Tag Archives: side guards

The Violent Nature Of Underride Injuries Is Widely Ignored

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The violent nature of underride injuries are documented here in two side underride crashes — a 2016 fatal truck crash and a 2020 near-fatal truck crash. The severity of the injuries which are a direct consequence of preventable intrusion into the occupant survival space is rarely discussed. The regulatory analysis primarily addresses the problem as a transportation issue.

This is disturbing because the reality of the horrific and violent nature of these injuries is muted and minimized by simply calling it a “safety” issue while ignoring the actual known unreasonable risk of endangerment to human life.

Safety refers to the state of being free from harm, danger, or risk. It encompasses various conditions and practices designed to protect individuals from injury or accidents. (US Legal Definition)

NHTSA washes its hands of these preventable injuries by putting out PSAs about driving safely but neglecting to issue motor vehicle safety standards for a dangerous vehicle design which they refuse to call a safety defect. But what are these injuries which have been documented for decades?

First, we look at the 2020 side underride near-fatal crash which recently had a $26 million verdict against a trucking company upheld by the Iowa Supreme Court, Iowa Supreme Court upholds $26 million payout for victim in 2020 near-fatal semi crash (court documents can be found here and here).

Crash Summary

In the Iowa Supreme Court brief, the estimated impact speed of the passenger vehicle was 32.7 mph from McQuillen’s expert and a minimum of 40 mph from West Side’s expert. Importantly, both speeds that surfaced in the appellate briefing are in the range where side underride guards are generally understood to provide protection.

Compare the above 2020 near-fatal side underride case to the NTSB investigation, #HWY16F018 (found here), of a 2016 Florida fatal side underride, NTSB investigated a 2016 side underride (which NHTSA inaccurately coded in FARS as No Underride Noted, but has now been corrected) . The victim iin this crash was Joshua Brown. See the similarities in the injuries incurred.

NTSB published an Injury Factual Report for that crash investigation (as documented by a NTSB biomechanical engineer and found here):

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 Although 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 830 pertains to the reporting of aircraft accidents and incidents to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), section 830.2 defines fatal injury as any injury that results in death within 30 days of the accident and serious injury as any injury that (1) requires hospitalization for more than 48 hours, commencing within 7 days from the date of injury; (2) results in a fracture of any bone (except simple fractures of fingers, toes, or nose); (3) causes severe hemorrhages, nerve, or tendon damage; (4) involves any internal organ; or (5) involves second- or third-degree burns, or any burn affecting more than 5 percent of the body surface.

It should be noted that another biomechanical engineer, Mohammad Atarod, identified similar injuries after analyzing the injury data from crash test dummies used in Rear Impact Guard crash testing by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. He shared this information, Biomechanics of Passenger Vehicle Underride, in a presentation to the Advisory Committee on Underride Protection in 2024.

The author’s SAE research paper can be found here: Reconstruction of Passenger Vehicle Underride: An Analysis of Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Semitrailer Rear Underride Crash Data.

Additionally, a SAE 2020 side underride guard research paper by Garrett Mattos, et al, documents injury data with and without side guards in simulated crash testing, Protecting Passenger Vehicles from Side Underride with Heavy Trucks (found online here) with results similar to the crash testing of the AngelWing side underride guard at 40 mph by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety at the Second Underride Roundtable on August 29, 2017.

In stark contrast, in its 2023 Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Side Impact Guards, NHTSA used the word injury 7 times and injuries 34 times:

Mention of Injuries in NHTSA 2023 Underride Regulatory Analysis

I see no description, in NHTSA’s lengthy regulatory analysis, of actual specific categories of injuries incurred in underride crashes, with lethal passenger compartment intrusion, beyond the generic use of the word “injury” or “serious injuries.” Nor is there any talk of “injury prevention.”

