STOP Underrides UPDATE: September 2019
- Jury Verdict $42 million in Riley Hein Side Underride Case: Found the Trailer Manufacturer Negligent — The jury found that Utility Trailer was negligent and that its negligence caused Riley Hein’s death. They determined the total damages to Riley’s estate and his parents was $42 million. However, the jury found that Utility Trailer was 45% at fault, while the truck driver was 55% at fault, so the total verdict against UTM is $18.9 million.
- Joint Defense Agreement of the Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association — collaborating to defend themselves from lawsuits when people die under trucks — perfectly legal.
- Great Dane Trailers 2016 Side Underride Case. Incriminating signs of industry lobbying efforts to prevent regulations which would have saved lives.
- Meanwhile, what could the manufacturers have been doing instead of defending themselves for the last 50 years? (1969 DOT intention of adding a side guard regulation, 1970 DOT expectation that side guards would be developed, & 2019 Vanguard Trailers side guard patent application) If they had concentrated on R&D for the best possible underride protection instead of opposing underride regulations, imagine how many people could have been saved!
- NHTSA not doing its job and continuing to undercount underride deaths: NHTSA says that the TIFA data is what they used in their regulatory analysis. Yet, FARS data is undercounted and TIFA data is based on FARS data! How does that make any sense?!
- Here are 3 examples of errors in specific known underride crashes: #1– Roya’s FARS report says that there was NO underride; #2 — AnnaLeah & Mary’s FARS report shows that only 1 person died from REAR underride in Georgia in 2013 but 2 daughters died under the truck; #3 — In this well-known May 2016 side underride of a Tesla car under a trailer, the FARS report says “NO UNDERRIDE”. Joshua Brown/Tesla side underride FARS Report
- September 3, 1969: Congress was discussing the need to pass a law for improved rear, front, and side underride protection on all trucks to permanently remove this deadly problem from American roadways.
- Congress, the ball is in your court. What more do you need to know to convince you to take action? Is it time for a Congressional Underride Hearing?
