We The People Must Stand Up To Industry Opposition To Lifesaving Underride Protection Technology

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, ,

We the People must grab the reins of power to protect vulnerable travelers on our roads. The federal government and the trucking industry are either dragging their feet or deliberately opposing* efforts to get life-saving underride protection technology on all large trucks. It’s up to us to change the course of history.

The STOP Underrides! Bill has already been introduced (on December 12, 2017) by Senator Gillibrand, Senator Rubio, Congressman Cohen, and Congressman DeSaulnier. Now it’s time to let every one of our legislators know that it is not just Lois Durso and Marianne Karth who want this bill passed. The people of this country must speak up and demand that this practical solution be required.

Are you with us?

Watch this compelling video:

Over 57,000 people have signed the STOP Underrides! Petition. We need a strong voice calling for an end to these preventable tragedies. If you have not already done so, please sign this petition: Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underride!

Spread the word! Share the video and the petition.

Please let us know if you would be willing to put a bumper sticker on your car to raise awareness. If so, email us at stopunderrides@gmail.com.

* Letters from Trucking Industry Associations in Opposition to Underride Technology Mandates (with a response from Senator Gillibrand & a blogpost from a truck driver advocate)

It is unfortunate that the regulated industry has such power over how they are regulated. Their decisions and actions are apparently informed by a strong inclination to protect the bottomline rather than by the conscience of individuals within that industry. How frustrating that they do not truly take into account the “honest bottomline” for, if they did, they would know that it would be to their ultimate advantage to make full use of every safety technology available to them.

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.

Road to Zero Coalition Members Can Sign On Here to the Truck Underride Priority Statement!

Every 15 min. in US a large truck rear-ends a car; Near Misses Indicate Need for Front Underride Protection

Truck Safety, ,

Fred Andersky, director, customer solutions, controls with Bendix, said at the North American Commercial Vehicle show that every 15 minutes in the U.S., a large truck rear-ends a passenger car.   https://www.trucknews.com/equipment/bendix-developing-next-gen-safety-systems/1003081127/

That means there are either fatal front override crashes or “near misses” 96 times/day, 672 times/week, 2,912 times/month, and 34,944 times/year!

In May 2017, Jerry and I were invited to the National Safety Council’s annual Green Cross Safety Banquet in San Diego. During the banquet, I sat next to a safety manager from United Airlines. She said that it is United’s policy to count and study “near misses” and consider what is learned from them when developing safety strategies.

In fact, these truck/car rear-end collisions should be considered “Underride Near Misses” and included in the cost/benefit analysis formula for underride regulatory analysis. How might that change the outcome of the rulemaking and therefore the outcome of these kinds of collisions in the future?

Tell me why we would not want to have both Collision Avoidance Technologies and Front Underride Protection (FUP) on trucks in this country to decrease the risk of preventable underride injuries and deaths!!! Yet there is resistance and opposition to a FUP mandate in the U.S. — despite the fact that the NTSB has strongly recommended that NHTSA issue such a mandate and Europe has had a FUP regulatory standard since 1994.

By the way, I would still like to see the detailed formula which NHTSA has used to do underride rulemaking cost/benefit analysis. I’d like to make sure that it is relevant and accurate.

 

How Imp’t Is It To Know Exactly How Many People Die From Underride Before Taking Action To Prevent It?

Truck Safety, ,

We know from experience and reading studies that truck underride is vastly undercounted. But how important is it to know precisely how many people are impacted by this before taking decisive action to end these preventable tragedies?

Because of the requirement to do cost/benefit analysis when doing federal rulemaking, some people refuse to budge until they get more information than we have already provided. Isn’t the spilled blood we are already aware of enough? Especially coupled with the convincing crash testing which proves that the outcome of collisions could be completely changed!

Here’s another study on estimating side underride fatalities:  Estimating Side Underride Fatalities Using Field Data. I was a little hesitant to post it but asked the opinion of Matt Brumbelow, Senior Research Engineer at the IIHS. He says,

While I do have a few concerns with the methodology, the results actually support the conclusion that side underride guards would be greatly beneficial.  Specifically, she found that FARS underestimates the occurrence of side underride: over half (52%) of the cases coded as “no underride” actually did have side underride.  When you include the crashes that are coded as underride in FARS, they find that 61% of all side impact crashes with a tractor-trailer resulted in underride with PCI.  In other words, around 180 fatalities per year (61% of 300) could potentially be prevented with sufficient side underride protection.

While this 61% figure is still smaller than estimates we’ve made, I don’t see how it could lead anyone to think that the benefit of side guards would be small.

For goodness sake, what are we waiting for?!

Every Month Passing of the STOP Underrides! Bill Is Delayed Means More Unnecessary, Preventable Deaths

@SenJohnThune I hope that you never lose a loved one to truck underride, esp. when it could be prevented!

