Better Rear Bumpers on Tractor Trailers May Save Lives, Agrees Brunswick Personal Injury Lawyer
Feb 27, 2013
Brunswick, GA (Law Firm Newswire) February 26, 2013 – A new study shows that a better designed rear bumper on commercial trucks may save lives.
Many fatal car passenger accidents occur when the car driver hits the backend of a commercial truck, and the truck’s rear guard protector does not adequately prevent the car cabin from being crushed in the impact.
According to a study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), 70 percent of the more than 3,000 people who died in 2009 in large truck crashes, were not occupants of the trucks. The deaths were caused, in many cases, by the car or passenger truck becoming crushed by the larger truck or tractor trailer when it impacted. The smaller vehicle’s safety cage was unable to withstand the impact of hitting the backend of the truck.
“Cars and passenger trucks are designed in such a way that their safety cage front end minimizes the crash energy as much as possible,” said Brunswick personal injury lawyer Nathan Williams.
But when a car or passenger truck hits the back end of a semi, and the semi’s underride guard (the rear bumper) is missing, or inadequately able to disburse the crash energy, the car cabin crumples. As design experts point out, a better rear bumper would potentially deflect the impact from a car cabin. Even more importantly, experts agree, is educating car drivers on how to share the road with truck drivers, and educating them on what sight and maneuverability limitations truck drivers have when piloting a semi or big rig on the highway with thousands of cars.
Crash tests from a study in 2011 analyzed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety determined that car drivers who crash into the rear bumper, or underride guard that is in place on the back end of tractor-trailers, at speeds as low as 35 miles per hour can be fatally injured. The IIHS petitioned the federal government to set stricter safety requirements, calling for stronger underride guards on trucks and trailers, and requiring them of all truck and tractors on the road.
Nathan Williams is a Brunswick personal injury lawyer, Brunswick divorce attorney, Brunswick criminal defense attorney and Brunswick DUI lawyer in Southeast Georgia. Visit http://www.thewilliamslitigationgroup.com or call 1.912.264.0848.
The Williams Litigation Group
5 St. Andrews Court
Brunswick, GA 31520
Phone: 912.264.0848
Toll Free: 877.307.4537
Fax: 912-264-6299
