Category Archives: Safety Advocacy

Rebuttal to Concerns Raised By the ATA About Proposed Underride Legislation

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , ,

From the very beginning of our journey to make truck crashes more survivable with the installation of effective underride protection, we have been reaching out to members of the trucking industry — manufacturers, transport companies, truck drivers, industry associations, and engineers among others. We have found some who are cooperative and many who are committed to working on solutions. However, we have also observed a reluctance to move forward with R&D — not to mention installation of solutions.

Beyond industry hesitation, we have also read about and listened to outright opposition. While I appreciate that they would find it important to express concerns they might have about the legislation and the technology, I do not find it helpful if their statements are not backed up with facts or documentation — especially when there is little openness to sit down together and discuss how to address those concerns collaboratively.

I remain hopeful that we can yet reach that point where we will be able to hold conversations through the process laid out in the STOP Underrides Act for a Committee On Underride Protection. It holds the potential for cooperation, transparency, and accountability which could help us reach the goal of ending preventable death by underride in a timely fashion.

Meanwhile, because I have been unable to get them to participate in a meeting to discuss these concerns, I am going to share two documents here:

  1. A letter which the American Trucking Associations emailed to Members of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee’s Highway & Transit Subcommittee on June 19, 2019, following the trucking hearing on June 12, 2019. The ATA letter outlines their concerns about, and opposition to, the STOP Underrides! Act. ATA Stop Underrides Act Follow Up Opposition Letter 6.19.19
  2. A rebuttal to that letter — detailing what we have discovered over the last several years regarding those concerns. RESPONSE to ATA Stop Underrides Opposition Letter

May we allow nothing to interfere with reaching the goal of protecting all travelers from the unimaginable injuries and grief which all too often come about when we don’t equip our trucks with underride protection so that passenger vehicles and vulnerable road users cannot go under them.

Rose, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Underride Legislation Discussed at T&I Hearing on The State of Trucking In America

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , ,

At last, truck underride was brought to the table at the June 12, 2019, Transportation & Infrastructure Hearing entitled, Under Pressure: The State of Trucking in America.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Chair of the Highways & Transit Subcommittee, mentioned underride in her opening remarks (at 6:59 in this video):

Truck safety advocate, Andy Young, also talked about underride in both his written and verbal testimony to the Subcommittee members.

In this video excerpt, Chris Spear (ATA) makes a statement (at 1:09.48) in the hearing about his understanding that side guards have only been tested at 35 mph (not true):

Andy Young corrects that information (at 3:22.15 in the hearing video) and mentions that the AngelWing side guards have been successfully tested at the Second Underride Roundtable on August 29, 2017, at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) at 40 mph:

The AngelWing side guards have also been successfully tested elsewhere at 47.2 mph:

Congressman Steve Cohen, who led the way in the House when he re-introduced the STOP Underrides Act on March 5, 2019, also spoke about underride:


The truth about truck underride should speak for itself. For too many decades, the facts have been hidden; motorists and vulnerable road users have not been adequately protected from becoming underride victims.

Enough is enough! Congress, the ball is in your court. It’s time to act.


28,362 Underride Deaths Valued at $273 Billion Far Surpasses the Cost to Industry of Underride Protection

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , ,

People Care About the STOP Underrides! Bill For a Good Reason

* DOT FARS (Fatality Analysis Reporting System) data is known to yield vastly underreported deaths.

IIHS 1992 Status Report: Underride Death Count Too Low

** 1997 study said that the deaths attributed to underride as reported by the FARS are 4% of total truck crash fatalities. Other studies suggest that 27-50% would be more accurate. Incidence of Large Truck-Passenger Vehicle Underride Crashes in Fatal Accident Reporting System and National Accident Sampling System

# Underride Deaths in 1994-2015* (FARS data) = 4,201 

Take those 4,201 deaths which represent 4% of the total truck crash deaths reported by FARS to be due to underride. Convert it to a more realistic estimate of 27% of truck crash deaths which are likely due to underride. That would be 28,362 people who died between 1994 and 2015 due to preventable truck underride.

Imagine!

