Tag Archives: rear underride

In Memory of Kevin Cantwell (October 21, 2025)

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A Massachusetts man was killed on Tuesday afternoon when his Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van failed to observe traffic was slowing down to a standstill and struck the rear of a 2020 Freightliner tractor-trailer on Interstate 84 westbound near exit 28 in the Town of Montgomery.

State Police said Kevin Cantwell, 71, of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts was pronounced dead at the scene. Crash between van and tractor-trailer claims one life

Because the bottom of a truck is higher than the bumper of passenger vehicles, when there is a collision the smaller vehicle easily slides under the truck and the first point of impact is the windshield. Seatbelts, airbags, and car crumple zones do not function as intended in underride crashes —front, side, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.

Kevin Cantwell, Precious One Gone Too Soon

Retrofit Solutions for Rear Impact Guards to Prevent Deadly Underride

AMERICA’S DANGEROUS TRUCKS (PBS/Frontline Underride Documentary)

See Underride Crash Memorials posted here and at #STOPunderrides Tweets. To add photos or more information on this story or to add other underride crashes to be remembered, send an email to underridemap@gmail.com. Please use this Interactive Underride Crash Map Crash Location Input Form to provide us with accurate information . (Note: the map is currently not online; but we would keep the information for future updating and to aid in underride advocacy efforts.)

Note: In order to raise awareness and preserve the memories of underride victims — precious ones gone too soon — I have been writing memorial posts on what could potentially be underride crashes. I am not a crash reconstructionist, and I do not have all the facts on these crashes; but underride should be investigated as a potential factor in truck crash injuries and deaths.

Weak Rear Underride Guards Are Still Killing People

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Progress has been made in reducing underride deaths. But we’re not done yet; we’ve got a lot more work to do.

For example, seven trailer manufacturers are installing stronger rear underride guards as Standard on all new trailers. However, two trailer manufacturers, who have also designed a stronger rear underride guard, are merely offering it as an Option and are, in fact, still selling tens of thousands of new trailers every year with a too-weak rear underride guard — putting road users at risk of Death By Underride.

Not only that, despite the availability of Rear Impact Guard (RIG) retrofit solutions, millions of trailers on the road still pose a known unreasonable risk. It certainly doesn’t help that NHTSA recently issued a new RIG Rule but failed to require that these safety devices meet a technically feasible level of strength proven possible by nine manufacturers.

Retrofit Solutions for Rear Impact Guards to Prevent Deadly Underride

RIG Retrofit


RIG Retrofit Crash Test
In January 2020, Aaron Kiefer crash tested a reinforced trailer with a 2012 Chevy Impala at 38 mph. This test illustrated that bolt on reinforcements can prevent deadly underride and passenger compartment intrusion (PCI)

Why are we working so hard to get weak rear underride guards replaced?

What’s wrong with this picture?

10 years after trucking crash killed 2 girls, mother sees hope for change, May 5, 2023, Trucking Dive, by David Taube

Why are we working so hard to get weak rear underride guards replaced?

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Not only have we lost two daughters due to a weak rear underride guard, but we continue to see countless loved ones lost to other families in a similar way. Senseless deaths. Solutions are available — developed by innovative engineers but too often left on the shelf while people continue to die.

I get Google Alert notifications of truck crashes every day. Here are the rear underride fatalities which I have found in the last few months:

This memorial remembers a few of the countless underride victims from past years.

This video shows the difference between too weak & stronger guards:

Convinced?

Let’s work together to get damaged rear underride guards off the road!

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Anyone, who observes a rear underride guard in an obvious state of disrepair, can report it to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) via their online National Consumer Complaint Database. Make note of the name of the trucking company. If possible, memorize its DOT# and get a photo of the guard. Then follow these step-by-step instructions for reporting this truck safety hazard as soon as possible:

Here are some examples of rear underride guards in disrepair — a condition which weakens their ability to stop a car from riding under the truck in the event of a collision:

Millions of trucks on the road have rear underride guards which are already too weak to prevent deadly underride. When they are not properly maintained, their strength is reduced even further.

See the DIFFERENCE: IIHS crash tests of weak & stronger rear underride guards

As of December 9, 2021, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is requiring that trucking companies monitor the condition of the rear underride guards on the back of their trailers. Truck drivers should look over this safety equipment when they do a pre-trip inspection. If this Rear Impact Guard has not been properly maintained, the trucking company and the truck driver could receive violations with fines attached at the time of annual vehicle inspection due to a Final Rule published by the FMCSA.

If a truck fails the inspection, the violation could cost a motor carrier a maximum of $15,876 and a truck driver $3,969. This could lead to the replacement of many rear underride guards — hopefully, with guards that meet the TOUGHGuard level of strength proven possible by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and now on many new trailers.

Motorists who notice guards in questionable condition can help to make sure that this important regulation gets enforced by using this tool to report them to the U.S. Department of Transportation:

Let’s hope that trucking companies and truck drivers will take responsibility themselves to properly maintain this safety equipment and even go so far as to replace outdated equipment with the stronger retrofit kits which are available thanks to innovative engineers — at a cost less than that of fines!

Recent Rear Underride Fatalities:

Why are we working so hard to get weak rear underride guards replaced?

Utility Trailers Encourages Retrofit of Rear Impact Guards To Prevent Underride

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Last evening, I received some amazing news! Utility Trailer Manufacturing has announced that their improved Rear Impact Guard (RIG) will be offered at a discount.

