What Is a Truck Underride Accident?

Commercial trucking accidents come in many different forms – and the results are often devastating for those who end up in them. Commercial trucks and eighteen wheelers are responsible for nine percent of traffic-related fatalities, despite these trucks having a much lower percentage of total vehicles on the road. Truck underride accidents are one type of accident that can be particularly tragic for those involved.

A truck underride accident happens when a smaller passenger vehicle ends up wedged underneath the tractor trailer of an eighteen-wheeler. Most often, these accidents cause the top of the passenger vehicle to be sheared off. Depending on the angle that the car becomes wedged underneath the truck, it can also lead to the truck driving over the smaller vehicle, crushing it and the passengers.

As expected from such devastation to the vehicle, anyone in the passenger vehicle during a truck underride accident will become severely injured – decapitation, amputation, and paraplegia are all commonly seen injuries. Others may even face fatal consequences, with approximately half of the total eighteen-wheeler related deaths per year happening as a result of underride accidents.

While it may not seem likely that your vehicle could end up slipping underneath a tractor trailer, it can still happen due to various factors. In a side underride collision, a motorist may not notice that a commercial truck is making a turn. When the two cross paths, the speed of the motorist can be enough to wedge the vehicle right under the trailer as it crosses his or her path.

A difference in speed can also lead to rear underside collisions where the passenger vehicle slams under the rear of the truck. These accidents often happen due to poor visibility or when trucks are moving slower than the motorist expects. Others even occur when the truck is stationary on the side of the road.

Inclement weather conditions can also facilitate both these types of underride accidents. Slippery roadway conditions, such as rain or ice, make it easy for vehicles to spin out of control. With reduced friction, the vehicle can have a difficult time slowing down and might build up enough momentum to slip underneath a trailer.

Aside from attentive driving practices, such as avoiding reckless driving around commercial trucks and making decisions appropriate to roadway conditions, there are safety guards that can place a barrier between passenger vehicles and the underside of truck trailers. NHTSA standards require all trucks to have rear guards in place, which can help prevent rear underside collisions.

However, US commercial trucks have no requirements for side guards, despite several efforts on the part of the National Transportation Safety Board. Many truck manufacturers cite worries about the expense of such guards, and maintenance of them can also be an issue. Instead, the American Trucking Association has put a focus on other vehicle safety technologies.

Safety measures are important, and rear and side guards can go a long way towards reducing the risk of serious injury and death in commercial trucking accidents. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has published results that show how strong side underride guards help prevent these types of accidents. While those in passenger vehicles may still be at risk for other injuries in such collisions, they maintain much better chances of survival than if they crashed into a truck without any form of side guards.

As time goes on, science, technology, and trucking regulations should advance to fully consider the risks of not requiring properly maintained rear and side guards on new and existing trucks. Until then, if you have suffered injury or lost a loved one in an underride accident, seek out the help of your Houston personal injury attorneys at Gordon, Elias & Seely, LLP.

The post What Is a Truck Underride Accident? appeared first on GES Injury Attorneys.