Tag Archives: side guards

10 years after trucking crash killed 2 girls, mother sees hope for change

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

Over the years, safety reform has lagged, but companies such as J.B. Hunt and Stoughton Trailers pushed ahead of regulations, victim-turned-advocate says. . .

Read more here: Transport Dive, David Taube, May 5, 2023 10 years after trucking crash killed 2 girls, mother sees hope for change

What readers are saying:

“What a fantastic article!”

“It was a nice tribute to AnnaLeah & Mary and the cause. Hopefully, it will bring more awareness to the issue and help get stricter regulations on trailer safety.” chainsaw woodcarver, who carved the girls’ memorial bench

On another note: NHTSA recently announced the membership of an Advisory Committee on Underride Protection and the beginning steps toward development of a side guard regulation. We welcome this progress but know that there are still many hurdles to overcome before significant action will be taken to reduce these preventable tragedies.

We’re hoping that you will take some time, before June 20, to submit a Public Comment to NHTSA about a proposed side guard regulation. You can see, from the Public Comments already submitted to NHTSA, that the trucking community continues to express opposition. A comment from you, in favor of advancing side underride protection, would be much appreciated. You can do so here: Side Underride Guards – ANPRM.

Your comment should be based on your awareness and knowledge of this truck crash hazard. From your perspective, share why you think that side guards would be important to reduce the severity of these crashes. To the extent possible, your comments could reflect your knowledge of answers to nine questions to which NHTSA is specifically seeking answers.

May 4, 2013 seems like just yesterday; has anything changed?

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

There’s no easy way to get through that time of year when we remember how AnnaLeah & Mary were suddenly snatched from this earthly life. How can it have been ten years ago? May 4, 2013 seems like just yesterday.

Read this post all the way through to find out what advances have come about, or skip to the end to find out how you can help. Despite our loud voices continuously raising awareness and pushing for change, progress has been painfully slow. But these are some actions which the USDOT has taken:

  • Rear underride guards are now on the annual commercial motor vehicle inspection checklist (rule issued by FMCSA in December 2021). This is important because poorly-maintained rear guards increase the chance of crash severity.
  • After beginning work on an improved rear guard rule in December 2015, in response to our 2013/2014 petitions, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) finally issued an improved rule in July 2022. Incredibly, it fell short of requiring that the guards had the full strength already proven possible by the IIHS testing of nine major trailer manufacturers! We have petitioned NHTSA to reconsider this ill-advised decision.
  • NHTSA began taking applications for membership on an Advisory Committee on Underride Protection (ACUP) in July 2022. They finally announced the selected committee members in April 2023. The first ACUP meeting will take place virtually on May 25. I’m thankful that I will, at last, be able to sit “around the table” with a diverse group of stakeholders to hammer out reasonable solutions to this century-old problem.
  • Simultaneously with the ACUP announcement, and in advance of receiving any recommendations from the Advisory Committee, NHTSA published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) for a potential side guard regulation. Their cost benefit analysis is based on questionable data and concludes that a side guard regulation would not be cost effective. We are working hard to provide more accurate information in order to correct the CBA in favor of saving lives.

“How can I help?” I thought you’d never ask!

  • Pray for the ACUP members and for this process to produce meaningful outcomes.
  • Only 17 states have an UNDERRIDE FIELD on their state crash report form. This contributes to underreporting of these deaths. By 5:00 p.m. EST on MAY 3, submit a simple, brief Public Comment here. Tell NHTSA you want them to require (not merely suggest) that states have an Underride Field (and which indicates whether it was front, side, or rear) on their crash report form.
  • By June 20, submit a Public Comment on the side guard ANPRM here. Tell them why you think that there should be a side guard regulation (simple reason: To Save Lives).
  • Tens of thousands of underride victims have been a nameless group whose senseless deaths have been swept under the rug for decades despite the ingenuity of engineers to prevent horrific underride. No more. We would like to remember these Precious Ones Gone Too Soon in a special way. We hope to receive permission from the USDOT to install a Commemorative Bell of Hope at their office building in Washington, D.C. We will be organizing a day In Memory of Underride Victims — to ring the bell and call out the names of individuals who lost their lives to underride. We do not know every name, but we will include as many as possible. If you would like to contribute to the purchase of this bell or participate in this event, please let me know by writing to me at marianne@annaleahmary.com.
Side Guard Crash Test in Raleigh, September 2022
To remember how AnnaLeah & Mary lived — full of love & laughter — not merely how they died.

