Could new federal rules help prevent underride truck accidents?

Posted: August 16, 2018

Could new federal rules help prevent underride truck accidents?

The number of large trucks traveling on the roads of Southern California has increased along with the improved economy. As business has boomed, more and more trucks are hauling loads and making deliveries throughout the Inland Empire. The large trucks share the roads with smaller cars and pose dangers to the cars when they are changing lanes or exiting or entering freeways. Accidents involving large trucks are much more dangerous and costly than are accidents involving only cars, and one of the deadliest types of accidents is an underride truck accident.
What is an underride accident?
In an underride accident, a car, motorcycle or bicycle is swept underneath a large truck. This may happen when vehicles are traveling too closely to the truck’s rear and the cars pass underneath them. It may also happen when trucks change lanes, failing to notice the smaller vehicles and coming over on top of them. Some accidents happen when cars lose control and travel underneath the trucks. Underride accidents often result in the smaller vehicles being crushed by the trucks’ undercarriages or wheels, frequently killing everyone inside of the smaller cars.
The underride accident problem
Underride accidents have been a focus of safety experts ever since the shocking death of Jayne Mansfield in 1967. Mansfield, a 1950’s film star, was traveling behind a large truck. The truck slowed for a mosquito sprayer in front of it, and the car that Mansfield was in slammed into its rear, passing under the large truck. Despite the gruesomeness of this accident, rear underride guards were not mandated by the NHTSA until 1998.

The government estimates that 200 people are killed in the U.S. every year in underride accidents. Between 1994 and 2014, 5,081 people were killed in underride accidents. Some of these accidents still occur from the rear of big trucks, but many happen in side underride accidents. While rear underride guards are mandatory, there is no rule mandating that large trucks have side underride guards on them, leaving substantially large unprotected areas. In 2013, the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine reported that the incidence of side underride accidents is three times higher than what is reported by the federal government. In 2016, the NHTSA considered the possibility of strengthening the rules for rear underride guards while also passing new laws requiring the installation of side underride guards.

In the words of renowned big rig accident lawyer, Steven Sweat, “Underride collisions are something I not only see all the time but, are one of the most common collision scenarios that seem to cause serious bodily injury or death.”

The proposed regulations
In May 2016, experts from the NHTSA, executives from the trucking industry and safety activists attended a conference to discuss the needed improvements to underride guards. While the rear guards are mandatory, there are no regulations concerning the materials out of which they are constructed, making some of the guards less protective than others. All of the attendees agreed that the rear underride guards need some improvements to better protect drivers, but they disagreed on what should be done to improve them. The trucking industry also strongly objected to the idea of having to install side underride guards on their trucks.
Trucking industry arguments
Opponents of adding new regulations from the trucking industry base their arguments primarily on financial considerations. They argue that the added weight required by the installation of the side guards would mean that they would not be able to haul as much in order to meet weight requirements. They also argue that the cost to retrofit their existing fleets would be very substantial, costing at least $2,000 per truck. The retrofit of the rear guards would mean making them have four bars instead of two, providing greater protection to drivers who are traveling behind the large trucks. A test by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety with the beefed-up guards was successful, and the IIHS disputes the claimed cost of $2,000 per truck.
Current political environment and safety regulations
Despite the fact that underride guard rule improvements would undoubtedly help to save many lives each year, the current political environment makes it unlikely that the regulations would be passed. The Trump Administration has been very vocal in its opposition to safety regulations, and experts are concerned that the Republican-controlled Congress and the administration will continue rolling back existing regulations while preventing new ones from passing. Trucking industry lobbyists have been actively lobbying Republicans on the Hill since December 2016, working to get existing regulations rolled back. Trump has stated that for each new regulation that is put into place, two must be removed. Safety experts are concerned that safety measures will be reversed, making the roads significantly less safe just as truck traffic has increased. Consequently, the trade-off for an improvement to the bottom lines of the trucking companies may be a greater loss of life.
Contact an attorney
When people are the victims of underride accidents, they are often killed. If your loved one died in an underride accident in which the truck driver was at fault, you might want to talk to an experienced truck accident attorney about your rights. A lawyer may work to hold the truck driver and the company accountable by filing a personal injury or wrongful death civil lawsuit.

Sources:

http://www.sparebumper.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=48
http://www.scpr.org/news/2017/05/02/69883/big-rigs-big-risks-as-socal-economy-improves-truck/
https://www.trucks.com/2016/05/06/traffic-experts-debate-how-to-prevent-deadly-truck-crashes/
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/side-underride-crashes-kill-200-people-year-will-congress-act-n711721