Now let’s take that one step further. Multiply those 28,362 underride deaths by $9.6 million — the DOT Value of a Statistical Life. That equals $272,275,200,000!

That value represents our loved ones and members of our communities who lost their lives abruptly and violently due to underride. (And that isn’t even taking into account the thousands upon thousands who were injured due to Passenger Compartment Intrusion.)

The cost of implementing the STOP Underrides! Bill will not even come close to reaching such a costly price  as that which has already been paid.

Successful 40 mph Crash Test of Sapa Extrusions Aluminum Rear Underride Guard

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , ,

Malcolm Deighton, inventor of the SAPA rear underride guard, discusses how they tested their aluminum guard successfully at 35 mph and then at 40 mph.

You can see the 40 mph crash test at about 5:36 on this video:

Here is the engineering report on that crash testing: Sapa 40-30 RIG Test Engineering Report Version 1.3 (1)

Rear Underride Guard Facts:

  1. The current federal standard for rear impact guards has specifications for preventing underride at impact speeds of 30 mph (though not requiring a crash test).
  2. The proposed standard in limbo at NHTSA now would upgrade it to 35 mph to meet the Canadian standard (although most manufacturers are already meeting the Canadian standard). However, the NPRM and the Canadian standard do not require that the guards stop a vehicle for the full width of the guard. That’s what the IIHS has proven with their crash testing program.
  3. The IIHS has tested the new designs of the 8 major trailer manufacturers and given them each a TOUGHGuard Award for being able to pass a crash test at 35 mph across the full width of the back of the trailer.
  4. These stronger guards are being sold on new trailers — some as a standard feature and some as an Option.
  5. There are retrofit kits which can be installed on existing trailers to provide TOUGHGuard quality underride protection at the rear of trailers. There have been very few of these sold — a mere drop in the bucket compared to the 11 million+ trailers on the road which have the older, too weak rear guards.
  6. Additionally, Sapa Extrusions (now Hydro), an aluminum extrusion company, has designed an aluminum rear underride guard which has been successfully tested at 40 mph. Since this is now known to be possible, why would we not mandate a standard which would require this amount of protection at minimum?
  7. The STOP Underrides! Bill calls for research to be completed to ascertain the outer limits of underride protection — so we know what level of protection can reasonably be required.
  8. The STOP Underrides! Bill also calls for establishment of a Committee On Underride Protection to facilitate collaborative and effective discussion among all stakeholders.

Subcommittee on Highways & Transit Hearing: “Under Pressure: The State of Trucking in America,” 6/12/19

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , ,

The Highways & Transit Subcommittee of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee will be holding a hearing on Wednesday, June 12, 2019, at 10:00 a.m.

The hearing will be livestreamed and can be viewed at this link: “Under Pressure: The State of Trucking in America”.

I will be attending and am looking forward to observing a lively discussion, including the previously-overlooked topic of truck underride.

NTSB Published a Preliminary Report on the March 2019 Tesla Side Underride Fatal Crash

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , , ,

The National Transportation Safety Board, on May 16, 2019, released a Preliminary Report on the March 1, 2019, Tesla side underride fatal crash. Read it here: Highway Preliminary Report: HWY19FH008

In summary, the report says:

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) continues to gather information on the operation of the Tesla’s ADAS and the Tesla driver’s actions leading up to the crash. The investigation will also examine the driver of the combination vehicle, the motor carrier, highway factors, and survival factors. All aspects of the crash remain under investigation as the NTSB determines the probable cause, with the intent of issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar crashes. The NTSB is working in partnership with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office during the investigation.

Previous posts on this website related to Tesla side underride crashes:

D.C. Side Underride Crash Tests, March 26, 2019 — with and without side guards:

More D.C. crash test videos can be seen here.

The STOP Underrides! Act mandates comprehensive underride protection on all large trucks. This will make truck crashes more survivable.

As a mom of two daughters, AnnaLeah (17) and Mary (13), who died from a truck underride crash in Georgia on May 4, 2013,  I know the life & death difference that strong underride guards can make (but only if they are installed on the millions of trucks on our roads) — as demonstrated by these crash test videos: The difference a well-designed rear underride guard can make and Benefits of side underride guards for semitrailers and Truck Front Underrun Protection System Crash.