What Do Baseball & Truck Underride Have In Common?

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

Now, I’m only a Cubs fan by marriage. Early on in that marriage, I learned what a die-hard fan is and joined the club. But I’m not as familiar with historical details as my husband. Like, what’s with the 1969 Cubs?

However, I have become acquainted with truck underride history and know that, in 1969, our U.S. Department of Transportation was working on rear underride guard rulemaking — though it never became law until 1996 — and said that they intended to add side underride protection on trucks. Never happened.

After losing AnnaLeah and Mary in 2013 due to rear underride, I was, of course, very interested in the updated rear underride guard rule in July 2022. In fact, I was quite disturbed to learn that NHTSA blew an opportunity to require a level of underride protection proven possible by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and nine trailer manufacturers, who were given the TOUGHGUARD award — further evidenced as technically feasible by the survivor of a 2017 rear end truck crash.

Imagine my further consternation when I learned that at least part of the basis for that July 2022 Rear Impact Guard Rule was a NHTSA “engineering judgement concern” for “potential rotation outboard.” What that means is that if the rear guard were stronger at the outer edges of the tractor trailer, that is strong enough to prevent underride, then the car upon collision might rotate or spin out into traffic and collide with another vehicle causing a secondary collision — what the industry dubs “unintended consequences.”

Rear Retrofit Crash Test

Ha! The reality is that a secondary crash such as that would be so much more likely to allow the crashworthiness features (crumple zone, airbags, seat belt tensioners) of the involved vehicles to protect the occupants as intended. Was that really their rationale? Allow people to die under a trailer so that some other fender bender, i.e., non life threatening crash, wouldn’t occur?

I asked an engineer at a university to weigh in on this concern during a February 24, 2023, Friday brown bag lunch TEAM Underride Zoom discussion. Here are the rather garbled notes I jotted down: . . . fear that it would go out into the traffic; misplaced fear; projecting less inertia as it is deflected out from hitting truck — missing the fact that there is no catching equipment on a trailer — energy absorption — the trailer does not catch the car. If it collides at the rear corner, With or without guard it will rotate. The reason rotation takes place. . . because it is the 30% offset. Unintended Consequences.

I asked him to write up his thoughts for me to share and Jared Bryson, Smart Road Operations and Mechanical Systems Innovation Director at Virginia Tech, graciously and creatively obliged.

Baseball & Underride

I’d say that well-thought out explanation should be taken into consideration during a careful review of the July 15, 2022 rear underride guard rule and the questionable (my words) NHTSA decision to decline from requiring life-preserving underride protection at the outer edges of the guard. It’s guaranteed to mean the difference between life & death for more than one person in the days ahead.

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

FARS Coding of a Sample of Rear Underride Crashes

LPD+ Saves Lives; But what’s an LPD+?

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

Words have power. Words convey meaning. Let’s choose words which will enhance understanding and catalyze life preserving action.

Take the word #underride for example. How many people realize that an underride guard is a “simple” engineering device which — if properly designed and installed — can prevent a passenger vehicle, as well as pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists, from ending up under a truck in the event of a collision?

For over a century now, despite industry and government awareness of the problem, underride tragedies have been allowed, for the most part, to go unchecked. Amazingly, a 1915 patent for a safety device to prevent side underride predates the first patent for a traffic signal filed in 1922:

“Safety Device for Motor Vehicle” to prevent side underride, 1915 Patent

Unfortunately, there has been too much confusion about the gaping space below a truck’s floor which leads to horrifying injuries when there are collisions with the front, side, or rear of a large truck — not to mention too little action taken to correct that dangerous design. One misunderstanding that I’d like to clear up relates to side underride.

Lateral Protection Device (LPD) is a term coined for equipment installed on the side of a truck to prevent Vulnerable Road Users (pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists) from being swept under. It is not designed to stop a passenger vehicle from going under. A Side Skirt is a relatively flimsy device, which is designed to improve aerodynamics and save fuel; it is not designed to prevent underride. A Side Underride Guard (SUG) or Side Impact Guard (SIG), on the other hand, is designed to prevent a passenger vehicle from going under a truck. Thankfully, it will also protect Vulnerable Road Users from being killed under a truck. And, by the way, it adds to the fuel savings of side skirts.

