Category Archives: Safety Advocacy

Underride Included in Senate Bipartisan Surface Reauthorization Bill Introduced Today

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , ,

GOOD NEWS: The Senate Commerce Committee just released the text of their Infrastructure Bill today.

It has an Underride Section which is very similar to the House T&I Committee’s Bill — not the full STOP Underrides Bill because it leaves out Front Underride Protection and Single Unit Trucks and doesn’t mandate side guards, only says to do research and develop a standard, if warranted.

But it is definitely more than we’ve ever had and we’re hoping that DOT is already motivated to take action. However, if you have been following the Infrastructure Bill in the news, nobody knows how it is going to be paid for — and that could hold things up!

Here’s a link to the Bill: https://www.commerce.senate.gov/…/ACEB4B07-B232-4176…

And here’s a link to the Underride Section: https://annaleahmary.com/…/Underride-Section-of…

Here’s an article in the media: https://www.commerce.senate.gov/…/cantwell-wicker…

Here’s an article on the House version: After 19-Hour Markup, Committee Advances Two Major Pieces of Bipartisan Legislation to Modernize America’s Infrastructure, Create Jobs, and Restore U.S. Global Competitiveness

After all, it’s only been 19,076 days since DOT said they were going to add side guards!

Collaborative Discussion of Side Guard Challenges on Specialty Trucks

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, ,

I was very pleased with the collaborative discussion which took place via Zoom on Monday, March 29, 2021, regarding the challenges of adding side guard safety technology to specialty trucks. Participants included primarily engineers and small companies who have been working on researching, designing, and/or marketing solutions to the underride problem. The meeting was also quietly observed by families of underride victims and administrative officials from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

Here is a summary of the discussion regarding the challenges of installing side guards on a variety of large trucks:

Discussion of Side Guards for Specialty Trucks – Underride Engineering Subcommittee

I have heard comments, in the past, that individuals and companies, which are designing, testing, and marketing innovative underride protection technology, are just in it to make money — as if they shouldn’t be trusted. I have found this to be far from the truth. I have observed selfless commitment to staying the course for the long haul to bring about solutions to a deadly problem which has been swept under the rug for far too long — with little hope, along the way, that there would be either a mandate or widespread voluntary adoption. Despite the decades of uncertainty, these resourceful people have held fast to this impossible dream.

The friendly and informative discussion among what-might-be-considered competitors was productive and appreciated. I hope that this meeting’s cooperative interaction to reach a shared goal is a foretaste of good things to come.

The March Madness of Competing Traffic Safety Interests

Safety Advocacy, , , , , , ,

What is it like to compete for the attention of government leaders in order to get traction on the traffic safety problem which took your loved one’s life? Envision a press conference on a hot topic where a cacophony of reporters can be heard shouting out — vying for the opportunity to have their question be the one that gets answered.

Only it is much worse because it seems fundamentally disturbing that we should be pitted against each other in endless competition for action on issues which are all vital to saving lives. In this process, we are fragmented and quite possibly give more power to the opposing forces.

Something’s wrong with this picture. And what I think that we need to turn things around is an Office of National Traffic Safety Ombudsman. Let’s appoint an Advocate with authority to be a strong voice for all of us and a means to bring us together – someone who will strengthen our efforts rather than leave us struggling in some kind of tournament where it is always win or go home.

Congressional Offices are continuously overwhelmed by pleas from advocates representing a multitude of concerns. And, although the Department of Transportation may have many fine individuals working on our behalf, there are clearly too many factors which put a stranglehold on effective action. I have not found that I could count on tangible progress from the agencies which are supposed to represent Safety and traffic victims and which have publicly committed to Vision Zero:

“At FHWA, we believe that a single death is a tragedy; almost 90 deaths a day is unacceptable when we possess the tools and capability to help prevent them. Reaching zero deaths will be difficult, will take time and will require significant effort from all of us; but it is the only acceptable vision. We’re not at zero yet, but we know that by working together we will see a day when there are no fatalities on the Nation’s roadways, sidewalks and bicycle paths.” On TOWARD ZERO DEATHS

“Safety is the top priority of the US DOT. For FHWA, this means a road system that is designed to protect its users, through implementing life-saving programs and infrastructure safety solutions. FHWA’s goal is to reduce transportation related fatalities and serious injuries across the transportation system, and for this reason it fully supports the vision of zero deaths and serious injuries on the Nation’s roads. To support this vision, FHWA continues to work closely with our partners to advance safety culture and a safe system approach, encourage performance-driven transportation safety management practices, and advocate for the deployment of innovative safety countermeasures. Working together, we can strive toward zero, the only acceptable number. “ Zero Deaths – Saving Lives through a Safety Culture and a Safe System

Words without meaningful action do me no good. What is going to bring about significant change? Can we even agree on the need for a united front, an appointed spokesperson, and a nationwide network of concerned citizens to more effectively address all traffic safety concerns?

