Tag Archives: #stopunderrides

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:

“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.

Compelling Documentary Tells the Stories of Underride Victims: Save Lives – STOP Underrides!

We are thankful to Cool Breeze Studio for creating this recently-released underride documentary — telling the stories of underride victims to shed light on this preventable problem.

DC Underride Crash Test Event Media Alert 032218

Nat’l Sheriffs’ Association Resolution Advocates to STOP Underrides & Improve Commercial Vehicle Safety

Law enforcement officers might not always be familiar with the term underride, but they all too often are familiar with the devastation of an underride crash. For that reason, the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) Traffic Safety Committee was eager to provide us with a Letter of Support when the STOP Underrides! Bill was introduced.

Additionally, the NSA Board of Directors included this public health and traffic safety issue in their 2018  Resolutions. Find the NSA Underride Resolution here.

Of particular note, the Resolution states:

Be It RESOLVED, that the National Sheriffs’ Association and The National Sheriffs’ Association’s Traffic Safety Committee believe that retrofitting commercial vehicles is vital to the efforts to prevent these crashes from occurring, first and foremost and also to lower roadway deaths, injuries, and property damage.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the National Sheriffs’ Association and the National Sheriffs’
Association’s Traffic Safety Committee encourages further collaborative efforts by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; the Federal Highway Administration; the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; the Governors Highway Safety Association; the National Sheriffs’ Association and the International Association of Chiefs of Police to monitor and collect data that properly identifies underride deaths caused by Commercial Vehicle-involved crashes.

My heroes! Thank you, NSA!

Senators Gillibrand & Rubio and Representatives Cohen & DeSaulnier Reintroduce Bipartisan Underride Bill

March has been a momentous month for truck underride. Continuing along that line, the STOP Underrides! Bill has been re-introduced to Congress by its sponsors, Senators Gillibrand and Rubio and Representatives Cohen and DeSaulnier, on March 5.

See Senator Gillibrand’s Press Release here and Senator Rubio’s here.

To convince Congress of the importance of this bill to end Death By Underride, we will be hosting an Underride Crash Test Event in Washington, D.C., starting at 10:00 a.m. on March 26 (watch for livestreaming from Eric Flack & WUSA 9).

Consumer Reports urges Congress to pass the Stop Underrides Act

The STOP Underrides! Bill is now S.665 (referred to the Senate Commerce, Science, & Transportation Committee) and HR.1511 (referred to the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee).

@NTSB & @NHTSAgov didn’t call for side guards after 2016 Tesla underride fatality; will they after a 2nd?

NHTSA investigated the May 2016 side underride crash of Joshua Brown’s Tesla. Here is the report which they published in January 2018.

Special Crash Investigations:
On-Site Automated Driver Assistance
System Crash Investigation of the
2015 Tesla Model S 70D 812481

Read this description of the injuries which the driver suffered as a result of Passenger Compartment Intrusion (PCI) from truck underride:

The front plane of the Tesla underrode the mid-aspect of the semi-trailer in the intersection, and the first crash event occurred as the base of the windshield and both A-pillars of the Tesla impacted and engaged the sill/frame of the semi-trailer’s right plane/undercarriage. Directions of force were in the 12 o’clock sector for the Tesla and the 3 o’clock sector for the UTI semitrailer. The Tesla maintained its momentum and completely underrode the semi-trailer, which sheared the entire greenhouse and roof structure from the Tesla.

During the underride impact, the driver’s face and head contacted multiple intruding components. These contacts produced fatal injuries to the driver. Intruding components and the semi-trailer also contacted and deformed both front row seatbacks and all of the Tesla’s structural pillars. The sheared roof and tailgate/hatch of the Tesla were captured by the right plane of the semi-trailer as the vehicle continued beneath it, and became deposited in the roadway at the location of the impact.

Please explain to me why NHTSA did not suggest that side guards might have changed the outcome of the crash and, furthermore, took no action to initiate rulemaking to mandate side underride protection.

NTSB also investigated the May 2016 Tesla crash and made no side guard recommendations.

Another Tesla Side Underride Tragedy Points to Need for Truck Side Guard Mandate

Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underride!

Another Tesla Side Underride Tragedy Points to Need for Truck Side Guard Mandate

Late yesterday afternoon, I heard the news that another man has lost his life when his Tesla went under the side of a tractor trailer in Florida. No matter how it actually came about, doesn’t it seem tragic that we didn’t learn our lesson from Joshua Brown’s tragic death going under the side of a tractor trailer in a Tesla in May 2016?

