AngelWing Side Guard Crash Test A Success!

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , , ,

Great progress is being made in underride protection on the sides of large trucks in the month of January 2017. While Aaron Kiefer is preparing for a crash test of his innovative TrailerSafe System side/rear guard on January 20 in North Carolina, Airflow Deflector tested Perry Ponder’s Angel Wing side guard design in New York.

AngelWing

The Angel Wing crash test was declared a success: the side guard prevented the side of the trailer from going past the windshield thus promising protection from Passenger Compartment Intrusion (PCI). In other words, it is likely that, due to the side guard in combination with the crashworthiness of the car, no one would have been killed or seriously injured by the collision between the side of this truck and a smaller passenger vehicle.

Side underride is not a new problem. For too long, nothing has been done about it. Yet here are two unique and innovative solutions to protect us from deadly side underride. Two Life-Savers.

I count myself privileged to be cheering these innovative and compassionate engineers on in their important work which will save countless lives. Now, here’s to getting these marvelous inventions onto the trucks we all drive around each day. . .

Unexpected adventure: mom rustles up a truck part to repair a damaged underride guard!

Truck Safety,

When the used trailer got delivered to Aaron Kiefer for his crash test, he noticed that the rear underride guard was damaged. As soon as he told me that, and that after the test he might rent the trailer out to drivers, I said, “I don’t want that trailer out on the road unless the guard is repaired!” No way do I want to knowingly put someone at risk!

Of course, that meant that I was about to embark that morning on an unexpected adventure. . .

Never in a million years did I expect to be 61 years old and driving around Raleigh to a truck parts store where, for $125, I purchased a “bumper tube” — they didn’t know what I meant when I asked for a horizontal bar for a rear underride guard for a trailer. I guess, many in the industry (like the driving public) don’t realize that the “bumper” on the back of a semi-trailer isn’t just to protect the truck from bumping into loading docks.

No, that replacement tube/bar has a label which clearly says:

Failure to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Act Standards FMVSS 223/224 (US) or FMVSS 223 (Canada) could result in injury to occupants of another vehicle in the event of a rear end collision with the trailer which, if not avoided, could result in death or serious injury.

KIMG0020

IMG_4465

Yet, how many trailers are out on the road with rear underride guards in a state of disrepair — like this one was — and not adhering to the FMVSS requirement to keep the guard in a like-new condition so that it is not weakened and lead to an untimely death or life-altering injury?

Enforcement of Proper Maintenance of Truck Underride Guards.pdf

And, by the way, why on earth doesn’t the replacement bar come with the reflective tape on it which they are required by law to have on the guard (so that other vehicles have a better chance of noticing them)?

Here’s the damaged guard:

KIMG0012KIMG0010 KIMG0009 KIMG0008

Here it is after Aaron replaced the horizontal bar with the new bumper tube which I picked up in my Yukon and delivered to where the crash test trailer is awaiting the installation of a side guard for its January 20, 2017, crash test:

KIMG0016KIMG0017KIMG0022KIMG0023KIMG0025Repaired Rear Guard

As it is, the current federal rear underride guard federal standard only requires a weaker-than-technologically-possible protective device. Couldn’t the industry at least maintain the existing guards in the best possible condition?

And, if they would please — when they do repair their guards — take the time to add Aaron’s newly-developed rear attachment to the outer edges to make their existing guard as strong as possible, I would really appreciate it!

trailersafe_system_logo_blue

Partner With Us To Protect Vulnerable Victims of Underride Crashes Partner with us to bring about a crash test of Aaron Kiefer’s life-saving and innovative truck side/rear guard on January 20, 2017. We have thought of a way that you could participate in the production & testing of his latest professional-grade prototype.

Amid ongoing debate over role of speed: “Michigan Approves Higher Speed Limits” Who is right?

