Tag Archives: side underride guard

Lateral Protection Device+ Performance Standard = Prevention of Side Underride Tragedies

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , , ,

On January 18, 2024, engineers and underride experts gathered via Zoom to expand the Consensus Side Guard Standard, developed by TEAM Underride in 2020, to specifically address the protection of All Road Users — that is, not only the occupants of passenger vehicles but, also, pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists and other Vulnerable Road Users. In 2022, the term, Lateral Protection Device PLUS or LPD+, was coined*, and now the goal was to create language for a performance standard which such a device should meet.

We had gotten a good start on this process in December 2023. We continued that invigorating discussion and wordsmithing, and this is what we came up with to define the requirements for a Lateral Protection Device PLUS, or side impact guard, on a Commercial Motor Vehicle:

A side impact guard shall be considered to meet the performance standard if it is able to:

  1. prevent intrusion into the occupant survival space of a mid-size vehicle when the Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) is struck at any location along its side, at any angle, and at any closing speed up to and including 40 mph, and
  2. prevent a Vulnerable Road User (VRU) from passing underneath the CMV in an interaction along its side.

It is our hope that this process will ultimately result in collaborative action among diverse stakeholders, including government and industry, to develop a voluntary consensus standard which can guide rulemaking and catalyze timely, widespread adoption of underride protection on the sides of large vehicles as envisioned by the Department of Transportation in 1969. For the saving of many 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.

Video from STOP Underrides Crash Test Event

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , ,

When there is no strong physical barrier under a truck bed, Death By Underride becomes a known unreasonable risk. Fortunately, engineers have developed effective physical barriers or underride protection – although it is not required by law. With that in mind, a group of engineers carried out R&D crash testing on August 3 at the Raleigh Underride Crash Test Event.

Four side crash tests were conducted into semitrailers:

  • Ford Fiesta into an AngelWing side guard from a 45 degree angle (39 mph)
  • Chevy Malibu into an unguarded trailer from a 45 degree angle (38 mph)
  • Chevy Impala into a SafetySkirt side guard in the rear area behind forward positioned trailer axles from a 90 degree angle (36 mph)
  • Chevy Malibu into a SafetySkirt side guard from a 90 degree angle (43 mph)

Crashed trailers were each ballasted with approximately 28,000 pounds in water tanks. Video footage in this LinkedIn post by Forensic Rock, highlights two of the crash tests:

We love working with passionate people in the AR field. And Aaron Kiefer is one of those super-passionate people we absolutely love working with.

We were lucky enough to help him and his great #StopUnderrides group collect data for an awesome test series they were running in North Carolina. His goal was to demonstrate the collision mitigation of different trailer guards on side underride collisions with lower-profile sedans.

This compilation video compares an unguarded 53′ van trailer to Aaron’s SafetySkirt design. Two Chevrolet Malibu’s were used in this test series.

The speed at impact in the unguarded test was 37.5 mph; the speed at impact for Aaron’s SafetySkirt test was 43.4 mph.

We won’t spoil it for you, but Aaron certainly knows what he is doing.

Underride Crash Tests – Unguarded Trailer vs Guarded Trailer

The guards prevented Passenger Compartment Intrusion (PCI) in each guarded test.

Note: More details will be shared in the days ahead as photos, video, and electronic data are compiled.

Consensus Side Guard Standard

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

On April 17, 2020, over 40 people participated in a virtual meeting of a volunteer Underride Protection Committee’s “Side Guard Task Force.” This included two engineers from trailer manufacturers. As a follow-up, several subcommittees began to hold virtual meetings, including an Underride Engineering Subcommittee.

The engineering subcommittee met at least monthly and sometimes every other week from May through November. At the outset, the VP of Engineering of one of the trailer manufacturers provided valuable input. Subcommittee members also participated in a Virtual Briefing for Senate Commerce Committee transportation staffers on August 19, 2020.

The goal of the Underride Engineering Subcommittee was to create a Consensus Side Guard Standard which would provide additional insight for the development of a side guard regulation and industry standard. Lengthy conversation and exchange of information has led this group to submit the following recommendation:

A side underride guard shall be considered to meet the performance standard if it is able to provide vehicle crash compatibility with a midsize car, to prevent intrusion into the occupant survival space, when it is struck at any location, at any angle, and at any speed up to and including 40 mph.

The subcommittee members are in agreement as to the details shaping this long-overdue standard, which they anticipate will lead to the saving of countless lives in the days and years to come. The following group of individuals participated in the Underride Engineering Subcommittee and are willing to continue to provide input.

Jared Bryson

Malcolm Deighton

Keith Friedman

Aaron Kiefer

Garrett Mattos

Perry Ponder

NOTE: It should be mentioned that this standard has, in fact, been evaluated through research conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety when they crashed a car at 40 m.p.h. into the side of a tractor-trailer equipped with AngelWings side guards on August 29, 2017, during the Second Underride Roundtable at their Ruckersville, Virginia, testing facility.

There was no underride, no Passenger Compartment Intrusion (PCI), and the crash dummy data showed that it was survivable. In other words, this standard is not pie-in-the-sky; it has been proven that the Consensus Side Guard Standard is attainable.

Crash test at 40 mph into AngelWings side guards, August 29, 2017, during the Second Underride Roundtable at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

UPDATE: Protecting Passenger Vehicles from Side Underride with Heavy Trucks More research on side underride was published by SAE International in April 2021 — following a presentation by Garrett Mattos of the Friedman Research Center at a SAE Conference. Hopefully, the Department of Transportation now has enough research to make good on their March 19, 1969 intention to add underride protection to the sides of large vehicles.

What Will Be The Outcome of Yet-Another Side Underride Lawsuit?

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , ,

I’m sitting on the edge of my seat — waiting for a breakthrough that will bring us to a day where there will be no need for yet-another lawsuit to be filed for a side underride wrongful death. Because underride protection will make that a thing of the past. . .

Meanwhile the Valenzuela family filed a lawsuit in California on September 24, 2019, because their son, Irving Valenzuela (18), died as a result of a side underride crash on July 10, 2017. Because — among other things — side underride protection could have given him a CHANCE AT A BETTER OUTCOME.

VALENZUELA.First Amended Complaint

Imagine a truck UNDERRIDE GUARD which provides REAR & SIDE protection.

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

Imagine an underride guard on a truck which combines protection on the rear of the truck with protection on the side. Sound good?

Underride guard design by Aaron Kiefer 011

We have an opportunity to raise money to crash test this innovative underride guard–designed by Aaron Kiefer, a forensic engineer/crash reconstructionist in North Carolina, who after seeing horrific crashes wanted to design better protection to prevent people from dying.

See Aaron’s Public Comment on single unit truck underride rulemaking:  http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=NHTSA-2015-0070-0013 “. . . side impact regulations should be considered for straight trucks but more importantly for semitrailers.
Many lives can be saved through side impact protection that is capable of redirecting passenger vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists from moving beneath a straight truck or semitrailer.”

We need to raise $20,000 for a crash test to test Aaron’s design at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Vehicle Research Center.  So far, we have raised $4,500 to cover the costs of a 2010 Chevy Malibu and a tractor-trailer into which the car will crash.

Be a part of this important project and help to save lives. Donate now & spread the word:  https://www.fortrucksafety.com/

Printable Brochure: ALMFTS Underride Crash Tests Brochure

 

 

Our crash story–the short version:

Our crash story–the long  version: