Tag Archives: side underride

Consensus Side Guard Standard

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.

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

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:

What have we been waiting for since March 19, 1969? A law to prevent people from dying under the side of trucks.

  1. Fifty-one years ago, on March 19, 1969, (I learned in 2016) the US DOT was recorded as saying that they intended “after technical studies have been completed, to extend the requirement for underride protection to the sides of large vehicles.”
  2. They have not done so (even though it has been proven possible & technical studies have been done) — just like they have not mandated rear guards to be stronger or front guards to be installed.
  3. Inaction at the cost of tens of thousands of lives.
  4. On March 19, 1969, I was thirteen years old. Little did I know about what they had said or that in 8 years I would get married on March 19, 1977 (43 years ago today), that in the ensuing years I would bear nine children, teach them at home, raise most of them to adulthood, and bury two of them due to preventable Death By Underride.
Participate in the Side Guard Task Force Meeting via Zoom, April 17

Wabash Engineer Left a Valuable Legacy: A Side Underride Guard Patent

In November 2017, Lois Durso and I were privileged to meet the inventor of this design –Wabash engineer, Rod Ehrlich — along with his son Mark Ehrlich, who have been a vital part of this important research. Rod died in October 2018, after a long career of useful contributions to the trailer industry — including more than 60 patents, and most recently a side underride guard patent.

Wabash National continues their side underride protection R&D, as evidenced by a side underride guard patent filed on April 17, 2018, and issued on February 4, 2020. The prototype was introduced in a September 2017 commercial vehicle show in Atlanta.

“A side underride system configured to be coupled to a trailer may comprise a first skirt wall coupled to the trailer, positioned below a first side wall of the trailer, and extending along a first length of the trailer between a skirt wall front end and a skirt wall rear end and a cable system including a first cable coupled to the trailer, positioned below the first side wall, and extending along a second length of the trailer between a cable system front end and a cable system rear end, the skirt wall rear end being positioned forward of the cable system rear end.” https://patents.justia.com/patent/10549797

Wabash 2020 SUG patent (1)

In fact, we were able to see a successful crash test of his design. As evidenced by Rod’s work, along with that of many other engineers, this country has the talent to bring about effective solutions to deadly underride. Unfortunately, the lack of a mandate is holding the trucking industry back from moving forward with tangible action to once and for all get it on the road.

Let’s grab the baton from Rod’s legacy. Surely we can put our heads together and reach the finish line in the long-standing pursuit of that elusive goal: underride protection on the sides of all large trucks so that we might save lives and prevent horrific injuries.

Lois Durso-Hawkins, Atlanta TMC Conference, March 2018
Wabash side impact guard prototype, March 2018, Atlanta TMC Conference

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

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:

Dispelling Common Misconceptions About Underride Protection

It’s time to provide the documentation to counteract unfounded fallacies and speculations about underride protection.

COMMON MISCONCEPTION: ”  A European trailer maker saw trailer failures due to the increased rigidity in the trailer structure from added frame supports for side underride guards, TTMA reported. The trailers were less flexible when operated over uneven road surfaces or on surfaces that produced twisting forces, which led to the trailers becoming disabled during highway use, presenting safety risks to other motorists.” https://www.truckinginfo.com/340949/should-truck-trailers-have-side-underride-guards

RELATED FACTS: 1. ATA is referring to concerns about the kinds of damage experienced by owners of Krone trailers in Europe. A side guard developed by the Krone company in Europe had problems with causing cracks over time in the trailer floor. This has been pointed to by many in the industry as “proof” that no side guard can be designed which will not damage the trailer and cause other safety problems. Please take some time to review this deposition and an excerpt which includes questioning of a Krone representative.

yorg-sanders-depo (2)

yorg-sanders-exhibits (1)

KRONE Deposition Excerpt Side Guard

2. You will find that although it was not a technical success, the company chose not to continue developing it due to economic reasons because safety was not their original motivation. At the time they were the only ones trying to stop cars from going under the side of trucks in Europe and they chose not to continue on that path. However, Mr. Sanders was not implying that it would have been impossible to make corrections had they tried.