Safety Advocacy,

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder recently signed legislation which:

. . . authorizes a 75 mph speed limit on 600 miles of freeways and a 65 mph limit on 900 miles of non-freeway roads. The bill also raises the maximum speed limit for trucks from 60 to 65 mph.

. . . the goal is to raise speed limits where 85 percent of drivers are already traveling at higher speeds and will protect motorists from being unnecessarily ticketed in “speed traps.”

It is also thought that less people exceeding the legal speed limit will allow law enforcement to focus on impaired, distracted or careless driving. . .

The bill will go into effect within one year if the study says it is safe. Michigan Approves Higher Speed Limits, Go By Truck Global News, Updated: January 10, 2017

Another article provides further insight:

“Ensuring that all Michiganders are safe while operating vehicles on our state’s roadways is critically important, and these bills allow for appropriately increased speed limits on certain roadways after safety studies are conducted,” Snyder said.

The main bill requires the Michigan Department of Transportation and Department of State Police to raise speed limits to 75 miles per hour on 600 miles of rural, limited-access freeways if a safety and engineering study deems it safe.

The bills also allow for speed limit changes in other areas, including:

  • Speed limits on gravel roads in counties with populations over 1 million would decrease to 45 miles per hour.
  • Up to 900 miles of rural state trunk line highways would see hikes to 65 miles per hour. 75-mph speed limits officially coming to Michigan, By Emily Lawler | elawler@mlive.com
    on January 05, 2017 at 11:47 AM, updated January 05, 2017 at 2:18 PM

Reading the comments to this article reminds me of my goal to revolutionize traffic safety advocacy by mobilizing the citizens of our country to get to the bottom of traffic safety issues and come up with solutions which show more concern for keeping people safe than saving corporate profit or protecting individual rights or relying solely on common sense and a sense of personal responsibility.

And I wonder what will happen when this engineering study is completed. What will Michigan do with the results? What will the rest of the states (and the cities therein) and the federal government do with the results? How will it be compared to traffic fatality statistics which show that speed is a factor in way too many crashes? Will we learn to intentionally design our roadways safer and set speed limits accordingly? Will this impact decision-making on truck speed limiters?

Is it possible that we could become a culture suitably enlightened and motivated to truly make safety a priority? Would a National Traffic Safety Ombudsman work to make sure that this was so?

stand-up-for-traffic-safety

To what lengths would you go to protect your loved ones?

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety,

Sometimes it seems like it is just too much to tackle — trying to do everything we can to protect our loved ones. But there is so much which can be done to prevent unnecessary tragedies — especially if we all pull together to do so. How could we walk away and leave anything undone?

Please pray for a multitude of details to come together to bring about Aaron Kiefer’s SIDE GUARD Crash Test on January 20, 2017. It seems like an insurmountable mountain and a shortage of time & resources. Time to speak to that mountain. . .

 
Specific Need: If anyone knows a truck owner, who would be interested in helping out with his/her tractor on January 20, please point ’em in my direction!
to-what-lengths

Partner With Us To Protect Vulnerable Victims of Underride Crashes

Truck Safety, , , , ,

Partner with us to bring about a crash test of Aaron Kiefer’s life-saving truck side guard on January 20, 2017. We have thought of a way that you could participate in the production & testing of his latest professional-grade prototype.

We want to know if you would like to receive a specially-designed T-shirt — with Mary & AnnaLeah in mind — for a donation to this UNDERRIDE RESEARCH PROJECT/Crash Test:

  • You would receive a shirt like this for a minimum $20 donation:

    trailersafe_system_logo_base
    IJK Interactive
  • You would receive a shirt like this for a minimum $25 donation:

    trailersafe_system_logo_blue
    IJK Interactive

We are trying to figure out if we should move ahead with this T-shirt project. Another upcoming T-shirt design will be Christopher. Please let us know if you might like to have one of these shirts to support our underride research efforts in memory of AnnaLeah & Mary.

