A white semitrailer on a bright day proved invisible to the self-driving system of a Tesla S sedan, which failed to brake and ran under the trailer as it crossed in front of the car, said authorities investigating the first fatal crash of an autonomous car in the United States, which happened in early May.
Rear-underride collisions upset safety advocates because they badly hurt auto drivers and passengers. What about a front-underride incident with no driver and no injuries?
While many equipment mandates cause angst in the industry, a recent government proposal to require stronger rear under-ride guards is apparently not one of them.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the rear-underride crash protection and visibility of single-unit trucks.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has granted a petition from the Truck Safety Coalition and will issue an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking pertaining to rear impact/underride guards and other safety strategies for single unit trucks.
These recommendations stem from a 2013 NTSB safety study on straight-trucks and other research, which identified issues that apply to tractor-trailers as well.
Senior Editor Tom Berg offers some personal insight into trailer underride guards and why they're so important in his "Trailer Talk" blog.
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