That is why a SUG or SIG can rightfully be called a LPD+; it does what an LPD is meant to do — and so much more. Why on earth would we require or install equipment on the U.S. fleet which is less effective than a LPD+ that is designed to protect All Road Users? *

Unbelievably, all we have at present is a patchwork quilt of underride standards, or lack thereof, in this country. It’s high time that our nation’s highway traffic safety agency step up to the plate. @NHTSAgov, make wise and timely use of the Advisory Committee on Underride Protection to provide guidance which appropriately defines and regulates underride devices — thus fulfilling your mission to reduce emissions and save lives. Otherwise, we can expect more of the same: Death By Underride day after day, year after year.

Underride Guards Save Lives

* The term LPD+ was suggested by Garrett Mattos on December 2, 2022, during a Zoom discussion among underride experts and advocates collaborating together as TEAM Underride to advance the implementation of engineering devices to prevent Death By Underride for All Road Users.

Partners in the STOP Underrides Crash Test Tour

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , ,

We are thankful for The Law Firm for Truck Safety, who graciously offered to match all donations up to $25,000 for the STOP Underrides Crash Test Tour. We welcome contributions of any size and wish to recognize all of our Business Partners and TEAM Underride Partners here.

Note: This is a work in progress; partners will be added as they join — although I might fall behind in getting them recorded! If you don’t see your name, or don’t receive a receipt, please let me know at marianne@annaleahmary.com.

How You Can Help TEAM Underride:

  • Contact us at marianne@annaleahmary.com, if you would like to become involved in planning and/or participating in the Tour.
  • For instructions on how you can donate to AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, contact us at: marianne@annaleahmary.com.
  • Donations can also be made on Facebook HERE.
STOP Underrides Crash Test Tour – digital flyer

Business Partners

Learn about the companies that have donated expertise, facilities, financial support,  and materials to this project for the saving of many lives.

      Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys       

 Maverick MetalWorks    AngelWingSkirts.com    TrailerGuards.com   

  Institute for Safer Trucking         StopUnderrides.org      Swenson & Shelley, PLLC

TEAM Underride Partners

Lois Durso-Hawkins and Mark Hawkins

In Loving Memory of Roya Sadigh

Aaron Kiefer

Trista Jean

Peggy Kiefer

Anthony Mastriano

Daniel Michel

Reshard Alexander

Successful Side Guard Crash Test in Raleigh

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, ,

While we wait for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at the U.S. Department of Transportation to complete their side #underride research this year, we continue to do our own research to demonstrate how deadly underride can be prevented. On September 13, we did a crash test in Raleigh at 35 mph into Aaron Kiefer’s (Collision Safety Consulting) latest side guard design.

The crumple zone worked to prevent Passenger Compartment Intrusion (PCI). The windshield didn’t even crack. The airbag deployed. It was a smashing success!

As Aaron Kiefer reflects on the future, he is encouraged that the industry is starting to listen. He points out how we’ve proven that preventing side underride is possible, practical, and reasonable. He observes that we are at the edge of the beginning of the end of side underride tragedies. Aaron is hopeful that both the manufacturers and NHTSA will take note and find a way to move this forward in a timely fashion. “It’s a great time for underride safety,” says Aaron.

Raleigh engineer creating, testing truck underride crash barriers

Other media coverage:

There’s only one way to know if this safety device for trucks works: Crash a car into it: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article265716861.html

Watch a crash test of a new safety guard for tractor-trailer trucks https://www.newsobserver.com/…/local/article265742746.html

‘At first glance, it’s fairly effective’: Raleigh engineer creating, testing truck underride crash barriers https://www.cbs17.com/…/at-first-glance-its-fairly…/

We are grateful to so many people who made this important event possible and successful, including:

  • the amazing volunteer crash test crew;
  • the North Carolina State Highway Patrol for the use of their training facility, grounds, fire truck (to fill the water barricades), and general assistance to make it happen;
  • Copart for providing us with a crash car, including drop off and pick up after the crash;
  • Area Wide Protective (AWP) traffic control services for providing us with the use of water barricades and skinny drums to provide a safety zone for spectators and camera crew;
  • Dean’s Wrecker Service for transporting the crash trailer to the crash test site;
  • Accident Research Specialists of Cary for their expertise in crash test preparation;
  • Maverick Metalworks for their custom-design metal components for the side guard system;
  • Cargo Control USA of Sanford for the polyester webbing; and
  • Sonia Barnes for coming to view the crash test on behalf of Congressman David Price.