HOW WE CAME UP WITH THE Christopher & Bono LOGOS:

Aaron Kiefer is making great progress on the development of his innovative side/rear guard for large trucks. Recently, he asked me if I would like to create a logo for the rear aluminum attachment piece of it which will attach to existing rear underride guards — thus strengthening them to better be able to prevent rear underride — and to which the side guard portion attaches.

So I sat down with my family to brainstorm ideas for a logo. A couple of years ago, we had done the same thing to come up with a name and logo for our non-profit organization:

LOGO AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety
design by Isaac Karth, IJK Interactive

Aaron already calls his invention — which uniquely provides continuous protection around the side and rear of trailers — the TrailerGuard System.

In our brainstorming, we decided that we could call the side portion of his life-saving invention the Christopher Guard for the patron saint/advocate of travelers — keeping in mind AnnaLeah’s dragon and calling it Christopher, who would guard against sure death (my idea).

dragon

And we could call the rear attachment portion — which is designed to attach to the existing rear guard (making it more likely to prevent the guillotine effect of truck underride) — the Bono Guard for the patron saint, Beuno or Bono (Latin, bonus = good), known for the protection of children  — using the image of Mary’s St. Bernard Gertie (my idea).

gertiecroppedtrip-north-may-2015-141michigan-60-party-and-cemetery-061michigan-60-party-and-cemetery-070

Aaron’s invention:

underride-guard-design-by-aaron-kiefer-012 underride-guard-design-by-aaron-kiefer-016 underride-guard-design-by-aaron-kiefer-054 underride-guard-design-by-aaron-kiefer-060

See a crash test of Aaron’s original version of his TrailerSafe System in the Spring of 2016:

 

More information about Aaron’s invention: https://annaleahmary.com/2016/12/crash-test-of-innovative-large-truck-side-guard-could-advance-side-underride-prevention/

Wonderful memories of Mary and her St. Bernard, Gertie (the inspiration for Bono):

Mary’s Life With Gertie; Her Best Friend to the End

NHTSA Seeks Comments on Import of Ferrari With Questionable Side Airbags; Yes or No?

Safety Advocacy, ,

I don’t have the answer to this technical question; I hope someone figures it out before it is too late for someone else.

NHTSA has extended Public Comment Period to February 16, 2017 on the question of whether nonconforming model year (MY) 2013 and 2014 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta passenger cars (PCs) are eligible for importation into the United States.

On December 7, 2016, NHTSA published a notice (at 81 FR 88318) that it had received a petition to decide that nonconforming model year (MY) 2013 and 2014 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta passenger cars (PCs) are eligible for importation into the United States. The notice solicited public comments on the petition and stated that the closing date for comments is January 6, 2017.

This is to notify the public that NHTSA is extending the comment period on this petition, and allowing it to run until February 6, 2017. This extension is based on a request dated December 21, 2016, from Ferrari North America, Inc., and Ferrari SpA, (collectively “Ferrari”) the vehicle’s manufacturer. Ferrari stated that in its view an extension was needed because a portion of the comment period will be lost due to the holidays (during which time Ferrari SpA’s facilities will be closed), and because of the complexity of the technical analysis necessary to evaluate the petition and prepare any comments. Ferrari requests this extension especially with regard to FMVSS No. 208 conformance—in particular, the passenger-side airbag weight sensing system.

Ferrari also stated its view that an extension of the comment period will not prejudice the parties or cause undue delay, but will afford Ferrari the opportunity to fully evaluate the petition in order to determine the appropriate content of any Ferrari comments.

NHTSA has granted Ferrari’s request. All comments received before the close of business on the closing date indicated above will be considered, and will be available for examination in the docket at the above address both before and after that date. To the extent possible, comments filed after the closing date will also be considered. Notice of final action on the petition will be published in the Federal Register pursuant to the authority indicated below.

