Tag Archives: underride

In Memory of Chad Jervis (July 5, 2021)

Underride Crash Map, , ,

UPDATE March 13, 2026: Hundreds of people die every year when pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and occupants of passenger vehicles go under trucks. Please consider joining a STOP Underrides National Town Hall via Zoom April 15 | 8 – 9 pm ET |RSVP HERE. 

Your voice at this unique advocacy gathering will let your U.S. Senators and Representative know that you want them to pass the STOP Underrides Act of 2026.

Investigators determined that 39-year-old Chad E. Jervis of Ironton was headed west when he slammed his sedan into the back of a tractor-trailer stopped in the northernmost left-turn lane at the intersection of Kenny Road, according to a Columbus police traffic report. Southern Ohio man dead in crash with tractor-trailer on West Lane Avenue near Ohio State University

Because the bottom of a truck is higher than the bumper of passenger vehicles, when there is a collision the smaller vehicle easily slides under the truck and the first point of impact is the windshield. Seatbelts, airbags, and car crumple zones do not function as intended in underride crashes —front, side, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.

Chad Jervis, Precious One Gone Too Soon

See Underride Crash Memorials posted here and at #STOPunderrides Tweets. To add photos or more information on this story or to add other underride crashes to be remembered, send an email to underridemap@gmail.com. Please use this Interactive Underride Crash Map Crash Location Input Form to provide us with accurate information . (Note: the map is currently not online; but we would keep the information for future updating and to aid in underride advocacy efforts.)

Support improving Underride Protection on trailers: Contact your legislators with this User-Friendly TAKE ACTION online tool.

How You Can Help

Please sign this petition: Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underrides.

Note: In order to raise awareness and preserve the memories of underride victims — precious ones gone too soon — I have been writing memorial posts on what appear to me to be underride crashes. I am not a crash reconstructionist, and I do not have all the facts on these crashes; but I think that underride should be investigated as a potential factor in truck crash injuries and deaths.

In Memory of Harold & Miranda Novitsky (July 3, 2021)

Underride Crash Map, , ,

UPDATE March 13, 2026: Hundreds of people die every year when pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and occupants of passenger vehicles go under trucks. Please consider joining a STOP Underrides National Town Hall via Zoom April 15 | 8 – 9 pm ET |RSVP HERE. 

Your voice at this unique advocacy gathering will let your U.S. Senators and Representative know that you want them to pass the STOP Underrides Act of 2026.

The investigation found that the tractor-trailer was in the driving lane when it was rear-ended by the pick-up truck near the Livingston County border.

The driver of the pick-up truck, Harold Novitsky, 58, and his daughter, Miranda Novitsky, 19, were killed during the collision, according to State Police. UNY Geneseo soccer player, father killed in Steuben County crash, GoFundMe established

Because the bottom of a truck is higher than the bumper of passenger vehicles, when there is a collision the smaller vehicle easily slides under the truck and the first point of impact is the windshield. Seatbelts, airbags, and car crumple zones do not function as intended in underride crashes —front, side, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.

Harold & Miranda Novitsky, Precious Ones Gone Too Soon

See Underride Crash Memorials posted here and at #STOPunderrides Tweets. To add photos or more information on this story or to add other underride crashes to be remembered, send an email to underridemap@gmail.com. Please use this Interactive Underride Crash Map Crash Location Input Form to provide us with accurate information . (Note: the map is currently not online; but we would keep the information for future updating and to aid in underride advocacy efforts.)

Support improving Underride Protection on trailers: Contact your legislators with this User-Friendly TAKE ACTION online tool.

How You Can Help

Please sign this petition: Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underrides.

Note: In order to raise awareness and preserve the memories of underride victims — precious ones gone too soon — I have been writing memorial posts on what appear to me to be underride crashes. I am not a crash reconstructionist, and I do not have all the facts on these crashes; but I think that underride should be investigated as a potential factor in truck crash injuries and deaths.

In Memory of Tesmond Thomas, LaTanya Jones, Levi Thomas, & Judah Thomas (July 2, 2021)

Underride Crash Map, , ,

UPDATE March 13, 2026: Hundreds of people die every year when pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and occupants of passenger vehicles go under trucks. Please consider joining a STOP Underrides National Town Hall via Zoom April 15 | 8 – 9 pm ET |RSVP HERE. 

Your voice at this unique advocacy gathering will let your U.S. Senators and Representative know that you want them to pass the STOP Underrides Act of 2026.

A family of four was killed in a crash on US Highway 1 in Moore County after their car hydroplaned in the rain and hit an 18-wheeler head-on Friday afternoon. . .