Truck Safety, ,

My days and nights are filled with thoughts and feelings which all began on May 4, 2013. I often pray that those who could do something to help prevent truck underride crashes would not be able to sleep until they, too, embrace the vision for ending these preventable tragedies — effective, comprehensive underride protection on every truck on the road.

People like Senator John Thune, who is Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, and has the authority to move this bill forward to a vote. . .

I’d like to be able to add Senator Thune to my Underride Hero Hall of Fame.

Eighth Major Trailer Manufacturer To Have Improved Rear Underride Guard Crash Tested at IIHS on July 10

Truck Safety, , , , ,

For several years before our underride crash, the IIHS had been doing crash testing into rear underride guards on trailers from eight major trailer manufacturers. Their research showed that even though these guards were designed to meet the current federal standard, they were too weak and failed to stop cars from going under upon collision.

We are grateful that seven of those manufacturers have designed improved rear guards as confirmed by crash testing at the IIHS Vehicle Research Center at 35 mph — receiving a TOUGHGUARD Award for their efforts. Here is an example of one of those seven:

While we are thankful, we know that the work isn’t over yet. Still needed:

  • The eighth manufacturer, Strick Trailers, will have their newly-designed rear underride guard tested on July 10.
  • Research is needed to demonstrate whether these improved guards are also successful at speeds higher than 35 mph. (We know that a guard developed by an aluminum extrusions company has been tested successfully at 40 mph and perhaps higher.)
  • Some manufacturers are selling these improved rear guards as Standard on all new trailers, while others are actually selling them as an Option (thus weak guards are still being sold and going on the road). Can you believe it?!
  • As the bill indicates, there are still millions of trucks on the road which will be hazardous to drive around until they are retrofitted with effective underride protection. For example, I bet that the trailer with which we collided is still on the road and likely still has a weak rear underride guard and so could kill someone else.

Stoughton Underride Guard Earns Kudos from Crash Survivor, Insurance Institute

Stoughton’s improved rear guard was successfully crash tested at 35 mph at the first Underride Roundtable at the IIHS on May 5, 2016 (3 years after our crash). They were the fourth manufacturer to do so (preceded by Manac, Vanguard, and Wabash — and later followed by Great Dane, Utility, and Hyundai):

Stoughton® Trailers New Rear Underride Guard Lauded Important for Safety

National Transportation Safety Board Recommends Front Underride Protection on Trucks

Truck Safety, , , ,

A 2010 report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended that front underride protection be installed on large trucks. This recommendation was based on their investigation of a 2009 crash in Miami, Oklahoma, in which a Volvo truck rode over three vehicles in succession. Ten people died.

NTSB Truck Underride Safety Recommendations to NHTSA

Here it is, ten years later, and NHTSA has not yet issued rulemaking for Front Underride Protection.

The European division of Volvo Trucks actually has manufactured Front Underride Protection (FUP) for years because there is a European FUP standard. Europe has recognized that front underride (or override) is an engineering problem and engineers love to solve problems:

After becoming enlightened about these FUP facts, we posed a question to a representative of the U.S. division of Volvo Trucks, who was on a Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Panel at a Road to Zero Coalition meeting on March 20, 2017, in D.C. We asked him whether Volvo would put FUP on U.S. trucks voluntarily or whether it would take a mandate. He said that it would take a mandate.

People die from underride collisions with the front of trucks, but a blind eye is being turned to the problem. What’s wrong with this picture?

Actually, the NTSB has made other underride recommendations as well to NHTSA, including:

  • stronger rear underride guards on tractor-trailers
  • side guards
  • underride protection on single unit trucks (straight trucks) which are currently exempt for rear underride standards.

In other words, NTSB investigations have confirmed the importance of the comprehensive nature of the STOP Underrides! Bill because people are continuing to die from underride collisions with almost every part of trucks (and this includes pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists).

Previous posts on FUP

Update, Just found this out: Fred Andersky, director, customer solutions, controls with Bendix, said at the North American Commercial Vehicle show that every 15 minutes in the U.S., a large truck rear-ends a passenger car.   https://www.trucknews.com/equipment/bendix-developing-next-gen-safety-systems/1003081127/

That’s 96 times/day, 672 times/week, 2,912 times/month, and 34,944 times/year!

So, tell me why we would not want to have Front Underride Protection (FUP) on trucks in this country!!!

A compelling look at Death By Underride from Cool Breeze Studio

AnnaLeah and Mary, Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, ,

Lois Durso & I were privileged to meet with Michael Hawkins (Cool Breeze Studio) last week at his studio in South Carolina to begin work on some underride video productions. Mike just finished this short look at Death By Underride.

