A truck accident in Columbus can be very dangerous because the large size of a truck means there is more momentum and the impact of the crash is greater. One of the most dangerous types of truck accidents which occur is underride accidents. Underride accidents happen when a passenger car ends up going underneath the body of the truck. This can happen when a car hits a truck from the back, or when a car is on the side of the truck when a collision happens.
There should be underride protections in place on trucks to prevent underride accidents from occurring. Unfortunately, safety precautions are often inadequate. This could be changing, but the process of fixing the problem with inadequate underride guards is likely to be a long one.
New Underride Rules Could Prevent Truck Accidents
In December 2015, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. NHTSA announced its new rules would upgrade Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and require more robust rear impact guards on both trailers and semitrailers. Most trailers and semitrailers already mandate the use of rear impact guards, which are essentially bars preventing cars from going underneath. However, the new rules would make the bars more robust because current underride guards are inadequate.
Michael D. Christensen Law Offices LLC Northeast Office 5092 Cleveland Ave. Columbus, OH 43231 Phone: (614) 895-2700 Fax: (614) 895-2744 (614) 423-4720
