The FMCSA and the Institute for Transportation Research & Education at North Carolina State co-hosted of the Commercial Motor Vehicle 2026 Safety Summit in Raleigh, North Carolina August 10-11, 2026. The organizers invited AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety (ALMFTS) to arrange an underride crash testing demonstration by Aaron Kiefer (Collision Safety Consulting) and a volunteer TEAM Underride Crash Test Crew — as part of the Technology Showcase held at the NC State Highway Patrol training facility on August 11.
Educational resources available to participants at the STOP Underrides/Collision Safety Consulting booth in the Exhibit Hall and the Technology Showcase are provided here digitally:
Here is Video Footage from the Crash Tests:
- Crash test into the side of a trailer WITH a side impact/underride guard at 39 mph
- Crash test into the side of a trailer WITHOUT a side impact/underride guard at 40 mph
Media Coverage:
- A deadly gap under semis: Advocates say a simple truck guard could prevent deadly underride crashes, 11Alive, Georgia
- NHTSA Administrator Sees Raleigh Underride Crash Test, Raleigh News&Observer
We know this unique opportunity to showcase the technical feasibility of underride protection could not have been accomplished without the commitment to safety evidenced by so many people. We are grateful to the individuals and organizations whose donations made this demonstration of life-saving technology possible — including gifts given in memory of several underride victims, as well as an engineer who made significant contributions to underride research. Additionally, we are thankful to the 25 members of the TEAM Underride Crash Test Crew, who volunteered their time and skills from around the country, as well as the help and resources from the NC State Highway Patrol, AWP Safety, and the Garner Fire Department.
Recent Relevant Research Reports & Recommendations on Side Underride Guards:
- Eric Hein, a retired federal scientist, published a double-blind, peer-reviewed cost benefit analysis study in the Journal of Progress in Safety & Security on May 15, 2026, titled, Cost-benefit analysis of side underride guards for new semitrailers in the United States.
- Side Underrride CBA Policy Brief
- Side Underride Hidden Legal Costs
- Hein referenced his study in a recent opinion piece published on June 4 in The Hill, Federal regulators know exactly how to prevent side underride deaths. Hein concludes with a reminder and recommendation to Congress regarding its role in ending preventable underride tragedies.
- Then Hein wrote an opinion piece published in the Insurance Thought Leadership on August 5, 2026. This is what he said about it, I’ve spent years showing how side underride guards save lives. Here’s the insurance perspective. Preventing catastrophic crashes could also reduce catastrophic losses. Side Underride Guards on Trucks Prevent Deaths
Crash Test Into Side of a Trailer with a Side Guard 2026 Crash testing, of a car colliding with the side of a tractor trailer — equipped with a Side Underride Guard — at 39 mph as part of the 2026 CMV Safety Summit in Raleigh, was live streamed on Facebook by a member of the crash test crew from a spectator viewpoint on a hill above the crash course. The windshield was cracked, but the truck did not go past the windshield into the occupant survival space.
Crash Test Into Side of Trailer — No Side Guard 2026 (livestreamed on Facebook) Crash testing, of a car colliding with the side of a tractor trailer at 40 mph as part of the 2026 CMV Safety Summit in Raleigh, was live streamed on Facebook by a member of the crash test crew from a spectator viewpoint on a hill above the crash course. The driver and a front seat passenger would not have survived.
