A measure that would mandate guard rails on truck trailers is making its way through the House and Senate. These underride guard rails would prevent cars from sliding underneath semi trucks, and would significantly reduce the amount of deaths from collisions with truck trailers. The act was introduced by Senator Gillibrand (D) of New York and Senator Rubio (R) of Florida, and the bipartisan measure is likely to pass without much push-back from Congress.
The law would require guards to be fitted to the side of trailers, as well as the front of the truck. As of now, both of these are optional. The bill also requires stronger rear guards, which have been mandatory since the mid-1950s.
These guard rails are a simple solution to a big problem– the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimates that a little under 1,500 people die every year as a result of collisions with semis, but does not specifically state which of those were from the vehicle sliding under the trailer. In 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published a proposal to upgrade current impact guards, but never followed through with the plan. They sought to align U.S. standards with those in place in Canada, which are much more stringent. Their ultimate aim is to make these kinds of crashes less fatal, if not less common overall.
The new bill proposes that rear and side guards must be able to withstand an impact from a vehicle going at least 35 MPH, and would apply to truck trailers, and single-units that weigh 10,000 pounds or more.
Many tests have been conducted to prove that these panels will be able to withstand that kind of force. The manufacturer of the panels does not yet make the front panels, but is in the process of developing them. The disadvantage, however, is the cost. Two panels will put buyers back $3,000-$4,000. They also weight up to 800 pounds, which can slow down trucks and weaken the trailers.
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Written by: Shayla Powers
The year started off with a presidential issuance of a regulatory freeze, which stifled a few minor regulations that were in the works under the previous administration. The order also placed the FMCSA’s speed limiter mandate on the back-burner, but did not rescind it outright, which means that they could possibly resume work on it at any time; however, that seems unlikely. We also saw an expansion of how the DOT conducts its on-site compliance reviews with the addition of carrier and employee interviews. The FMCSA also unveiled the Crash Preventability Demonstration Program and extensive ELD exemptions. In addition to new rules, they also withdrew a couple big ones that had been highly critiqued: the Safety Fitness rule and 34-hour restart regulation. Following Hurricane Harvey, the FMCSA temporarily lifted regulations in 26 states to allow truckers to deliver goods and fuel to affected areas. Then there was, of course, the ELD mandate, which has been highly debated since its announcement. In June, the U.S. Supreme court chose not to hear a case against the DOT in regard to the mandate, and upheld the compliance date of December 18th.
These rulings along with the grants are an attempt to keep drivers and the public safe, and improve road conditions nation-wide. Keep in mind, most of the changes that were released or approved this year will not take effect until 2019, or even 2020.
Outside of the DOT, there were even more big changes. Swift and Knight, two giants in the industry, announced a merger that gave Swift shareholder 54% of the company and Knight shareholders the remaining 46%. Walmart instituted fees for both early and late deliveries. The EPA rolled back regulations on glider kit emissions. Tesla unveiled their new semi designs, which many think will revolutionize the industry. 2017 was a year filled with a lot of big changes, and I am sure 2018 will be much the same.
They are completely safe to use. The FMCSA addressed this issue and many others on their