Authorities identified the family of four as Tesmond Thomas, 28; LaTanya Jones, 26; Levi Thomas, 6; and Judah Thomas, 4 — all four were from Aberdeen. Family of 4 killed in crash involving tractor-trailer, car in Moore County

Because the bottom of a truck is higher than the bumper of passenger vehicles, when there is a collision the smaller vehicle easily slides under the truck and the first point of impact is the windshield. Seatbelts, airbags, and car crumple zones do not function as intended in underride crashes —front, side, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.

Tesmond Thomas, LaTanya Jones, Levi Thomas, and Judah Thomas – Precious Ones Gone Too Soon

See Underride Crash Memorials posted here and at #STOPunderrides Tweets. To add photos or more information on this story or to add other underride crashes to be remembered, send an email to underridemap@gmail.com. Please use this Interactive Underride Crash Map Crash Location Input Form to provide us with accurate information . (Note: the map is currently not online; but we would keep the information for future updating and to aid in underride advocacy efforts.)

Support improving Underride Protection on trailers: Contact your legislators with this User-Friendly TAKE ACTION online tool.

How You Can Help

Please sign this petition: Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underrides.

Note: In order to raise awareness and preserve the memories of underride victims — precious ones gone too soon — I have been writing memorial posts on what appear to me to be underride crashes. I am not a crash reconstructionist, and I do not have all the facts on these crashes; but I think that underride should be investigated as a potential factor in truck crash injuries and deaths.

In Memory of Thomas Tschetter (July 1, 2021)

Underride Crash Map, , ,

UPDATE March 13, 2026: Hundreds of people die every year when pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and occupants of passenger vehicles go under trucks. Please consider joining a STOP Underrides National Town Hall via Zoom April 15 | 8 – 9 pm ET |RSVP HERE. 

Your voice at this unique advocacy gathering will let your U.S. Senators and Representative know that you want them to pass the STOP Underrides Act of 2026.

Thomas Lynn Tschetter, of Indian Island, South Carolina, died after his 2016 Honda SUV, which was stopped in the right eastbound lane, was hit from behind by a 2018 Freightliner operated by Jeffrey Dean Braun, Strickland said. SC man dies after tractor-trailer rig hits SUV on US 74 near Maxton

Because the bottom of a truck is higher than the bumper of passenger vehicles, when there is a collision the smaller vehicle easily slides under the truck and the first point of impact is the windshield. Seatbelts, airbags, and car crumple zones do not function as intended in underride crashes —front, side, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.

Thomas Tschetter, Precious One Gone Too Soon

See Underride Crash Memorials posted here and at #STOPunderrides Tweets. To add photos or more information on this story or to add other underride crashes to be remembered, send an email to underridemap@gmail.com. Please use this Interactive Underride Crash Map Crash Location Input Form to provide us with accurate information . (Note: the map is currently not online; but we would keep the information for future updating and to aid in underride advocacy efforts.)

Support improving Underride Protection on trailers: Contact your legislators with this User-Friendly TAKE ACTION online tool.

How You Can Help

Please sign this petition: Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underrides.

Note: In order to raise awareness and preserve the memories of underride victims — precious ones gone too soon — I have been writing memorial posts on what appear to me to be underride crashes. I am not a crash reconstructionist, and I do not have all the facts on these crashes; but I think that underride should be investigated as a potential factor in truck crash injuries and deaths.

Unguarded: Death By Underride

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , ,

Looking for an explanation of the truck underride problem and solutions? Look no further. Eric Hein, the father of side underride victim Riley Hein, has put together a detailed tool for learning more about underride and what can be done about it:

Unguarded: Death By Underride

Here are a few excerpts:

People die every day from side underride crashes

An “underride” is a collision between an automobile and a truck or semitrailer, and due to the height differential between the passenger vehicle and the frame of the semitrailer, the vehicle goes partially or completely under the side of the semitrailer. During a collision (see unguarded and guarded crash test here), the passenger vehicle impacts the side of the semitrailer with parts of the vehicle not designed to absorb crash forces, namely the windshield and those areas above the hood. This type of collision causes deaths and severe injuries – death by decapitation, crushing, or explosion commonly result. These catastrophic collisions would otherwise be survivable, but side underride guards on trucks and semitrailers are lacking.

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/fc51adce82dd47d188794ef19b2e6d17

Sadly, the recognized hazard of side underride collisions with towed trailers can be traced back to at least 1935 when Robinson patented an invention for a peripheral guard on a hitch-mounted trailer.

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/fc51adce82dd47d188794ef19b2e6d17

Industry Opposition Claims Are False

The technology is feasible and available. The trucking industry has lobbied against underride guards since 1971 and continues to inaccurately claim that side underride guards are infeasible. Contrary to industry, side underride guards ARE available – they are widely used in Europe, and have been tested and installed in the USA such as the AngelWing and Fortier in Canada.