Earlier today, a Tesla Model 3 owner died in a tragic accident with a semi truck. The Model 3 went under the truck’s trailer resulting “in the roof being sheared off as it passed underneath,” which is known as a “side underride” accident. Tesla Model 3 driver again dies in crash with trailer, Autopilot not yet ruled out

NTSB is sending a team to investigate this crash

Earlier this week, I wrote about the disturbing documentation that current Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) technology on passenger vehicles is not reliably detecting large trucks: “AEB that reliably detects trucks could prevent underride crashes.” Meanwhile, what should we do? Yet, many of the voices opposing the STOP Underrides! Bill point to Collision Avoidance technology as the better route to prevent underride crashes.

Clearly, collision avoidance technology is not ready to prevent truck underride tragedies at this point in time. In contrast, comprehensive underride protection technology is ready to go — awaiting a mandate to get the ball rolling to save lives.

Here are two practical, viable solutions offered by engineers to prevent the gruesome, deadly passenger compartment intrusion (PCI) which occurs with side underride:

Download this video file to view a recent crash test by Aaron Kiefer into the side of a trailer equipped with the latest version of his SafetySkirt: Video Feb 24, 2 24 45 PM

AngelWing side guard successfully tested at the IIHS at 35 and 40 mph in 2017:

We cannot wait for the trucking industry to handle it themselves and the automotive industry is not prepared to prevent collision with large vehicles. Congress should feel proud to be the ones to make sure that this happens. Unless they want people to die!

STOP Underrides! Petition

D. C. Underride Crash Test, March 26, 2019

From the May 2016, Joshua Brown Tesla side underride crash: Witnesses reveal new details behind deadly Tesla accident in Florida

The police report indicated that Brown’s Model S collided with a tractor trailer that was perpendicular to it and continued to travel underneath it after having its windshield and roof sheared off. Because the vehicle was in Autopilot at the time, the vehicle continued to travel before veering off the road, careening through two fences, and finally coming to a rest after striking a utility pole approximately 100 feet south of the road.

Tesla released a statement on their blog:

“What we know is that the vehicle was on a divided highway with Autopilot engaged when a tractor trailer drove across the highway perpendicular to the Model S. Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied. The high ride height of the trailer combined with its positioning across the road and the extremely rare circumstances of the impact caused the Model S to pass under the trailer, with the bottom of the trailer impacting the windshield of the Model S.”

By the way, these are not “extremely rare circumstances.” Hundreds of vehicles collide with the sides of large trucks every year. Furthermore, both of these crashes clearly involved side underride. Why is this not being acknowledged and addressed?

DC Underride Crash Test Event, March 26, 10:00 a.m.: Be There, or Be Square!

SAVE THE DATE: March 26, 2019, D.C. Underride Crash Test Event

D.C. Underride Crash Test AGENDA

See for yourself a crash into the side of a trailer — with & without underride protection.

See details here: Save the Date D.C. UNDERRIDE Crash Test flyer pdf

WUSA9 will be livestreaming the event on Facebook.

IIHS crash testing with & without a side guard:

IIHS crash testing weak rear guard & improved (but not required) rear guard:

  1. Sign the STOP Underrides Petition.
  2. Share the Petition link: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/104/712/045/congress-act-now-to-end-deadly-truck-underride/
  3. Call your U.S. legislators here.

CVSA Responds to Senators’ Request to Add Rear Underride Guards to Vehicle Inspection Checklist

Do you want to share the road with trucks which have bent, rusty, or cracked rear underride guards — making an already-weak protective device even weaker when not properly maintained?

That is the current reality on our roads. So we are encouraged by CVSA’s response to our request that they add underride guards to their commercial vehicle inspections:

“There are currently 15 items on the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) out-of-service criteria that render a commercial motor vehicle operator unqualified to drive if their trucks do not meet CVSA standards,” the [Senator Gillibrand & Senator Rubio letter to CVSA] said. “This list includes lighting devices, windshield, wipers and frame of the vehicle.”

But not underride guards!

The Stop Underrides Act (S. 2219) has been referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

In the meantime, the two lawmakers also have asked CVSA to consider upgrading the standard for rear guards with cracks, rust or corrosion to be placed out-of-service.

