Georgia Injury Law Blog
The administration has finalized a rule that is meant to protect motorists and drivers of light passenger vehicles from serious injuries in a truck accident with large commercial trucks for tractor trailers.
A serious underride truck accident can involve devastating personal injuries, including decapitation. In these truck accidents, the motorist may hit the back of the tractor trailer, resulting in the smaller passenger vehicle sliding under the tractor trailer. Head and neck personal injuries are common in such types of truck accidents, and decapitation is not unheard of either.
For years now, passenger safety advocates have called for stricter restrictions on the design of commercial trucks and 18-wheelers that will prevent such truck accidents from taking place. The Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently announced that it has finalized rules that will update the current federal standards for underride protection. As part of the rule, trucks must come with rear impact guards that will absorb the energy of the impact, and prevent motorists from sliding under the tractor trailer.
However, the announcement of the rule has been met with skepticism from safety groups, including the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says that the current measures that have been announced by the federal administration fall short of its recommendations for full protection of motorists and passengers in these kinds of deadly truck accidents.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the recently – announced rule
falls short of the roadway safety strategies adopted by the Department of Transportation earlier this year. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety believes that the current rule is simply too weak to be of any real benefit to passengers and motorists involved in such accidents with large commercial trucks. The organization believes that it is important to have stronger underride protection that actually helps to prevent the kind of serious injuries that result from such crashes, and believes that the current version simply does not go far enough to protect passengers or occupants of smaller vehicles involved in such accidents. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety believes that the new rule already covers most of the trucks on our roads, and believes that stronger standards are necessary. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is calling for crash testing for rear impact truck accidents as well as restrictions on exemptions for trucks from the rule.
Underride truck accidents can be extremely serious, and result in devastating personal injuries. In order to avoid such truck accidents, ensure that you leave plenty of space between your car and the truck in front of you.
The Atlanta car crash attorneys at Katz Personal Injury Lawyers are dedicated to the representation of persons injured in car accidents in the metro Atlanta region and across Georgia. If you or a loved one have suffered injuries in a car accident, talk to a lawyer at our firm and determine if you have legal options to a claim for damages. You may be eligible for compensation that includes medical expenses, lost income and other types of damages. Talk to an attorney at our firm and discuss your case.