Overlooked Vulnerabilities in Truck Crashes: Damage to Steering Mechanism & Fuel Tank

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

Being a passionate advocate for making truck crashes more survivable, I signed up for Google Alerts on truck crashes. Every night I get an email notifying me of truck crashes across the country. Mostly I look for evidence of underride. But I have noticed the frequency of truck crashes that involve fire. Why is that?

Last fall, I looked further into the problem of front override/underride of trucks over passenger vehicles — either in head-on collisions or when trucks rear-end passenger vehicles. What I found was that many countries have front underride protection standards to improve the outcome in such crashes — including Europe, Australia, India, and Japan.

The front underride/override protection (FUP) protects the passenger vehicle occupants. However, it also protects the truck’s components from damage — including the steering mechanism, which means a truck driver will be more likely to maintain control in a collision. Additionally, underride protection can potentially prevent contact with a fuel tank and thus prevent a fire from starting.

NTSB Recommended FRONT OVERRIDE PROTECTION In 2010

after Truck OVERRODE 3 vehicles

Note the mention of fire and damage to the steering mechanism related to an underride crash in this research study, 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 (p.4).

Where there was the ability for the truck to overrun the car bumper bar, the effect would be to compromise the cars energy absorption and increase the likelihood of intrusions into the cabin space. A further effect is that the rear of the car is pushed down and so there is an increased likelihood of fuel tank ruptures and of sparks being generated by steel contact with the road surface and hence significant increases in the risk of fire.  Hence overrun would be likely to increase the chance of fatalities in these crashes. (p.31)

Watch the rear of the car being pushed down in this side underride crash test:

The protection for the components of the truck are noted in this video of Volvo Front Underrun Protection System crash testing (starting at around 44 sec.):

So, tell me again why there is opposition and lack of action in the U.S. to mandate and install comprehensive underride protection — including Front Underride Protection (FUP). We are at a fork in the road: we can continue to let people die horrific underride deaths OR we can act decisively to mandate and move forward with comprehensive underride protection.

Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underride!

Front Underride Protection Brochure 6

“It’s a crossroad. Are we going to let more people continue to die or act decisively to save lives?”

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , ,

WRAL Raleigh, April 10, 2019
By Rick Armstrong, producer, and Kathryn Brown, anchor/reporter

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — A mother is warning all drivers to keep a safe distance from large trucks on roads and highways after a tragic crash in Georgia caused her car to go underneath a truck — leading to the deaths of her two daughters.

After Marianne Karth lost her daughters in the tragic truck crash in May 2013, she joined other families to push the “Stop Underrides” message on websites and social media. The measure, which is also a bill before Congress, calls for protection on the front, sides and rear of large trucks.

“In 1969, the DOT said they were going to put underride protection on the sides of large trucks,” Karth said. “That was 50 years ago.”

For Karth and other affected families. the time to act is now.

“It’s a crossroad,” Karth said. “Are we going to let more people continue to die, or are we going to make a decision to put on protection that can stop these deaths?”

Read more here.

Update on Underride News

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , ,

A quick look at important information on our effort to STOP underride tragedies:

