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In 2004 a Marco Island resident lost her daughter in a side under-ride accident the day before Thanksgiving. The victim’s mother said, "I know that she would want to make sure that it didn’t happen to another family.”

NBC News reported in 2016 on the investigation of a Tesla self-driving vehicle accident which happened in May in Williston, Florida. It was the first fatal crash involving Tesla’s autopilot system. Neither the vehicle nor the driver noticed the white side of the trailer truck when it made a right turn in front of it in a brightly-lit sky. The Florida Highway Patrol reported that the 40-year-old driver was killed. 

As the result of these, and many other accidents, the Stop Under-rides Act of 2017 was introduced by Senators Gillibrand (D-New York), Rubio (R-Florida), Representatives Cohen (D-Tennessee), and DeSaulnier (D-California). It is a bipartisan measure to mandate guard rails on truck trailers. The Act requires the guard rails to be installed on the sides and front of trucks where they are currently only optional. Rear guards have been mandatory since 1953, but this Act will strengthen this provision for the first time since 1998.

Senator Gillibrand said, “With so many unpredictable accidents on the road, under-ride guards are an easy solution for protecting people and preventing them from dying when a car collides with a truck.”

In 2016, according to IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) data, an estimated 1,475 people died in collisions involving tractor-trailers. 295 of the 1,475 passengers were in vehicles which hit the sides of trucks; 238 died when striking the rear; 915 died in front collisions, and the other 27 died in other truck/vehicle accidents.

Russ Rader, speaking for the IIHS told Trucks.com, “Under-ride crashes don’t need to happen; they are preventable. Side under-ride guards will save lives.”

Texas A&M’s Transportation Institute is conducting research on side under-ride protection, but it has not yet been released. The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) is awaiting the research report before considering moving forward with implementation of under-ride requirements.

The Under-ride Act proposes that the under-ride guards on the rear and sides of a truck be designed and tested so as to prevent a vehicle from sliding under the trailer when it is traveling 35 mph. Trailers, semis and single-unit trucks which weigh more than 10,000 pounds would be impacted by the Act.

Periodic inspection of the guards would be required, and should they fail the inspection, they would be placed out of service until repaired or replaced. The bill’s standards would also have to be reviewed every 5 years.

“Truck under-ride guards will save lives. We first reported on truck under-ride accidents in October 2015, and urge congress to actively pursue this issue,” said Fort Myers Truck Accident Attorney, Randall Spivey of Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. “If you or a loved one has been injured in a truck/vehicle accident, please contact our firm. There are no costs or attorney fees unless we make a monetary recovery for you.”

Fort Myers Truck Accident Attorney, Randall L. Spivey is a Board Certified Trial Attorney – the highest recognition for competence bestowed by the Florida Bar and a distinction earned by just one (1%) percent of Florida attorneys.  He has handled over 2,000 personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout Florida.  For a free and confidential consultation to discuss your legal rights, contact the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A., in Lee County at 239.337.7483 or toll free at 1.888.477.4839, or by email to Randall@SpiveyLaw.com.  Visit SpiveyLaw.com for more information.  You can contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A.in Charlotte County at 941.764.7748 and in Collier County 239.793.7748.