Category Archives: Truck Safety

Twice Victims: Underride Families Re-traumatized When Elected Officials Fail To Speak Up

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, ,

Too often, families of underride victims not only face the trauma of horrific, unexpected, and preventable death by underride but they, also, have to deal with the frustration of failure to convince their U.S. legislators to support change.

Amy Cohen, co-founder of Families for Safe Streets, a coalition of surviving family members that confronts traffic violence through advocacy and support services, said that . . . the families she works with frequently report being re-traumatized when their elected officials fail to speak up. Joe Biden Lost His Wife and Daughter to Our Traffic Violence Epidemic. Could He Be the First President to Do Something to End it?

On August 19, we hosted another Underride Staff Briefing — this time via Zoom. We are providing Congressional Offices with the PowerPoint pdf from that presentation, including comments from engineers with expertise in underride as well as underride families.

Underride Briefing PowerPoint pdf (inc. links to resources & video)

Underride tragedies happen to the constituents of every elected official. They’ve been made fully aware of both the deadly problem and its available engineering solutions. The ball is in your court, Congress. Do your job.

Ignoring Underride Problem Discards Years of Automotive Crashworthiness Efforts

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , ,

Perry Ponder, who first brought the 1969 DOT discussion of side underride protection to my attention in 2016 and has invented the AngelWing side guard, recently submitted another Public Comment to NHTSA. He addresses industry concerns about side guards — providing thorough documentation.

IIHS Side Guard Crash Test, March 20, 2017

An excerpt of Ponder’s 2020 comments: Continuing to allow truck and trailer induced PCI in rear and side underride crashes to occur at otherwise survivable crash speeds (delta-V’s of 45mph and beyond) discards years of crashworthiness efforts and wastes the safety benefits we have come to expect and pay for in our cars.

From an engineering perspective the need for vehicle crash compatibility in the form of adequate heavy truck underride guarding is apparent in order to protect against the hazard of PCI which exposes the vulnerable head and neck region to severe, potentially fatal or crippling injury. This hazard is easily remedied by readily available materials and simple structural analysis. Read more here.

Here is Perry’s 2016 Public Comment in which he asked for NHTSA to extend underride protection to the sides of trucks and mentioned that it was the original intent of the underride rulemaking in 1969. This is what the Federal Highway Administration said at that time,

It is anticipated that the proposed standard will be amended, after technical studies have been completed, to extend the requirement for underride protection to the sides of large vehicles.

Imagine! In 1969.

Here is that 1969 document:

1969 NPRM, Docket No. 1-11; Notice 2
1969 NPRM, Docket No. 1-11; Notice 2 p.2

This was the original intent of NHTSA rulemakers in the 1969 NPRM, Docket No. 1-11; Notice 2. 

How You Can Help

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , ,

June 18, 2020, CALL TO ACTION

When a vehicle goes under a big truck, it’s called an underride crash.  This type of crash is extremely dangerous and completely preventable. Installing better guards on big trucks would prevent this type of crash.

There is an Infrastructure Bill being considered by the House Transportation & Infrastucture Committee called the INVEST in America Act which includes underride legislation. We are also waiting for the Senate Commerce Committee to introduce their version of an Infrastructure Bill soon. We are hoping it will include underride legislation.

Become part of the solution by sending an email TODAY to U.S. Legislators in Congress. Tell them that you want them to support Underride Legislation in the Infrastructure Bill.

Members of the U.S. Congress
U.S. Senators – Get contact information for your Senators in the U.S. Senate.
U.S. Representatives – Find the website and contact information for your Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives. Find your Rep by zip here.

You can also tag them on a Tweet. Use these hashtags: #STOPunderrides #UnderrideVictimsMatter.

Thank you for taking action. Share this message with your friends so we can make a significant impact at a crucial time.

Urgent Call to Action on Truck Safety (June 16)

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UPDATE, June 18, 2020: Thank you to those who took action. The Garcia Amendment passed. The Cohen Amendment did not pass.

When a vehicle goes under a big truck, it’s called an underride crash.  This type of crash is extremely dangerous and completely preventable.  Installing better guards on big trucks would prevent this type of crash.  There is a bill being considered now under the INVEST in America Act which would require these life saving guards.  

The Infrastructure Bill includes an Underride Section.

Become part of the solution by sending an email TODAY to U.S. Representatives on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee (T&I). They will be considering the INVEST in America Act on Wednesday, June 17, at 10:00 a.m. in a live hearing.

