Category Archives: Safety Advocacy

Do truck crashes inevitably turn out badly? Or could underride protection change the outcome? Well?

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , ,

The House Transportation & Infrastructure Highways & Transit Subcommittee held a hearing this morning entitled, “Every Life Counts: Improving Safety on our Nation’s Roadways.” A question was asked about Commercial Truck Safety. Note the comment made here which reflects the commonly-held belief that it is inevitable that a large truck will win out in any collision with a smaller entity.

Would Congress pass the STOP Underrides Act if they realized that truck crashes could become more survivable with the installation of comprehensive underride protection?

Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underride!

Video of the Underride Panel Discussion at the D.C. Underride Crash Test Event, March 26, 2019

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

Safety engineers and professionals share their knowledge and thoughts in a Panel Discussion on the underride issue at the D.C. Underride Crash Test Event on March 26, 2019:

  • David Friedman, Consumer Reports, VP, Advocacy, formerly the CR Director of Cars and Product Policy and Analysis, former NHTSA Acting Administrator
  • Malcolm Deighton, engineer with Hydro, which supplies aluminum for manufacturing underride protective devices and trailer parts and which produces comprehensive underride protection technology in Europe
  • Glen Berry, Safety Director for Thomas Transport Delivery, AngelWing installed since 2017, truck driver
  • Perry Ponder, inventor of AngelWing, engineer with an accident reconstruction engineering company
  • David Dorrity, worked for Stevens Transport for years and testifies all over the country on safe trucking practices.
  • Aaron Kiefer, forensic engineer & crash reconstructionist, inventor of SafetySkirt

Moderated by Andy Young, truck litigation attorney and CDL holder.

The discussion can be viewed in four consecutive videos below.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Thank you, Perry, David, Malcolm, Aaron, Glen, David, and Andy, for taking the time to share your knowledge and thoughts on the underride problem and solutions to this deadly but preventable traffic tragedy.

Note: Video of the crash tests are available here.

Media Reports & Video Footage Unveil Highlights of the Successful D.C. Underride Crash Test Event

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

If you were not able to witness the Underride Crash Tests in D.C. in person on March 26, then the next best thing is to see the media coverage of this important event and to view the video footage of all three tests of a car colliding at approximately 30 mph with the side of a tractor-trailer:

  1. The first crash test was into a trailer with an AngelWing side guard — SUCCESSFUL because it prevented underride and Passenger Compartment Intrusion (PCI).
  2. The second crash test was into a trailer with a SafetySkirt side guard — SUCCESSFUL because it prevented underride and Passenger Compartment Intrusion (PCI).
  3. The third crash test was into a trailer with NO side guard (as is the situation with 99.9% of the trucks on the road today) — SUCCESSFUL in that the devastating underride which occurred clearly showed what it is that the other two tests so importantly prevented.

VIDEO FOOTAGE from MGA Research of all three crash tests can be seen here:

First test into AngelWing:

Second test into SafetySkirt:

Third test with NO side underride protection:

Compilation of all three crash tests, including aerial views & views from inside the car:

Here is some of the media coverage of the D.C. Underride Crash Test Event:

MGA Research brought their high speed cameras to capture this video footage. Links to additional video will be shared when their creative team completes their work. WUSA9 had a GoPro camera inside the crash car.

Video of the Underride Panel discussion at the event can be viewed here.

  • David Friedman, Consumer Reports, VP, Advocacy, formerly the CR Director of Cars and Product Policy and Analysis, former NHTSA Acting Administrator
  • Malcolm Deighton, engineer with Hydro, which supplies aluminum for manufacturing underride protective devices and trailer parts and which produces comprehensive underride protection technology in Europe
  • Glen Berry, Safety Director for Thomas Transport Delivery, AngelWing installed since 2017, truck driver
  • Perry Ponder, inventor of AngelWing, engineer with an accident reconstruction engineering company
  • David Dorrity, worked for Stevens Transport for years and testifies all over the country on safe trucking practices.
  • Aaron Kiefer, forensic engineer & crash reconstructionist, inventor of SafetySkirt

Unsung hero of the event: Last year, on May 15, 2018 (what would have been the day my daughter AnnaLeah turned 24), after a hard day of hitting our heads against the wall in trying to convince legislative staffers to move the STOP Underrides! Act forward, I texted my son and said, “How are we going to get them to move?!” He texted back, “Hold a crash test at a field hearing.” I said, “What?!” It was a brilliant idea to let the leaders of this country, who can take action to end these preventable tragedies, witness crash testing in person!

Well, we couldn’t bring about a Field Hearing, but we quickly began the overwhelming process of organizing an Underride Crash Test Event right there in D.C.  — less than 2 miles from The Hill and 1 mile from the Department of Transportation.

