Nhtsa defends new standard for truck trailer underride guards

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is upgrading safety standards on rear underride protection on tractor trailers to help prevent crashes involving passenger vehicles, but

safety advocates say the changes do not go far enough. In a 107-page final rule made public on Thursday, NHTSA said it will adopt requirements similar to Canada’s standard for rear impact

guards. Rear guards on truck trailers will be required to “provide sufficient strength and energy absorption to protect occupants of compact and subcompact passenger cars impacting the rear

of trailers” at 35 mph (56 km/hour). Rear underride crashes occur when a passenger vehicle strikes the back of a generally larger vehicle and the front end of the passenger vehicle slides

under the rear end of the larger vehicle. In extreme underride crashes involving tractor trailers, the passenger vehicle can underride the trailer to such an extent that the end of the

trailer enters the passenger compartment of the colliding vehicle, severely injuring or killing occupants of the car. Underride guards mounted on the rear of trailers can prevent serious

injuries and deaths resulting from underride crashes. The final rule, which makes no substantive changes to the proposed rule that preceded it in December 2015, will improve protection in

crashes in which a passenger car hits the center of the rear of the trailer, according to NHTSA, and in which 50% of the width of the passenger motor vehicle overlaps the rear of the

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