Why are we ignoring the severity of injuries which could be prevented by available engineering solutions? I survived a horrific truck crash with minor injuries because I did not experience intrusion of my survival space. I know that preventing underride is a matter of life or death. Enough of this spilled blood. Let’s make truck crashes more SURVIVABLE — because we can.

Rationale for Republican Support of STOP Underrides Bill

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I was glad to see that John Gallagher (FreightWaves) highlighted an aspect of the STOP Underrides 2.0 Bill which should be of interest to industry and Republicans:

In an effort to address long-standing complaints from the trucking industry that underride protection equipment adds weight and increases fuel costs, the new bill includes a performance standard whereby any new side underride guards must “contribute to fuel efficiency through the integration of aerodynamic design or components furthering fuel efficiency.” The provision is aimed at offsetting the operational costs of the guards by essentially requiring them to function as side skirts. Legislation would require crash protection on new trucks

However, in his description of the new bill, he also mentions that prior versions included a retrofit requirement which is not in the 2026 legislation. While it is true that previous versions of the bill, in 2017 and 2019, contained a retrofit requirement, we decided to remove that provision in the 2021 re-introduction of the STOP Underrides Bill. We did that not because we no longer thought it beneficial for the saving of lives but in order to garner broader Republican support.

Thankfully, we already had the support of Senator Marco Rubio, who had co-led underride legislation with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand since it was first introduced in 2017:

“Hundreds of individuals across the nation are lost to underride collisions every year, with Florida unfortunately ranking among the top states for reported fatalities,” Rubio said. “As a parent with kids of driving age, I look forward to working in a bipartisan fashion to advance efforts to make our roads safer.” Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Marco Rubio introduce bill to prevent truck underride deaths

In fact, we had been in discussions with Senator Richard Burr, our Republican Senator in North Carolina since August 2013 just a few months after our crash. We continued discussions with his staff over the years and in 2021 knew that he would become an original cosponsor if we removed the retrofit requirement.

You see, he wasn’t shortsighted; he saw the big picture. He knew that strong underride regulations would be a Win/Win situation—good for victims of truck crashes because they would have a better chance of surviving but also good for business when all relevant factors are taken into account.

Although Senator Burr has retired and can no longer support this legislation, I hope that his former colleagues will see the light and follow in his footsteps. To that end, I have held ongoing conversations with the Offices of our current North Carolina Senators, Thom Tillis and Ted Budd — keeping them updated on the underride crash testing which we have conducted in Raleigh.

Likewise, I’ve had conversations with Republican staff of the House T&I Committee and Senate Commerce Committee, as well as many other Republican legislators, including Senator John Thune (former Chair of the Commerce Committee), Senator Ted Cruz (current Chair of the Commerce Committee), and Senator Todd Young, who represents Indiana where three trailer manufacturers are headquartered. One of them, Wabash Trailers, proudly announced their improved rear underride guard in 2016 and showcased their side guard prototype at a trucking conference in 2017 — although they are, regrettably, not installing them on their trailers at this time.

Since we no longer have Senators Rubio and Burr to champion underride protection, I would be beyond delighted if these sitting Senators would choose to lead the way in strong Republican support of this common-sense legislation.

STOP Underrides Bill Re-Introduced In Senate & House

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Today, U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and U.S. Representatives Steve Cohen (D-TN-9), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA-10), and Deborah Ross (D-NC-2) introduced legislation to help prevent deadly truck underride crashes.

Sign the 2026 Petition: Tell Congress to Pass STOP Underrides 2.0 – Make Truck Crashes Survivable

Legislation was introduced in 2017, 2019, and 2021. Underride provisions were included in the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. The 2026 Stop Underrides Act 2.0 would expand on current restrictions by instructing rulemaking to require side underride guards on new trucks, improving data collection, and directing additional research on underride crashes. Specifically, this bill would:

