NHTSA agrees to review truck underride guard regulations (2 of 2)

Welcome back. We are currently discussing the problem of truck underride accidents, which continue to claim far too many lives each year in the United States.

Even though the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety presented evidence to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showing that the current underride guards — which are intended to prevent truck underride accidents — are largely ineffective, the wheels of government have been slow to turn.

It wasn’t until the mother of two teenagers who were killed in a truck underride accident in 2013 began her crusade that the NHTSA and other officials began taking note. The woman was seriously injured and her daughters suffered fatal injuries when their car was hit from behind by a semi, spun around and was shoved rear-end first underneath another tractor-trailer. The underride guards did not work.

Since that tragic accident, the mother has used social media to raise awareness on truck underride accidents by sharing her story and other stories like hers. She has gotten the attention of lawmakers, safety advocates and the NHTSA, which agreed to formally review the existing safety regulations last summer.

Although the mother has had her life turned upside down by the horrific 2013 accident, she is hoping her hard work in her children’s memory is effective at preventing other families from going through similar losses in the future.

We can only hope that the NHTSA decides to implement change so that we can put a stop to truck underride accidents once and for all.

Source: Bloomberg, “Mom Says $100 Truck Tweak Could Have Saved Her Daughters,” Jeff Plungis and David Voreacos, Dec. 15, 2014