A gardener planted trees around Duke’s Healing Garden in a particular pattern with a plan in mind. One of the trees apparently met an untimely death. The garden is still very beautiful, but it will always seem somehow to be missing something of inestimable value.
As I was getting ready for the day, one of my favorite Christmas songs was running through my head, “God Rest, Ye Merry Gentlemen, Let Nothing You Dismay!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBoPx_5MU8o ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69FQ_NBPESg ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoEbwwMJh9A
and this is one of my favorites, “Mary, Did You Know?”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ILtvvF-4qU
But what I was looking forward to–after celebrating Christmas together as a family yesterday–was spending some time today reminiscing about past Christmases shared with AnnaLeah and Mary, who will have no new earthly celebrations of their Savior’s birth.
So–for myself, and anyone else who cares to get a glimpse of Christmas with Mary & AnnaLeah–here are links to memories which I posted at this time last year (Thanksgiving through New Year’s):
I sent an email out yesterday to the University of Michigan Injury Center–asking them to consider helping to design an underride guard which would provide the best possible protection.
This morning I decided to put out a wider call for assistance — both in expertise and financial backing — for this worthy lifesaving endeavor. Surely we could put our heads together and make this happen! I’d like to see this done to enhance the efforts of NHTSA to develop an improved rule on underride guards.
Let’s stop talking and take some action! Spread the word.
Marianne
HERE IS MY EMAIL WITH DETAILS OF OUR STORY & THE NEED FOR AN IMPROVED UNDERRIDE GUARD DESIGN:
“I would like to ask that you consider taking on the goal of developing an underride guard design which will prevent vehicles from riding under trucks in rear-impact collisions to a greater extent than the current federal standards provide protection–thereby preventing horrific injuries and unnecessary deaths.
I am a 1979 Health Behavior/Health Education graduate of the University of Michigan School of Public Health and received your recent email with information about the Research Centers, including the Injury Control Research Center. In addition, I am the mother of nine children and was driving the three youngest from North Carolina to Texas on May 4, 2013, to attend four college graduations and the wedding of their older siblings, when a truck hit us twice spinning us around and sending us backward under the tractor trailer in front of us.
AnnaLeah (17) and Mary (13) were in the back seat. AnnaLeah died instantly from mechanical asphyxia and Mary died a few days later from injuries (including severe head trauma, carotid artery dissection, and LeFort fractures of her face) she sustained in the crash. I was in the hospital for almost a week but am totally healed physically, and my 15 year-old son in the front passenger seat had a mild concussion and was released that same day from the Emergency Room. The girls, in the back seat, experienced underride; we did not.
In the days, weeks, and months following that crash, our family discovered many things about truck safety.One of the things which we learned about were underride guards, steel bars on the back of a trailer mandated by federal regulations following the national attention gained by the death of actress Jayne Mansfield due to an underride crash in 1967.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-16/dead-girls-mom-says-100-truck-fix-may-have-saved-them.html
Unfortunately, the specifications have been shown to be inadequate in many circumstances; many of the underride guards on the road today too often fail to prevent underride–whether it be due to the design, installation, or maintenance of the guards. This has been seen both by review of the Large Truck Crash Causation Study and through research done by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)–among others.
https://annaleahmary.com/2014/10/iihs-reports-on-new-crash-testing-for-improved-underride-guards/
Following our crash, we initiated an online petition requesting DOT to make improvement in three truck safety areas, including underride guards. After delivering the 11,000+ petitions to DOT in Washington, DC, we met with top administrative officials from FMCSA and NHTSA on May 5, 2014–one year after the crash. We were able to meet for an hour–sharing our concerns and hearing what their plans were relative to our three requests.
After hearing that NHTSA was not able to let us know if they were going to initiate a new rulemaking process on underride guards, my husband Jerry asked several times when we might expect that they would decide whether to go ahead with such a process. Finally, David Friedman, deputy director of NHTSA, replied that we could expect a decision in two months. I then asked him to email me as soon as the decision was made. And he did so–emailing me on July 9, 2014 — almost exactly two months later — to let me know that they had issued a rulemaking to study this issue.
Unfortunately, this is a very lengthy process which is frequently subject to setbacks due to opposition from the trucking industry. In addition, there is controversy about whether the guards could be made “too rigid” and result in unintended consequences due to deceleration forces.
Yet, the IIHS has told us in person that, “It is safer to run into a brick wall than into the back of a truck.” This is due to the fact that if you run into a brick wall with a vehicle equipped with a crush zone, that crush zone is able to go into effect and protect the occupants. However, if a vehicle hits the back of a truck and the underride guard fails, the vehicle goes under the truck so that the passenger compartment is intruded upon and the crush zone (air bags and seat belts) is not allowed to operate as designed.
We have also written letters to trailer manufacturing companies asking them to voluntarily improve their guards–as did Manac, Inc. IIHS has continued to communicate with manufacturers to let them know that they would be glad to test any new designs. They have gotten some response.
