All posts by Marianne

In Memory of Laffette Battle (May 24, 2024)

Underride Crash Map, , , ,

A car on Sellards Road veered into the opposite lane near Clodius Road in rural Benton County, according to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.

The car hit a semi truck traveling west about 9:30 p.m.

One occupant of the car, Laffette T. Battle, 53, of Federal Way, Wash., died in the crash, said Dennis Morris, Benton County chief deputy coroner. Information was not immediately available about whether he or the second person in the car, who was taken to a hospital, was the driver. 1 man dies, another person hurt in crash with semi in rural Benton County

Benton County Sheriff’s Office said one person is dead after a head-on semi truck crash. . . One dead after head-on semi truck crash in Benton County

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 —front, side, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.

Laffette Battle, 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.)

How You Can Help

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

Please sign this petition: Secretary Pete, It’s Past Time To End Death By Underride!

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 could potentially 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 are asking that people send us crash reports for collisions with trucks which they suspect involved underride. Send them to marianne@annaleahmary.com. We will submit these as complaints to USDOT. Read more here: Launching a Campaign To Flood NHTSA With Underride Complaint Reports.

In Memory of Michelle Yaeger, Natalie & Kenzi Brooks (May 24, 2024)

Underride Crash Map, , , ,

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports 45-year-old Michelle C. Yaeger and her two daughters, ages 8 and 10, were traveling in a GMC Yukon when the crash happened around 7:35 a.m. Friday at the point where traffic from Interstate 55 merges onto northbound Interstate 270 in South County.

Michelle Yaeger and her 8-year-old daughter, Kenzi, were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. Her 10-year-old daughter, Natalie, was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 8:40 a.m. . .

The highway patrol says the crash happened when Michelle Yaeger’s Yukon traveled off the left side of the exit ramp and into the rear of a tractor-trailer parked in the area where the two roadways merge. A fire started due to the crash. Family remembers mother, 2 daughters ‘taken from us too soon’ in car 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 —front, side, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.

Retrofit Solutions for Rear Impact Guards to Prevent Deadly Underride

Michelle Yaeger, Natalie & Kenzi Brooks, Precious Ones Gone Too Soon

AMERICA’S DANGEROUS TRUCKS (PBS/Frontline Underride Documentary)

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.)

How You Can Help

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

Please sign this petition: Secretary Pete, It’s Past Time To End Death By Underride!

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 could potentially 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 are asking that people send us crash reports for collisions with trucks which they suspect involved underride. Send them to marianne@annaleahmary.com. We will submit these as complaints to USDOT. Read more here: Launching a Campaign To Flood NHTSA With Underride Complaint Reports.

In Memory of Przemyslaw Kania (May 26, 2024)

Underride Crash Map, , , ,

According to the Wisconsin State Patrol around 3:40 p.m. a semi truck was on I-94 near mile marker 87 near Osseo heading eastbound when it had a flat tire and was pulled on the shoulder.

A SUV traveling on the interstate then rear-ended the semi-trailer. 

The driver, who was identified as Przemyslaw Kania, 39, of Chicago, died in the collision. UPDATE: Authorities name victim in fatal crash on I-94 near Osseo

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 —front, side, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.

Retrofit Solutions for Rear Impact Guards to Prevent Deadly Underride

Przemyslaw Kania, Precious One Gone Too Soon

AMERICA’S DANGEROUS TRUCKS (PBS/Frontline Underride Documentary)

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.)

How You Can Help

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

Please sign this petition: Secretary Pete, It’s Past Time To End Death By Underride!

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 could potentially 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 are asking that people send us crash reports for collisions with trucks which they suspect involved underride. Send them to marianne@annaleahmary.com. We will submit these as complaints to USDOT. Read more here: Launching a Campaign To Flood NHTSA With Underride Complaint Reports.

In Memory of Bruce Sonday (May 9, 2024)

Underride Crash Map, , , ,

The Kansas Highway Patrol says 52-year-old Bruce Sonday was driving eastbound on GG road in a 2016 F550 pulling a farm tractor at 10:35 a.m. Thursday.

The crash log says Sonday collided in the intersection with a semi-trailer after failing to yield the right of way to the vehicle. Man dies, another seriously injured in western Kansas semi-truck 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 —front, side, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.