Make a Public Comment on the Federal Register before February 6, 2017:  https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=NHTSA_FRDOC_0001-1749

back-home

 

U.S. groups want requirement for behind-the-wheel training

Truck Safety,

Four groups have petitioned the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to reconsider provisions of the Final Rule for Entry-Level Driver requirements, which the agency issued on December 7.

The final rule does not include a requirement for 30 hours of behind-the-wheel training for new drivers. Last March, FCMSA had included in its proposed rule a minimum of 10 hours of training on a “driving range” as well as an unspecified amount of time driving on a public road. The final rule requires no behind-the-wheel standard for student drivers, instead deferring to skills tests administered by state licensing agencies. The petition notes that under the new rule, the determination of whether a student driver has the skill set required to operate safely on public roadways is “entirely in the hands of the instructor.”

The petition was filed by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), the Truck Safety Coalition and Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways on December 21. 

Read more here: U.S. groups want requirement for behind-the-wheel training

Unsafe Trucks

It only makes sense that we would want someone driving a large truck at 70 miles an hour on the road with much smaller vehicles to have adequate practice. Doesn’t it?

I’d hate to be the one to find out that GM’s Takata airbags really are defective.

Safety Advocacy, , , ,

GM has petitioned NHTSA for Inconsequential Non Compliance on Takata Air Bags: General Motors LLC, Receipt of Petition for Inconsequentiality and Decision Granting Request To File Out of Time and Request for Deferral of Determination as posted on the Federal Register, 11/28/2016

What does this mean?

AGENCY:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation.

ACTION:
Notice of receipt of petition and decision granting partial relief.

SUMMARY:
 
On May 16, 2016, TK Holdings Inc. (Takata) filed a defect information report (DIR), in which it determined that a defect existed in certain passenger-side air bag inflators that it manufactured, including passenger inflators that it supplied to General Motors, LLC (GM) for use in certain GMT900 vehicles. GM has petitioned the Agency for a decision that, because of differences in inflator design and vehicle integration, the equipment defect determined to exist by Takata is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety in the GMT900 vehicles, and that GM should therefore be relieved of its notification and remedy obligations.

DATES:
The closing date for comments is September 14, 2017.

Takata Airbag Recall – Everything You Need to Know What this recall means to you and what actions you should take

I’d hate to be the one to find out that GM’s Takata airbags really are defective. Wouldn’t you?

1a85et

Does the Protection of Children in Cars annual conference ever discuss Truck Underride Protection?

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, ,

I just saw the schedule for the 2016 Protection of Children in Cars conference held in Munich every year. It sounds like an important event.

I wonder if they ever talk about the need to protect children from truck underride injuries and deaths. If they did, maybe improving underride prevention strategies would become a higher priority. Maybe it would tip the cost/benefit analysis scale a bit more decisively in favor of saving lives.

creative-solutionsannaleah-knitting-at-cottage mary-at-john-ball-zoo-gardenprotect-innocent-lives

What happens when the economic interest of society is favored over the value of saving human lives?

Safety Advocacy, ,

I just did my morning reading as I ate my breakfast and ran across the word expropriation. I decided to look it up and found its meaning peculiarly and disturbingly relevant to my passion for traffic safety.

Expropriation: (from Wikipedia) The process of expropriation “occurs when a public agency (for example, the provincial government and its agencies, regional districts, municipalities, school boards, post-secondary institutions and utilities) takes private property for a purpose deemed to be in the public interest“.

Is that what happens when a cost/benefit analysis is interpreted in favor of the economic interest of society/industry over the value of saving human lives: Our government (on behalf of We the People) sacrifices human lives for a purpose deemed to be in the public interest?

Equal Justice For All, Legal Reader, artist Neal Angeles
Equal Justice For All, Legal Reader, artist Neal Angeles

‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Enough, you princes of Israel; put away violence and destruction, and practice justice and righteousness. Stop your expropriations from My people,” declares the Lord GOD. Ezekiel 45:9

Car Safety Wars