People have died under trucks since passenger vehicles and trucks have shared the road. What changes have we seen in underride protection? Here is a Timeline put together by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety for the first Underride Roundtable on May 5, 2016.
What’s next? What will the future hold for underride rulemaking? More of the same or significant progress in preventing underride tragedies?
Perhaps your political leanings favor self-regulation rather than imposing regulations upon industry. But what do you do if that industry has opposed life-saving measures for fifty years and thousands of people die as a result?
Like a UK Committee argued about the tax industry, might you conclude that, “Government needs to take a more active role in regulating the [trucking] industry, as it evidently cannot be trusted to regulate itself”?
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 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 possible. https://www.
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.
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.
Marianne & Lois lost their daughters in a tragic underride crash. Now, they're fighting hard for truck safety. I'm proud to work on their behalf, and for the thousands of families who have lost loved ones, to pass the Stop Underrides Act to help prevent these terrible accidents. https://t.co/d1YqABpecn
— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) May 4, 2018
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.
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
Next episode in the WUSA 9 truck underride series by Eric Flack aired last night.
“The longer Congress waits, the more people will die. That’s the position of a leading auto safety group calling for new regulations on tractor trailers.”
Underride regulations from the UN, Number 58:
E/ECE/324 E/ECE/TRANS/505 } Rev.1/Add.57/Rev.2 Regulation No. 58 page 3 Regulation No. 58 UNIFORM PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE APPROVAL OF:
I. REAR UNDERRUN PROTECTIVE DEVICES (RUPDs)
II. VEHICLES WITH REGARD TO THE INSTALLATION OF AN RUPD OF AN APPROVED TYPE
III. VEHICLES WITH REGARD TO THEIR REAR UNDERRUN PROTECTION (RUP
REAR UNDERRUN PROTECTIVE DEVICES (RUPDS)
This will take some careful review to understand the relevance and significance of this United Nations underride regulation.
This is what John Creamer told me today:
There is a UN Regulation (No. 58) on rear underrun protection. In fact, a German-sponsored amendment to increase the stringency of this regulation (the 03 series of amendments) entered into force today, having been adopted by WP.29 last November. The new requirements become mandatory starting from September 2019.
However, UN R58 is a type approval regulation not applicable under the US system. For a regulation to be established that could apply outside the type approval world, a signatory to the 1998 Agreement would have to propose working on one. In principle, the United States could make such a proposal to WP.29.