  1. STOP Underrides! Petition can be found here.
  2. Raleigh News&Observer reporter covers underride in-depth: Moms want Congress to prevent the kind of truck crashes that killed their daughters
  3. Matt Brumbelow, IIHS research engineer, discusses deadly side underride & why trucking companies should want to install side underride guards. soundcloud.com/1070wina/matth
  4. Participate in the upcoming Side Guard Task Force meeting via Zoom on April 17. RSVP
  5. Important Videos: Basics of Underride; Front Underride Protection crash test; Side Guard crash test; Rear Guard crash test
  6. History of Underride Research & Reports: 1896-2019
  7. What would we do differently if we approached truck underride tragedies as a PUBLIC HEALTH issue rather than simply a TRANSPORTATION issue? Advocating for Transportation Safety: Solving a Major Public Health Problem Is a ‘Winnable Battle’
  8. A compilation of numerous Underride Guard PATENTS
  9. Crash Tests of Rear Underride Guard Reinforcement Attachments, 2016 & 2020In 2016, Aaron’s team conducted a full overlap rear crash test at approximately 35 mph closure.  This test, which was conducted on a reinforced trailer that had already suffered significant rear collision damage.  The lightly reinforced rear guard wasn’t able to prevent underride.   Aaron’s team has continued to develop trailer underride guards.  Recently, they crashed a reinforced trailer with a 2012 Chevy Impala at 38 mph and approximately 25% overlap.  This test illustrated that bolt on reinforcements can prevent deadly underride and passenger compartment intrusion (PCI). . . includes crash test videos.
  10. Wabash Engineer Left a Valuable Legacy: A Side Underride Guard Patent
  11. What have we been waiting for since March 19, 1969? A law to prevent people from dying under the side of trucks.
  12. “Her sisters died in a crash on the way to her wedding. Now she fights for safer highways.”
  13. Congressman Price Questions Secretary Chao About DOT’s Plan To Address GAO Truck Underride Recommendations
  14. An Exhaustive Look at Truck Underride: “Moms want Congress to prevent the kind of truck crashes that killed their daughters”, Raleigh News&Observer, February 2020
  15. Operational Issues with AngelWing Side Guard
  16. True Stories Well Told recently published this all too true tale of AnnaLeah. . .AnnaLeah was a particularly avid reader with a colorful imagination. She had a myriad ideas written down on random pieces of paper tucked into drawers, filling notebooks, or emailed to herself. She had, in fact, already created in her own mind numerous literary worlds peopled by characters with names and personalities. . .Read more here: https://truestorieswelltold.com/2019/12/18/annaleahs-too-true-story/
  17. Baltimore Sun:  Trucks must install underride guards or more lives will be lost – Baltimore Sun Letter to the Editor, 12/26/19
  18. We Have Never Before Had a National Traffic Safety Ombudsman:
    Read more here.
  19. Dispelling Common Misconceptions About Underride Protection It’s time to provide the documentation to counteract unfounded fallacies and speculations about underride protection. Read more here.
  20. On September 3, 1969, Congress discussed UNDERRIDE but did not act. U.S. Congressman Vanik from Ohio was given the floor. He made a lengthy statement, with noteworthy comments about underride protection, including the inadequacy of the proposed regulation for rear underride and the absence of regulations for smaller straight trucks, as well as protection on the sides and front of trucks. How many more people will die before Congress lays down the law? Read more here.
  21. Jury Verdict $42 million in Riley Hein Side Underride Case: Found the Trailer Manufacturer Negligent In August, a New Mexico jury found a trailer manufacturer “negligent”  in a side underride fatality. “The family hopes the verdict ‘sends a message’ to the truck-trailer industry to take measures to prevent underride crashes.” Read more here.
  22. NTSB Published a Preliminary Report on the March 2019 Tesla Side Underride Fatal Crash 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 Read more here.
  23. Media Reports & Video Footage Unveil Highlights of the Successful D.C. Underride Crash Test Event 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. . . Read more here.
  24. Video of the Underride Panel Discussion at the D.C. Underride Crash Test Event, March 26, 2019 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. . . Read more here.
  25. Ask The Trucker “LIVE” w/Allen Smith: The Stop Underrides Act- Requiring front, side & rear underguards 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 Read more here.
  26. As a trucking company owner, executive, or driver, what keeps you awake at night? One of the presenters at a recent NTSB webinar, “Collision Avoidance Technologies – Why You Need Them in Your Trucks Today!”, was Robert Maag, the VP of Operations for a small trucking company, Perfect Transportation. He had some wise advice for trucking companies related to investment in safety for a fleet:Investment in the front end can be extremely minimal in proportion to what could be at risk at the back end. . . Read more here .
  27. “Words without facts” is Propaganda “There is no trucker who would want to be a part of a tragic under-ride crash and there is no just-lawmaker who would feel content with having the opportunity to do something and remain silent and out of the conversation.”That’s what I read in a recent blogpost. If only the trucking industry would recognize that fact, re-examine some of their wrong-headed thinking, and get behind the win/win STOP Underrides! Bill.I’d like to take a stab at correcting some of the misunderstanding floating around out there about the STOP Underrides! Bill. I’m concerned that “words without facts,” if left unchallenged, is propaganda with power to confuse the uninformed. . . Read more here.
  28. It’s going to take an act of Congress to end underride once and for all. Congress needs to wake up and understand that NHTSA has not responded to underride safety recommendations or petitions from NTSB or IIHS for decades. More recommendations from the GAO is not likely to do the trick. We have three branches of government for a reason, and part of the role of Congress is to say: do this or do that. . . Read more here.
  29. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Truck Underride Report Published After a Year-Long Investigation After the STOP Underrides Bill was first introduced on December 12, 2017, several members of Congress –Senators Thune, Rubio, Burr, and Gillibrand — requested that the Government Accountability Office prepare a report on truck underride guards. That report was published today and can be found here. The online report is organized into sections, including Fast Facts, Highlights, and Recommendations. The GAO Recommendations are. . . Read more (including Karth Cliff Notes on the GAO Truck Underride Report) here.
  30. How you can help us STOP underride deaths & injuries: Sign & Share our Petition to tell Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underride! Find it here. Call &/or email your U.S. legislators. Ask them to co-sponsor and pass the STOP Underrides! Act (Senate Bill S.665 and House Bill HR.1511). Find their information here.
  31. Overlooked Vulnerabilities in Truck Crashes: Damage to Steering Mechanism & Fuel Tank Being a passionate advocate for making truck crashes more survivable, I signed up for Google Alerts on truck crashes. Every night I get an email notifying me of truck crashes across the country. Mostly I look for evidence of underride. But I have noticed the frequency of truck crashes that involve fire. Why is that? Read more here .
  32. “It’s a crossroad. Are we going to let more people continue to die or act decisively to save lives?” WRAL Raleigh, April 10, 2019
    By Rick Armstrong, producer, and Kathryn Brown, anchor/reporter    ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — A mother is warning all drivers to keep a safe distance from large trucks on roads and highways after a tragic crash in Georgia caused her car to go underneath a truck — leading to the deaths of her two daughters. Read more here.
  33. Compelling Documentary Tells the Stories of Underride Victims: Save Lives – STOP Underrides! 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. . . See it here.
  34. Back-of-the-Envelope Math for Underride Protection Retrofit Cost/Trailer Equation Let’s do some simple back-of-the-envelope math. How much would it cost to retrofit a trailer? The current estimated cost would be. . . So, for $0.62 per day, the trailer owner has the following benefits. . . Read more here .
  35. A Mom’s Response to the OOIDA Letter of Opposition to the Life-preserving #STOPUnderrides! Bill The STOP Underrides! Bill was re-introduced into Congress on March 5, 2019. On March 7, the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association wrote a letter of opposition and sent it to the bill’s sponsors.The following is a combination of the OOIDA letter (bolded) and my response. . .   Find it here.