Bruce Sonday, Precious One Gone Too Soon

AMERICA’S DANGEROUS TRUCKS (PBS/Frontline Underride Documentary)

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.)

How You Can Help

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

Please sign this petition: Secretary Pete, It’s Past Time To End Death By Underride!

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 could potentially 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 are asking that people send us crash reports for collisions with trucks which they suspect involved underride. Send them to marianne@annaleahmary.com. We will submit these as complaints to USDOT. Read more here: Launching a Campaign To Flood NHTSA With Underride Complaint Reports.

In Memory of Karelys Almeda Sola (May 10, 2024)

Underride Crash Map, , , ,

The semi-truck trailer was attempting to turn left on State Highway 195 with its trailer blocking the northbound turn-lane and inside lanes, police say.

During this, police say a black Nissan sedan driving northbound in the inside lane hit the back-left of the trailer.

The driver of the sedan, identified as 30-year-old Karelys Almeda Sola, was taken to Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.

Sola would later succumb to her injuries and was pronounced dead at 6:49 a.m., according to police. Killeen police investigating fatal crash on State Highway 195

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 —front, side, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.

Karelys Almeda Sola, Precious One Gone Too Soon

AMERICA’S DANGEROUS TRUCKS (PBS/Frontline Underride Documentary)

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.)

How You Can Help

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

Please sign this petition: Secretary Pete, It’s Past Time To End Death By Underride!

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 could potentially 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 are asking that people send us crash reports for collisions with trucks which they suspect involved underride. Send them to marianne@annaleahmary.com. We will submit these as complaints to USDOT. Read more here: Launching a Campaign To Flood NHTSA With Underride Complaint Reports.

Advisory Committee on Underride Protection, April 24 Meeting Video Playlist

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , ,

The NHTSA Advisory Committee on Underride Protection (ACUP) held its fifth meeting on April 24, 2024, via Zoom. The main agenda items were side and front underride. Presentations and discussions from the meeting can be viewed by using the YouTube video playlist link here.

The next (and last currently scheduled) ACUP meeting will be held via Zoom on May 22, 2024. The ACUP’s two-year charter is due to expire by the end of June.

DOT Victim & Survivor Advocate Act Introduced To Give Victims A Voice

AnnaLeah and Mary, Safety Advocacy, , , , , , ,

On average, 42,075 people die on our roads every year, while 170,280 people are injured. Industry opposition. Regulatory capture. A lack of a sense of urgency or personal responsibility. These and other factors occur simultaneously — resulting in Too Little being done Too Late to prevent an unimaginable number of irreversible tragedies for those people and their loved ones.

It’s time to give vulnerable victims of vehicle violence a vigilant voice at the table. It’s time for a National Roadway Safety Advocate to serve the public’s best interests at the Department of Transportation. That’s why Senator Ben Ray Lujan (on May 9, 2024), and Congressman Steve Cohen (on May 10, 2024) introduced the DOT Victim & Survivor Advocate Act of 2024 — as a first step to provide safety advocates with a tangible means of bringing about meaningful change in a timely manner.

Find out more here:

You can help make this happen:

Hear Families Share Victim Stories — It’s time for a National Roadway Safety Advocate!

Senior Agency Officials Suppressed Side Guard Research — Impacting Regulatory Analysis

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , , , , ,

All road users are vulnerable to deadly collisions with large trucks. Truck underride guards can reduce the severity of injuries which occur when a passenger vehicle, pedestrian, bicyclist, or motorcyclist goes under a truck.

Advocate efforts to bring about federal underride regulations have been blocked for decades. Recent testimony from a whistleblower revealed that senior agency officials suppressed vital research — hiding the fact that side underride guards would be cost-effective. Key documents are provided here:

  • A slide presentation by Mr. Kwan to safety advocates and researchers on April 22, 2024, explaining the suppressed research — pdf and video;
  • Exhibit A — the Statement of Work for contract number SA9PAI. FMCSA contracted with the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center for these deliverables to fulfill the research project entitled, Truck Side Guards to Reduce Vulnerable Road User Fatalities; 
  • Exhibit B — The Suppressed Research – Truck Side Guards and Skirts to Reduce Vulnerable Road User Fatalities: Final Report on Net Benefits and Recommendations, the final report received from the Volpe Center, meeting all the requirements of the Statement of Work. Among other things, this final report found that it was cost effective to require tractor-trailers and single-unit trucks to be equipped with lifesaving side impact guards. The cost-benefit analysis and most of the rest of this final report were suppressed from the published report by U.S. DOT; and 
  • Exhibit C — email communications obtained through the Freedom of Information Act which document that meetings and discussions concerning the Volpe Center report occurred among senior officials at DOT, NHTSA, and FMCSA in 2019 and 2020 without Mr. Kwan’s participation.

