Will Laws Change to Prevent Side Underride Accident Risks? |
Posted: July 7, 2017 |
The Regulation of Side Underride Guards is a Truck Safety Issue Underride accidents happen when crashes cause motor vehicles to slide underneath tractor-trailers. Both rear underride accidents and side underride accidents can occur. If a car becomes trapped under a large tractor-trailer, a vehicle's safety features do little to protect occupants. The top of the car could be sheared off, and occupants decapitated. Underride guards should prevent this type of accident but only rear underride guards are currently required. The following are some of the key issues surrounding the regulation of side underride guards.
Side underride guards are not currently regulated at all, despite a non-binding 2014 National Transportation Safety Board recommendation that side protection systems be installed on all new trailers. Rear guards are mandated, helping to prevent underride accidents that could occur if a car hits a truck from behind. Since truck drivers and trucking companies do not have to install side underride guards, many trucks do not have any side guards at all. Cars that hit tractor-trailers from the side face a significant likelihood of sliding under the truck.
Safety advocates believe that the absence of side underride guards results in fatalities that would not otherwise occur. One such death made headlines when the occupant of a self-driving Tesla was killed after the Tesla slid under the side of a blueberry hauler. If the guards prevented vehicles from becoming trapped under trucks, occupants of those vehicles could avoid the type of gruesome death that results from side underride accidents. The lives of the more than 200 annual victims of side underride accidents could be saved.
In Europe, side underride guards are required, but the mandates focus on low-force collisions involving bicycle riders and pedestrians. The fact the guards are required at all, however, means at least some auto accident injuries and fatalities are prevented. Rear-guards have been mandated on trailers by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since 1998. These rear-guards are also called Mansfield Bars. They're named after Jayne Mansfield, a Hollywood bombshell who died in an underride accident more than five decades ago. The rear-guard mandate could be expanded so side-guards would be necessary as well.
The Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association opposes side guard requirements and claims that cost and technical challenges should prevent a mandate. Key lawmakers have received millions in campaign donations from the transportation industry, so may be unwilling to act. Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff | Contact a New York Personal Injury Law Firm Today Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff is a New York personal injury law firm representing victims of truck accidents, motor vehicle accidents, and other types of accidents caused by negligence. Victims of accidents can experience life-changing damages and have a legal right to be compensated by the person who hurt them. To find out if you may be entitled to compensation for economic and non-financial loss including treatment costs and pain and suffering damages, give us a call or contact us online to schedule a free consultation today.
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