“We’ve been requested to look at them to see whether or not they belong in the out-of-service criteria,” Kerri Wirachowsky, director of CVSA’s roadside inspection program, told Transport Topics. “Maybe, maybe not. But before we go that far we need to see what is out there and what the condition of them are.”

Although there are federal requirements on size, placement and condition of the rear underguards, CVSA does not have a handle on how vigorously inspectors are checking the underguards or issuing violations when they’re “beat up, bent or have lost bolts,” Wirachowsky said.  CVSA Responds to Senators Deciding to Spend a Day Inspecting Underride Guards, August 15, 2018, Transport Topics

On February 13, 2019, WUSA9 reported on the results of that August 27-31, 2018, CVSA underride inspection project. Big changes coming to big rig risks, WUSA9, February 13, 2019

. . . our investigation uncovered many of those rear guards don’t measure up, and worse, hold up in accidents.

Now we’ve discovered the inspectors responsible for red-flagging dangerous rear guards, have very little power to do much about it.

As a result [of the underride inspection project], CVSA is now making major changes. 

  • It’s retraining road-side inspectors to check rear guards.
  • Asking the federal government to tighten the rules on rear guard inspections.
  • Effective immediately: the CVSA is increasing training on how to inspect rear guards. 
  • Adding it to the agency’s critical inspection item list.
  • Prohibiting inspectors from giving CVSA approved decal to any vehicle that doesn’t meet rear guard requirements.

The decals allow trailers, who have passed inspection, to roll through these stations without getting looked at again.

Meanwhile, other proposed changes will require federal approval, including adding faulty rear guards to list of things that can result in a trailer being pulled off the road, and adding rear guards to the check list trucks must meet to pass annual inspections. {* See footnote.}

The Stop Underrides Act would go even farther than the safety improvements the CVSA is now recommending. Major changes to stop underride accidents could be coming to US highways, WUSA9, February 13, 2019

We are also thankful to CVSA for their work with FMCSA on the recently published training video on the vehicle inspection process. This process now includes inspection of the rear end protection device (although I hope that they update the video with more details of what to look for, along with photos with examples of guards which don’t pass inspection).

VIDEO: A step-by-step review of a North American Standard (NAS) Level 1 inspection – narrated from the perspective of the commercial driver

* Hint, hint, hint, FMCSA. On November 1, 2018, we submitted a petition to FMCSA Administrator Martinez, asking that you add underride protection to Out-Of-Service items in Appendix G. We are still waiting for a decision.

Letter from FMCSA in response to our petition

David vs Goliath: Will Industry Lobby Power Win the Day in the Battle to End Preventable Truck Underride?

Almost fifty years ago, on March 19, 1969, the Department of Transportation publicly stated their intention to add underride protection to the sides of large vehicles. So why have they not yet done so?

Is it lack of data? Sure, the deadly underride problem is vastly undercounted. But the thousands of underride deaths actually recorded since that date are certainly enough to confirm that this problem needs to be addressed.

Is it a lack of practical, viable solutions? Actually, engineers have offered solutions to every kind of underride for decades. But without a mandate, investors are hesitant to back them and manufacturers are reluctant to stick their necks out in a highly competitive industry. (We have heard this with our own ears.)

So what is it then that has prevented DOT from moving forward to end Death By Underride? I have some good guesses. But look for yourself at this published evidence of industry attitude toward the idea of underride regulations (to end preventable horrific deaths & debilitating injuries), and then tell me what you think. . .

Yesterday morning, I saw a Tweet from the National Tank Truck Carriers (NTTC) in which they applauded the 2019 NTSB Most Wanted List. It included a link to an article in Bulk Transporter which carries on about how committed the Tank Truck Association is to highway safety and making the roads safer:

. . . NTTC’s members are always working to improve in these areas, incorporating the best technologies and people-management practices to combat distracted, impaired, and fatigued driving. NTTC is particularly pleased that none of the 45 recommendations in the Ensure the safe Shipment of Hazardous Materials section relate to highway mode transportation. Tank truck carriers carry a disproportionately large number of hazardous materials loads and work diligently to ensure they are transported safely.

“NTTC is pleased that our members’ efforts has resulted in zero highway-mode recommendations on the hazardous materials most wanted list,” said NTTC President Daniel Furth.