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/fc51adce82dd47d188794ef19b2e6d17
Riley & Eric Hein

Underride Guards Are Aerodynamic and Save Fuel Cost. Wabash engineered a combination side impact guard and skirt that passed tests for a 90-degree centerline vehicle impact at 35 miles per hour, and uses a braided cable and is 40 to 50 percent lighter than other designs. With an aerodynamic skirt installed on the underride guard, about 704 gallons ($2,153 using $3.06/gallon) of diesel fuel would be saved annually (8,448 gallons or $25,836 over the 12-year life of a semitrailer) and would completely offset the guard’s cost.

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/fc51adce82dd47d188794ef19b2e6d17

Underride Guards Safeguard Truck Drivers. Side guards on semitrailers change the outcome of collisions to fender benders and reduce the risk of death for people in passenger vehicles, which shield truck drivers from the prospect of jail time or losing their jobs.

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/fc51adce82dd47d188794ef19b2e6d17

In Memory of Emery Wren (June 27, 2021)

Underride Crash Map, , ,

UPDATE March 13, 2026: Hundreds of people die every year when pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and occupants of passenger vehicles go under trucks. Please consider joining a STOP Underrides National Town Hall via Zoom April 15 | 8 – 9 pm ET |RSVP HERE. 

Your voice at this unique advocacy gathering will let your U.S. Senators and Representative know that you want them to pass the STOP Underrides Act of 2026.

. . .the driver of an 18-wheeler—Narinder Kumar, of New York—was traveling west on the interstate when he saw traffic stopped. He told police he was unable to stop in time to avoid a collision.

The rig hit the rear of a Toyota Highlander, causing it to overturn. The driver, Michelle Wren, was injured along with her three children. Her 4-year-old daughter, Emery, later died at a nearby hospital. Franklin child dies in 9-car pileup on I-24 in Kentucky, nine others hurt

Because the bottom of a truck is higher than the bumper of passenger vehicles, when there is a collision the smaller vehicle easily slides under the truck and the first point of impact is the windshield. Seatbelts, airbags, and car crumple zones do not function as intended in underride crashes —front, side, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.

Emery Wren, Precious One Gone Too Soon

See Underride Crash Memorials posted here and at #STOPunderrides Tweets. To add photos or more information on this story or to add other underride crashes to be remembered, send an email to underridemap@gmail.com. Please use this Interactive Underride Crash Map Crash Location Input Form to provide us with accurate information . (Note: the map is currently not online; but we would keep the information for future updating and to aid in underride advocacy efforts.)

Support improving Underride Protection on trailers: Contact your legislators with this User-Friendly TAKE ACTION online tool.

How You Can Help

Please sign this petition: Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underrides.

Note: In order to raise awareness and preserve the memories of underride victims — precious ones gone too soon — I have been writing memorial posts on what appear to me to be underride crashes. I am not a crash reconstructionist, and I do not have all the facts on these crashes; but I think that underride should be investigated as a potential factor in truck crash injuries and deaths.

Global Harmonization Of Motor Vehicle Safety Standards Could Be On The Horizon

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , ,

I was so pleased to discover the Section on Global Harmonization in the Surface Transportation Investment Act introduced by the Senate Commerce Committee yesterday. I reached out to Secretary Buttigieg and let him know that we are counting on him to proactively take steps to advance traffic safety worldwide, as is clearly the intent of Congress.

SEC. 4211. GLOBAL HARMONIZATION. The Secretary shall cooperate, to the maximum extent practicable, with foreign governments, nongovernmental stakeholder groups, the motor vehicle industry, and consumer groups with respect to global harmonization of vehicle regulations as a means for improving motor vehicle safety.

Global Harmonization Commerce Bill 2021

Underride protection technology, by itself, provides a straightforward example of a practical means to pursue this kind of collaboration which can put us on a fast track to attain zero road deaths and catastrophic injuries due to preventable truck underride. Already we have brought together an international group of engineers to discuss and endorse comprehensive underride protection which could be implemented/mandated in the U.S., including:

In addition to the benefit to U.S. Road Users, the rear standard could help to strengthen standards globally, as would the side guard standard. Additionally, by following the lead in other countries, the U.S. could apply underride standards to Single Unit Trucks as well as tractor-trailers.

We are urging Secretary Buttigieg: Act now, in this one area, by establishing the Advisory Committee On Underride Protection — and include international participants. Move ahead immediately with Global Harmonization of Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

Petition to Secretary Buttigieg for Underride Rulemaking

Team Underride at the D.C. Underride Crash Test Event, 3/26/19

Underride Included in Senate Bipartisan Surface Reauthorization Bill Introduced Today

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , ,

GOOD NEWS: The Senate Commerce Committee just released the text of their Infrastructure Bill today.

It has an Underride Section which is very similar to the House T&I Committee’s Bill — not the full STOP Underrides Bill because it leaves out Front Underride Protection and Single Unit Trucks and doesn’t mandate side guards, only says to do research and develop a standard, if warranted.

