Due to their massive size and weight, trucks can cause catastrophic damage in an accident. Passenger vehicles often underride trucks, shearing off tops and leading to severe injuries. Truck braking distances are also longer. Head-on collisions and rollovers have high fatality rates. These factors make truck crashes disproportionately deadly.
Underride guards are safety devices installed on the sides and rear of large trucks to prevent smaller vehicles from sliding underneath the truck in a collision. However, these guards often fail in crashes, leading to catastrophic injuries and fatalities. This continues to be a major yet overlooked auto safety issue in Utah and across the nation.
The Dangers of Underride Crashes
In an underride collision, a car can slide under the body of a truck, causing the top of the car to shear off. Without crumple zones to absorb the energy of the crash, the occupants of the striking vehicle have almost no protection. Head-on underride crashes are nearly always fatal for the front seat occupants. Even at low speeds, side underrides can lead to severe head, neck and spinal injuries.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), about 300 people die in underride crashes each year in the United States. Many of these collisions involve semi-trucks on highways and interstates. However, dump trucks, garbage trucks, flatbeds and other large vehicles also pose underride dangers, especially on local and residential streets.
Inadequate Underride Guards on Trucks
Federal standards require rear underride guards on trailers, but many are poorly designed and made of weak materials. The IIHS has repeatedly demonstrated that thin steel underride guards can shear off or buckle in a 35 mph crash, failing to prevent underride. Guards made of flexible materials like plastic or nylon straps are even more vulnerable to failure.
Standards are also lacking for side underride guards. When turned at an angle, regular side guards don’t prevent underride, while many trucks lack any side protection at all. Weak points and gaps in all underride guards further increase the risks.
Underride Reform Efforts and Challenges
Various truck safety groups have campaigned for strengthened underride guard standards for decades with limited success. In 2011, the IIHS released a dramatic video of crash tests showing how underride guards fail. The National Transportation Safety Board also placed truck underride prevention on its Most Wanted List of safety changes.
As a result, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed upgraded rear guard rules in 2015. However, industry pushback led the NHTSA to withdraw the proposed rule in 2017. New rear guard field tests are planned, but better side guard requirements remain elusive.
Continued inaction means underride dangers persist on Utah’s roads. Truck accident injury victims and safety advocates must continue pressing lawmakers, regulators and manufacturers to address these well-documented and devastating flaws. Improved underride protection will prevent needless deaths and injuries.
If you are unlucky enough to be injured un an underride accident, you have lost a loved one, speak with a truck accident attorney from Monge & Associates. We have offices in 32 locations and 19 states, including Utah, Mississippi, and Missouri.
Call now for a free consultation on (888) 477-0597.