This is needed and will save lives –
[…] “Robust trailer rear impact guards can significantly reduce the risk of death or injury to vehicle occupants in the event of a crash into the rear of a trailer or semitrailer,” said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind. “We’re always looking at ways to safeguard the motoring public, and today’s announcement moves us forward in our mission.”
Rear underride crashes are those in which the front end of a vehicle impacts the rear of a generally larger vehicle, and slides under the rear-impacted vehicle. For example, underride may occur in collisions in which a small passenger vehicle crashes into the rear end of a large trailer and the bed and chassis of the impacted vehicle is higher than the hood of the impacting passenger vehicle.
In excessive underride crashes, there is passenger compartment intrusion (PCI) as the passenger vehicle underrides so far that the rear end of the struck vehicle enters the passenger compartment of the striking passenger vehicle. PCI can result in severe injuries and fatalities to occupants contacting the rear end of the struck vehicle. A rear impact guard prevents PCI when it engages the smaller striking vehicle and stops the vehicle from sliding too far under the struck vehicle’s bed and chassis.
The occupant crash protection features built into today’s passenger vehicles are able to provide high levels of occupant protection in 35 mph frontal crashes. This NPRM would require trailer and semitrailer guards to remain in place and prevent PCI in crashes of severities of up to 35 mph versus the current requirement of up to 30 mph. […]