  • Require the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to finalize rulemaking requiring side underride guards on commercial trucks. 
  • Restart the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Advisory Committee on Underride Protection, to provide recommendations for how to reduce underride crashes and severe injuries and fatalities caused by underrides.
  • Require the DOT to publish a website making underrides research accessible to researchers, industry, and advocates. 
  • Instruct the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study on the prevalence of underride incidents, including those involving the fronts of large trucks.
  • Instruct NHTSA to create free, on-demand web-based training for state and local law enforcement to better identify and document underride crashes. 
  • Instruct the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study of the implementation of NHTSA’s 2022 rear underride rule and provide suggestions to better improve the rule. 
  • Instruct NHTSA to review its Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and correct crashes in the database that should have been classified as an underride but were not — including Vulnerable Road Users, i.e., pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists.

The House bill is H.R. 7354. Its companion bill in the Senate is S. 3775. You can read the full bill text here.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Basic Underride Information

This is what the bill sponsors are saying:

“Truck underride guards are one of the best and easiest solutions for protecting passengers during collisions with large trucks,” said Senator Gillibrand. “The Stop Underrides Act 2.0 is commonsense legislation that will protect passengers and make our roads safer. I look forward to working across the aisle to get this passed.”

“I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing life-saving legislation to make our roads safer,” said Senator Luján. “The Stop Underrides Act will help prevent deadly underride crashes and protect families from tragic, preventable loss. I’m grateful for Senator Gillibrand’s leadership on this important issue, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to get this bill signed into law.”

“The Stop Underrides Act 2.0 would help prevent these terrible and too-often fatal truck-trailer accidents by ensuring that cars can no longer slide underneath trucks,” said Representative Cohen. “In introducing this legislation, I’m reminded of my constituents Randy and Laurie Higginbotham who lost their son in an underride crash in Memphis in 2014. The Stop Underrides Act 2.0 builds on important progress made in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and will save lives by helping to end these fatal crashes.”

“With truck underride collisions claiming the lives of at least 300 people per year, the time to act on reforms is now. Small changes will make a big difference, and we cannot leave any room for error,” said Congressman DeSaulnier. “I am proud to join my colleagues in advancing this bill to put an end to these avoidable tragedies.”

“Requiring trucks to have underride guards is a simple way to prevent hundreds of deaths on our roads,” said Congresswoman Ross. “These guards are a proven, effective safety measure that will reduce underride crashes as well as severe injuries and fatalities caused by underrides. I have heard directly from families in my district about the lives this improvement could save. I’m proud to introduce legislation that will prevent vehicle fatalities and make our roads safer for drivers in North Carolina and across the country.”

We had the opportunity to discuss underride with our representative, Congresswoman Ross, during a 2025 Town Hall. We appreciate her responsiveness and her support of this important legislation.

In the Senate, the Stop Underrides Act 2.0 is cosponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). This bill is supported by the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, America Walks, AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety, Cascade Bicycle Club, Casey Feldman Foundation, Center for Auto Safety, EndDistractedDriving.org, Families for Safe Streets, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, League of American Bicyclists, Institute for Safer Trucking, Kids and Car Safety, Ride Illinois, Ride of Silence, Road Safe America, Sylvia Bingham Fund, Safe Routes Partnership, Stop Underrides, and Truck Safety Coalition.

Rationale for Republican Support of STOP Underrides Bill

Let’s make 2026 the year we pass legislation to make truck crashes more survivable!

In Memory of Michael Molano (January 18, 2026)

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UPDATE March 13, 2026: Hundreds of people die every year when pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and occupants of passenger vehicles go under trucks. Please consider joining a STOP Underrides National Town Hall via Zoom April 15 | 8 – 9 pm ET |RSVP HERE. 

Your voice at this unique advocacy gathering will let your U.S. Senators and Representative know that you want them to pass the STOP Underrides Act of 2026.

The man who was killed in the fiery crash with a semi truck in thick fog has been identified as 23-year-old Michael Molano of Fresno.

The crash happened on the morning of January 18 on Clovis Avenue near Highway 99.

