Fifty-one years ago, on March 19, 1969, (I learned in 2016) the US DOT was recorded as saying that they intended “after technical studies have been completed, to extend the requirement for underride protection to the sides of large vehicles.”
They have not done so (even though it has been proven possible & technicalstudies have been done) — just like they have not mandated rear guards to be stronger or front guards to be installed.
On March 19, 1969, I was thirteen years old. Little did I know about what they had said or that in 8 years I would get married on March 19, 1977 (43 years ago today), that in the ensuing years I would bear nine children, teach them at home, raise most of them to adulthood, and bury two of them due to preventable Death By Underride.
In November 2017, Lois Durso and I were privileged to meet the inventor of this design –Wabash engineer, Rod Ehrlich — along with his son Mark Ehrlich, who have been a vital part of this important research. Rod died in October 2018, after a long career of useful contributions to the trailer industry — including more than 60 patents, and most recently a side underride guard patent.
Wabash National continues their side underride protection R&D, as evidenced by a side underride guard patent filed on April 17, 2018, and issued on February 4, 2020. The prototype was introduced in a September 2017 commercial vehicle show in Atlanta.
“A side underride system configured to be coupled to a trailer may comprise a first skirt wall coupled to the trailer, positioned below a first side wall of the trailer, and extending along a first length of the trailer between a skirt wall front end and a skirt wall rear end and a cable system including a first cable coupled to the trailer, positioned below the first side wall, and extending along a second length of the trailer between a cable system front end and a cable system rear end, the skirt wall rear end being positioned forward of the cable system rear end.”https://patents.justia.com/patent/10549797
In fact, we were able to see a successful crash test of his design. As evidenced by Rod’s work, along with that of many other engineers, this country has the talent to bring about effective solutions to deadly underride. Unfortunately, the lack of a mandate is holding the trucking industry back from moving forward with tangible action to once and for all get it on the road.
Let’s grab the baton from Rod’s legacy. Surely we can put our heads together and reach the finish line in the long-standing pursuit of that elusive goal: underride protection on the sides of all large trucksso that we might save lives and prevent horrific injuries.
Lois Durso-Hawkins, Atlanta TMC Conference, March 2018 Wabash side impact guard prototype, March 2018, Atlanta TMC Conference
Members of the trucking industry have expressed concern about potential operational issues which might occur with long-term use of the AngelWing side guards. Last week, we received an email with feedback from Glen Berry, COO of Thomas Transport Delivery, Inc., a transport company which installed the AngelWing side guards, in August 2017, on one of their trailers which goes back and forth between Ohio and Texas every week.
Marianne/Andy,
As requested…We now have 305,000 miles of Angel Wing use. There has not been a single issue with the structural integrity of the trailer since its installation. My initial concerns, of the Angel Wing System making the trailer frame rails excessively rigid, have dissipated. Because of the bracing structures design characteristics being very stout, to serve their purpose of course, I was worried they may cause frame rail stress, resulting in cracks or other compromises. This has not been the case. Again, I have had zero issues. I am very happy to inform everyone involved…The Angel Wing Test has been an outstanding safety project to be a part of.
Thank you.
Glen Berry
Update on January 28, 2021: Here is an August 12, 2020 Public Comment to NHTSA related to operational & cost issues of underride protection.
Here’s another happy owner of an AngelWing side guard system:
Here’s a crash test of a car into the side of a flatbed trailer at 47.2 mph:
Regarding cost of production of AngelWing: Not all 11 million trailers would require side or rear guards based on their height relative to the ground, and many trailers are wheels-back trailers (see page below). And using a $2,900 price for a single aftermarket guard is clearly not where the price would end up. If a 13,000 lb trailer sells for no more than $30k or $2.3/lb then a side guard is gonna end up an absolute max of $1,300, but likely way less due to its simplicity relative the rest of the trailer. I have designs and costs estimates from trailer makers showing it would be far less. (Perry Ponder, email, 9/18/2019)
AngelWing installed on a flatbed trailer:
Strick Trailers was motivated briefly to design side guards for their trailers after the Maravilla verdict back in ’00. Anyway this 700ish pound side guard was estimated to cost them $328 materials and labor to make at that time. A straight inflation conversion takes that to $450 in 2019 dollars… (Perry Ponder, email, 9/18/2019)
Remember the UVW study about length of trailer, wheelbase length and the height of trailer’s lower edge. It showed that a trailer would have to be much lower than the AW makes it to hang up on in-spec RR crossings and driveway transitions (see diagram below from that study). But the RR crossing argument is another red herring. Google “semi trailer hits overpass” and you’ll see more instances of the height of a trailer causing problems than low trailers at RR crossings…is anyone in the industry arguing for lowered trailer roofs? (Perry Ponder, email, 10/16/18)
Backing a trailer with the SafetySkirt side guard across a raised median:
Update on January 28, 2021: August 12, 2020 Public Comment to NHTSA related to operational & cost issues of underride protection.
