Reintroduced bipartisan legislation to mandate underride guards on large commercial trucks was met with opposition from the trucking industry, with both ATA and the OOIDA voicing their objections to the proposed rule.
A pipeline contractor in Ohio operates a specialty trailer that is exempt from rear impact guard regulations. Senior Contributing Editor Tom Berg found them parked off a highway.
IIHS has awarded its top underride guard rating to Great Dane, Hyundai Translead, Manac, Stoughton Trailers, Strick Trailers, Utility Trailer Manufacturing, Vanguard National Trailer, and Wabash National, representing 80% of trailers on the road.
Strick Trailers’ GardX rear impact guard received the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s ToughGuard award, passing all three underride tests during certification.
Rear impact guards, or RIGs, should have a label attesting to its compliance with federal regulations. But in a recent CVSA inspection blitz, they were the source of several headaches.
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance is instituting a new inspection event to gather data on trailer underride guards as part of an effort to analyze rear impact safety requirements for commercial vehicles.
Authorities believe side impact guards can protect pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists and Seattle's fleet has embraced the device.
Side guards add weight and cost, and might never come into play in months and years of service. One could say the same about most safety equipment - but accidents do happen. Blog commentary by Tom Berg, Senior Contributing Editor
Walker Blocker is offering a side guard designed to fit all truck body types on Class 3 vehicles and above.
A have proposed a bill to require impact guards on the sides and front of a truck in order to product passenger vehicles from being crushed underneath a vehicle in a collision.