Tag Archives: side guards

Advisory Committee on Underride Protection Reports to Congress & DOT Secretary

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , , , , ,

On June 28, 2024, the Advisory Committee on Underride Protection (ACUP) completed a scathing critique of the Department of Transportation. In a 410-page report, it documented a long history of agency reluctance to regulate the trucking industry’s safety practices, exposed allegations of misconduct by senior officials, and called for the reversal of recent rulemaking that the committee believed made “no substantial progress” to improving public safety.

In its Biennial Report, commissioned by Congress in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, the committee contended that fatalities from underride crashes, in which large commercial trucks cause severe injuries to occupants of passenger vehicles, as well as pedestrians, bicyclists or motorcyclists, are largely preventable. But the committee found that, for over 50 years, the Department has not required manufacturers to install guards under the open sides of trailers, due to pressure from the industry.

The report exposed allegations from a whistleblower of serious misconduct. According to a former project manager at the Department in the agency that enforces rules for the trucking industry, senior Department officials in the Trump administration suppressed taxpayer-funded research into the cost-effectiveness of regulations requiring side guards on trucks. Trucking company lobbyists reportedly were angered by the research findings and pressed the Department to alter them. Officials in the Biden administration commenced a rulemaking process that ignored the key findings of the suppressed research. The report called upon the Biden administration to reverse course and start the rulemaking process over again, this time by counting the benefits it previously ignored. Advocates have asked the Inspector General to investigate.

Many of the ACUP’s critiques and recommendations were adopted over the objections of the trucking industry, which lacked the ability to veto the committee’s actions. They published their dissent in a minority report authored by the CEO of Utility Trailer Manufacturing Corporation, which recently was found negligent for the fiery death of a 16 year-old boy in a side underride crash. Utility’s share of the punitive damages was $18.9 million.

The committee, which was composed of engineers, emergency medical professionals, victims, safety advocates, law enforcement, and the trucking industry, sent its Report via NHTSA to Congress and the Secretary of Transportation on July 2, 2024. 

Below are links to the complete ACUP Biennial Report, the Majority Report, a Minority Report, and Appendices, including the statements of concurrence or dissent from ACUP members:

Other useful information to help you dig deeper into the work of the Advisory Committee on Underride Protection:

Senior Agency Officials Suppressed Side Guard Research — Impacting Regulatory Analysis

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , , , , ,

All road users are vulnerable to deadly collisions with large trucks. Truck underride guards can reduce the severity of injuries which occur when a passenger vehicle, pedestrian, bicyclist, or motorcyclist goes under a truck.

Advocate efforts to bring about federal underride regulations have been blocked for decades. Recent testimony from a whistleblower revealed that senior agency officials suppressed vital research — hiding the fact that side underride guards would be cost-effective. Key documents are provided here:

  • A slide presentation by Mr. Kwan to safety advocates and researchers on April 22, 2024, explaining the suppressed research — pdf and video;
  • Exhibit A — the Statement of Work for contract number SA9PAI. FMCSA contracted with the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center for these deliverables to fulfill the research project entitled, Truck Side Guards to Reduce Vulnerable Road User Fatalities; 
  • Exhibit B — The Suppressed Research – Truck Side Guards and Skirts to Reduce Vulnerable Road User Fatalities: Final Report on Net Benefits and Recommendations, the final report received from the Volpe Center, meeting all the requirements of the Statement of Work. Among other things, this final report found that it was cost effective to require tractor-trailers and single-unit trucks to be equipped with lifesaving side impact guards. The cost-benefit analysis and most of the rest of this final report were suppressed from the published report by U.S. DOT; and 
  • Exhibit C — email communications obtained through the Freedom of Information Act which document that meetings and discussions concerning the Volpe Center report occurred among senior officials at DOT, NHTSA, and FMCSA in 2019 and 2020 without Mr. Kwan’s participation.

Sign this PETITION:

If this suppression of research goes unchecked, people will continue to be killed senselessly from preventable Death By Underride. Tell President Biden to take immediate action in order to undo the damage done by this misrepresentation of the costs and benefits of truck underride protection:

  1. Direct the Secretary of Transportation to withdraw the erroneous Side Impact Guard rulemaking and then do it right in a new one by counting all preventable deaths as a benefit to society;
  2. Appoint a Presidential Advisory Committee on Integrity of Underride Research to review and ensure the scientific integrity of all underride-related research and rulemaking; and
  3. Establish the Office of National Roadway Safety Advocate in the Office of the Secretary of Transportation proposed by members of Congress.
  4. Amend the July 2022 Rear Impact Guard Rule – bring it up to the TOUGHGUARD strength, as directed by Congress (Appropriations).

