Tag Archives: underride reports

Truck Underride Studies, Reports, & Patents

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , ,

1896 This patent for a side underride protective device for street cars was issued on July 14 1896 and cited by numerous more recent underride patents: http://www.google.com.pg/patents/US564027.

1913 A patent was issued in 1913 for a “Safety Device for Motor Vehicles” to provide underride protection for the sides of large trucks. https://www.google.com/patents/US1127241

Since that time, numerous patents have been published which refer to this 1913 patent (with the patent information organized in these columns: Citing Patent, Filing date, Publication date, Applicant, Title):

  • These can now be found in a post dedicated to listing UNDERRIDE GUARD PATENTS. To see this list, go here. (1/20/20)

1969 DOT published a document for rear underride proposed rulemaking on the Federal Register on March 19, 1969, indicating that they “anticipated that the proposed Standard will be amended, after technical studies have been completed, to extend the requirement for underride protection to the sides of large vehicles.” https://annaleahmary.com/2016/03/side-guards-the-original-intent-of-nhtsa-rulemakers-in-the-1969-nprm-docket-no-1-11-notice-2/

1977 Page Patent guard rail for side protection on large wheel vehicles, 1977 US Side Guard Patent US4060268 William Page.pdf

1977 An Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) crash test research illustrates the ineffectiveness of 1953 rear underride guard. 

1989 IIHS calls for Front Guards on Trucks to protect motorists: IIHS Status Report on Front Underride Protection August 26 1989

1992 IIHS Status Report on undercounted underride deaths: SR death count too low

1996  Volvo began manufacturing trucks with Front Underrun Protection in 1996 in Europe — ten years before it became a legal requirement. This is a patent filed in 2007 for an “Underrun protector and method of providing underrun protection.”  http://www.google.sr/patents/WO2008002242A1?cl=en Other relevant information on front underrun protection can be found here: https://annaleahmary.com/tag/front-underrun-protection/

Front Underride Protection Brochure 6

1997 Study illustrates the discrepancies in The Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS) underride fatality count when compared to the NHTSA database, highlighting that more people are dying from underride than are being recorded. INCIDE~1

2009 Patent filed for a “Side impact guard device for industrial vehicles, particularly trailers or semi-trailers”

US7967349Apr 7, 2009Jun 28, 2011C.R.F. Societa Consortile Per AzioniSide impact guard device for industrial vehicles, particularly trailers or semi-trailers

2010 An evaluation of U.S. rear underride guards meeting federal requirements shows that these protections still allow for severe passenger vehicle underride, often resulting in serious or fatal injury. file:///C:/Users/LD46500/Downloads/22esv-000074.pdf

2011 IIHS crash test study demonstrates that federal underride safety standards can fail in relatively low-speed crashes. http://www.iihs.org/iihs/sr/statusreport/article/46/2/1

2012 Sapa Extrusions (inventor/engineer Malcolm Deighton) filed for a patent in 2012 for a “Semi trailer under-run protection device” which they later developed into a rear underride guard which was successfully crash tested on a trailer in April 2017. https://www.google.com/patents/USD703106

2013 New crash test study shows how underride guards on most heavy trucks fail to prevent underride and result in serious injury or fatality. http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/desktopnews/new-crash-tests-underride-guards-on-most-big-rigs-leave-passenger-vehicle-occupants-at-risk-in-certain-crashes

2014 NTSB underride safety recommendations: NTSB Truck Underride Safety Recommendations to NHTSA

2014 IIHS Status Report on ongoing rear underride guards research:  IIHS Underride Status Report, October 2014

2015 NTSB recommends that regulators develop performance standards for side and front underride protection systems to improve highway vehicle crash compatibility with passenger vehicles. https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/mwl/Pages/mwl9_2015.aspx  

2015 NHTSA issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on: ANPRM Single Unit Trucks  (withdrawn for not being cost effective) and NPRM improved rear underride guards (still in limbo as of 1/10/2020).

2015 Aaron Kiefer, crash reconstructionist and forensic engineer, was issued a patent for an innovative combination side & rear trailer underride protection system: https://www.google.com/patents/US9463759 Please see the numerous underride patents referred to in this patent.

2015 This patent for a Trailer rear impact guard cites numerous other underride protection patents: https://www.google.com/patents/USD790407

2016 IIHS created an Underride Timeline for presentation at the First Underride Roundtable.

2016 Stephen Batzer and Patrick Rogers granted a patent for an Adjustable side under-ride guard for sliding axle trailer, May 31, 2016.