Are you aware that AngelWing was successfully tested when a mid-size car was crashed into the side of a tractor trailer at both 35 and 40 MPH at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety with no Passenger Compartment Intrusion?
Are you aware that DOT administrators were invited to view crash testing of side guards less than a mile from the D.C. DOT Offices on March 26, 2019? (at least one FMCSA official attended)
Are you aware that AngelWing has been in commercial use for over 8 years?
Are you aware that AngelWing has over 800,000 miles in commercial use on the U.S. highways?
Are you aware that AngelWing has been durability tested?
Are you aware that AngelWing has shown no operational issues (such as loading docks and railroad crossings)?
Are you aware that AngelWing has shown no stress or damage on the trailer frame?
Are you aware that AngelWing is being commercially used and one route is from Cleveland, Ohio to San Antonio, Texas round trip every week over 3,000 miles per week without any issues — since August 2017?
Are you aware that AngelWing and a side skirt increase MPG for a tractor trailer?
Indiana State Police say 32-year-old Ashley Williams, of Marshall, Illinois was killed in a Sunday afternoon crash on Interstate 70.
According to troopers, a semi tractor-trailer driven by 54-year-old Sergiy S. Shadrin, 54, of Newmarket, Ontario, was traveling westbound on Interstate 70 in the driving lane near the state line with its hazard lights activated because of slow traffic. Shadrin told police he felt an impact in the rear of his semi and immediately stopped.
According to police, a 2011 Jeep driven by Williams was traveling westbound in the driving lane directly behind the semi tractor-trailer and failed to observe slowed traffic, running into the rear of Shadrin’s semi-tractor trailer. Williams died from her injuries at the scene.
See more underride tragedies at Underride Crash Memorials and #STOPunderrides. To add more information on this story or to add other underride crashes to be remembered, send an email to underridemap@gmail.com. Please use this Interactive Underride Crash Map Crash Location Input Form to provide us with accurate information . (Note: the map is currently not online; but we would keep the information for future updating.)
Note: In order to raise awareness and preserve the memories of underride victims — precious ones gone too soon — I have been writing memorial posts on what appear to me to be underride crashes. I am not a crash reconstructionist, and I do not have all the facts on these crashes; but underride should be investigated as a potential factor in truck crash injuries and deaths.
We learned that the Illinois woman who was killed in a semi versus vehicle accident this morning on Route 1 in Marshall was a Lincoln Trail College student and member of the softball team. . .
According to the Illinois State Police 20 year old Audria Truelove, of Martinsville, Illinois was traveling behind a semi-truck driven by 39 year old Rahshawn Jordan of Maryland.
When Jordan slowed down due to feeling ill, ISP says Truelove did not slow down and struck the back of the trailer, causing the fatal accident.
See more underride tragedies at Underride Crash Memorials and #STOPunderrides. To add more information on this story or to add other underride crashes to be remembered, send an email to underridemap@gmail.com. Please use this Interactive Underride Crash Map Crash Location Input Form to provide us with accurate information . (Note: the map is currently not online; but we would keep the information for future updating.)
Note: In order to raise awareness and preserve the memories of underride victims — precious ones gone too soon — I have been writing memorial posts on what appear to me to be underride crashes. I am not a crash reconstructionist, and I do not have all the facts on these crashes; but underride should be investigated as a potential factor in truck crash injuries and deaths.
What is DOT going to do about deadly truck underride? That is the question.
On February 27, 2020, at an Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing on DOT’s 2021 Budget Request, Congressman David Price (D-NC) asked Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao about DOT’s plans to address the GAO truck underride recommendations. Here’s her reply:
“We actually just talked about this just yesterday. So this is a priority. We understand it. We do have a timeline & we want to get that to you.” @SecElaineChao
I’m looking forward to seeing DOT’s timeline for addressing GAO Truck Underride Recommendations. I’m hoping that it will reflect a decision to make underride a priority. After all, rear underride regulations have not been updated since 1996, we’ve been waiting for DOT to act on side underride regulations for fifty-one years, and there’s been radio silence on front underride/override.
And it may well be more as underride deaths are vastly undercounted.
Underride can happen to anyone at any time anywhere.