Can we expect the Department to adhere to its scientific integrity policy published in January 2024, or is it simply meaningless rhetoric?

Require that agency officials, including public affairs officers, shall neither ask nor direct nor
suggest that agency scientists and technology experts alter the presentation of their
scientific findings in a manner that may compromise the objectivity or accurate
representation of those findings. Scientific Integrity Policy of the United States Department of Transportation, p.11

Can we count on them to mend the broken trust and act with a sense of urgency to fulfill their mission to reduce roadway deaths and injuries?

Media Coverage

Register for April 24 Meeting of Advisory Committee on Underride Protection

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , ,

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced that registration is open for the next meeting of the Advisory Committee on Underride Protection (ACUP):

  • April 24, 12:30 – 4:30 p.m. ET; Topics: Side Underride and Front Override

Register here to observe via Zoom.

April 24 will be the fifth public meeting of the committee, which was established to provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary of Transportation on safety regulations to reduce underride crashes and fatalities relating to underride crashes.

Upcoming Underride Advisory Committee Meeting Schedule

Truck Safety, , , , , , ,

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced the next four meetings of the Advisory Committee on Underride Protection (ACUP):

  • February 8, 12:30 – 4:30 p.m. ET; Topic: Rear Underride
  • March 13, 12:30 – 4:30 p.m. ET; Topic: Side Underride
  • April 24, 12:30 – 4:30 p.m. ET; Topic: Front Override
  • May 22, 12:30 – 4:30 p.m. ET; Topic: Underride Data

Register here to observe via Zoom.

February 8 will be the third public meeting of the committee, which was established to provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary of Transportation on safety regulations to reduce underride crashes and fatalities relating to underride crashes.

Unsung Underride Prevention Heroes

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Yesterday, Jerry and I received a phone call from Aaron Kiefer, who shared with us the tragic news of the unexpected death that morning of Paul Hutson. Paul, after learning about the underride hazard, devoted many hours of his life to bringing about engineering solutions. First as an engineering student intern in 2015, and later as a volunteer after hours while working as a full-time engineer, Paul was an invaluable resource to Aaron Kiefer in his development work on prototypes for the RIG Retrofit (crash test seen below) and SafetySkirt.

Paul selflessly offered his engineering talent and skills to the mission of AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety and TEAM Underride. He helped behind the scenes and on numerous crash test sites, including the Underride Crash Test Event in D.C. in 2019. He came to an Underride Roundtable, and he participated as an expert at one of our Underride Briefings for legislative staff on The Hill.

Why did Paul do this? We can no longer ask him this question, but I can only imagine that — like so many others — he understood the violence and severity of the underride problem and he loved to solve problems. This is how he described himself on LinkedIn:

  • Principal Engineer – Structural Analysis, Northrop Grumman · Full-time Working as a structural analysis engineer on Northrop Grumman’s Propulsion Systems team. My work focuses on the five-segment rocket boosters used on NASA’s Artemis, and the ground based strategic deterrent Sentinel.
  • Mechanical Engineer, Collision Safety Consulting, PLLC · Part-time Designed and analyzed a semi-trailer safety device that protects passenger vehicles during collision with a semi-trailer, preventing both side and rear underrides from occurring. My work included product design, drafting, analysis (FEA), and full-scale crash testing the system.

Just last week, an Australian engineer died. George Rechnitzer, whom Jerry and I had met early on in our mission to make truck crashes more survivable, contributed greatly to understanding and solving the underride problem. Of course, numerous other engineers have likewise passed away before seeing their contributions to underride research fully implemented to benefit road users. That includes Mark Roush from Vanguard Trailers, who held a side underride guard patent and who worked on Vanguard’s TOUGHGuard design. It also includes Rod Ehrlich, who among other accomplishments worked on a side underride guard design while an engineer at Wabash Trailers.

My Underride Hero Hall of Fame is full of well-known as well as unsung heroes, who have made important contributions to solving the underride problem:

Imagine what we could accomplish if the hard work of these engineers, who are no longer with us, were to be acknowledged and embraced by key members of the trucking industry, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Advisory Committee on Underride Protection. Together, how many lives could we save? Let’s take the baton and finish the race.

Video of Speakers at Underride Victim Vigil

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Families of underride victims gathered on September 14, 2023, in front of the U.S. Department of Transportation at 1200 New Jersey Ave SE in Washington, DC — with crash test cars from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety 2017 side underride research in the background — to remember loved ones, who lost their lives due to truck underride.

The families rang a commemorative bell for over 750 victims, primarily from the last few years, and called upon the Department to re-evaluate publicly available data, end their decades of inaction, and issue strong underride regulations. Their message was this: Delay = Death.