Sign this PETITION:

If this suppression of research goes unchecked, people will continue to be killed senselessly from preventable Death By Underride. Tell President Biden to take immediate action in order to undo the damage done by this misrepresentation of the costs and benefits of truck underride protection:

  1. Direct the Secretary of Transportation to withdraw the erroneous Side Impact Guard rulemaking and then do it right in a new one by counting all preventable deaths as a benefit to society;
  2. Appoint a Presidential Advisory Committee on Integrity of Underride Research to review and ensure the scientific integrity of all underride-related research and rulemaking; and
  3. Establish the Office of National Roadway Safety Advocate in the Office of the Secretary of Transportation proposed by members of Congress.
  4. Amend the July 2022 Rear Impact Guard Rule – bring it up to the TOUGHGUARD strength, as directed by Congress (Appropriations).

Can we expect the Department to adhere to its scientific integrity policy published in January 2024, or is it simply meaningless rhetoric?

Require that agency officials, including public affairs officers, shall neither ask nor direct nor
suggest that agency scientists and technology experts alter the presentation of their
scientific findings in a manner that may compromise the objectivity or accurate
representation of those findings. Scientific Integrity Policy of the United States Department of Transportation, p.11

Can we count on them to mend the broken trust and act with a sense of urgency to fulfill their mission to reduce roadway deaths and injuries?

Media Coverage

In Memory of Eric Diaz (April 28, 2024)

Underride Crash Map, , , ,

According to reports from the Kansas Highway Patrol, a 2021 Jeep Gladiator with Florida license plates drove in the opposite direction of traffic — southbound on the interstate’s northbound lanes — and hit a tractor-trailer head-on.

KHP said the driver of the Jeep, 27-year-old Mathew Karabas from Monroe, New Jersey, was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, while the passenger, 22-year-old Eric Diaz from Melbourne, Florida, was killed in the crash. 1 dead, 1 seriously injured after I-35 head-on crash with semi in KCK

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 —front, side, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.

Eric Diaz, Precious One Gone Too Soon

Major truck manufacturers have Front Underride Protection designs which can work on American trucks.

AMERICA’S DANGEROUS TRUCKS (PBS/Frontline Underride Documentary)

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.)

How You Can Help

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

Please sign this petition: Secretary Pete, It’s Past Time To End Death By Underride!

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 could potentially 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 are asking that people send us crash reports for collisions with trucks which they suspect involved underride. Send them to marianne@annaleahmary.com. We will submit these as complaints to USDOT. Read more here: Launching a Campaign To Flood NHTSA With Underride Complaint Reports.

In Memory of Glen Hemming (April 27, 2024)

Underride Crash Map, , , ,

The police department said at about 11:19 p.m. April 27, Clear Lake dispatchers received several calls about a passenger car traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of I-35.

Shortly afterward, callers reported that the passenger car had struck a semi-tractor trailer head-on, still in the southbound lanes of I-35.

The driver of the passenger car, 56-year-old Glen Hemming of Mason City, died in the crash. One killed in head-on crash with semi-tractor trailer

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 —front, side, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.

Glen Hemming, Precious One Gone Too Soon

Major truck manufacturers have Front Underride Protection designs which can work on American trucks.

AMERICA’S DANGEROUS TRUCKS (PBS/Frontline Underride Documentary)

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.)

How You Can Help

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

Please sign this petition: Secretary Pete, It’s Past Time To End Death By Underride!

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 could potentially 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 are asking that people send us crash reports for collisions with trucks which they suspect involved underride. Send them to marianne@annaleahmary.com. We will submit these as complaints to USDOT. Read more here: Launching a Campaign To Flood NHTSA With Underride Complaint Reports.