Use this website link to search for your U.S. Representative, or ones from your state who are on the T&I Committee. Send these two simple messages in your own words — asking them to make trucking safer by:

  • Supporting the Cohen Amendment 089 to strengthen the Underride legislation in the INVEST in America Act by directing NHTSA to do a pilot program in order to prove that underride protection is effective and technically feasible.
  • Supporting the Garcia Amendment 062 which will raise the Minimum Insurance Liability for truck companies from $750,000 – an amount set in 1980 – to $2 million in a simple adjustment for inflation. This needed change has been neglected for decades and will help not only truck crash victims but also truck drivers, who are often victims of truck crashes. It creates a financial incentive to enforce safety.
  • Late-breaking addition: Ask them to OPPOSE the Perry Amendment 115, which strikes Automatic Emergency Braking from the Bill. This amendment appears to be getting in the way of advancing crash avoidance technology to prevent or reduce the severity of crashes. Why would they want to do that?

Watch this short video which vividly tells the story of Mike, a truck crash victim who was impacted by the woefully-low insurance requirement:

You can also tag them on a Tweet.

Thank you for taking action. Share this message with your friends so we can make a significant impact at a crucial time.

Truck Safety Call to Action

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , , ,

Finally, we’re getting someplace in our efforts to make trucking safer. Legislation is being considered which looks promising to address the issues from our AnnaLeah & Mary Stand Up For Truck Safety Petition in 2014.

You can become part of the solution by making a quick phone call or send an email to U.S. Representatives on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee (T&I). They will be considering the INVEST in America Act on Wednesday, June 17, at 10:00 a.m. in a live hearing.

Use this website link to search for your U.S. Representative, or ones from your state who are on the T&I Committee. Send these two simple messages in your own words — asking them to make trucking safer by:

  • Supporting the Cohen Amendment 089 to strengthen the Underride legislation in the INVEST in America Act by directing NHTSA to do a pilot program in order to prove that underride protection is effective and technically feasible.
  • Supporting the Garcia Amendment 062 which will raise the Minimum Insurance Liability for truck companies from $750,000 – an amount set in 1980 – to $2 million in a simple adjustment for inflation. This needed change has been neglected for decades and will help not only truck crash victims but also truck drivers, who are often victims of truck crashes. It creates a financial incentive to enforce safety.

Watch this short video which vividly tells the story of Mike, a truck crash victim who was impacted by the woefully-low insurance requirement:

Thank you for taking action. Share this message with your friends so we can make a significant impact at a crucial time.

House T&I Committee’s INVEST in America Act Includes Underride Legislation

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , ,

The House T&I Committee published their draft of the renewal of the FAST Act. Section 4405 addresses Truck Underride: Underride Section of FAST Act 2020 – INVEST in America

You can compare it to the STOP Underrides Bill: Text – H.R.1511 – 116th Congress (2019-2020)_ Stop Underrides Act _ Congress.gov _ Library of Congress

Update (September 13): Comparison Chart of Underride Provisions in Various Bills

And here are the GAO Underride Recommendations: GAO Truck Underride Recommendations

Will Congress & NHTSA move forward with bold and decisive action to end underride?

What’s New In Underride? Both Action & Inaction

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , ,

Despite the COVID-19 shutdown of many activities, there is a lot happening related to truck underride. Here’s a quick summary:

  • While we hope for April showers to bring May flowers, this year I was encouraged to see that the April 17 Side Guard Task Force Meeting led to multiple May Subcommittee meetings of an informal but active Underride Protection Committee — Engineering, Awareness, Advocacy, Research and Industry Engagement meetings have all taken place. Underride Protection Committee brochure
  • We also launched the SaferTruck System Award Program to encourage fleets to voluntarily adopt these life saving features. SaferTruck System Awards
  • In May, the FMCSA published a report [A Literature Review of Lateral Protection Devices on Trucks Intended for Reducing Pedestrian and Cyclist Fatalities] on the pedestrian safety truck side guard study [Study of Truck Side Guards to Reduce Pedestrian Fatalities] completed last year by Volpe Transportation Center. The conclusion acknowledges that pedestrians and cyclists could be saved by what they term Lateral Protection Devices. But the report notably fails to discuss a cost benefit analysis — included in the Volpe report — or make any recommendations. So, why did taxpayers foot a $200,000 bill for research that might not result in tangible action to save lives?
  • Guess what! I just checked and the FMCSA clearly revised the webpage from when I visited it in January 2020. The page no longer states this information (which I fortunately recorded in an email): “Five key tasks are included in this project: (1) study interaction of a potential side guard with other truck parts and accessories (e.g., fuel tanks, fire extinguisher, exhaust system) and the implications for a new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation; (2) investigate applicable international side guard standards; (3) perform a preliminary cost-benefit analysis of truck side guard deployment; (4) propose recommendations; and (5) propose means for voluntary adoption.“
  • Instead, that page now says: “This research product contains a literature review of regulations and effectiveness studies in other countries. The effectiveness estimates from studies in other countries cannot be applied to the U.S.—in part because of different regulatory and infrastructure environments— “ What?! That’s it?! What about all of the other information included in the $200,000 study? Where’s the CBA?
  • The FULL study (not simply the literature review) needs to be made available to the Senate Commerce Committee, the House T&I Committee, and the Underride Protection Committee — including the vehicle part interactions report, the cost-benefit analysis report, the Draft final report, and the FINAL Report. Period.
  • The Dragon launch on May 30 and the docking with the international space station on May 31 proves that we still know how to solve problems. Let’s apply that to deadly underride!
This geometric mismatch will lead to preventable tragedies until we do something about it.