But it is definitely more than we’ve ever had and we’re hoping that DOT is already motivated to take action. However, if you have been following the Infrastructure Bill in the news, nobody knows how it is going to be paid for — and that could hold things up!

Here’s a link to the Bill: https://www.commerce.senate.gov/…/ACEB4B07-B232-4176…

And here’s a link to the Underride Section: https://annaleahmary.com/…/Underride-Section-of…

Here’s an article in the media: https://www.commerce.senate.gov/…/cantwell-wicker…

Here’s an article on the House version: After 19-Hour Markup, Committee Advances Two Major Pieces of Bipartisan Legislation to Modernize America’s Infrastructure, Create Jobs, and Restore U.S. Global Competitiveness

After all, it’s only been 19,076 days since DOT said they were going to add side guards!

In Memory of Iris Maldonado (June 7, 2021)

Underride Crash Map, , ,

UPDATE March 13, 2026: Hundreds of people die every year when pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and occupants of passenger vehicles go under trucks. Please consider joining a STOP Underrides National Town Hall via Zoom April 15 | 8 – 9 pm ET |RSVP HERE. 

Your voice at this unique advocacy gathering will let your U.S. Senators and Representative know that you want them to pass the STOP Underrides Act of 2026.

At around 3:50 a.m., a person driving a Honda Civic was traveling directly behind a tractor-trailer when the Hondastruck the rear of the truckfor an unknown reason.

The Honda driver, identified as 39-year-old Iris Maldonado of Bristol, was transported to the hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. State Police investigating fatal crash involving tractor-trailer on I-84 west in East Hartford Monday

Because the bottom of a truck is higher than the bumper of passenger vehicles, when there is a collision the smaller vehicle easily slides under the truck and the first point of impact is the windshield. Seatbelts, airbags, and car crumple zones do not function as intended in underride crashes —front, side, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.

Iris Maldonado, Precious One Gone Too Soon

See Underride Crash Memorials posted here and at #STOPunderrides Tweets. To add photos or more information on this story or to add other underride crashes to be remembered, send an email to underridemap@gmail.com. Please use this Interactive Underride Crash Map Crash Location Input Form to provide us with accurate information . (Note: the map is currently not online; but we would keep the information for future updating and to aid in underride advocacy efforts.)

Support improving Underride Protection on trailers: Contact your legislators with this User-Friendly TAKE ACTION online tool.

How You Can Help

Please sign this petition: Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underrides.

Note: In order to raise awareness and preserve the memories of underride victims — precious ones gone too soon — I have been writing memorial posts on what appear to me to be underride crashes. I am not a crash reconstructionist, and I do not have all the facts on these crashes; but I think that underride should be investigated as a potential factor in truck crash injuries and deaths.

In Memory of Nathanal King (June 5, 2021)

Underride Crash Map, , ,

UPDATE March 13, 2026: Hundreds of people die every year when pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and occupants of passenger vehicles go under trucks. Please consider joining a STOP Underrides National Town Hall via Zoom April 15 | 8 – 9 pm ET |RSVP HERE. 

Your voice at this unique advocacy gathering will let your U.S. Senators and Representative know that you want them to pass the STOP Underrides Act of 2026.

Nathanal King, 26, was in a Hyundai Santa Fe traveling southbound in the right lane when his car struck the rear of a disabled tractor trailer near milepost 58 around 4:45 a.m., New Jersey State Police Sgt. Lawrence Peele said.

King was pronounced dead at the scene.  Former Trenton Catholic Track, Basketball Star Killed In I-295 Crash

Because the bottom of a truck is higher than the bumper of passenger vehicles, when there is a collision the smaller vehicle easily slides under the truck and the first point of impact is the windshield. Seatbelts, airbags, and car crumple zones do not function as intended in underride crashes —front, side, and rear — leaving passenger vehicle occupants vulnerable to life-threatening injuries.

Nathanal King, Precious One Gone Too Soon

See Underride Crash Memorials posted here and at #STOPunderrides Tweets. To add photos or more information on this story or to add other underride crashes to be remembered, send an email to underridemap@gmail.com. Please use this Interactive Underride Crash Map Crash Location Input Form to provide us with accurate information . (Note: the map is currently not online; but we would keep the information for future updating and to aid in underride advocacy efforts.)

Support improving Underride Protection on trailers: Contact your legislators with this User-Friendly TAKE ACTION online tool.

How You Can Help

Please sign this petition: Congress, Act Now To End Deadly Truck Underrides.

Note: In order to raise awareness and preserve the memories of underride victims — precious ones gone too soon — I have been writing memorial posts on what appear to me to be underride crashes. I am not a crash reconstructionist, and I do not have all the facts on these crashes; but I think that underride should be investigated as a potential factor in truck crash injuries and deaths.