Thanks to Sarah Haedrich, Vision Zero Coalition Coordinator for the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA), we have video footage of some of the speakers at this event:

We are thankful for all who spoke at the Underride Victim Vigil, including:

  • Dr. Elisa Braver, epidemiologist and safety researcher
  • Andy Young, The Law Firm for Truck Safety
  • Barry Davis, father of underride victim Ally Davis
  • Lois Durso, mother of underride victim Roya Sadigh
  • Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
  • Sean O’Malley, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
  • Abbie Bingham Endicott, cousin of underride victim Sylvia Bingham
  • Daniel Langenkamp (husband of underride victim Sarah Langenkamp) read a statement from Stephen Bingham, father of underride victim Sylvia Bingham
  • Nancy Avis, cousin of underride victim Carling Mott
  • Harry Adler, Institute for Safer Trucking
  • Jerry and Marianne Karth, parents of underride victims AnnaLeah & Mary Karth

A Record of Those Remembered in the Underride Victim Vigil

Media Coverage of DC Underride Victim Vigil & Press Conference

  • Congresswoman Schakowsky next to crash test car (no side guard on trailer)
  • STOP Underrides Commemorative Underride Victim Bell

Media Coverage of DC Underride Victim Vigil & Press Conference

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , ,

Families of underride victims gathered on September 14, 2023, in front of the U.S. Department of Transportation at 1200 New Jersey Ave SE in Washington, DC — with crash test cars from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety 2017 side underride research in the background — to remember loved ones, who lost their lives due to truck underride. The families rang a commemorative bell for over 750 victims, primarily from the last few years, and called upon the Department to re-evaluate publicly available data, end their decades of inaction, and issue strong underride regulations.

Their message was this: Delay = Death.

A Record of Those Remembered in the Underride Victim Vigil

Media coverage included:

Grieving families say US Department of Transportation failed victims of tractor-trailer underride crashes

Speakers at the press conference included:

  • Dr. Elisa Braver, epidemiologist and safety researcher
  • Andy Young, The Law Firm for Truck Safety
  • Barry Davis, father of underride victim Ally Davis
  • Lois Durso, mother of underride victim Roya Sadigh
  • Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
  • Sean O’Malley, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
  • Abbie Bingham Endicott, cousin of underride victim Sylvia Bingham
  • Daniel Langenkamp (husband of underride victim Sarah Langenkamp) read a statement from Stephen Bingham, father of underride victim Sylvia Bingham
  • Nancy Avis, cousin of underride victim Carling Mott
  • Harry Adler, Institute for Safer Trucking
  • Jerry and Marianne Karth, parents of underride victims AnnaLeah & Mary Karth

“Underride crashes, which occur when a car slides underneath the body of a truck, have tragically become all too common on our highways. These crashes are preventable. Underride guards on large trucks save lives. I urge @NHTSAgov to implement stronger protections without delay,” said Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. “I would be remiss if I did not mention all the survivors and family members who are turning their personal tragedy into advocacy. We could not do this without you.”

Underride Victim Families Appeal to Secretary Pete Buttigieg

Letter to DOT Office of Inspector General, September 14, 2023

We pray for Secretary Buttigieg

  • Underride Victim Remembrance Walk from The Capitol to USDOT
  • Ringing the Bell for Unknown Underride Victims 1966 – 2023
  • Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky
  • Congresswoman Schakowsky next to crash test car (no side guard on trailer)
  • STOP Underrides Commemorative Underride Victim Bell
  • Underride Victim Binder – 750 names & photos, mostly from 2020-2023, plus other known victims
  • The Tip of the Iceberg
  • The Tip of the Iceberg
  • The Tip of the Iceberg
  • IIHS crash test car into trailer with NO side guard
  • Car crashed into trailer with side guard

Video of Speakers at Underride Victim Vigil

A day in the life of an underride crash test crew; A Photographer’s Perspective

AnnaLeah and Mary, Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, ,

A local photographer became part of the all-volunteer TEAM Underride — offering his skills to capture a day in the life of an underride crash test crew at the Raleigh Underride Crash Test Event on August 3 at the North Carolina State Highway Patrol training facility. Here’s a glimpse of that day from a photographer’s perspective: Team Underride Crash Test Event.

Note: Adam Trevillian provided these photos for TEAM Underride to use. If outside sources would like to use these photos (for publications, etc.), please contact Adam so that he can handle those requests: adam@adamtrevillian.com.

Public Comments on the Side Guard ANPRM (Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking)

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , , ,

NHTSA closed the Public Comment Period on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) for side underride guards on July 20, 2023. NHTSA asked commenters to respond to these nine questions. Here’s where the comments are posted: Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Side Underride Guards. To make it easier to read through the thousands of comments, I’m providing pdfs and/or links to many of them — although it’s not an exhaustive compilation.