Sign a Letter of Support for the SaferTruck Underride Safety Initiative

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

In order to encourage trucking companies to buy and drive safer trucks, AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety has created decals to affix to trucks which have installed a stronger rear guard and/or added side guards — thereby meeting safety standards for rear and side underride protection, as spelled out in the STOP Underrides Bill.

In hopes that this recognition of fleet safety leadership will help to prevent the loss of other precious lives, we launched this program on May 4, 2020 –remembering our loss of AnnaLeah and Mary in an underride crash seven years earlier on May 4, 2013.

You can endorse this underride safety initiative by signing a Letter of Support here:

AnnaLeah & Mary Karth. . . Would they think this was an AWESOME idea?

Safer Trucks To Receive Commemorative Awards For Contribution to Safer Roads

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Jerry attached the first SaferTruck Bono Award to a trailer in the process of being upfitted with a Rear Reinforcement Attachment and a full-length side guard system.

In order to encourage trucking companies to buy and drive safer trucks, AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety has created decals to affix to trucks which have installed a stronger rear guard and/or added side guards — thereby meeting safety standards for rear and side underride protection, as spelled out in the STOP Underrides Bill.

In hopes that this recognition of fleet safety leadership will help to prevent the loss of other precious lives, we are launching this program on May 4, 2020, as we remember our loss of AnnaLeah and Mary in an underride crash seven years ago on May 4, 2013.

The SaferTruck System Bono Award is for trucks on which a stronger rear underride guard has been installed to prevent underride deaths at the rear of trucks. We chose this name in reference to the patron saint, Beuno or Bono (Latin, bonus = good), known for the protection of children  — using the image of Mary’s beloved stuffed toy St. Bernard, Gertie.

Statue of Mary’s Gertie at the girls’ gravesite
Mary with her beloved Gertie in 2012

The SaferTruck System Christopher Award is for trucks which have had side guards installed to prevent underride deaths at the sides. We chose this name in reference to the patron saint/advocate of travelers, Christopher — keeping in mind AnnaLeah’s love of medieval history and dragons.

Dragon statue at the gravesite
AnnaLeah’s stuffed toy dragon
AnnaLeah with her nephew
AnnaLeah with her niece and nephew, 2012
Mary and her Gertie in a photoshoot by her sister Susanna, circa 2010

With special thanks to Mary & AnnaLeah’s brother, Isaac Karth, who created the designs for these two SaferTruck System awards.

Safer Trucks Receive Commemorative Awards for Contribution to Safer Roads flipbook

SaferTruck System Awards Program brochure

Sign a Letter of Support for the SaferTruck System Awards Program

In Memory of Alex Wolf

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety,

Alex [Wolf] was killed last week when his bike was hit by a semi during a turn near 12 Street and Linden Avenue in Minneapolis. Police are still investigating the crash. https://www.kare11.com/article/news/father-mourns-son-killed-in-bicycle-accident/89-85b48940-f255-43a7-842b-3878e8981a0f

MPD investigating deadly crash involving a bicyclist: https://www.kare11.com/article/traffic/mpd-investigating-fatal-crash-involving-a-bicyclist/89-4870b647-4b53-42c2-bfea-869fe10c6e39

Advocates form “Human Wall” to call for bike safety: https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/advocates-form-human-wall-to-call-for-bike-safety/89-13e4cf03-c1e8-4d45-a13b-8c7f505e4f2d

See more underride tragedies at Underride Crash Memorials.To add 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.)