The bottom line is that NHTSA is hoping to issue a new rule mid-2015 and whatever they propose, if passed, will likely have an impact on road safety for years to come. It is my hope that there would be cooperative efforts taking place to come up with the best possible protection for travelers so that others will not have to go through what our family has had to and lives will not unnecessarily be abruptly brought to an end.
https://annaleahmary.com/2014/12/underride-guards-lets-move-forward-in-2015/
Please consider how you might be involved in this along with the School of Engineering and whatever other resources could be harnessed. Surely, by working together, we can make a difference.
In memory of AnnaLeah and Mary,
Marianne Karth”
See Underride Research Reports listed by NHTSA : http://www.nhtsa.gov/Research/Crashworthiness/Truck%20Underride
A Helpful Guide to Understanding the Rear Underride Guard Rulemaking: http://www.underridenetwork.org/CurrentIssues/UnderrideGuards/RearGuard.aspx
It gets really tiresome to hear the trucking industry come up with the same statements time after time after time.
Nearly every time I read an article written about our crash, there are the obligatory responses from the trucking industry. Invariably, they try to shift the responsibility off of themselves to make the changes sought after and, instead, bring up some alternative solution to the “problem.”
This can be seen in the latest article by Bloomberg News about our story and underride guards: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-16/dead-girls-mom-says-100-truck-fix-may-have-saved-them.html
“‘The passion that Karth brings to the debate won’t necessarily solve the problem,’ said Sean McNally, a spokesman for the American Trucking Associations, the industry’s largest advocacy group. ‘Instead, regulators will be more effective if they focus on such measures as crash-avoidance technology and such simple steps as education to encourage better driving by both trucks and cars.
“’All crashes are tragic, and as a result discussions about highway safety are often touched by strong emotions,’ McNally said. ‘However, we should not use emotions as the basis for regulations. Regulations need to be grounded on strong research, science and data.’”
What does he think the problem is?! And has he even bothered to look at the strong research, science, and data reported on by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) regarding underride guards? Does he truly think that this is an either/or situation?
He just doesn’t seem to get it. He thinks the passion is simply my deep grief over the loss of my daughters. He doesn’t have a clue that that very real pain is amplified by anger and frustration over the callous attitude and denial of responsibility that too often is expressed by spokespersons of the trucking industry–and which, of course, gets played out in their decisions and actions on matters related to safety.
Here I am trying to get ready for Christmas and I cannot keep up with all of the articles and actions related to truck safety. For the sake of time, I will post some links here so that you can check them out in between your holiday festivities.
So I decided to write to NHTSA with my concern about the increase in truck crash fatalities compared to the decline in traffic fatalities overall:
David,
This is just a knee jerk reaction, but I saw your recent report on decline in traffic fatalities. I don’t know the trend in truck crash fatalities since 2004, but I see, from your report, the last three years:
Fatalities in Crashes Involving Large Trucks
Mary & AnnaLeah Before
Truck Crash Moment
Annaleah & Mary After
Good news! Late last week, the FMCSA issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rule Making (ANPRM) announcing that they are considering a proposed rule to increase the minimum liability insurance coverage for motor carriers.
Increasing the minimum liability insurance was one of the 3 requests in the AnnaLeah & Mary Stand Up for Truck Safety Petition, which we delivered to FMCSA on behalf of over 11,000+ signers on May 5, 2014.
If this study advances to a new rule, then victims of truck crashes will have a better chance of being adequately compensated financially for their great loss.
I have written to our contacts at the FMCSA–reminding them of our petition and their promise to include the signatures & comments in the Public Comments in the Federal Register. We will keep you posted. Thank you for standing with us to be a strong voice for truck safety.
I recently made some comments on a facebook post (by a radio show host) about proposed Texas legislation to ban texting while driving. I was frustrated with some comments made by others that they didn’t want this curb on personal freedom and that laws were not effective anyway. The following is an edited version of my “final” comment on that post:
Here is a before and after picture of our two girls in our car. Actually, the before photo was from less than a year before our truck crash–when we were stopped on the highway due to a traffic fatality ahead of us. The after photo shows the result of a truck driver who was apparently distracted or “impaired”–abruptly ending two lives.
The point is that this is not a matter of personal right/freedoms being violated. This is a matter of personal choices needing to bear consequences when they result in death or injury for others (or themselves). Distracted/impaired driving of any kind needs to be outlawed–for the benefit & protection of those who are its innocent victims.
Enforcement & justice must follow. Raising awareness is essential–including acknowledgement of the extent of the problem and our own culpability and vulnerability. Research is also needed in order to find innovative technologies or means to curb the behavior which is sometimes addictive. And please do not forget the impact that this problem has on the lives of those who are responsible for someone else’s death.
The inadequacies of any solution to the widespread problem of distracted/impaired driving should not stop us from trying to put an end to these senseless & preventable crashes, which are not “accidents” but the result of personal choices/behaviors. The answer is most certainly not to put our head in the sand or discourage attempts to address this life & death matter but to work together to end such tragedies–one at a time.
Find out the current laws on texting & cell phone use in your state: http://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/state-laws.html
Watch & share this Texting While Driving Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_-6EoNhitg
Update on our trip to Georgia. . . First of all, thank you for your prayers and concern for us.