People have died from truck underride for decades and will continue to do so if we do not take decisive action to make trucks safer to be around.

Summary & Comments on the GAO Truck Underride Report

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety,

This brochure summarizes the findings and recommendations of the Government Accountability Office Truck Underride Guards Report:

GAO Truck Underride Report Brochure

Meanwhile, people continue to die from underride crashes at the front, side, and rear of trucks, while viable and practical technology exists or could quickly be available to install on trucks to save lives — if Congress would only say the word.

It would have been helpful if either the trucking industry stakeholders, NHTSA, or the GAO team would have spelled out precisely what they mean by “effectiveness” of side guards. What more are they looking for to prove that they are effective than the crash testing which has been conducted at IIHS (on March 30 & 31, 2017) and at the DC Underride Crash Test (on March 26, 2019)?

NHTSA has not yet done anything with the side underride research they have already completed. What guarantee do we have that they will do anything with further research unless mandated to do so?

It seems clear to me that the 219 annual underride deaths already-documented warrant the development of standards for implementation of comprehensive underride protection as outlined in the STOP Underrides! Bill. However, DOT has demonstrated that they have no intention of issuing rulemaking without a mandate which would force them to do so.

It will take an Act of Congress to make this happen.

Marianne Karth, May 12, 2019

How Underride Protection Could Prevent Fiery Crashes & Make Truck Crashes More Survivable

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , ,

Lately, I have been thinking more and more about how often fiery truck crashes occur and whether comprehensive underride protection (CUP) could reduce the chance that a fire will occur when there is a collision between a truck and a smaller passenger vehicle. I am convinced that CUP (front, side, rear) could help to make truck crashes more survivable in so many ways — including protecting vulnerable areas under the two vehicles:

  1. The truck’s steering mechanism so that the truck driver can better stay in control during a collision.
  2. Gas tanks so that they do not rupture and create conditions for fire to erupt.

See the email below. And consider how the recent April 25, 2019, deadly truck crash in Colorado might have turned out differently. https://q13fox.com/2019/04/27/truck-driver-closed-his-eyes-in-fear-moments-before-deadly-colorado-pileup-crash/

I know that people will talk about collision avoidance technologies as a solution. But I think that it needs to be both/and. I have been studying what I can find out about that crash and it seems to me that the truck driver may have been in a situation where he lost the power to brake and CA would not change that. I had that happen to me in about 1987 or so. I was driving a Suburban pulling a camper on the expressway and suddenly realized that I had lost the ability to brake. I finally was able to pull into a gas station and turn the vehicle off and it turned out okay. But it was TERRIFYING. I felt so out of control. Imagine that truck driver.

Marianne

@MaryandAnnaLeah

p.s. Please support the STOP Underrides! Bill and make truck crashes more survivable!

 

———- Forwarded message ———
From: Marianne Karth <mariannekarth@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 11:13 PM
Subject: Fiery truck crashes and Front Underride/Override Protection
To: Matthew Brumbelow  @iihs.org>

Matt,

Have you ever studied fiery truck crashes and the factors which lead to that outcome?

I’ve been thinking about that question a lot because I receive Google Alert Notifications of truck crashes and see so many fiery crashes. It made me think of what I have learned by delving into the topic of front underride/override protection. I know that the FUP not only protects the passenger vehicle, but it also protects the steering mechanism of the truck — enabling the truck driver to stay more in control in a collision. and. . .  the fuel tank.

Marianne

p.s. It drives me up a wall that the industry and government just ignore the possibility that head on collisions and rear ending of cars by trucks, etc., could be mitigated. Putting all their eggs into the basket of  changing driver behavior and collision avoidance technology. Do we believe in a SAFE SYSTEM approach or don’t we?

image.png

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237383824_REVIEW_OF_TRUCK_SAFETY_STAGE_1_FRONTAL_SIDE_AND_REAR_UNDERRUN_PROTECTION

Offset front underrun in head on crashes where the light vehicle is likely to collide with the steer axle and compromise the heavy vehicles steering, and/or the underrun leads to heavy intrusion of the cabin space by the heavy vehicle structure.