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. . .

Simulation of a Crash Test Into a Trailer Using a Pulley Towing System

Truck Safety,

Just for fun, watch these simulations of how the upcoming crash testing will be executed:

Isometric 2

Approach Isometric (2)

 

DC Underride Crash Test Event Media Alert

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

The Significance of March 19, 1969, & Truck Underride

AnnaLeah and Mary, Truck Safety,

Of special interest to those concerned about truck underride is information which I discovered on March 2, 2016. It refers to a published statement by a U.S. DOT agency on March 19, 1969.

That information stuck in my mind more than it would for most people because March 19 is my anniversary and today I celebrated 42 years of marriage to my loving husband, Jerry. Only at the time, I was 13 — not even driving yet.

On that day, 50 years ago, the DOT said that they intended to extend underride protection to the sides of large vehicles. Why would they do that? Because underride is a potential risk all around the truck (except at the tires). They had mandated a weak (we found out thanks to IIHS) rear underride guard but not side.

Imagine. They still have not done so! Many years have come and gone. I have raised a family of nine and buried two of them due to truck underride. And, yet, this country has dragged its feet and neglected to make it a priority to solve the underride problem — despite the fact that technology has advanced by leaps and bounds in other areas.

From that March 2, 2016 post: A Public Comment on Underride Rulemaking re: original intent of NHTSA in 1969

I just read an interesting Public Comment on the Underride Rulemaking: Comment from 7-E Seven Hills Engineering, LLC – Transport Canada

Perry Ponder also commented on the Single Unit Truck Underride Rulemaking last fall: Comment from 7-E Seven Hills Engineering, LLC – Transport Canada

Of special interest to me was the information in both of his Comments on 1969 rulemaking:

“I will begin by pointing out that continuing to allow truck and trailer induced PCI 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 – easily remedied by readily available materials and simple structural analysis – is present also on the sides of heavy trailers and trucks. The FMVSS standard should be broadened to include guarding for the sides and rear of heavy straight trucks, as well as the sides of heavy trailers. This was the original intent of NHTSA rulemakers in the 1969 NPRM, Docket No. 1-11; Notice 2.”

Note: Perry Ponder later that year came to the First Underride Roundtable and through connections made there completed development of his AngelWing side guard — successfully tested on March 30, 2017 at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrL7AUMT4To

The AngelWing, along with the Safety Skirt, will be tested at the D.C. Underride Crash Test Event on March 26 — as well as a crash into the side of a trailer with no side underride protection.

Other March underride posts:

March has indeed been an eventful month for truck underride. And next week at this time, we will have hosted the first ever D.C. Underride Crash Test Event. 

 

Industry opposition to life-saving measures deepens my grief. Peace in my soul & pain in my heart.

AnnaLeah and Mary, Truck Safety, , ,

There is peace like a river in my soul but pain does not leave my heart. The ongoing inaction and opposition of the trucking industry, to solutions which could prevent such grief for others, does not make it any easier. In fact, the frustration and anger it stirs up is one more grief too hard to bear.

The power of misinformation and subtle suggestions have the power to sway and delay decisive action. This has gone on far too long. May truth and mercy prevail.

To still my soul in the midst of this raging battle, I am reminding myself of the joy and love of life shared by my daughters during their short time here on this earth before their lives were so abruptly ended by a preventable truck underride crash.

Mary loved to capture every moment on her camera–from the mundane to the amazing. That included our walk on the trails of Battle Park on a beautiful day in January 2013 in her new home of Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Mary’s photo story of the walk with her sister, AnnaLeah, dad, and mom is set to Horatio Spafford’s well-known hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul.” Fitting in so many ways. Peace like a river attendeth my soul.

Photography by Mary Lydia Karth (and her mom)