If we do not, my daughters’ deaths become diminished – their lives apparently not worth saving, along with 40,000 other precious loved ones lost last year and the year before that and the year before that and some 40,000 this year and the next and the next. . .

U.S.A. Crash Death Clock

Mary & her Gertie
Gertie & her Mary

Time for a National Traffic Safety Ombudsman

Safety Advocacy,

Almost five years ago, after delivering a Vision Zero Petition to leaders in Washington, D.C., I realized that we need something more than a White House Vision Zero Task Force and a National Vision Zero Goal. We need a National Traffic Safety Ombudsman to be at the helm of a nationwide network of community traffic safety advocates. Someone who will have a place at the federal table — with the authority to take ongoing action on behalf of vulnerable victims of vehicle violence.

Observing too little progress after countless hours of underride advocacy in the last 7+ years, and 18,998 days of waiting for DOT to make good on their 1969 commitment to add underride protection to the sides of large vehicles, I know for a fact that we need a vigilant voice in D.C. So I organized a meeting to discuss it last Friday, March 19, 2021.

This is the presentation which I shared to outline just why I think this executive action is so important:

National Traffic Safety Ombudsman PowerPoint 6

National Traffic Safety Ombudsman ppt printout white

National Traffic Safety Act Brochure

Will you join me in the call for this needed action? End Preventable Crash Fatalities: Appoint a National Traffic Safety Ombudsman

National Traffic Safety Ombudsman CHARTER – Draft 2021

Will NHTSA & NTSB Address Side Underride Factor In Latest Tesla Crash Investigation?

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , ,

I have again requested that NHTSA and NTSB address the side underride factor in their investigation of yet another Tesla side underride crash.

The U.S. auto safety agency said on Monday it is investigating a crash in Detroit on Thursday involving a Tesla that became wedged underneath a tractor-trailer and left a passenger in critical condition. U.S. safety agency probes ‘violent’ Tesla crash in Detroit

After the investigation of Joshua Brown’s widely-publicized side underride death in May 2016, I asked NHTSA to provide me with their Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) report on his crash. What I discovered was that his crash was coded as “No Underride or Override Noted.” Joshua Brown/Tesla Side Underride Crash Coded as “No Underride” in FARS Data

It has been confirmed by the GAO that underride deaths are undercounted. We all know that ghastly underride deaths happen way too often. Will we seriously allow the lack of an accurate count to stop us from using proven engineering solutions to make sure that there are no more senseless Deaths By Underride?!

Should we be concerned about side guards getting hung up on railroad tracks?

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, ,

I keep hearing members of the trucking industry bring up the possibility of side guards on trailers getting hung-up on railroad tracks. They point to it as a reason to not require side guards on all new trucks. Is that a valid concern? And where is their documentation?

So, who could oppose the idea? The American Trucking Associations. Dan Horvath, vice president for safety policy, told me that the guards would be an expensive burden that would divert investment from better safety improvements and possibly cause trucks to get hung up at railroad crossings. Car Collisions With Big Rigs Don’t Have To Be So Deadly

When someone voices a concern, I immediately investigate the truth of the matter. On this issue, I received information, in 2019, from someone who had looked into this potential problem extensively. This is what he told me:

“It may be a deeper dive into the weeds than you care to make, but attached is a compilation of all railroad grade crossing accidents compiled by the Federal Railroad Administration for the past 5 years.

2014-2018 RR Crossing Data (2)

“. . . I see, in the last five years, for the population of trailers we currently have including the  lowboys, car haulers, cattle haulers, beverage trailers, etc there have been ZERO fatalities coded as truck-trailer stuck on track.  

