• 13
  • September
    2011

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently prepared fact sheets on large truck traffic safety for 2009 and it's clear from the statistics that large-truck rear-end collisions and truck under-rides are a serious concern. According to NHTSA's research, large trucks have a 400-percent higher risk of being struck in a fatal rear-end collision that involves another vehicle. While the dangers to both the passenger driver and the trucker are obvious, the occupants of a motor vehicle that strikes a tractor-trailer in the rear are serious.

A truck underride accident occurs when part of one vehicle is forced under another vehicle involved in the accident. Because the vehicle that underrides another vehicle, such as a tractor trailer or large commercial vehicle, can be crushed or sheared, occupants in the vehicle face significant risk of injury. Older research indicates that the Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS) run by NHTSA may significantly underestimate the number of underride accidents involving large trucks and passenger vehicles.

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Finds Underride Guards Inadequate

Last year, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety evaluated the effectiveness of underride guards that were mandated by federal law in 1998. The IIHS research on truck accident crash data since the underride guards were mandated revealed that serious underride accidents involving fatalities and serious personal injuries were still occurring. The IIHS then completed its own crash test of underrides and discovered that performance varied significantly between the three manufacturers with underride guards in the study.

More seriously, the IIHS crash tests showed that some underrides failed at speeds as low as 35 miles per hour - passenger cars were forced under tractor trailers even at moderate speeds.

In light of the study, the IIHS is advocating to raise the minimum standard for underride guards. It also advocates to require underride guards in the front and sides of large commercial vehicles - underride guards are only mandated for the rear of large trucks, but four out of five truck collisions with another motor vehicle involved a front or side impact.

Until crashworthy underride guards are mandated on all sides of tractor-trailers travelling U.S. highways, occupants of other motor vehicles on the road face serious risks from truck underride accidents.

Traffic Safety Facts 2009 Data, NHTSA