A coalition of safety groups want federal regulators to postpone a recent rule on truck-trailer performance standards until the new regulation can be significantly improved.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regulation, scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 11, 2023, is “fatally flawed,” the safety groups assert, because it failed to consider crucial data on crashes in which passenger cars slide under the rear end of tractor-trailers due to insufficient protection on the back of the trailer.
“For those of us who have lost loved ones in these incredibly violent underride crashes, the rule is exasperating and heartbreaking,” said Jennifer Tierney, a board member of the Truck Safety Coalition (TSC), part of the groups filing a petition for reconsideration with NHTSA.
“We urge U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and NHTSA Administrator Steve Cliff to take immediate action to improve the rule to protect all road users and prevent future needless tragedies.”
NHTSA’s final rule, issued on July 15, adopted requirements similar to Canada’s standard for rear impact guards. Rear guards on truck trailers will be required to “provide sufficient strength and energy absorption to protect occupants of compact and subcompact passenger cars impacting the rear of trailers” at 35 mph (56 kph).
The rule is designed to improve protection in crashes in which a passenger car hits the center of the rear of the trailer, according to NHTSA, and in which 50% of the width of the passenger motor vehicle overlaps the rear of the trailer.
But TSC and its partner, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates), argue that the final rule fails to meet a directive included in last year’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) requiring a tighter standard for underride guards that better protect cars in the event of a crash, based on data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
“NHTSA estimates in the final rule that 94% of trailers and semitrailers already meet its proposed minimum performance standard, scarcely achieving measurable progress in underride safety,” the groups state in their petition. “Setting an unreasonably low standard for underride safety will diminish market demand for strong underride guards as compliance can now be achieved with substandard guards.”
The groups also point out that the rule acknowledges the cost differential of readily available guards meeting IIJA’s requirements ranges between $100-$1,000 — “a fraction of the cost to purchase and maintain” a commercial truck.
The safety group’s petition follows an announcement earlier this month that Cliff is leaving NHTSA to head the California Air Resources Board. Advocates called the absence of a Senate-confirmed leader at the agency “deeply concerning at a time when traffic fatalities have climbed to historically high levels,” and urged President Joe Biden to “swiftly nominate a new administrator to fill this important role.”
Brian Jaster
This world blows my mind how everyone wants to put blames on others rather than taking responsibility for themselves. If you as a driver run into something you are responsible for that as you should have control of the front of your vehicle, so in another way maybe people need more space in front of them and pay attention. How do these people get their license when they can’t even drive nor do they seem to know the rules. When I received my license I had to prove how to drive and know the rules of the road. Nowadays they think the car suppose to do the driving. Here’s an idea, learn to drive or stay off the roads, not that complicated
Gary
How do I protest this
Nthsa
Needs to focus on auto and their driving techniques.
Have them responsible for their actions.
John Gault
Let’s add really big pillows to the back of trucks. That way they can rest their heads in case of an accident.
Michael B McCoy
At least 90% of ALL drivers tailgate all the time while driving. This is the problem. But I see no police giving out tickets for this.
Michael McCoy
2 year truck driver
Stacy DeGannes
I agree with you. These smart so call drives out there on the road are texting and playing with their phone 📱. If their phone 📱 is more important than their life and wants to die for their phone 📱 congratulations to them all.
Ronald J King
The D0T bumper on a semi trailer are approved by National Institute Of Safty. Less close are eyes to the fact that 80 percent or more drivers are distracted and do not care if they rear end a semi. That is dollar signs in there eyes, big name big bucks. So tack some personal responsibility,pay attention, stay off phone,(major distraction),don’t be putting your makeup on. The deaths are not trailers fault. Just something the advocate nose nothing about or has blinders on.
Stacy DeGannes
Couldn’t have said it better .
Ashley trimble
Why don’t they require metal bumpers on the front and back of cars. Also require car bumpers to be higher off the ground. It isn’t always about requirements for semi trailers.
Jay
Allow tandems to be back further and they wont go under…seen this numerous times, if you don’t have a 20 foot overhang and they are back just a few feet cars will bounce out on impact potentially saving lives.
Tracy Nester
Due to weight regulation, having the tandems that far back is not always an option. It is the driver’s responsibility to maintain a safe following distance, as a truck driver with over 30 years of experience I have seen first hand car drivers following less than 15 feet behind a semi.
Michael B McCoy
You know nothing about why tandems are placed where they are. They are placed according to loaded weights on trailer and to balance the load to not go over 34,000 on the rear tandem or the truck tandem. They also cannot be farther than 41 feet behind the trailer kingpin by state laws. They are only placed all the way back (much further than 41 feet) during loading and unloading.
Stacy DeGannes
You’re very smart not enough. However, that safety barrier is important and it’s there for drivers to go inside the trailer to get it clean so the drivers can have a clean trailer for their next load. Now people don’t understand how hard truckers have it out on the road. Without truckers America will be crippled. the rich folks they’ll be poor. Also keep this in mind when lots of people are sleeping in their bed 🛌 truckers are sleeping on the side of f**king highway with the crazy police knocking on their doors to give them tickets or to move. All the over the road truckers need a medal. Because when they go to rest area to shutdown for the end of their day the F**king RVs already full up the rest area then the poor truckers have to go on the side of the highway to get some sleep. I’ve soooo more to say ! the end.
Novak
So who will pay for it, and why don’t you go on the truck speed limit of 55, I bet that a lot of those fatal crashes are in zones where trucks are limited on 55 and cars are zuming 70+…..
William Haugh
I agree with all the comments made but I would like to make a point regarding why was this issue even part if the last year’s “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
This rule should have never seen the light of day regarding this act.