Utility “is pleased to announce its dry vans, refrigerated vans and flatbeds produced after 2002 can be retrofitted with Utility’s standard 7” deep horizontal Interstate Commerce Commission (I.C.C.) bumper. . .

“Utility strongly recommends their 7” deep horizontal bumper for horizontal bumper replacement on new or older Utility trailer models that were built after 2002 in order to exceed all rear trailer guard safety regulations. Utility will discount the new bumpers as an incentive to replace the old bumpers with the new upgraded 7” deep bumper. . .

“. . .is also I.I.H.S. certified and TUFF Guard awarded. TUFF Guard awards trailers with guards that prevent underride in all three of the institute’s rear underride tests . . . Utility Implements Standard 7’’ Rear Impact Guard on All Trailer Models

We are hopeful that this bold move will pave the way for all trailer manufacturers to follow suit. These retrofit kits will be available to replace not only damaged RIGs but the RIGs on millions of trailers on the road today which have rear underride guards which are TOO WEAK to stop underride all across the back of the trailer.

Thankfully, there are many RIG retrofit solutions available. This is what I know:

This just goes to show you that, by working together, we can STOP underrides. I’m hoping that 2021 will bring significant progress in underride protection!

“Chattanoga crash that killed 5 underscores bill to add protective barriers to semi trucks”

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Related post: Retrofit Solutions for Rear Impact Guards to Prevent Deadly Underride

“Chattanoga crash that killed 5 underscores bill to add protective barriers to semi trucks”

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Let’s make truck crashes more survivable!

Related post:Retrofit Solutions for Rear Impact Guards to Prevent Deadly Underride

A fully-guarded trailer hits the road – ready to STOP underride!

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Engineering ingenuity and a lot of hard work went into the research, development, and installation of this fully-guarded trailer system. This week, a small carrier in North Carolina became part of our pilot program. We are thankful that they have agreed to provide us feedback on this #SaferTruck as they drive it on the road to carry out their transport business.

What does fully-guarded mean? It means that every part of the trailer — at the rear and both sides — is covered by equipment which has been installed to prevent a car (or pedestrian, biker, or motorcyclist) from going under the trailer in the event of a collision.

This “hybrid” safety system combines devices which have been crash tested to prevent a car from riding under, including an AngelWing metal side guard installed behind the landing gear, a SafetySkirt polyester webbing where the AngelWing ends and extending over the rear axle — fastening to the Rear Impact Guard (RIG) Retrofit attachment, which reinforces and strengthens the existing rear underride guard (otherwise known as a Rear Impact Guard or RIG, ICC Bumper, or Mansfield Bar).

Oh, and did I mention that this system includes a side skirt for fuel savings?

This retrofitted trailer proudly displays the #SaferTruckAward decals:

Underride Crash Victim Memorial Posts

Fully-guarded trailer
View from under the trailer of SafetySkirt attached to Rear Impact Guard Retrofit
RIG Retrofit plus SafetySkirt

AngelWing side guard in action:

“Her sisters died in a crash on the way to her wedding. Now she fights for safer highways.”

AnnaLeah and Mary, Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , , , , , ,

After seeing the latest segment of the WUSA9 Underride Investigative Series by Eric Flack, Teresa Woodard at WFAA in Dallas interviewed Rebekah Karth Chojnacki on January 22, 2020. Here’s the result of that interview:

Well said!

Rebekah with her three younger sisters, Susanna, AnnaLeah & Mary, at a Father/Daughter Dance, February 2009

WUSA9 Underride Investigative Series, January 21, 2020 segment, Truckers say they’re open to strengthening underride standards – with a catch:

“As a. . . result of Utility Trailer’s negligence. . . Riley Hein LOST A CHANCE AT A BETTER OUTCOME”

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According to a WUSA9 Investigative Report on Underride, court documents show, “As a direct, legal, and proximate result of Utility Trailer’s negligence, Plaintiffs’ decedent Riley Hein LOST A CHANCE AT A BETTER OUTCOME when instead of simply colliding with the semitrailer, his car became trapped underneath the semitrailer, resulting in a fire and directly leading to his death.”

That’s what the #STOPunderrides Bill is all about!  If passed, this legislation will give motorists and vulnerable road users A CHANCE AT A BETTER OUTCOME when they have the misfortune of colliding with a truck. Effective underride protection will prevent underride and enable the car’s crashworthy safety features, like the crumple zone, airbags, and seat belt tensioners, to do their job and protect the car’s occupants from deadly injuries.

This includes not only SIDE underrides but also those collisions that occur at the FRONT and the REAR of trucks. A few weeks ago, I obtained a FARS data report from NHTSA (DOT) for “reported” underride deaths during 1994-2017. It clearly shows that the number of reported underride deaths did not significantly decrease after a federal standard for rear underride guards was implemented in 1998.

NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS): Underride Deaths, 1994-2017

Apparently, neither NHTSA nor the trucking industry bothered to make it a priority to look at those statistics and ask some hard but important questions, “Why are people continuing to die under trucks?” and “What can we do about it?”

In fact, just the opposite apparently occurred as evidenced by court documents which reveal that the trucking industry deliberately acted to protect themselves from being forced to add underride protection to their trucks. The TTMA (Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association) did not do this alone; the ATA (American Trucking Associations) played their part as well.

The question is: Where do we go from here? Congress, I’d say that the ball is definitely in your court.