Front underrun in truck into car crashes where the underrun can:
• rotate the light vehicle downwards and lead to the heavy vehicle running over the light
vehicle with catastrophic results;
• push the petrol tank down and lead to fire when the truck impacts the rear of the light vehicle

 

“But we also get good protection for the components in the lower front part of the coach [where the steering mechanism is]:

See the references to protection from fires by FRONT UNDERRIDE PROTECTION in this eBook: Wheels of Progress?: Motor Transport, Pollution and the Environment

Ask The Trucker “LIVE” w/Allen Smith: The Stop Underrides Act- Requiring front, side & rear underguards

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

Allen and Donna Smith, trucker advocates, host the Ask the Trucker Radio Talk Show. Underride was discussed on the show in March 2018 and again on April, 27, 2019. We appreciate their open mind and willingness to draw attention to this issue and foster open and honest conversation with truck drivers. Listen in here:

The Stop Underride Act- Requiring front, side & rear underguards on large trucks

We strive for facts & truth rather than talking points. Truckers have valid concerns about underrides and we want to address them. Proponents of underrides also have legitimate concerns for supporting the Stop Underrrides Act. Let’s hear both sides.

Guests on the show:

  • Jerry and Marianne Karth and Lois Durso advocates for Underrides and have lost loved ones due to Underride crashes. These underride deaths were not the fault of either 4 wheeler. One was an improper truck lane change, the other was icy roads.
  • Perry Ponder, inventor of AngelWing, engineer with an accident reconstruction engineering company
  • Aaron Kiefer, forensic engineer & crash reconstructionist, inventor of SafetySkirt
  • Andy Young, CDL holder and truck attorney

How To End Underride: “That’s how we’re gonna win. Not fighting what we hate, but saving what we love.”

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , ,

Some people think that I am stuck in grief. Some people think that my advocacy is too full of anger. Actually, I’m not perfect in how I am handling this, but I have to say some things because I hate being misunderstood and maybe clarifying it will help to open some minds to getting this problem resolved.

I have already forgiven the truck driver who started the chain of events which led to my daughters’ deaths.  While we think that he could have done a lot of things to be a safer driver, the crash could have turned out quite differently had there been an effective rear underride guard (rear impact guard or Mansfield Bar) on the back of the trailer with which we collided.

In that scenario, there would likely have been no fatalities and the truck driver would not have had his CDL taken away for two years with a negative impact on his career. But, in fact, he is one of the victims as well as AnnaLeah and Mary and my family.

However, I continue to deal with the frustration — and thus anger — which comes with the ongoing revelation of deception and inaction on the part of government and industry — over & over again. It is a chicken and egg situation where everyone can too easily justify waiting for someone else to take responsibility. So the end result is that  no one is held accountable to solve the underride problem.

Quite likely those who could do something about it might think or act differently if their job was not on the line or if they did not feel constrained by what they thought needed to be done to protect some organizational goal — never mind if they really looked at the whole picture they would understand that solving the underride problem would be win/win for everyone.  And, of course, if they lost someone they loved due to underride, they (like me) would quite possibly move heaven and earth to end these preventable tragedies.

So what do I do with that anger and frustration? I channel it into actions which will hopefully raise awareness to bring about a paradigm shift in wrong-headed thinking and lead to effective collaboration to get this taken care of once and for all.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety asked for a quote after our original underride petition led to the start of NHTSA rulemaking in 2014:

Karth says the Institute “played an important part in our efforts. First of all, your research and reports enlightened us and then that led to us being enraged and asking the question, ‘If something could be done to make underride guards stronger, then why wasn’t it being done?’ That, of course, led to us being empowered to educate and motivate others to join with us in asking for change.”

That quest will continue on until we see victory and right the wrong. Fortunately, we know, like David, that the battle is the Lord’s. So we seek for wisdom and we continually lay down our reactions at the foot of the cross in the knowledge that we war not against flesh and blood but against the powers and principalities which would pit us against each other instead of pulling together.

After all, this is not about getting the truck industry to get in line — or else. To quote Rose in The Last Jedi: That’s how we’re gonna win. Not fighting what we hate, saving what we love.