In memory of Roya, AnnaLeah & Mary and the countless other victims of underride

With the hope that countless other people will be spared a similar fate

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

STOP Underrides Brochure 2018 3

Road to Zero Coalition Released a Truck Underride Priority Statement

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , ,

We were excited to receive news on June 26 that the Road to Zero Coalition (RTZ) has published a Truck Underride Priority Statement on their website.

The Road to Zero Coalition is working to end preventable deaths on U.S. roadways by 2050. With that goal in mind, the Coalition is developing Safety Priority Statements that most – if not all – Coalition members can support.

The National Safety Council leads the Road to Zero initiative in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation – specifically the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

A Sign-On form is now available here, so that RTZ Coalition member organizations can add their name. Coalition members (over 675 as of this date) are listed here:   RTZ Coalition Members

As of June 26, 2018, the following organizations have already signed on in support of the Truck Underride Priority Statement:

We are thankful to the RTZ Steering Group for taking the time to discuss and approve this important means of providing a stronger voice for the vulnerable victims of truck underride.

Those who wish to add their voice, but are not RTZ Coalition members, can either join RTZ here: Road to Zero Coalition Membership Form

Or, write their own Letter of Support and Sign the STOP Underrides! Petition here: Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underride!

Ramblings About the State of Underride

Truck Safety, , ,
  1. Award-winning WUSA9 Underride Series
  2. What do Heidi King’s responses tell us about the need for the STOP Underrides! Bill to insist that NHTSA move forward with underride rulemaking? Do we expect that they will do it without the encouragement of a law telling them (and authorizing them) to do so? NHTSA’s Heidi King Responds to Senator Nelson’s Questions For The Record on Truck Underride
  3. Perhaps 700-1002 people may have died from underride since the bill was introduced on December 12, 2017, until this day: Every Month Passing of the STOP Underrides! Bill Is Delayed Means More Unnecessary, Preventable Deaths
  4. Underride report language is in the Appropriations Bill:  FY18 omnibus report language,  Truck underride safety research—The Committee notes that NHTSA’s proposed rulemaking in December 2015 to update truck rear impact guard requirements cited 362 annual fatalities associated with light vehicle crashes into the rear of trucks. The Committee encourages NHTSA to move forward with this rulemaking and continue working with relevant experts and stakeholders, including researchers, engineers, and safety advocates, and the trucking industry, to facilitate the deployment and adoption of rear and side underride protection devices.
  5. Front Underride Protection (FUP) is not talked about as much, yet many people die from lack of protection there as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=56&v=iNRpiRmlBEc and https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=SXZnHq1PUPU
  6. Retrofitting is included in the Bill because there are millions of existing trailers on the road which will still be death traps otherwise. See IIHS video if you don’t believe me. After watching it, ask yourself if you would want to collide with one of the trucks on the road which was not retrofitted with effective and comprehensive (all around the truck) underride protection: https://www.facebook.com/iihs.org/videos/412706855872750/
  7. To continue that theme of To Retrofit OR Not. . . in February 2018, a man died when his car lodged under the rear of a 2005 Great Dane trailer (one of the older weak rear guards). Our car lodged under the back of a 2007 Great Dane trailer (one of the older weak rear guards). How long do you suppose that we will continue to have those older (more dangerous) trucks on the road? Jessup man dead after slamming car into tractor-trailer on Beltway
  8. President Carter made a point of saying that safety should not be a part of Trucking Deregulation:  Trucking Industry Deregulation Message to the Congress Transmitting Proposed Legislation. 
    June 21, 1979, To the Congress of the United States:I am today transmitting to the Congress legislation to reduce substantially Federal economic regulation over the trucking industry.The trucking industry today is subject to perhaps more complex, detailed, and burdensome Federal regulation than any other industry in our Nation. . . 

    SAFETY

    Reforms in safety enforcement are necessary because present levels of safety are unsatisfactory, and because authority to monitor safety practices and to sanction safety violations should be strengthened. These provisions are distinct from the economic reforms and are not made necessary by them.

    The bill I propose places new emphasis on the existing fitness test which guarantees that all new entrants into the industry are safe. It also consolidates the safety authority in the Department of Transportation, and gives the Secretary of Transportation broader and more effective authority to deal with safety violations. . .

    So I don’t want to hear anybody whine, “Oh, no, not another regulation!” This is a matter of protecting public health and safety — not restricting the freedoms of the trucking industry! If market forces were going to solve the problem, they would have done so decades ago. We apparently need a law to protect us.

With Hope, We Carry On: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp7acA3CI34

Video & PowerPoint Slides Posted by IIHS for the Second Underride Roundtable

Truck Safety, , ,
IIHS has posted video and PowerPoint Presentations from the Second Underride Roundtable on August 29, 2017.
 
 
Afternoon Session, Part 1/Side Guard Panel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31VhLbAYlyw
 

Afternoon Session, Part 1/Industry Panel & Crash Avoidance Panel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFyf—dZV4