Category Archives: Truck Safety

Families of Underride Victims Unite to Support Development of a TrailerGuard System To Save Others

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Aaron Kiefer, a crash reconstructionist, has been working for almost three years now to design and crash test a TrailerGuard System to prevent cars from sliding under trucks. The project is currently at a stage where he needs to move beyond a simple prototype to begin manufacture of a product which can be installed on a set of trucks to demonstrate its practicality.

In 2015, Aaron reached out to the Karth family, who lost two daughters, AnnaLeah (17) and Mary (13), due to a truck underride crash. They had set up a non-profit organization — AnnaLeah & Mary For Truck Safety — for the purpose of encouraging underride research. Since that time, Jerry and Marianne Karth, have been working alongside Aaron to support his crash testing efforts. The ALMFTS website, fortrucksafety.com, serves as a means for other families and organizations  to support this project by making donations which may be considered tax-deductible.

The Karths have offered to keep a record here of the names of those whose lives are being remembered by their loved ones through contributions to this life-saving project. Photos and memories can be included. Their stories can also be included in the Interactive Underride Crash Map.

If you would like to know more about this, or would like to contact us about joining in to support our efforts, please email us at marianne@annaleahmary.com. Hope to hear from you soon!

What people are saying about the STOP Underrides! Bill

Truck Safety

Out of the 43,008 U.S. signatures on the STOP Underrides! Bill Petition, over 4,000 people chose to make a comment in answer to the question, Why do you think Congress should pass the STOP Underrides! Bill?

Find out how they answered that question: Comments on the STOP Underrides! Bill Petition

What would you say? Sign the petition here: Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underride!

We are grateful for these Co-Sponsors of the STOP Underrides! Bill.

Truck Safety

On December 12, 2017, Senator Gillibrand, Senator Rubio, Congressman Cohen, and Congressman DeSaulnier introduced the STOP Underrides! Bill as a bipartisan/bicameral effort to end preventable truck underride tragedies. Since that day, additional legislators have joined with them to co-sponsor this life-saving legislation.

Information on the bill — including bill text, co-sponsors, and legislative activity — can be found here: 

This is the list of current co-sponsors (to be updated as additional legislators jump on board):

SENATE

  1. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand(D-NY) (lead)
  2. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) (co-lead)
  3. Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL)
  4. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)
  5. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D–CT)
  6. Senator Edward Markey (D-MA)

HOUSE

  1. Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN-9) (lead)
  2. Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA-11) (co-lead)
  3. Congressman Richard Nolan (D-MN-8)
  4. Congressman Matt Cartwright (D-PA-17)

How many votes will be needed for the STOP Underrides! Bill to pass?  Needed: 51 votes in the Senate and 218 in the House