Lois Durso and I, along with our families, friends and other underride victim families, want to thank the multitude of individuals, organizations, and companies (both named & unnamed) who have helped us as we work to pass the STOP Underrides! Act (S.665 & HR.1511) and bring about this amazing and totally volunteer-organized event:

Contributors to the STOP Underrides Initiative

Contributors to STOP Underrides! & DC Underride Crash Test

And I want to especially thank the skilled and dedicated Team Underride Crash Test Crew:

We also want to thank Akridge and ImPark for allowing us to use their D.C. parking lot (not an easy thing to find!), Northern Neck Auto Parts for providing the crash cars, and Sunbelt Rentals for providing safety barriers and equipment helpful in moving around the many vehicles to make the three crash tests go smoothly in such a short space of time. MGA Research captured amazing video footage, Mister Video ran the sound system, Andy Young served seamlessly as MC,  and Aaron Kiefer masterfully orchestrated the crash test crew in order to help us all see the clear-cut life & death difference which underride protection can make.

AngelWing crash car: 

SafetySkirt crash car: 

Unguarded crash car: 

We hope that this event will continue to raise awareness and that our message to Congress will grow stronger as people sign & share this petition: Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underride!

This event was brought about in memory of countless underride victims and in hopes of helping countless others walk away from truck crashes and live to tell about it. . .

Compelling Documentary Tells the Stories of Underride Victims: Save Lives – STOP Underrides!

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

We are thankful to Cool Breeze Studio for creating this recently-released underride documentary — telling the stories of underride victims to shed light on this preventable problem.

DC Underride Crash Test Event Media Alert 032218

Senators Gillibrand & Rubio and Representatives Cohen & DeSaulnier Reintroduce Bipartisan Underride Bill

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , , ,

March has been a momentous month for truck underride. Continuing along that line, the STOP Underrides! Bill has been re-introduced to Congress by its sponsors, Senators Gillibrand and Rubio and Representatives Cohen and DeSaulnier, on March 5.

See Senator Gillibrand’s Press Release here and Senator Rubio’s here.

To convince Congress of the importance of this bill to end Death By Underride, we will be hosting an Underride Crash Test Event in Washington, D.C., starting at 10:00 a.m. on March 26 (watch for livestreaming from Eric Flack & WUSA 9).

Consumer Reports urges Congress to pass the Stop Underrides Act

The STOP Underrides! Bill is now S.665 (referred to the Senate Commerce, Science, & Transportation Committee) and HR.1511 (referred to the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee).

@NTSB & @NHTSAgov didn’t call for side guards after 2016 Tesla underride fatality; will they after a 2nd?

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , ,

NHTSA investigated the May 2016 side underride crash of Joshua Brown’s Tesla. Here is the report which they published in January 2018.

Special Crash Investigations:
On-Site Automated Driver Assistance
System Crash Investigation of the
2015 Tesla Model S 70D 812481

Read this description of the injuries which the driver suffered as a result of Passenger Compartment Intrusion (PCI) from truck underride:

The front plane of the Tesla underrode the mid-aspect of the semi-trailer in the intersection, and the first crash event occurred as the base of the windshield and both A-pillars of the Tesla impacted and engaged the sill/frame of the semi-trailer’s right plane/undercarriage. Directions of force were in the 12 o’clock sector for the Tesla and the 3 o’clock sector for the UTI semitrailer. The Tesla maintained its momentum and completely underrode the semi-trailer, which sheared the entire greenhouse and roof structure from the Tesla.

During the underride impact, the driver’s face and head contacted multiple intruding components. These contacts produced fatal injuries to the driver. Intruding components and the semi-trailer also contacted and deformed both front row seatbacks and all of the Tesla’s structural pillars. The sheared roof and tailgate/hatch of the Tesla were captured by the right plane of the semi-trailer as the vehicle continued beneath it, and became deposited in the roadway at the location of the impact.

Please explain to me why NHTSA did not suggest that side guards might have changed the outcome of the crash and, furthermore, took no action to initiate rulemaking to mandate side underride protection.

NTSB also investigated the May 2016 Tesla crash and made no side guard recommendations.

Another Tesla Side Underride Tragedy Points to Need for Truck Side Guard Mandate

Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underride!

Another Tesla Side Underride Tragedy Points to Need for Truck Side Guard Mandate

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

Late yesterday afternoon, I heard the news that another man has lost his life when his Tesla went under the side of a tractor trailer in Florida. No matter how it actually came about, doesn’t it seem tragic that we didn’t learn our lesson from Joshua Brown’s tragic death going under the side of a tractor trailer in a Tesla in May 2016?