NTTC is dedicated to highway safety, and it looks forward to working with NTSB, the Department of Transportation, its modal agencies, and other stakeholders to make America’s highways as safe as possiblehttps://www.bulktransporter.com/tank-fleets/nttc-applauds-ntsb-s-most-wanted-list-transportation-safety-improvements

When I mentioned this to Jerry — because I was plotting how to reply to their Tweet asking them to also support safety through underride protection — he reminded me of a previous article, which I had found last Spring, where this same group (NTTC) stated that they anticipated a potential battle to fight a side underride mandate:

Miller: NTTC serves as an advocate for the industry.We track state and federal issues. For instance, we’re involved with trying to shut down the California rest break requirement, which is a bad deal for trucking companies and their drivers. It interferes with interstate commerce. 

BT: Is NTTC achieving success with efforts to preempt state rules that conflict with federal regulations?

Miller: Yes. NTTC does a great job of catching these issues early. We have significantly better legal and lobbying representation today. We’re also in a very strong financial condition, and we have funds available to finance our efforts

We’re the only organization that fought against the proposed mandate to ban wet lines, and we won. We may have to face off on a possible side-underride mandate in the near future. 

https://www.bulktransporter.com/tank-fleets/lee-miller-targets-drivers-critical-tank-truck-industry-issue (an excerpt at the very bottom of this lengthy interview article from April 30, 2018)

Draw your own conclusions and then ask yourself: “Will I be part of those who are swayed by the industry arguments and lobbying power and turn a blind eye to preventable and unimaginable underride tragedies? Or, will I stand with those who plead on behalf of the countless vulnerable victims of Death By Underride and call for a comprehensive underride protection mandate?”

Do you count yourself with David or Goliath?

Moms on a Mission to Make Truck Crashes More Survivable

After all, it was a fatal underride crash under the side of a milk tanker truck on July 6, 2017, which caught the attention of the U.S. Senators from New York.

Ambulance workers returning from call killed in I-81 milk tanker crash

Subsequently, Senator Schumer called for improved underride protection and Senator Gillibrand committed herself to supporting our drafted comprehensive underride protection bill, which was introduced on December 12, 2017, as the STOP Underrides! Act of 2017.

And here is a more recent fatal underride crash involving a tanker truck on December 26, 2018:

Four people were killed early Wednesday morning after the driver of the vehicle crashed into a tanker truck on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey, police said.

Kevin Quispe-Prieto, 21, Jimmy Quispe-Prieto, 23, Victor Lugo, 24, and Robert Ordenana, 23, were killed following a crash near Berkley Township just before 3 a.m. Wednesday, New Jersey state police said. The driver of the oil tanker, who was not identified, suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.

Four people were killed after their vehicle collided with a tractor-trailer.
Four people were killed after their vehicle collided with a tractor-trailer. (FOX5NY)
Photo & video of car at back of tanker truck: 
And another side underride crash into a milk tanker truck: Deadly Milk Truck Crash Reported On Gilman Springs Road
  1. A few years ago, I discovered a March 16, 1977 Senate Investigative hearing, which was reported on in the March 29, 1977 IIHS Status Report.
  2. This is how that report began: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has released the results of a crash test program focused on the deadly problem of car-into-truck underride crashes. Appearing as lead-off witness at a March 16 Senate Investigative hearing, the Institute’s president, William Haddon, Jr., M.D., presented crash test films and analyses showing that: The 25 year-old federal “rear end protection” standard for devices on the backs of tractor-trailers and trucks is “a sham.”
  3. Further, Haddon warned Senators“Blood has been shed, heads literally have rolled and countless thousands of Americans have been injured because these agencies did not act. Further inaction would be inexcusable.”

 

Our stories show the world that this violence has to end.
But the forces up against us make it hard to score a win.
Yet we’ll climb up this mountain of grief once again.
Weeping is our strength; let this battle begin.

Lyrics: from the broken heart of a mother (remembering the peace and joy of AnnaLeah and Mary); Tune: Simple Gifts

Note: Here is a 1989 University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) study including analysis of NHTSA rulemaking on rear guards:
“As indicated throughout our analysis, the proposed NHTSA rule was
never implemented. The exact reasons for not adopting it were
never explicitly stated. However, one can infer that the strong
opposition by the entire trucking industry combined with
‘”deregulation'” sentiments of the recent administration were the
major factors in its failure to be implemented. We note that
failure to implement a rule on underride guards took place
despite extensive research indicating their expected