For several years before our underride crash, the IIHS had been doing crash testing into rear underride guards on trailers from eight major trailer manufacturers. Their research showed that even though these guards were designed to meet the current federal standard, they were too weak and failed to stop cars from going under upon collision.
We are grateful that seven of those manufacturers have designed improved rear guards as confirmed by crash testing at the IIHS Vehicle Research Center at 35 mph — receiving a TOUGHGUARD Award for their efforts. Here is an example of one of those seven:
While we are thankful, we know that the work isn’t over yet. Still needed:
- The eighth manufacturer, Strick Trailers, will have their newly-designed rear underride guard tested on July 10.
- Research is needed to demonstrate whether these improved guards are also successful at speeds higher than 35 mph. (We know that a guard developed by an aluminum extrusions company has been tested successfully at 40 mph and perhaps higher.)
- Some manufacturers are selling these improved rear guards as Standard on all new trailers, while others are actually selling them as an Option (thus weak guards are still being sold and going on the road). Can you believe it?!
- As the bill indicates, there are still millions of trucks on the road which will be hazardous to drive around until they are retrofitted with effective underride protection. For example, I bet that the trailer with which we collided is still on the road and likely still has a weak rear underride guard and so could kill someone else.
Stoughton Underride Guard Earns Kudos from Crash Survivor, Insurance Institute
Stoughton’s improved rear guard was successfully crash tested at 35 mph at the first Underride Roundtable at the IIHS on May 5, 2016 (3 years after our crash). They were the fourth manufacturer to do so (preceded by Manac, Vanguard, and Wabash — and later followed by Great Dane, Utility, and Hyundai):
Stoughton® Trailers New Rear Underride Guard Lauded Important for Safety