Earlier today, a Tesla Model 3 owner died in a tragic accident with a semi truck. The Model 3 went under the truck’s trailer resulting “in the roof being sheared off as it passed underneath,” which is known as a “side underride” accident. Tesla Model 3 driver again dies in crash with trailer, Autopilot not yet ruled out

NTSB is sending a team to investigate this crash

Earlier this week, I wrote about the disturbing documentation that current Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) technology on passenger vehicles is not reliably detecting large trucks: “AEB that reliably detects trucks could prevent underride crashes.” Meanwhile, what should we do? Yet, many of the voices opposing the STOP Underrides! Bill point to Collision Avoidance technology as the better route to prevent underride crashes.

Clearly, collision avoidance technology is not ready to prevent truck underride tragedies at this point in time. In contrast, comprehensive underride protection technology is ready to go — awaiting a mandate to get the ball rolling to save lives.

Here are two practical, viable solutions offered by engineers to prevent the gruesome, deadly passenger compartment intrusion (PCI) which occurs with side underride:

Download this video file to view a recent crash test by Aaron Kiefer into the side of a trailer equipped with the latest version of his SafetySkirt: Video Feb 24, 2 24 45 PM

AngelWing side guard successfully tested at the IIHS at 35 and 40 mph in 2017:

We cannot wait for the trucking industry to handle it themselves and the automotive industry is not prepared to prevent collision with large vehicles. Congress should feel proud to be the ones to make sure that this happens. Unless they want people to die!

STOP Underrides! Petition

D. C. Underride Crash Test, March 26, 2019

From the May 2016, Joshua Brown Tesla side underride crash: Witnesses reveal new details behind deadly Tesla accident in Florida

The police report indicated that Brown’s Model S collided with a tractor trailer that was perpendicular to it and continued to travel underneath it after having its windshield and roof sheared off. Because the vehicle was in Autopilot at the time, the vehicle continued to travel before veering off the road, careening through two fences, and finally coming to a rest after striking a utility pole approximately 100 feet south of the road.

Tesla released a statement on their blog:

“What we know is that the vehicle was on a divided highway with Autopilot engaged when a tractor trailer drove across the highway perpendicular to the Model S. Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied. The high ride height of the trailer combined with its positioning across the road and the extremely rare circumstances of the impact caused the Model S to pass under the trailer, with the bottom of the trailer impacting the windshield of the Model S.”

By the way, these are not “extremely rare circumstances.” Hundreds of vehicles collide with the sides of large trucks every year. Furthermore, both of these crashes clearly involved side underride. Why is this not being acknowledged and addressed?

David vs Goliath: Will Industry Lobby Power Win the Day in the Battle to End Preventable Truck Underride?

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

Almost fifty years ago, on March 19, 1969, the Department of Transportation publicly stated their intention to add underride protection to the sides of large vehicles. So why have they not yet done so?

Is it lack of data? Sure, the deadly underride problem is vastly undercounted. But the thousands of underride deaths actually recorded since that date are certainly enough to confirm that this problem needs to be addressed.

Is it a lack of practical, viable solutions? Actually, engineers have offered solutions to every kind of underride for decades. But without a mandate, investors are hesitant to back them and manufacturers are reluctant to stick their necks out in a highly competitive industry. (We have heard this with our own ears.)

So what is it then that has prevented DOT from moving forward to end Death By Underride? I have some good guesses. But look for yourself at this published evidence of industry attitude toward the idea of underride regulations (to end preventable horrific deaths & debilitating injuries), and then tell me what you think. . .

Yesterday morning, I saw a Tweet from the National Tank Truck Carriers (NTTC) in which they applauded the 2019 NTSB Most Wanted List. It included a link to an article in Bulk Transporter which carries on about how committed the Tank Truck Association is to highway safety and making the roads safer:

. . . NTTC’s members are always working to improve in these areas, incorporating the best technologies and people-management practices to combat distracted, impaired, and fatigued driving. NTTC is particularly pleased that none of the 45 recommendations in the Ensure the safe Shipment of Hazardous Materials section relate to highway mode transportation. Tank truck carriers carry a disproportionately large number of hazardous materials loads and work diligently to ensure they are transported safely.

“NTTC is pleased that our members’ efforts has resulted in zero highway-mode recommendations on the hazardous materials most wanted list,” said NTTC President Daniel Furth.

NTTC is dedicated to highway safety, and it looks forward to working with NTSB, the Department of Transportation, its modal agencies, and other stakeholders to make America’s highways as safe as possible. https://www.bulktransporter.com/tank-fleets/nttc-applauds-ntsb-s-most-wanted-list-transportation-safety-improvements

When I mentioned this to Jerry — because I was plotting how to reply to their Tweet asking them to also support safety through underride protection — he reminded me of a previous article, which I had found last Spring, where this same group (NTTC) stated that they anticipated a potential battle to fight a side underride mandate:

Miller: NTTC serves as an advocate for the industry.We track state and federal issues. For instance, we’re involved with trying to shut down the California rest break requirement, which is a bad deal for trucking companies and their drivers. It interferes with interstate commerce. 