2016 NHTSA issued a grant to Texas A & M Transportation Institute for computer modeling research on side underride protection. http://www.wusa9.com/news/investigations/truck-trailer-rear-guard-rules-have-huge-holes-safety-experts-say/457353893

2016 Aaron Kiefer granted TrailerGuard system underride protection patent, October 11, 2016.

2016 Stephen Batzer and Patrick Rogers granted a patent for a Telescoping side under-ride guard for sliding axle trailer, November 8, 2016.

2017 Seven Hills Engineering, Perry Ponder inventor of AngelWing side guard Underride Protection successfully crash tested at 35 MPH by IIHS on 3/30/2017 and 40 MPH on 8/29/2017. Patent Pending  http://www.7he.us and http://airflowdeflector.com/airflow-2/

2017 IIHS TOUGHGuard Award Announced for improved rear underride guard design by trailer manufacturers, March 1, 2017

2017 IIHS tests side underride guards at 35 mph, and illustrates the dramatic impact side guards have in preventing serious injury and death. IIHS Announces Side Guard Crash Testing Results :

2017 DOE has issued grants for a Super Truck project which has included side skirts for fuel efficiency but not for safety. https://annaleahmary.com/2017/02/perfect-opportunity-to-transform-supertruck-into-an-esv-to-advance-underride-protection-dot-doe/

2017 AngelWing side guard successfully tested at Roundtable at 40 mph:

2017 SAPA (Hydro Extrusions) publishes results of 40 mph crash test of a Rear Impact (Underride) Guard: Sapa 40-30 RIG Test Engineering Report Version 1.3

2017 Wabash Trailers announced a prototype side guard, September 29, 2017.

2018 Texas A&M Side Guard Study (conducted with a grant from NHTSA): Computer Modeling and Evaluation Of Side Underride Protective Device Designs

2018 IIHS Announces 8 trailer manufacturers earned TOUGHGuard Award:

2018 The AngelWing side guard was successfully tested at 47.2 mph by its inventor, Perry Ponder of Seven Hills Engineering:

2019 FMCSA Volpe Transportation Center Study Final Report Completed by February 2019 but not available publicly (as of 1/10/2020). Goals include — Despite three decades of international experience, the operational, cost-benefit, and regulatory aspects of requiring truck side guards in the United States has not been studied. This research project addresses this gap. Five key tasks are included in this project: (1) study interaction of a potential side guard with other truck parts and accessories (e.g., fuel tanks, fire extinguisher, exhaust system) and the implications for a new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation; (2) investigate applicable international side guard standards; (3) perform a preliminary cost-benefit analysis of truck side guard deployment; (4) propose recommendations; and (5) propose means for voluntary adoption.: Study of Truck Side Guards to Reduce Pedestrian Fatalities

2019 Test run of Aaron Kiefer’s SafetySkirt: Video Feb 24, 2 24 45 PM

2019 GAO Truck Underride Report

2019 D.C. Underride Crash Test Event held on March 26, 2019

2019 Vanguard Trailers granted application for strap side guard patent, June 20, 2019.

2020 Wabash Trailers Side Underride Guard Patent published February 4, 2020.

2020 Consensus Side Guard Standard developed by an Engineering Subcommittee in follow-up to an April 17, 2021 Zoom Side Guard Task Force Meeting. Consensus Side Guard Standard

2021 Engineers, Trucking Industry, & Victim Advocates Collaborate at Side Guard Task Force On a Friday afternoon — February 26, 2021 — over 50 people met via Zoom to discuss comprehensive underride protection. The purpose of the meeting was to report on progress which has been made by several subcommittees since an earlier meeting in 2020 — including Industry Engagement, Research, and Engineering Subcommittees.

2021 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.

2021 On September 14, 2021, a Petition for NHTSA To Recall Semitrailers Due To Lack Of Side Underride Guards was submitted to the Office of Defects Investigation.

2021 Patent for an Underride Guard Assembly for Trailers from Great Dane Trailers was published on October 7, 2021.

2022 Fact Sheet on FMCSA Side Guard (LPD) Report was submitted to the US DOT on January 12, 2022. @SecretaryPete, Will you fix flawed underride analysis or let deaths continue?

Summary of Underride Basics:

Examples of some of the thousands of underride crashes can be found at these two places online (neither of them being the least bit exhaustive compilations):