Families of underride victims gathered on September 14, 2023, in front of the U.S. Department of Transportation at 1200 New Jersey Ave SE in Washington, DC — with crash test cars from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety 2017 side underride research in the background — to remember loved ones, who lost their lives due to truck underride. The families rang a commemorative bell for over 750 victims, primarily from the last few years, and called upon the Department to re-evaluate publicly available data, end their decades of inaction, and issue strong underride regulations.
Their message was this: Delay = Death.
The names, included in this solemn event, were taken from a combination of sources, including victims from families known to me and memorial posts on this website. 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, from daily Google Alerts which I receive on truck 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.
This is not an exhaustive list — merely the tip of the iceberg. But I hope that it serves to demonstrate the ongoing nature of a preventable public safety problem. You can find these Underride Crash Memorial posts here. The 750+ victims of preventable truck underride (front, side, and rear, involving tractor-trailers and Single Unit Trucks, as well as pedestrians and cyclists), whom we specifically remembered on September 14, can be found here:
Names & Photos of Underride Victims Part 1 – The Tip of the Iceberg
Names & Photos of Underride Victims PART 2 – The Tip of the Iceberg
Names & Photos of Underride Victims PART 3 – The Tip of the Iceberg
Media Coverage of DC Underride Victim Vigil & Press Conference
Well done!
Thank you on behalf of all of us concerned with stopping needless tragedies!