“Basically controlling risk during crashes is an energy-management problem. Our knowledge and understanding of energy management today is a lot better than it was in 1998. And in 1998, it was a lot better than it was in 1988.”
Not too long before their untimely death due to a truck underride crash on May 4, 2013, AnnaLeah (17) and Mary (13) had acquired stuffed dragons–red, gold, and blue–along with one of their older sisters Susanna (now 23).
Now we have seized the opportunity to create the best possible underride protection –with the help of engineers globally. Their brother, who was also in the car when it was struck but did not experience underride, suggested we call it the Dragon Underride Protector.
So, in memory of Mary & AnnaLeah, help us raise the funds necessary to stop underride tragedies–once & for all!
Make the Dragon Underride Protector a reality. Donate now to AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety:https://www.fortrucksafety.com/
Why We Are Doing This:
The engineer, Dean Sicking, who created the NASCAR Safer Barrier–which has saved the lives of many NASCAR drivers–thinks that he can create a Safer Underride Guard:
What AnnaLeah & Mary’s dad says about why we are doing this:
Imagine a world where a race car crashes into SAFER* Barrier soft-wall technology and a race car driver climbs out of the smashed car–waving to a cheering crowd. (It happens at most every NASCAR racetrack!)
* SAFER = Steel And Foam Energy Reduction
Now imagine a world where a car regrettably crashes into a much larger truck and SAFER technology prevents it from riding underneath the truck. The car driver and passengers get out of their mangled car–shaken up but thankful to be alive and able to tell their story.
Help us make this a true story! Every $1 donated for truck underride research through AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety will bring us closer to the goal of preventing deadly underride crashes.
AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We are eligible to receive contributions that may be tax deductible for the donor.
After the success of the AnnaLeah & Mary Stand Up For Truck Safety Petition, our daughter, Rebekah, set up a Twitter account to help us raise awareness about truck safety issues.
As I was browsing Tweets one day, I was intrigued by a “Thank you!” to Dr. Dean Sicking for SAVING MANY LIVES through the SAFER barrier he designed for NASCAR:
Great shout out to one of the major safety innovators in auto racing. How many lives has Dean Sicking’s work saved? http://usat.ly/1E21Xws “
I called Dean and told him our story; then I asked him if he thought he could use the same technology to design safer underride guards on trucks. He said, “Yes!” And, a few weeks later, he sent me a detailed proposal for an underride prevention research project:
The only problem is that there is no one putting money toward underride research. Not a priority. So, we are launching a fundraising campaign to raise at least $200,000 to fund: Dr. Sicking’s Underride Research Project ($138,040)–along with College Underride Senior Design Projects (including a team of six students at Virginia Tech), and additional promising underride research by engineers who share our concern about the current underride problem and think that they can come up with an effective solution. Crash testing at IIHS for any prototypes developed could cost $25,000 for the purchase of a trailer and a car.
Plans are also underway for an Underride Roundtable in Spring 2016 to bring together engineering experts and industry representatives. We also hope to publish a compilation of all this underride research to be made available in print as well as digital format.
Please help us prevent future unnecessary deaths due to underride crashes. Every $1 contributed to this cause will enable us to support vital underride research, which will make it possible to make safer trucks and thereby save other families the heartache of such tragic loss that we know all too well.
Please share this opportunity by any means you can, including the sharing buttons on the donation site or by this clickable & printable AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety Underride Research brochure: ALMFTS Underride Guard Research Brochure
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has been instrumental in researching and reporting on underride crash testing and our story: IIHS Status Report October 2014
Watch how Dean Sicking’s SAFER Barrier soft-wall technology protected Danica Patrick from suffering the same fate as Dale Earnhardt:
