Although federal laws require large trucks to have rear underride guards to help prevent fatal collisions between trailers and commercial vehicles, new tests from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) have shown that side underride guards can be just as important.
The IIHS ran two tests to determine the importance of side underride guards, and found that they can help stop a passenger vehicle before it’s caught under a truck and can trigger the passenger vehicle’s seat belts and air bags. Without side underride guards in place, passenger vehicles may not be able to stop during a collision, and any occupants in the vehicles would likely sustain fatal injuries.
Another study conducted by the IIHS found that side underride guards can reduce the injury risk in 75 percent of side crashes. Without these guards in place, only 28 percent of an average trailer’s length is protected from underride during a collision. For more information on commercial truck safety, call us at (410) 835-2000 today.