Recent Posts Related to the STOP Underrides! Bill

Truck Safety
  1. We are grateful for these Co-Sponsors of the STOP Underrides! Bill. On December 12, 2017, Senator Gillibrand, Senator Rubio, Congressman Cohen, and Congressman DeSaulnier introduced the STOP Underrides! Bill as a bipartisan/bicameral effort to end preventable truck underride tragedies. Since that day, additional legislators have joined with them to co-sponsor this life-saving legislation.Information on the bill — including bill text, co-sponsors, and legislative activity — can be found here. . .
  2. 4,180 Comments by Signers of the STOP Underrides! Petition in answer to the question, ” Why do you think Congress should pass the STOP Underrides! Bill?” Out of the 42, 950 U.S. signatures on the STOP Underrides! Bill Petition, about 4,180 people chose to make a comment in answer to the question, Why do you think Congress should pass the STOP Underrides! Bill? . . 
  3. STOP Underrides! Bill Petition Signers By State How many are enough signatures to make Congress listen? How many underride tragedies are enough to make us — the government, the trucking industry, and We the People — act decisively to end these senseless and preventable deaths?. . .
  4. Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the STOP Underrides! Bill Here is a FAQ document with answers to frequently asked questions about the STOP Underrides! Bill: FAQ STOP Underrides Bill.I hope that it helps to get us all on the same page and moving more quickly toward effective collaboration to end truck underride tragedies with Win/Win solutions. . .
  5. Interactive Underride Crash Map Launched This Week We launched an Interactive Underride Crash Story Map earlier this week. We have only just begun to add links for the thousands of underride tragedies which are too well remembered in the decades of neglect of this problem.  Many families may not even have realized that they lost their loved one because of preventable underride.If you have information on an underride crash, or would like to add more details about the people touched by these tragedies, email the crash location (and any photos or memories which you would like us to include) to underridemap@gmail.com. We will be adding them to the map one at a time. Here is the map. . .
  6. STOP Underrides Bill to be Introduced 12/12/17; Petition launched on first day of #UnderrideAwarenessWeek We have launched the Stop Underrides Bill Petition today. Please sign & share. Public support is crucial to ending Death by Underride.  #underrideawarenessweekSign Here: Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underride!
  7. Sen. Gillibrand questions Chris Spear, CEO of ATA, on truck underride protection. This morning, Senator Gillibrand took the opportunity at a Senate Environment & Public Works Committee Hearing on to ask Chris Spear, CEO of the American Trucking Associations, some questions about truck underride. . .
  8. I am a truck crash survivor & mom (of two who died) on a mission to make truck crashes more survivable!I am the survivor of a terrible truck crash. I am the mom of two daughters who did not survive. The difference? Their part of the car went under the truck; mine did not.In the aftermath, I found out that the rear underride guard could have been made stronger to withstand the crash so that AnnaLeah and Mary might — like me — have been survivors of a terrible truck crash. . .
  9. Discovery of AnnaLeah’s Book Collection Catalogued Online in LibraryThing I can’t tell you how it felt to look online and find my daughter’s book collection all thoroughly catalogued. I knew that she had a LibraryThing account where she had kept track of her extensive set of books. But never until just a few moments ago had I looked it up. . .
  10. Holiday memories of AnnaLeah & Mary; Treasure the old for there will be no new.To be honest, I hate the fact that I spend almost every waking hour figuring out ways to move the needle on comprehensive underride protection. I also hate the fact that AnnaLeah & Mary have no more chances to create new memories while the rest of us go on with our lives — getting older and making new memories without them.I hate the fact that no one effectively took on the underride problem in time to let AnnaLeah & Mary live to see another day after their underride crash on May 4, 2013. And it keeps on happening to other families.  . .
  11. Why Has the Truck Underride Problem Been Left Unchecked for Decades? Truck underride is what frequently happens when a passenger vehicle collides with a large truck. Because the truck was unfortunately defectively designed to be above the level of the crush zone of the smaller vehicle, the passenger vehicle goes under the truck and the crashworthy safety features of the car are not able to work. Or, to put it another way, the truck enters the occupant space of the passenger vehicle — too often resulting in horrific death and debilitating injuries. . .
  12. Spotlight on Introduction of Bipartisan/Bicameral Bill to STOP Underride Tragedies I am very thankful for the media coverage of the Introduction of the Bipartisan/Bicameral STOP Underrides! Act of 2017. The problem of underride has been poorly understood, and I am hopeful that this action on the part of four legislators — Senator Gillibrand, Senator Rubio, Congressman Cohen, and Congressman DeSaulnier — will get the ball rolling toward greater awareness and decisive action. . .

4,180 Comments by Signers of the STOP Underrides! Petition in answer to the question, ” Why do you think Congress should pass the STOP Underrides! Bill?”

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Out of the 42, 950 U.S. signatures on the STOP Underrides! Bill Petition, about 4,180 people chose to make a comment in answer to the question, Why do you think Congress should pass the STOP Underrides! Bill?

This list* was compiled on December 30, 2017 — about two weeks after the petition was launched. The signatures and comments (which generate an email to their legislators) keep coming in, including these two recent comments:

  • I hate unnecessary and intrusive government regulations, but I believe this is a simple, common sense regulation that will save lives. This is one instance where I believe a government regulation is warranted. It is not complicated or burdensome and it will save lives. Please pass this bill as soon as possible!
  • I knew the Karth girls. Secondly, if we already have the way to save lives available to us and do not use it, we should be ashamed of ourselves! The job of our government is to protect us. This is a simple, non-political way to do just that!

Here are the other 4,178 Comments: COMMENTS on STOP Underrides! Care2 Petition

One of Mary Karth’s many expressive faces reflects what countless Petition Signers wrote.        She was one of many precious lives lost too soon.

*  The first 91 pages contain the majority of the comments; the rest of the pages contain the remainder of the longer comments. Hoping to revise this format later.

Sign the Petition here: Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underride!

Number of Signers by State

STOP Underrides! Bill Petition Signers By State

Truck Safety

STOP Underrides! Bill Petition Signers by State

as of December 31, 2017 (launched December 11, 2017)

