Volvo Trucks North America | AnnaLeah & Mary

Why would a major semi-truck manufacturer, Volvo Trucks, install FRONT UNDERRIDE PROTECTION [FUP] — safety equipment which could prevent catastrophic injuries and unimaginable deaths — on their trucks in some countries (Europe and Australia) but leave it off in other countries (North America)? Any guesses?

Front Underride Protection Brochure 6

I would like to talk to their CEO and/or President and find out if they are aware of this situation.

Tell me, is there Front Underride Protection on that new Volvo (like they have on Volvo in Australia)? If so, then you have me impressed. https://t.co/CS89gceMgf #FUPsaveslives @durso_lois @TransportDems @Transport @SenateCommerce #STOPunderrides
— Marianne Karth (@MaryandAnnaLeah) November 26, 2018

Volvo U.S. Patent Application for Front Underrun Protection, 2001

Previous Front Underride Posts

A Road to Zero Coalition quarterly meeting was held on March 20, 2018, at the National Transportation Safety Board Conference Center in Washington, DC. The topic was Commercial Vehicles, from Safe Systems to Technology Innovations. (View the March 20 meeting agenda.)

The speakers and panelists at the Road to Zero Coalition spent the morning talking about Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety. Not one word was mentioned about underride until the end of the panel when the Safety VP of Schneider Trucking, Tom DeSalvio, mentioned that they are looking at using the improved rear bumper (on new trailers). I think that they have something like 56,000 trucks in their fleet. I could be wrong.

When I asked him if they would retrofit existing trucks he talked about looking at the fleet and what ones would be turning over. I assume by that that he meant when they would get rid of old trailers and purchase new. Not retrofit existing.

I asked Skip Yeagel, Volvo Trucks, about when would Volvo put Front Underride Protection (FUP) on their trucks [in the United States] or does he think that it would take a federal mandate for them to do so. He said that he couldn’t really say but he figured that it would probably take a mandate.