underride that killed my daughters.
There’s precedent for collaborative action. NHTSA and 20 automakers representing virtually every light vehicle sold in America reached an agreement to make life-saving automatic emergency braking a standard feature on new cars no later than late 2022. And that involves the implementation of advanced technology across tens of millions of vehicles.
The Underride Roundtable demonstrated that communication and collaboration are possible. IIHS has shown that manufacturers can make voluntary improvement, and J.B. Hunt has proved that trailer buyers are willing to purchase safer trucks.
Plenty of engineers say that installing robust underride protection on trucks would be easy. Read our latest petition to NHTSA. Let’s stop stalling on underride protection.
See more here: https://www.trucks.com/2016/0
ToughGuard Award from IIHS for improved rear underride guards: https://www.trucks.com/2
What will it take to convince US that side underride kills/side guards save?: https://annaleahmary.com
If people die from riding under SUTs, why aren’t they required to have underride protection?: http://annaleahma
Front Underride Protection: https://www.youtub
IIHS news release on side underride: http://www.iihs.org
Move Heaven & Earth: Now, it is understandable, amid the multitude of demands and the tyranny of the urgent, that—without a ready solution, in fact, one which would require time and money to develop—this problem has not been given much attention. But, if those who bear responsibility for making sure that this problem gets solved (one way or another) had lost two of their beloved children—or any other loved one—I can guarantee you that they would have moved heaven and earth to find a way to prevent underride.
What makes it even more distressing is that there are many individuals and organizations, who truly seem concerned about safety, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), and the trailer manufacturers. Yet, from what I can see, very little communication has taken place to move this problem forward from point A (guards that fail and result in death and/or horrific injuries) to Point B (coming up with a better design that will provide the best protection possible). . . Is cost truly not a factor? Is safety really a priority and not a competitive matter? Is it possible to improve the communication necessary to prevent more unnecessary deaths? Can we “sit down at the table together” and work this out?
posted by Marianne Karth, June 26, 2014 https://annaleahmary.com/2
And that is why I acted, with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety & the Truck Safety Coalition, to catalyze the coming together of 100 people at the Underride Roundtable at the IIHS Vehicle Research Center on May 5, 2016, 3 years after AnnaLeah & Mary were killed in a truck underride crash and am working with others to get the Second Underride Roundtable underway on August 29, 2017 — encouraging us all to work together collaboratively to solve this tragic but preventable public health problem.
After our horrific truck crash on May 4, 2013, I learned about truck rear underride guards; I had not heard of them before. Since that time, I have learned many more things about deadly underride and how to prevent it.
Becoming educated about underride was not a direction I had planned on going with my life and time. But I have gained a great deal of knowledge related to the fact that AnnaLeah’s and Mary’s deaths (and Roya’s, too, along with countless other individual loved ones) might have been prevented had adequate underride protection been on the truck, into which our sturdy Crown Vic crashed — along with the fact that many more countless, unknown individuals will die unless this country takes decisive action.
This information, along with my unresolved grief due to the frustration of knowing that years have gone by without effective protection, fuels my efforts to work collaboratively to bring about widespread and significant change. It is now my aim to equip everyone with the same information — without the accompanying unwanted grief.
In the coming days, I will be emailing pieces of information — one at a time (see chart below) — about truck underride to Congress and trucking industry associations. I will also be posting it. Some of it you may already know; some of it may be new to you.
As I have stated before, it is my hope that, now that we have become aware of the tragic but preventable truck underride problem, we will work together swiftly to take decisive action to make sure that trucks are equipped with effective equipment to protect vulnerable road users –pedestrians, bicyclists, and passenger vehicles — from going under the trucks.
My vision is that people will be able to someday drive the roads of this country no longer fearful of riding under a truck, should we be so unfortunate as to collide with one, because they will all be equipped with the best possible underride protection.
Truck Underride 101: Discussion Topics
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Underride Discussion Topic/Title |
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I. When Will We Tackle Truck Underride?
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II. Why Comprehensive Underride Protection?
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III. Cost Benefit Analysis, Underride Rulemaking, and Vision Zero
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IV. Win/Win
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V. Bipartisan Discussion of Legislative Strategy
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Youtube videos |
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Memes |
2 Moms are returning to DC with a week full of meetings on The Hill — including meetings with 13 House Transportation Committee Member Offices. Then, on Thursday, June 15, Lois Durso and I will be hosting a Capitol Hill Briefing on the Roya, AnnaLeah & Mary Comprehensive Underride Protection Act of 2017 (RAMCUP) from 9 a.m. to noon. Our goal is to get Congress on board with the importance of this doable plan to end preventable truck underride tragedies.
How You Can Help: We will be providing refreshments to those attending the Briefing and would appreciate donations (not tax deductible) to help us cover the costs. If you can help in this way, please email me at marianne@annaleahmary.com or PM me.
We will be grateful for any amount. This problem is not going away. . . I just heard about another underride crash in Tennessee this week (http://tinyurl.com/y8m57t9f).
2 Moms Collaborate With Innovative & Insightful Truck Industry Leaders
2 Moms Share Their Safer Truck Message in Hallways & Hearings on The Hill
2 Moms, Sick & Tired of Waiting, Draft Truck Underride Legislation
