Semi-trucks and tractor-trailers are an integral part of the functioning of our commercial world. They move massive amounts of product from one place to another. With that being said, driving along side of them on our roadways can be intimidating and in some cases deadly. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that an average of 423 people die per year in accidents in which their car struck the back end of a tractor trailer, while nearly 5,000 people are injured.[1] The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) stated that only 22 percent of deadly tractor trailer accidents did not involve rear impacts.[2]
Both the passenger vehicle manufacturers as well as tractor-trailer manufacturers are working to reduce deaths in these types of collisions. Laws have been implemented to regulate the standards to which these vehicles are manufactured. 49 C.F.R. §571.208 is the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard on occupant crash protection. This statute “specifies performance requirements for the protection of vehicle occupants in crashes.”[3] It is 49 C.F.R. §393.86 that specifically regulates the rear impact guards and rear end protection. According to IIHS, an underride guard is a steel bar that hangs from he back of trailers that prevent passenger vehicles from moving underneath the truck during a crash.[4]
This statute sets forth the applicability of requirements for tractor-trailers that weigh over 10,000 pounds and were manufactured after 1998.[5] At minimum, it must be equipped with a rear impact guard that meets the standard of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 223.[6] These standards regulate everything from impact guard width, guard height, guard rear surface, cross-section vertical height, and certification and labeling.[7]
Regulating all of these factors has helped in keeping passenger vehicles from breaking or bending the guarding on impact and entering the undercarriage of the trailer. The picture below shows the damage to a car that was not stopped by a rear guard in comparison to that of a car that was stopped on impact by a stronger, wider rear guard.[8]
The standards of rear guard protections are ever changing. The regulations are continuing to grow in strictness and the effectiveness of these regulations continues to grow. A Canadian guard manufacturer, Manac, was highest rated in safety tests of all different types of impacts between passenger vehicles and tractor-trailers.[9] The NTHSA is currently considering whether the Manac design should be the model for new standards. Side and front underride guards are not required at this point in the United States. After seeing the positive affects of the side and frontal guarding used in Europe, however, they are being considered for new requirements in the US.
Because accidents happen so often between passenger vehicles and tractor-trailers that result in catastrophic injuries and death, the regulation and adherence to government standards is more important than ever. There are many surviving family members of deceased crash victims that are leading the way in petitions for changes in regulatory reform. Regulation cannot stop the accidents from happening in most cases, but reform may make the impact less likely to be fatal.
Written by:
Lyndsey Mott
Approved by Francisco Guerra, IV
Watts Guerra LLP
4 Dominion Drive, Bldg 3, Suite 100
San Antonio, Texas 78257
Phone (210) 447-0500
© Watts Guerra LLP 2015
[1] http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/desktopnews/underride-guards-on-big-rigs-often-fail-in-crashes-institute-petitions-government-for-new-standard
[2] Id.
[3] 49 C.F.R. § 571.223
[4] 49 C.F.R. § 393.86
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] http://www.iihs.org/iihs/sr/statusreport/article/49/7/2
[9] Id.