Links to Many of the Public Comments on the Side Guard ANPRM

Public Comments on the Side Guard ANPRM – As of June 16, 2023 (119)

The majority of comments (over 1,000) posted from June 16 through June 23 were from individuals and organizations which support the requests in the Public Comment from the League of American Bicyclists – calling for pedestrians and bicyclists to be included in the data for side guard regulatory analysis. (Motorcyclists are vulnerable to underride as well.)

Some-of-the-Public-Comments-on-the-Side-Guard-ANPRM-June-24-July-22-2023.pdf

The Following are Links to Individual Public Comments (which were submitted as or with attachments):

Eric Hein

Institute for Safer Trucking IST-Comment-on-Side-Underride-PC-Final.pdf

Truck Safety Coalition TSC-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

Perry Ponder/Seven Hills Engineering

Wabash National (Trailer Manufacturer) Wabash-comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

Werner Enterprises Wermer-Enterprises-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

Safety Research & Strategies Safety-Research-Strategies-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

National Waste & Recycling Association Waste-and-Recycling-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

Lois Durso Lois-Durso-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

Mark Hawkins Mark-Hawkins-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

American Trucking Associations (ATA) ATA-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) OOIDA-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

Chicago Department of Transportation Chicago-DOT-Comment-on-ANPRM-1.pdf

Fortier/PHSS

Coalition of Intermodal Associations Intermodal-Association-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

Andy Young Andy-Young-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

Consumer Reports Consumer-Reports-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

Elisa Braver Elisa-Braver-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

Aaron Kiefer/Collision Safety Consulting 

American Truck Dealers American-Truck-Dealers-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (Matt Brumbelow) IIHS-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) NAMIC-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety Advocates-for-Highway-Auto-Safety-ANPRM-FINAL.pdf

Truck Sail Truck-Sail-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

Association of Pedestrian & Bicycle Professionals Association-of-Pedestrian-and-Bicycle-Professionals-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

Jay Hightman The-Robyn-Hightman-Foundation-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

City of Boston Transportation Cabinet City-of-Boston-Transportation-Cabinet-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

Montgomery County Families for Safe Streets Montgomery-County-Families-for-Safe-Streets-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

Association of Pedestrian & Bicycle Professionals Association-of-Pedestrian-and-Bicycle-Professionals-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition Massachusetts-Vision-Zero-Coalition-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

National Association of Trailer Manufacturers National-Assn-of-Trailer-Mfrs-Comment-on-ANPRM.pdf

Jerry Karth Jerry-Karth-Comment-ANPRM.pdf

Comment from Jerry & Marianne Karth – attachments:

According to the federal rulemaking process, the next step is for NHTSA (and that will include the Advisory Committee on Underride Protection)to begin reviewing and evaluating the comments which have been submitted from the public. Now is the time for the development of a recommendation to the Secretary of Transportation as to whether a side guard regulation would be cost effective.

In other words, now is the time to finally determine that safety is an acceptable cost of doing business and Death By Underride is an unacceptable, unreasonable, and preventable risk for all road users. At least, that’s what I think.

So, what did you think of the PBS/Frontline Underride Documentary?

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , , , ,

We’ve been anticipating the final result of a year-long investigation by @propublica and @frontlinepbs on the truck underride issue. Their team pulled together an immense amount of information on a century-old problem. Of course, an hour could never cover it all. But I think that they created a compelling argument. The question is, what did you think?

If you haven’t had a chance to see the documentary or read the accompanying stories, here are some useful links:

My next question is, what are you going to do in response to what you heard and/or read? And what kind of reaction and action should we hope to see from:

  • Congress?
  • Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg (who declined to be interviewed)?
  • National Highway Traffic Safety Administration?
  • USDOT Inspector General?
  • Trucking Industry?

Anyone can act on their personal convictions and sign our petition: Secretary Pete, It’s Past Time To End Death By Underride! We will be submitting a spreadsheet of all signatures & comments made on the petition to Secretary Buttigieg and to the NHTSA Public Comment docket for the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Side Guards. Here are some other things you can do: How You Can Help!

What do I think? Among other things. . . I think that we need a Congressional Oversight Underride Field Hearing and an investigation by the DOT Inspector General. I’d also like the opportunity to have a meeting with Secretary Buttigieg to discuss underride. Beyond that, I think that we need a long-term solution for this and other roadway safety issues. I think that we need a National Traffic Safety Ombudsman, in place at the USDOT Office of the Secretary, whose role will be to ensure that the voice of victims is appropriately heard and heeded — so that industry no longer has a disproportionate, unfair voice.