We left early for Georgia so as to be able to attend a worship service at the church in Augusta, Georgia, whose pastor met Jerry at the hospital when he first arrived in Georgia after the crash and was trying to find where Mary was. After they were able to find Mary, the pastor asked what they could do to help. Jerry asked him to make sure that Mary was never alone. So he arranged for their members to take turns being with Mary 24/7 in her hospital room–holding her hand, reading the Bible to her, singing and talking to her–since Jerry had to attend to so many things including visiting me at my hospital 2 hours away.
On Sunday morning, I was able to meet most of the people who spent time with Mary–giving/getting hugs and taking their picture. A couple of them mentioned how caring the nurses had been–speaking to Mary (who was unresponsive) when they were taking care of her, always telling her what they were going to do or where they were taking her. That brings a measure of comfort to this mother’s heart.
Also, the pastor’s wife shared how she had gone to the hospital that Sunday morning the day after the crash, before Jerry had arrived, because she couldn’t stand the thought of 13 year-old Mary being all alone. However, she was not able to see Mary then as she was still a Jane Doe (or Sierra Trauma according to some medical records) and could not be positively identified until Jerry arrived. I am so thankful that she cared enough to at least try.
After church, the pastor and his wife invited us to lunch and we were joined by one of the members who had sat with Mary–the last one to do so before Mary died.
Before we left, they prayed with us. We were reminded by the pastor that no matter the outcome of the hearing, we should not expect to feel satisfied. That is our ongoing experience: His peace that passes all understanding does not always mean that we will be happy with how things come out for the simple reason that NOTHING will bring AnnaLeah and Mary back to us in this life.
Next, Jerry was kind enough — despite the hard memories it brought to the surface for him — to drive me by the hospital where Mary spent her last days on this earth, to fill in that empty spot for me which had no memories to hold onto.
We then left for Greensboro, Georgia, to spend the night at a bed & breakfast before attending the court hearing on Monday. It was a blessing to be in that place—a large Southern “mansion” which had been in the owner’s family for over 100 years. We were there all by ourselves and enjoyed the peace & quiet and not speaking of the next day much at all.
We were amazed the next morning when, as the owners were fixing our breakfast and setting the fancy table, we discovered that he had been a lawyer for 40 years and was very familiar with some of the horrific problems with truck crashes. He was concerned with what was expected as the outcome and shared our frustrations with what appears to be A BROKEN SYSTEM.
And that is what I would like to write further posts about in https://annaleahmary.com/ and will let you know when I do so–in case you are interested in learning more. We have many concerns and, while we do not want to let the frustrations rule our lives, we cannot ignore them. If we have become enlightened and do not act to seek change, then who will?
The actual court hearing was very hard. The DA gave an account of the crash–repeated by the Mongolian interpreter–and outlined the plea deal: 24 months probation with his CDL surrendered for that period, community service & attendance at a MADD victim impact class.
Then Jerry and I were given an opportunity to speak. I daresay that the Victim Impact Statement which he had written was probably the most difficult thing Jerry has ever had to read–about what we had lost and why we hoped that the driver would never have a CDL again and have the opportunity to take another life.
When I then had a chance to speak, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to say until shortly before. I showed the truck driver Mary’s braids and said that that was all that I had left of her. I told him about how creative AnnaLeah was and showed him a giraffe she had made shortly before the crash and told him how she loved to write.
Then, I told him how we had found some things that the girls had written when we were going through their belongings. I shared with him–repeated by the interpreter–how AnnaLeah had written that,
“You will never be worthy of proclaiming Christ’s name,
But Christ’s name will always be worthy of proclaiming.”
Then, I told him how we found a letter that Mary had written to herself shortly before the crash that she planned on reading in ten years (2023). I told him how, in that letter, she said that she hoped that she still believed in God and that she better because He was the most important thing in the world. And I told him how she also said that she hoped that she would be living every day as if it were her last day.
Finally, I told him that I thought that the girls would want him to know that Jesus died for him.
After the hearing, we spent over two hours in a room with him as our civil lawyer questioned the truck driver to try and get some of the answers which we had, thus far, been unable to get through any investigation (and because his lawyer wanted him to Plead the Fifth until the criminal case was completed). Jerry commented later how rough it was to be across the table from him.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has just released a report on recent crash testing for one trailer manufacturer’s improved design for their rear underride guard. Vanguard has now passed the 50% overlap test–with testing still needed for the more narrow overlap test at the edges of the trailer’s guard.
Additional companies have plans to get their guards tested in the future.
Our story is featured in this fall’s edition of the organization’s Status Report. We are thankful for their efforts to research and report on this vital truck safety issue. Their previous reports helped us to better understand the weakness of the current federal regulations for underride guards.
Read the report here: IIHS Status Report October 2014
Also, the Truck Safety Coalition has issued a press release on this issue: http://trucksafety.org/press-release-industry-makes-improvements-while-rule-for-better-underride-languishes/
Link to IIHS Status Report Issues: http://www.iihs.org/iihs/sr
November 2015 IIHS Status Report with an update on Single Unit Truck Underride Rulemaking: http://www.iihs.org/iihs/sr/statusreport/article/50/9/2