3. Krone embarked upon a complete curtain-sided trailer redesign, which happened to have a low frame. Clearly the connections and the members weren’t designed/constructed adequately and they had problems. Mr. Sanders says that this experience is not indicative of what will happen when a side guard is added to an existing US-style box trailer.

4. It should be noted that Krone did not design a side guard to go on the side of a trailer, instead they designed a new type of trailer which had side underride protection. It was the trailer design which had technical problems — not a side guard which caused structural problems to an existing trailer design.

5. Also, it is my understanding, from the deposition, that Krone had a working relationship with Wabash Trailers in the U.S. at the time when they were working on the trailer which had a side guard on it. Although Krone made the decision not to continue development of side underride protection on their trailers, Wabash Trailers themselves did R&D work on side guards. In fact, they have showcased their prototype side guard at truck shows in the U.S. in 2017 and 2018. And they have a side guard patent issued in the U.S. on March 14, 2019.

UPDATE, June 19, 2023: Please note that we were able to have a Zoom discussion with the German engineer who designed the system used on the Krone trailers. Here the story from him: Global Underride Discussion.

COMMON MISCONCEPTION: “TTMA also pointed out that there would be a significantly increased likelihood of high-centering of the side guards on steep changes in highway and street levels, such as elevated railroad crossings, which can result in tractor-trailers becoming stranded on railroad tracks.” https://www.truckinginfo.com/340949/should-truck-trailers-have-side-underride-guards

RELATED FACTS: Attached below is a compilation of all railroad grade crossing accidents compiled by the Federal Railroad Administration for the past 5 years — compiled to address the supposed counter-safety “concerns” expressed by TTMA etc. like railroad hang-ups.

2014-2018 RR Crossing Data

In the last five years for the population of trailers we currently have including the  lowboys, car haulers, cattle haulers, beverage trailers, etc there have been ZERO fatalities coded as truck-trailer stuck on track.


Even if one were to assume a side guard at 18 inches high would create more hangups and accidents – and the standards on grade crossings say they won’t – it is just not a statistically frequent fatal or injurious event in comparison to side underrides.  Maybe this is why the NTSB, the one responsible for investigating significant rail transport accidents, still recommended side guards for trailers.

COMMON MISCONCEPTION: “The problem of added weight and reduced payload, many regulations result in unintended consequences. . .” https://www.truckinginfo.com/340949/should-truck-trailers-have-side-underride-guards

RELATED FACTS: 1) Like any new technology, over time the technology will be improved upon and costs will decrease. 2) If reduced payload means more trucks are on the road (although a weight exemption has been entertained and not all trucks run full all the time), some people speculate that there will be more truck crashes as a result. I postulate that those crashes (because of the underride protection which will be on those trucks) will be more survivable and, thus, will not lead to an increase in fatalities. 3) Some say that if there are side guards, when cars collide with the side guard and are deflected, then there may be secondary collisions as a result. I say that any secondary collision will most probably be less deadly because the crashworthy safety features of the cars will be triggered and effective at protecting passengers — unlike what occurs in underride when the crumple zones, airbags, and seat belt tensioners are not able to function as intended. 4) Besides, if a car goes under the side of a truck and keeps going, as Joshua Brown’s Tesla did, it could also lead to secondary collisions.

A comment has been made that a side underride regulation would be putting the cart before the horse due to the limited amount of available alternatives. That brings up the question: If there is an engineering problem in an industry, should we look to the industry to see what they can do about it? Why on earth should they sit around waiting for someone else to solve it for them?! Sadly, that seems to have been the prevailing industry attitude since at least 1969.