Authorities say Molano’s pickup ran into a semi truck making a u-turn in dense fog. 23-year-old identified as man killed in fiery Fresno County crash

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.

Michael Molano, Precious One Gone Too Soon

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.)

How You Can Help

Support improving Underride Protection on trailers: Contact your legislators & ask them to co-sponsor the STOP Underrides Act of 2026.

Please sign this petition: It’s Past Time To End Death By Underride!

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.

In Memory of Michael David Schuster (December 31, 2025)

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UPDATE March 13, 2026: Hundreds of people die every year when pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and occupants of passenger vehicles go under trucks. Please consider joining a STOP Underrides National Town Hall via Zoom April 15 | 8 – 9 pm ET |RSVP HERE. 

Your voice at this unique advocacy gathering will let your U.S. Senators and Representative know that you want them to pass the STOP Underrides Act of 2026.

Michael David Schuster, 57, was pronounced dead of his injuries after collision on Wednesday, Dec. 31 between pickup and a tractor trailer, said Deputy Kingman Police Chief Joel Freed, confirming Schuster is the brother of Mohave County Sheriff Doug Schuster.

The semi was exiting the Travel Center of America truck stop when it collided with an eastbound 2006 pickup that ended up under the semi trailer. Golden Valley man, brother of Mohave County Sheriff killed in crash with semi-trailer

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.

Michael David Schuster, Precious One Gone Too Soon

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 periodically written memorial posts on what could potentially be underride crashes; but be aware that this is not a comprehensive, exhaustive record of all such 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.

Did DOT Violate the Information Quality Act When it Published Side Underride Guard Research?

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The Department of Transportation published a report in May 2020, A Literature Review of Lateral Protection Devices on Trucks Intended for Reducing Pedestrian and Cyclist Fatalities. The published report purported to fulfill a $200,000 contract (number SA9PA1) awarded by the Federal Motor Carrier Administration (FMCSA) to the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center. In 2019, Volpe Center researchers turned in a draft of that report, entitled, “Truck Side Guards and Skirts to Reduce Vulnerable Road User Fatalities: Final Report on Net Benefits and Recommendations” (DOT-VNTSC-FMCSA-19-01). The published literature review left out many of the original objectives outlined in the contract between FMCSA and the Volpe Center to study the effectiveness of truck side guards to reduce Vulnerable Road User deaths.

Senior Agency Officials Suppressed Side Guard Research — Impacting Regulatory Analysis

ALMFTS investigated by requesting documents pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. Internal agency emails reveal that the Department — not the study’s authors — rewrote the Volpe Center Report, in violation of a federal guidance on conducting peer review. The emails document that a NHTSA official made revisions to the original report rather than making recommendations to the study’s authors — as would be done in a genuine peer review.

Here is a subset of those emails — a list of some of the more relevant and revealing ones, which document that revisionism rather than review of a research study took place:

USDOT Emails Via FOIA – Documentation of Violation of OMB Peer Review Guidance

This is a violation of an Office of Management & Budget guidance on peer review — at the peril of Vulnerable Road Users who are at risk of known, unreasonable, and preventable truck underride injuries and death, as well as occupants of passenger vehicles. 

Relevant documentation: Timeline of Events Concerning the Volpe Center Side Guard Research Report

When one errs, the right thing to do is to correct the error. The right thing to do here is to correct the information the Department erroneously published. What will the Secretary of Transportation do, at this juncture in history, to protect these souls entrusted to his care?


If only the federal traffic safety agency had fought as hard to get side underride protection on the roads as they did to keep them off the roads, those roads would be a whole lot safer. Although it is only one piece of a larger puzzle, the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center report on truck side guards — before Department officials suppressed its findings — illustrates the cost effectiveness of a technically-proven road safety countermeasure.

In Memory of Suleiman Hamideh (September 15, 2025)

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UPDATE March 13, 2026: Hundreds of people die every year when pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and occupants of passenger vehicles go under trucks. Please consider joining a STOP Underrides National Town Hall via Zoom April 15 | 8 – 9 pm ET |RSVP HERE. 