Even if one were to assume a side guard at 18 inches high would create more hang-ups and accidents – and the standards on grade crossings say they won’t – it is just not a statistically frequent fatal or injurious event in comparison to side underrides. Maybe this is why the NTSB, the one responsible for investigating significant rail transport accidents, still recommended side guards for trailers.“

Here is a federal database of railroad crossings. How could a trucking company and their drivers use this information to plan their route to avoid potentially hazardous hang-ups? Highway/Rail Crossing Database Files

This 2002 West Virginia University provides useful information for this discussion. Low-Clearance Vehicles at Rail-Highway Grade Crossings: An Overview of the Problem and Potential Solutions

“It is interesting to note that ground clearances as low as 2 in. were identified. Although not included in the data base, it was reported to the researchers that some low-boy trailers operate with as few as 3 in. of ground clearance for a 47-ft wheelbase.

. . . a truck with a wheelbase of 30 ft and 6 in. of ground clearance will still experience problems; however, the magnitude of the problem is not as severe”

Two things are interesting about that: (1) the CMVs with that very low ground clearance would not need a side guard and (2) side guards do not go so low as the vehicles mentioned, which are the ones with the severe hang-up problems.

More thoughts on that research: A 2002 Study by the West Virginia University showed that trailers and trucks must be much lower to the ground than an underride guard to hang up on regulation railroad crossings and driveway and dock slopes.  One need look no further than how low semi-tractors are to the ground, or low-boy trailers. or car hauling trailers, to dispel the notion an underride guard at 16 to 18 inches from the ground cannot operate safely over the road. Perry Ponder

Here are some suggestions for truck drivers:

P L A N N I N G A S A F E R O U T E When possible in planning your route, select a route that contains the fewest highway-rail grade crossings. When it is necessary to cross tracks, select the safest crossings—those that offer the best sight distance (no obstructions to your clear line of vision down the tracks). Select crossings that offer you enough containment or storage area for you to stop at a stop sign or stoplight directly across the tracks. Allow enough space for your truck to fit on the other side without overhang onto the tracks. Be especially careful at passive crossings (those without gates, flashing lights, bells). At these crossings it will be up to you to judge if a train is coming without the assistance of electronic equipment.

If your truck does gets stuck on a crossing, you need to take two actions: 1. Get out of your truck IMMEDIATELY. The quicker you act, the more likely you’ll be able to alert the railroad to avert a tragedy. 2. The Emergency Notification Sign you noted on your review of the crossing contains a phone number to the railroad. Call it. Explain your location, including the DOT number listed on the sign. If there is no sign, call the local authorities or 911. RailroadCrossingSafetyforCommercialMotorVehicles

And here’s some Low Ground Clearance Signage. Let’s not act like problems aren’t there to be solved! Engineers love to solve problems!

Oh, by the way, check out the feedback from four trucking companies who have pioneered the use of side guards on their trucks. Have they had problems getting hung-up on railroad tracks?

Transport Companies Provide Feedback on Side Guard Operational Issues

I asked these companies to let me know how they deal with the railroad crossing problem. Late last night, I received a reply:

“If you can cross a railroad with any modern aerodynamic truck with side fairings and rubber skirts, you can cross it with a truck with side underride protection! I never had a problem!
 
You plan your route with trucking GPS and drive with common sense, and there is no problem!
 
Car haulers are low and have railroad crossing problems; underride protection is not a problem! It does not reduce ground clearance more than frequently used spare tire carriers and toolboxes, pallet storage etc.
 
Livestock and moving company trailers, step deck trailers are way lower than underride protection.” Ferdinand Heres, Heres Transport
 

In the end: What is worse than Death By Underride?

UPDATE, May 21, 2021: Don’t blame side guards when trailers get hung up.

Tractor-trailer stuck on railroad tracks along Route 2

UPDATE, March 16, 2022: “They say that tractor-trailers should not cross there because they have the possibility of getting stuck.” In other words, in general, tractor-trailers should avoid such crossings. Don’t use this as an excuse to stand in the way of a side guard mandate. Side guards save lives.

Tractor-trailer stuck at railroad crossing in Dunbar

Truck Underride Victims & Families Host News Conference for STOP Underrides Act Introduction

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , , ,

On Monday, March 8, truck crash victims’ families hosted a news conference to discuss their stories and the recent introduction of the STOP Underrides Act of 2021 — on March 4, 2021 in the Senate and March 8 in the House.