Fortunately, in addition to Perry Ponder’s AngelWing side guard and Aaron Kiefer’s SafetySkirt, some trailer manufacturers have been working on development of side underride solutions. But, unfortunately, there has been little to no encouragement given to them by the federal government or other components of the trucking industry to move forward. And potential investors are hesitant to back innovations until they are assured that there is likely to be a market.

Vanguard Strap Side Underride Guard Patent

Who will free us of this chicken & egg dilemma which has cost so many lives?

Myth-busters: The D.C. Underride Crash Test Event Team, March 26, 2019

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

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

SafetySkirt Inventor Developing Rear Reinforcement Attachment to Strengthen Rear Underride Guards on Trucks

Eight major trailer manufacturers have designed stronger rear underride guards to withstand a crash test at 35 mph all the way across the back of the trailer — earning them the TOUGHGuard Award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). This is significant because their previous designs — though meeting the current federal standard for rear guards — have been proven too weak and ineffective by IIHS.

There are about 300,000 new trailers sold every year. Some manufacturers are selling the stronger guard as Standard on all new trailers. Others are selling it as an Option, meaning that trailers may still be sold with guards known to be too weak to stop cars and save lives.

In addition, if we don’t retrofit the existing 11 million+ trailers with stronger guards — which will meet the TOUGHGuard criteria (plus side and rear underride protection) — it will be years before the entire fleet will be safer to drive around.

Fortunately, some of the trailer manufacturers have a retrofit kit for the rear guards, so that a trucking company could theoretically purchase kits to make their trucks safer. However, without a mandate to do so, I don’t imagine that will happen too quickly.

But I am encouraged by the work of Aaron Kiefer, a North Carolina crash reconstructionist who has seen so many underride tragedies that he decided to design some solutions on his own — primarily out of his own pocket and on his own time, with the support of his family who share their husband and dad with his life-saving project.

Just this weekend, Aaron installed the latest version of his Rear Reinforcement Attachment to a 53 foot trailer. Over the last five years, Aaron has been developing a design for two aluminum triangles, which are fastened to both sides of the trailer and then attached to both ends of the existing rear underride guard.

The latest version installed on September 15, 2019.

This reinforces the strength of the rear guard — improving its capability to stop a car and prevent underride. But it, also, serves as the point of attachment for Aaron’s side guard invention, the SafetySkirt — polyester webbing which can be combined with a side skirt to both save fuel and save lives.

A previous version of the Rear Reinforcement Attachment and SafetySkirt system.

You can see the SafetySkirt being tested at the D.C. Underride Crash Test Event on March 26, 2019:

We are looking forward to the day when Aaron’s SafetySkirt System can be tested at IIHS to prove its usefulness as an affordable, lightweight solution, which could theoretically be available as an option to retrofit any truck on the road with effective side and rear underride protection.

Aaron, like Perry Ponder who invented the AngelWing side guard, and countless other engineers, who should be given a green light to solve the underride problem, are amazing members of my Underride Hero Hall of Fame — along with my husband Jerry who has contributed a wealth of ideas in this underride advocacy journey.

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

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.

“‘He’d want us to go on’ | Accident victim’s family wins $42M from trucking company”

Latest WUSA9 underride series segment reports on the $42 million jury verdict in Riley Hein’s side underride case. The report includes Eric Flack’s interview of Andy Young, CDL holder and truck litigation attorney, during the D.C. Underride Crash Test Event.

“These are the things that ultimately result in the eight-figure verdicts which can push a motor carrier into bankruptcy,”  Andy Young said, a former truck driver who now represents accident victims families in lawsuits against trucking companies.

“So, you’re actually protecting everyone in the industry as a result of these devices,” Young said. 

See the broadcast and read the article here: https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/victims-family-wins-42-million-from-trucking-company-after-underride-accident/65-a113e4ee-6137-4f2d-8580-19b4bb294a9e

Riley Eric Hein
(Photo courtesy Eric Hein)