Underide Truck Accidents Kill & Paralyze
Truck accidents involving trailer underriding or under-running -- where a car or other passenger vehicle passes under a trailer being pulled by a truck tractor or "big rig" -- remain severe personal injury accident hazards to automobile passengers in Georgia and elsewhere. Over the years, we have seen that catastrophic injuries -- including occupant death by decapitation, closed-head or brain injury, and spinal paralysis -- almost always result from these common tractor-trailer accidents.
Further, the trucking industry has taken the position that since no federal law specifically requires side underride protection, there is no need for same -- despite the clear risk of serious injury or death from side underride collisions, which are more frequent than rear underrides. Thus, the law still fails, in large part, to protect the motoring public from this devastating auto accident hazard.
Sadly, despite a federal law requiring truck trailers to have a rear underride guard or bar, many older trailers on our highways either still lack this basic safety feature. Also, a scary reality is that, with the spread inland of Mexico-based truck traffic from the Mexico border, border states, and eventually most of the country likely will see an increase in these always-serious wrecks. But, without stricter federal laws, jury verdicts will continue to be the only engine for change and improved motorist protection from these crashes.
For an excellent resource for learning more about these tragic, yet all-too-frequent, types of auto accidents, as well as for research into many other highway safety issues, we recommend the IIHS (http://www.iihs.org/research/topics/trucks.html), or Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, as a place to start your research.