BT: Is NTTC achieving success with efforts to preempt state rules that conflict with federal regulations?

Miller: Yes. NTTC does a great job of catching these issues early. We have significantly better legal and lobbying representation today. We’re also in a very strong financial condition, and we have funds available to finance our efforts. 

We’re the only organization that fought against the proposed mandate to ban wet lines, and we won. We may have to face off on a possible side-underride mandate in the near future. 

https://www.bulktransporter.com/tank-fleets/lee-miller-targets-drivers-critical-tank-truck-industry-issue (an excerpt at the very bottom of this lengthy interview article from April 30, 2018)

Draw your own conclusions and then ask yourself: “Will I be part of those who are swayed by the industry arguments and lobbying power and turn a blind eye to preventable and unimaginable underride tragedies? Or, will I stand with those who plead on behalf of the countless vulnerable victims of Death By Underride and call for a comprehensive underride protection mandate?”

Do you count yourself with David or Goliath?

Moms on a Mission to Make Truck Crashes More Survivable

After all, it was a fatal underride crash under the side of a milk tanker truck on July 6, 2017, which caught the attention of the U.S. Senators from New York.

Ambulance workers returning from call killed in I-81 milk tanker crash

Subsequently, Senator Schumer called for improved underride protection and Senator Gillibrand committed herself to supporting our drafted comprehensive underride protection bill, which was introduced on December 12, 2017, as the STOP Underrides! Act of 2017.

And here is a more recent fatal underride crash involving a tanker truck on December 26, 2018:

Four people were killed early Wednesday morning after the driver of the vehicle crashed into a tanker truck on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey, police said.

Kevin Quispe-Prieto, 21, Jimmy Quispe-Prieto, 23, Victor Lugo, 24, and Robert Ordenana, 23, were killed following a crash near Berkley Township just before 3 a.m. Wednesday, New Jersey state police said. The driver of the oil tanker, who was not identified, suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.

Four people were killed after their vehicle collided with a tractor-trailer.
Four people were killed after their vehicle collided with a tractor-trailer. (FOX5NY)
Photo & video of car at back of tanker truck: 
And another side underride crash into a milk tanker truck: Deadly Milk Truck Crash Reported On Gilman Springs Road
  1. A few years ago, I discovered a March 16, 1977 Senate Investigative hearing, which was reported on in the March 29, 1977 IIHS Status Report.
  2. This is how that report began: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has released the results of a crash test program focused on the deadly problem of car-into-truck underride crashes. Appearing as lead-off witness at a March 16 Senate Investigative hearing, the Institute’s president, William Haddon, Jr., M.D., presented crash test films and analyses showing that: The 25 year-old federal “rear end protection” standard for devices on the backs of tractor-trailers and trucks is “a sham.”
  3. Further, Haddon warned Senators, “Blood has been shed, heads literally have rolled and countless thousands of Americans have been injured because these agencies did not act. Further inaction would be inexcusable.”

 

Our stories show the world that this violence has to end.
But the forces up against us make it hard to score a win.
Yet we’ll climb up this mountain of grief once again.
Weeping is our strength; let this battle begin.

Lyrics: from the broken heart of a mother (remembering the peace and joy of AnnaLeah and Mary); Tune: Simple Gifts

Note: Here is a 1989 University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) study including analysis of NHTSA rulemaking on rear guards:
“As indicated throughout our analysis, the proposed NHTSA rule was
never implemented. The exact reasons for not adopting it were
never explicitly stated. However, one can infer that the strong
opposition by the entire trucking industry combined with
‘”deregulation'” sentiments of the recent administration were the
major factors in its failure to be implemented. We note that
failure to implement a rule on underride guards took place
despite extensive research indicating their expected

#STOPunderrides Bill calls for NTSB Open Recs on underride to be resolved.

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, ,

Lois Durso and I attended the NTSB Announcement of their 2019 Most Wanted List. We were disappointed that there was no mention of truck underride protection — despite the fact that every almost every aspect of the STOP Underrides! Bill is included in their Open Recommendations (unresolved issues).

Getting the Ear of Legislators for Bipartisan Collaboration to #STOPUnderrides

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , ,

Lois Durso and I have had some excellent conversations with Senators and staffers in both Houses this week. When we have their ear and a bit of time to make them aware of the depth of the underride issue, they really seem to get it.

I only hope that this effort and the upcoming D.C. Underride Crash Test Event on March 26 will bear fruit very soon.

Since the original introduction of the bill on December 12, 2017,  unnecessary delay  has already allowed far too many underride deaths and injuries to continue occurring  — especially when this preventable problem has been known about for decades.