Side underride crashes where a passenger car slams into and then slides under a large, commercial truck can be devastating, and almost always end with a fatality. The trucks sit so high off the road that many smaller passenger vehicles can end up crushed underneath the truck. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration estimates that approximately 200 people are killed every year in commercial truck underride crashes. The solution to this safety problem is one that is an easy fix. Trucking companies and owners can install underride guards that would deflect the impact of a passenger vehicle, instead of allowing it to slide, unhindered, under the truck.

A story that aired on the Today Show recently highlighted the issue of side underride crashes. On one segment, an engineer who handles truck accident reconstruction demonstrated a light-weight side underride that he has designed. The show aired footage of a crash test to show what happened to a passenger vehicle that crashes into a large truck without the guards and then with the guards. The differences were extraordinary.

The Today Show story also mentioned a mother named Marianne Karth, who survived a 2013 rear underride crash with a truck in Georgia that killed her two teenage daughters. Karth is fighting for the mandate to make rear underride guards stronger. She has initiated an online petition aimed at getting the attention of the NHTSA and the trucking industry to make the necessary changes.

Congress needs to step up

So far, neither the NHTSA nor Congress has done anything to address the issues. This could be because many elected officials receive large donations from trucking industry lobby groups, such as the Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association. According to NBC News, members of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee received more than $9 million from the transportation industry last year alone. Big contributions like that purchase significant influence. NBC News also reports that the trucking industry claims the additional cost of adding underride guards, and the added weight to the trucks, are concerns.

Truck accidents often result in catastrophic injuries. Those who have been injured in a collision with a commercial truck may want to schedule a consultation with a skilled Knoxville truck crash lawyer from Banks & Jones. We know what it takes to build a successful case. To schedule your free consultation, please call 865-546-2141, or fill out our contact form.