If you missed this important event, here are some useful underride links & resources:

Video recording of the News Conference:

It is a well-known fact that underride crashes (and, therefore, underride deaths and injuries) are undercounted. Investigating officers & reporters can help to improve reporting on underride crashes and deaths. Here are some tips, which we’d like you to consider: Truck Crash Investigation Underride Evaluation Checklist (2021)

We know that the trucking industry has expressed concern about potential operational issues which could occur when side guards are installed on large trucks. In order to address those concerns, we asked several trucking companies to give us feedback about their experience after installing side guards on their tractor-trailers. This is what they told us:

A Timeline of Underride:

Underride Victim Photo Memorial Slideshow – the tip of the iceberg:

Engineers, Trucking Industry, & Victim Advocates Collaborate at Side Guard Task Force

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

On a Friday afternoon — February 26, 2021 — over 50 people met via Zoom to discuss comprehensive underride protection. The purpose of the meeting was to report on progress which has been made by several subcommittees since an earlier meeting in 2020 — including Industry Engagement, Research, and Engineering Subcommittees.

The goal of the Underride Engineering Subcommittee — to which trailer manufacturers were invited — was to create a Consensus Side Guard Standard which would provide additional insight for the development of a side guard regulation. Lengthy conversation and exchange of information has led this group to submit the following recommendation:

A side underride guard shall be considered to meet the performance standard if it is able to provide vehicle crash compatibility with a midsize car, to prevent intrusion into the occupant survival space, when it is struck at any location, at any angle, and at any speed up to and including 40 mph.

The Task Force went so far as to suggest that the Truck Trailers Manufacturers Association (TTMA) discuss the Consensus Side Guard Standard at their upcoming annual meeting in San Antonio, April 7-10, 2021. We encouraged them to come together in a Joint Agreement to adopt or improve the Consensus Side Guard Standard, as an association, and fast track the manufacturing of side guards by their 80th Anniversary in 2022.

Accept the standard; build a guard.

IIHS successful 40 mph AngelWing side guard crash test, 8/29/17
Zoom Video Recording of the Side Guard Task Force Meeting on February 26, 2021
NOTE: The meeting begins at around 7:00 minutes into the video.

Sean O’Malley, Senior Test Coordinator at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), gave a presentation at the Side Guard Task Force. He stated that, “Everything we do here, we do to save lives. I wasn’t kidding when I said the rear underride program (ToughGuard) is what I’m most proud of. ” Trailer manufacturers responded to the IIHS creation of a safety marketplace for improved rear underride guards by working to meet the TOUGHGuard Award level of protection at the rear of tractor-trailers. Why then would they not do the same to meet the Consensus Side Guard Standard of protection at the sides of tractor-trailers — particularly since the IIHS supports it with their 40 m.p.h. test?

Underride is underride no matter with what part of the truck you collide — because the bottom of large trucks sit up higher from the ground than the bumpers of passenger vehicles. All the way around.

So now what do we do? Will we wait another 100 years? How many more lives will be sacrificed?

This compelling video will show you why Death By Underride, though unnatural & preventable, still continues.

Trucking companies could demand trailers with side underride guards. Trailer manufacturers could supply trailers with side underride guards. Or the government could mandate side underride guards — ideally with the support of industry because a government law or regulation will place all manufacturers on a level playing field.

Families of underride victims and engineers appealed to trailer manufacturers to take the bull by the horn, embrace the Consensus Side Guard Standard, and move forward with developing and installing side underride guards ahead of government requirements.

Today, I was reflecting on the Side Guard Task Force meeting and a strategy for action going forward. As I was looking up information on an engineer from one of the manufacturers, whom I’d met several years ago, I noticed that the manufacturer is making plans to hire an engineering intern for the Summer of 2021. Beautiful! Brilliant! How about we show this young intern how engineers can save lives.

Imagine engineering students from universities around the nation spending the coming year doing internships or senior capstone projects at trailer manufacturing companies working alongside industry engineers on side underride guard development. Collaboration could take place and serve to more rapidly bring about the development and implementation of long-overdue, life-saving technology.

MEETING RESOURCES:

Note: The Side Guard Task Force meeting on February 26, 2021, was a follow-up to an earlier meeting. On April 17, 2020, over 40 people participated in a virtual meeting of a volunteer Underride Protection Committee’s “Side Guard Task Force.” This included two engineers from trailer manufacturers. As a follow-up, several subcommittees began to hold virtual meetings, including an Underride Engineering Subcommittee.

