Truck drivers will need to monitor their rear ends more closely from now on. That’s because, as of Dec. 9, rear impact guards will be part of annual inspection checklists.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently published a new rule in the Federal Register enhancing the already necessary safety element to the pass-fail checklist. The structures are designed to prevent “underride” accidents that typically occur when a trailing passenger vehicle fails to stop. Cars, SUVs, and light-duty trucks can get caught under a trailer, container, or truck chassis without impact guards in place to prevent the vehicle’s nose from sliding underneath.
The FMCSA acknowledged that rear impact guards have been standard practice in the freight hauling professions for more than 65 years. But at the behest of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, and recommendations from the Government Accountability Office and members of Congress, truckers can now have rigs sidelined due to a missing or faulty rear guard.
“According to data available through FMCSA’s Analysis and Information Online webpage, in fiscal-year 2017 inspectors documented more than 2,300 violations related to rear impact guards and rear-end protection, more than half of which are for components that are missing, damaged or improperly constructed,” the FMCSA reportedly said. “Including rear impact guards and rear-end protection in the periodic inspection requirements will call additional attention to this critical safety component and help ensure that each vehicle is checked at least once a year, improving compliance and helping to prevent fatalities and injuries when rear-end collisions occur.”
Underride accidents represent a small fraction of truck-involved incidents and are largely the fault of passenger vehicle operators following too closely. In essence, the collisions are akin to someone rear-ending a car when it comes to a stop in many cases. Truckers are rarely injured due to the sheer girth of a commercial motor vehicle. Rule-makers noted that inspectors in Canada and Mexico include underride guards in their checklist. As the rule comes online on Dec. 9, only road construction controlled (RCC) horizontal discharge trailers will remain exempt.
Organizations such as the American Trucking Associations and Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association indicated the new rule would have a nominal cost impact on freight carriers and owner-operators. The latter organization reportedly supported adding the item to inspections regarding roadworthiness. According to the FMCSA, the Truck Trailer Manufacturers favored downgrading underride guards with “broken or missing fasteners, cracked welds, corrosion that evidences any loss of original or parent material, bends that indicate prior impact damage not yet repaired or asymmetrical repairs indicating the use of non-OEM approved components.”
In 2017, The Stop Underride Act was introduced that would require commercial motor vehicles to additionally install side underride protections. Although the legislation never became law, truckers can anticipate this, and other safety outfitting rules will resurface.
Sources: freightwaves.com, ttnews.com
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