New crash tests and analysis by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) demonstrate that underride guards on tractor-trailers can fail in relatively low-speed truck crashes — even causing fatal injuries in 30-mph commercial trucking accidents.
The Institute is requesting that federal agencies issue new regulations to require stronger underride guards that will better withstand large truck crashes and to require guards for more trucks and trailers.
Not a New Problem
While the tests demonstrating that underride guards on tractor-trailers can fail in relatively low-speed crashes are recent, NHTSA's crash tests back in the early 1990s had similar outcomes. Improved standards are long overdue.
The original standards from the 1990s were weak and some accuse the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) of bowing to industry demands that, in essence, simply allowed trucking companies to continue using the same type of underride guard that was already on most trailers at the time.
The regulations were further weakened by exempting trailers manufactured before January of 1998.
What Is an Underride Guard?
Underride guards typically look like an upside down double TT on the rear end of a tractor-trailer. They are designed to stop a passenger car from sliding under ("under-riding") the rear of the trailer, preventing what automobile engineers refer to as passenger compartment intrusion (PCI). The consequences of PCI can be serious — vehicle occupants often suffer severe injuries and even decapitation.
An IIHS survey of accidents noted, "In 23 of the 28 cases in which someone in the passenger vehicle died, there was severe or catastrophic underride damage, meaning the entire front end or more of the vehicle slid beneath the truck."
IIHS crash tests produced results similar to what occurs in real life. Adrian Lund, IIHR president says, "Damage to the cars in some of these tests was so devastating that it's hard to watch the footage without wincing. If these had been real-world crashes, there would be no survivors."
Even the Best Underride Guards Are Not Great
"The best underride guard was a big improvement over the weakest one, but it still failed when hit near the outermost end of the guard," said Lund, who further explained that accidents involving vehicles striking the ends of the guard were "among the most common in our analysis of real-world crashes."
They also tested trucks equipped with underride guards meeting Canadian standards, which are stronger than U.S. standards. IIHS testing showed that even these guards still failed too often in many crash configurations that cause severe injuries.
The IIHS has petitioned the agencies to strengthen the standards, because, "Absent regulation, there's little incentive for manufacturers to improve underride countermeasures."
If you have been injured or lost a loved one in a truck underride guard accident, speak with a West Palm Beach personal injury attorney or lawyer near you to learn about your options for financial recovery.