Remembering AnnaLeah & Mary, & countless others.

NHTSA Failing To Educate Stakeholders On Underride

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , , ,

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that their mission is to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce economic costs due to road traffic crashes, through education, research, safety standards, and enforcement. They seem to do a decent job of informing the public with a webpage on driver assistance technologies. However, the NHTSA Truck Underride Page only contains a very short list of studies. This is the extent of entries on that page:

For a century-old problem, there is actually a wealth of research, reports, and recommendations available. As a national traffic safety leader, NHTSA could be a source of all things underride. In fact, by posting a broader set of underride specific information, NHTSA could make use of their website to better inform and inspire all stakeholders at the same time without fear of unfairly communicating with one stakeholder. This would fulfill the first purpose of the Administrative Procedures Act which “requires agencies to keep the public informed and up-to-date on agency activities.”

On September 2, “TEAM Underride” met via Zoom to discuss how we could aid NHTSA in that mission by making recommendations for additions to the NHTSA Truck Underride Page. In an attempt to be helpful, TEAM Underride participants briefly brainstormed ideas for what we thought would be useful to add to the NHTSA Truck Underride webpage, including:

That would be a good start. And we’re more than willing to help in whatever way we can to get this resource development underway.

Side Guard Cost Benefit Analysis Presentation

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , ,

A detailed cost benefit analysis of truck side guards was presented on August 26 at a TEAM Underride Zoom meeting. Eric Hein, father of 2015 side underride victim Riley Hein, originally completed this report in May 2021 and submitted it to NHTSA. In May 2022, he updated the analysis and report and again submitted it to NHTSA for consideration. See it here:

A cost-benefit analysis provides estimates of the anticipated benefits that are expected to accrue over a specified period and compares them to the anticipated costs. USDOT guidance ensures that the economic costs and benefits of road safety measures can be monetized and compared, leading to informed decision making. Delve into this cost benefit analysis to see how Eric arrives at these conclusions:

  • Over 15 years of phasing in, SUGs on new semi-trailers would save at least 3,560 lives and prevent 35,598 serious injuries.
  • An SUG with an aerodynamic skirt would offset their entire cost in the first year.
  • A SUG regulation is cost effective because the benefits of side underride guards substantially outweigh the costs.

Then answer the question: Should Secretary Buttigieg be able to determine that a side guard regulation would be cost-effective and therefore is “warranted”?

Unguarded and Unsafe: Death by Underride

Hein V. Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company: Jury Sends a Message to Trailer Manufacturers About Side Underride

Update on Underride Protection Progress

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

In July 2022, eight years after our original petition was delivered to the Department of Transportation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), whose mission it is to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce economic costs due to road traffic crashes, through education, research, safety standards, and enforcement, took the following actions related to underride protection:

In this crash test video, the top test shows what IIHS has proven possible, the bottom test shows what the 2022 rule will require:

By refusing to revise the December 2015 NPRM to the TOUGHGuard proven level of strength, NHTSA has demonstrated an unwillingness to require that all manufacturers install these stronger guards as Standard on new trailers. To state the obvious, the result is that manufacturers may continue to offer these guards as an Option, thereby allowing the ongoing production of trailers — into the future — with guards having a known unreasonable risk of Death By Underride. How do they sleep at night knowing that their meaningless rhetoric and regulatory malpractice means many more innocent people will needlessly die?

This is nothing less than a reckless disregard for human life.

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

“A Safety Rule, A Fatal Flaw”; Industry Discussed Underride Rules in 2000

Truck Safety, , ,

This week, I discovered a U.S. News & World Report article, published on October 2, 2000, entitled, “A Safety Rule, A Fatal Flaw.” I find it enlightening that the trailer manufacturers conceded twenty-two years ago, “underride guards can save lives.” They further admitted that if they had some guidance on technical specifications from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), then they could add side guards to trailers. But the manufacturers were unwilling to spend money doing so unless they were required to install them.

How many lives could have been saved if the U.S. Department of Transportation had acted decisively at that time and initiated side guard rulemaking? Perhaps more to the point, I’d like to know if Secretary Buttigieg will act boldly now to end these senseless, preventable deaths by determining that a side guard regulation is warranted?

Back of the Envelope Math: How many side underride deaths since March 19, 1969?