State

Number of Petition Signers

Alabama

307

Alaska

101

American Samoa

2

Arizona

1130

Arkansas

234

California

6488

Colorado

1027

Connecticut

583

Delaware

148

Florida

3671

Georgia

844

Hawaii

193

Idaho

216

Illinois

1583

Indiana

769

Iowa

313

Kansas

292

Kentucky

472

Louisiana

320

Maine

268

Maryland

730

Massachusetts

1100

Michigan

1470

Minnesota

588

Mississippi

166

Missouri

660

Montana

135

Nebraska

165

Nevada

499

New Hampshire

248

New Jersey

1307

New Mexico

421

New York

 2783

North Carolina

1109

North Dakota

47

Ohio

1543

Oklahoma

349

Oregon

 980

Pennsylvania

1801

Rhode Island

179

South Carolina

463

South Dakota

 68

Tennessee

 711

Texas

2507

Utah

341

Vermont

145

Virginia

 955

Washington

 1366

West Virginia

256

Wisconsin

 679

Wyoming

 52

American Samoa

2

DC

46

Guam

1

Northern Mariana Islands

2

Puerto Rico

 20

Virgin Islands

4

An underride crash can happen to anyone at anytime anywhere. Everyone will benefit from this bill. Join the team; sign the petition: Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underride!

Interactive Underride Crash Map

How many are enough signatures to make Congress listen? How many underride tragedies are enough to make us — the government, the trucking industry, and We the People — act decisively to end these senseless and preventable deaths?

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the STOP Underrides! Bill

Truck Safety,

Here is a FAQ document with answers to frequently asked questions about the STOP Underrides! Bill: FAQ STOP Underrides! Bill

I hope that it helps to get us all on the same page and moving more quickly toward effective collaboration to end truck underride tragedies with Win/Win solutions.

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.

Sen. Gillibrand questions Chris Spear, CEO of ATA, on truck underride protection.

Truck Safety, , , ,

This morning, Senator Gillibrand took the opportunity at a Senate Environment & Public Works Committee Hearing on to ask Chris Spear, CEO of the American Trucking Associations, some questions about truck underride.

Thank you, Senator Gillibrand, for continuing to move us forward toward an end to preventable underride tragedies.

I met with Chris Spear on March 29, 2017, to discuss our newly drafted underride bill. And I wrote a post in May in response to the kinds of concerns he raised in the hearing today. He asked Senator Gillibrand to encourage NHTSA to speed their evaluation of whether the added weight of side guards would compromise the structural integrity of trailers.

Here is that post: Question for the ATA: Is it necessary to choose EITHER crash avoidance OR occupant protection — not BOTH?

And here is the response to Mr. Spear’s concerns — from the inventor of the AngelWing side guard, Perry Ponder:

AngelWing has undergone extensive standard industry testing and analysis including durability track testing. Designed by a trailer engineer (me), AngelWing works in harmony with existing trailer designs with no effect on the trailer structure or durability. 

Help hasten the installation of effective truck underride protection. Sign & Share our petition: Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underride!

Interactive Underride Crash Map Launched This Week

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We launched an Interactive Underride Crash Story Map earlier this week. We have only just begun to add links for the thousands of underride tragedies which are too well remembered in the decades of neglect of this problem.  Many families may not even have realized that they lost their loved one because of preventable underride.

See more underride tragedies at Underride Crash Memorials and on our Interactive Underride Crash Map. To add more information on this story or to add other underride crashes to this map, send an email to underridemap@gmail.com; use this Interactive Underride Crash Map Crash Location Input Form.

Here is the map.

See more underride tragedies at Underride Crash Memorials and on our Interactive Underride Crash Map. To add more information on this story or to add other underride crashes to this map, send an email to underridemap@gmail.com; use this Interactive Underride Crash Map Crash Location Input Form.

Spotlight on Introduction of Bipartisan/Bicameral Bill to STOP Underride Tragedies

Truck Safety

It has been an exciting day and the bill has gotten needed attention. Signatures continue coming in expressing public support. Glad that Jerry Karth, Susanna Karth and Caleb Karth could be there today. Rebekah Karth Chojnacki is gathering the news reports for us (we just got home from DC). Peter Karth developed the interactive underride crash map (patiently working with his mother) — to which I now need to keep adding crash information. Isaac Karth updated the website. Levi Karth brought us exciting news of his engagement. And Samuel Karth keeps us smiling with news of Jerome.

In Memory of AnnaLeah & Mary and Roya, too – RAM: The Naming of an Underride Bill; Out of the Mouths of Babes

I am very thankful for the media coverage of the Introduction of the Bipartisan/Bicameral STOP Underrides! Act of 2017. The problem of underride has been poorly understood, and I am hopeful that this action on the part of four legislators — Senator Gillibrand, Senator Rubio, Congressman Cohen, and Congressman DeSaulnier — will get the ball rolling toward greater awareness and decisive action.

There have been a flurry of reports:

 

Help get public support behind this bill! Sign & share our Petition: Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underride!

Underride 101

December 13, 2017, UPDATE: We now have an Interactive Underride Crash Story Map. We have only just begun to add links for the countless underride tragedy stories. If you have information on an underride crash, or would like to add more details about the people touched by these tragedies, email us at underridemap@gmail.com. Here is the map.