After listening to Andy Young interview Eric Hein about the loss of his son, Riley, in a side underride, participants viewed a photo memorial slideshow of some of the countless underride victims:

Underride Victim Photo Memorial – The Tip of the Iceberg

Some of the many individuals and organizations who have made contributions to the work on underride protection were celebrated in this Underride Hero Hall of Fame video:

Underride Hero Hall of Fame

Note: the video of the complete meeting is an unedited Zoom recording. As excerpts from the agenda are created, Youtube video links will be added.

Consensus Side Guard Standard

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

On April 17, 2020, over 40 people participated in a virtual meeting of a volunteer Underride Protection Committee’s “Side Guard Task Force.” This included two engineers from trailer manufacturers. As a follow-up, several subcommittees began to hold virtual meetings, including an Underride Engineering Subcommittee.

The engineering subcommittee met at least monthly and sometimes every other week from May through November. At the outset, the VP of Engineering of one of the trailer manufacturers provided valuable input. Subcommittee members also participated in a Virtual Briefing for Senate Commerce Committee transportation staffers on August 19, 2020.

The goal of the Underride Engineering Subcommittee was to create a Consensus Side Guard Standard which would provide additional insight for the development of a side guard regulation and industry standard. Lengthy conversation and exchange of information has led this group to submit the following recommendation:

A side underride guard shall be considered to meet the performance standard if it is able to provide vehicle crash compatibility with a midsize car, to prevent intrusion into the occupant survival space, when it is struck at any location, at any angle, and at any speed up to and including 40 mph.

The subcommittee members are in agreement as to the details shaping this long-overdue standard, which they anticipate will lead to the saving of countless lives in the days and years to come. The following group of individuals participated in the Underride Engineering Subcommittee and are willing to continue to provide input.

Jared Bryson

Malcolm Deighton

Keith Friedman

Aaron Kiefer

Garrett Mattos

Perry Ponder

NOTE: It should be mentioned that this standard has, in fact, been evaluated through research conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety when they crashed a car at 40 m.p.h. into the side of a tractor-trailer equipped with AngelWings side guards on August 29, 2017, during the Second Underride Roundtable at their Ruckersville, Virginia, testing facility.

There was no underride, no Passenger Compartment Intrusion (PCI), and the crash dummy data showed that it was survivable. In other words, this standard is not pie-in-the-sky; it has been proven that the Consensus Side Guard Standard is attainable.

Crash test at 40 mph into AngelWings side guards, August 29, 2017, during the Second Underride Roundtable at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

UPDATE: Protecting Passenger Vehicles from Side Underride with Heavy Trucks More research on side underride was published by SAE International in April 2021 — following a presentation by Garrett Mattos of the Friedman Research Center at a SAE Conference. Hopefully, the Department of Transportation now has enough research to make good on their March 19, 1969 intention to add underride protection to the sides of large vehicles.

Utility Trailers Encourages Retrofit of Rear Impact Guards To Prevent Underride

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

Last evening, I received some amazing news! Utility Trailer Manufacturing has announced that their improved Rear Impact Guard (RIG) will be offered at a discount.

Utility “is pleased to announce its dry vans, refrigerated vans and flatbeds produced after 2002 can be retrofitted with Utility’s standard 7” deep horizontal Interstate Commerce Commission (I.C.C.) bumper. . .

“Utility strongly recommends their 7” deep horizontal bumper for horizontal bumper replacement on new or older Utility trailer models that were built after 2002 in order to exceed all rear trailer guard safety regulations. Utility will discount the new bumpers as an incentive to replace the old bumpers with the new upgraded 7” deep bumper. . .

“. . .is also I.I.H.S. certified and TUFF Guard awarded. TUFF Guard awards trailers with guards that prevent underride in all three of the institute’s rear underride tests . . . Utility Implements Standard 7’’ Rear Impact Guard on All Trailer Models

We are hopeful that this bold move will pave the way for all trailer manufacturers to follow suit. These retrofit kits will be available to replace not only damaged RIGs but the RIGs on millions of trailers on the road today which have rear underride guards which are TOO WEAK to stop underride all across the back of the trailer.

Thankfully, there are many RIG retrofit solutions available. This is what I know:

This just goes to show you that, by working together, we can STOP underrides. I’m hoping that 2021 will bring significant progress in underride protection!