Monthly Archives: November 2021

In Memory of Kiley Strange & Crystal Carter (November 2, 2021)

The victims have been identified as Kiley Strange of Florida and Crystal Carter of North Carolina, according to the coroner’s office.

Arrest warrants state Carter was the front seat passenger and Stranger was the back seat passenger of a white Dodge Dakota that crashed into the back of a tractor-trailer a few miles east of Thomson. Names given for 2 who died in I-20 crash near Thomson

Because the bottom of a truck is higher than the bumper of passenger vehicles, when there is a collision the smaller vehicle easily slides under the truck and the first point of impact is the windshield. Seatbelts, airbags, and car crumple zones do not function as intended in underride crashes —frontside, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.

Kiley Strange & Crystal Carter, Precious Ones Gone Too Soon

See Underride Crash Memorials posted here and at #STOPunderrides Tweets. To add photos or 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 and to aid in underride advocacy efforts.)

Support improving Underride Protection on trailers: Contact your legislators with this User-Friendly TAKE ACTION online tool.

How You Can Help

Please sign this petition: Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underrides.

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.

Thoughts on Landmark Underride Legislation

The video below may be meaningless to you. But the November 5 vote in the U.S. House on the Infrastructure Bill represents over 8 years of hard work and dedication. It symbolizes the answer to many prayers and petitions to bring to this nation the end of Death by Underride on the nation’s highways.

The historic inclusion of #underride provisions in this legislation is a major step forward in the long “fight” to end death by underride. We are thankful for the support and prayers which have lifted us up from far too many people to list here.  But we want you to know that we thank you all very much.

It is notably significant that part of the Infrastructure Bill that was passed on 11/5/2021, as shown above, is the part not mentioned in the news concerning safety items included in the bill.

Underride Section of the Infrastructure Bill of 2021

“(4) UNDERRIDE CRASH.—The term ‘‘underride  crash’’ means a crash in which a trailer or semitrailer intrudes into the passenger compartment  of a passenger motor vehicle.”

The bill includes the following provisions:

  • A mandate for the USDOT to upgrade the 1996 federal standard for rear underride guards so that all new trailers must “be equipped with rear impact guards that are designed to prevent passenger compartment intrusion from a trailer.” (rear crash test video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VucNLZIsIU)
  • The bill also calls for: “ADDITIONAL RESEARCH.—The Secretary  shall conduct additional research on the design and development of rear impact guards that can—(A) prevent underride crashes in cases in which the passenger motor vehicle is traveling at speeds of up to 65 miles per hour; and (B) protect passengers in passenger motor vehicles against severe injury in crashes in which the passenger motor vehicle is traveling at speeds of up to 65 miles per hour.”
  • The bill requires that DOT revise the regulations relating to minimum periodic inspection standards, so that underride protection is included in commercial motor vehicle annual inspections.
  • It also requires action on side underride, that is, “SIDE UNDERRIDE GUARDS.—   IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after  the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary  shall—  (A) complete additional research on side underride guards to better understand the overall effectiveness of side underride guards; . . . (D) if warranted, develop performance standards for side underride guards.” (Side guard crash test video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh-_KNKeYz4)
  • “The Secretary shall establish an Advisory Committee on Underride Protection to provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary on safety regulations to reduce underride crashes and fatalities relating to underride crashes.”

In addition to this historic federal underride legislation, we are awaiting a response to our September 2021 Petition for a Safety Recall of trailers without side guards. The American Association for Justice (AAJ) supports our petition to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to recall semitrailers due to lack of side underride guards. We received a letter of support from AAJ on October 25, 2021:

AAJ Letter of Support – Trailer Safety Recall Petition

Of particular significance is this statement in the AAJ letter to Secretary Buttigieg:

“Van-type and box semi trailers vehicles that do not have underride guards are defective in design, under the statutory definition of defect, because they are missing the critical safety feature of the side underride guard. NHTSA is well within its authority to issue a recall on this critical design defect, that clearly poses an unreasonable risk to highway safety.

Meanwhile, we have been assured by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation that they are taking this petition into serious consideration and will shortly be posting our petition online. We expect that there will then be an opportunity for anyone to submit a Public Comment on this petition.

All of this has been possible because of your prayers and support. THANK YOU.

Regards,

Jerry Karth

Perry Ponder (AngelWing inventor) & Jerry Karth at the Second Underride Roundtable

“The victory is ours but the battle is the LORD’s.“

In Memory of Blake Burrows (November 3, 2021)

Blake Burrows, 27, of Manchester, was killed when the car he was driving crashed into a tractor-trailer while driving westbound on Interstate 84 around 8 p.m. Wednesday evening. State police seeking witnesses in fatal East Hartford crash

Because the bottom of a truck is higher than the bumper of passenger vehicles, when there is a collision the smaller vehicle easily slides under the truck and the first point of impact is the windshield. Seatbelts, airbags, and car crumple zones do not function as intended in underride crashes —frontside, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.

Blake Burrows, Precious One Gone Too Soon

See Underride Crash Memorials posted here and at #STOPunderrides Tweets. To add photos or 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 and to aid in underride advocacy efforts.)

Support improving Underride Protection on trailers: Contact your legislators with this User-Friendly TAKE ACTION online tool.

How You Can Help

Please sign this petition: Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underrides.

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.

In Memory of Brenna McClaran (October 29, 2021)

33-year-old Brenna McClaran was driving on Highway 19 six miles north of Canton around 2 p.m.

Investigators say that McClaran “illegally passed another vehicle on the improved shoulder.” She then lost control of her 2016 Toyota Corolla, traveled across the centerline, and was struck by a truck tractor that was towing a semi-trailer.

McClaran was pronounced dead at the scene. Arlington woman killed in East Texas crash Friday afternoon

Because the bottom of a truck is higher than the bumper of passenger vehicles, when there is a collision the smaller vehicle easily slides under the truck and the first point of impact is the windshield. Seatbelts, airbags, and car crumple zones do not function as intended in underride crashes —frontside, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.

Brenna McClaran, Precious One Gone Too Soon

See Underride Crash Memorials posted here and at #STOPunderrides Tweets. To add photos or 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 and to aid in underride advocacy efforts.)

Support improving Underride Protection on trailers: Contact your legislators with this User-Friendly TAKE ACTION online tool.

How You Can Help

Please sign this petition: Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underrides.

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.