Your voice at this unique advocacy gathering will let your U.S. Senators and Representative know that you want them to pass the STOP Underrides Act of 2026.

A young boy was hit and killed by a semi-truck Monday night while riding his bike off Cottondale Drive. 

The Baton Rouge Police Department said that the 7-year-old was hit around 7:40 p.m. on Lindale Avenue near the intersection of Cottondale. The coroner’s office later identified the boy as Suleiman Hamideh. . .

. . . he struck Hamideh with the rear driver’s side tire on his trailer. . . 7-year-old boy fatally struck by 18-wheeler while riding bike in Baton Rouge

Suleiman Hamideh, Precious One Gone Too Soon

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. This is also true for Vulnerable Road Users, such as pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists and wheelchair users, who can suffer catastrophic injuries when they collide with the unguarded side of a large truck.

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. 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.

Find out more about Vulnerable Road Users and preventable underride tragedies:

In Memory of Colene Ruhl (September 16, 2025)

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UPDATE March 13, 2026: Hundreds of people die every year when pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and occupants of passenger vehicles go under trucks. Please consider joining a STOP Underrides National Town Hall via Zoom April 15 | 8 – 9 pm ET |RSVP HERE. 

Your voice at this unique advocacy gathering will let your U.S. Senators and Representative know that you want them to pass the STOP Underrides Act of 2026.

A woman in a motorized wheelchair was hit and killed Tuesday afternoon in Winter Springs, a spokesperson for the city told WESH 2. . .

Officials said they found the woman lying in the roadway, “deceased from what appeared to be injuries suffered from being struck by a semi-tractor-trailer.”

The woman was on the sidewalk when a semi heading east on SR-434 was attempting to make a right turn on Belle Avenue.

As the semi began to turn right onto Belle, the woman started to cross Belle and was hit by the trailer of the turning semi, thrown from the wheelchair and killed, officials said. Woman thrown from wheelchair, killed after being hit by semi making turn in Winter Springs

Colene Ruhl, Precious One Gone Too Soon

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. This is also true for Vulnerable Road Users, such as pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists and wheelchair users, who can suffer catastrophic injuries when they collide with the unguarded side of a large truck.

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. 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.

Find out more about Vulnerable Road Users and preventable underride tragedies:

Kaizen and Underride Protection: A New Industry Approach

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What is the industry’s approach to underride protection? Is it anything like the Japanese attitude of Kaizen? This blogpost caught my attention:

I am reminded of a Japanese word: Kaizen. I read a book once that discussed the difference between the American mindset and the Japanese mindset – explaining that Kaizen is a Japanese word meaning “improvement or change for the better”. Kaizen is defined as a continuous effort by each and every employee… to ensure that there’s continual improvement. The book suggested the American mindset is to build something, work hard at it, step back, admire it, and then move on. The Kaizen mindset is to continue to improve what was built. . . This isn’t about perfectionism. The perfectionist mindset is fixated on what is wrong. The improvement mindset is fixated on what we can make better.

If that was our mindset in the United States, what might we hope to see in underride protection progress? How many more lives might be saved?

What’s New In Underride?

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There’s nothing new about underride. Despite the fact that it has taken loved ones from us for decades, bringing an end to preventable underride continues to be an uphill battle. We fight on.

Here are some recent instances of underride getting media coverage:

And, by the way, in case you missed it, here are videos from crash testing of collisions between bicyclists and tractor-trailers — conducted by Aaron Kiefer in Raleigh at the North Carolina State Highway Patrol training facility on September 13, 2024. . .

Unguarded (no side guard) VRU Crash Test:

LPD+ Crash Test with Fully-Guarded Trailer:

Here are some posts I’ve written about Lateral Protection Devices+, i.e. side underride guards:

The proof is in the pudding. I rest my case.