Trapped Under Trucks

> Year after year, federal officials at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the country’s primary roadway safety agency, ignored credible scientific research and failed to take simple steps to limit the hazards of underride crashes.

NHTSA officials don't have time to do that of course, they are too busy denying right to repair in order to "protect" motorists https://youtube.com/watch?v=2nXVljRUnoc

As an external observer (I don't live in the USA) it seems to me that the NHTSA is captured by lobbyists, as a result it is currently only there to protect the interests of auto makers, instead of protecting traffic safety. Why is this illegal behaviour not investigated?

27 years ago in the US:

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2004/11/05/04-2473...

...and then updated two years later.

Still watered down to the point of near uselessness in order to placate the trucking industry lobbyists.

I watched this last night, and it's always interesting to people in business talk about the cost of saving lives.

There was one point where the reporter was interviewing a guy from the ATA (American Trucking Associations) where the ATA person says that one lost life is too many. And this is very common across so many industries, safety first as they always say.

But then as soon as you put a cost associated with saving a life, the whole idea of safety first goes out the window. In this case, underrides are clearly avoidable and really don't cost that much to prevent. Retrofitted truck solutions are available, cheap, and easy to install.

It just irks me that so many industries preach about safety, but as soon as it has even the most minor impact on the bottom line, it becomes a hot topic. They should really be saying, "Safety first (but only after profits, shareholders, revenue, etc)"

I get that businesses need to make money to stay afloat, but with a profit margin of 14% [0], surely there is room to save some lives.

[0] https://www.projectionhub.com/post/10-trucking-industry-fina...

"If you need 3 trailers, time to go back to freight trains."

Trains can only run on train tracks.

The tracks/train stations don't always go close to where the freight needs to go.

It is bordering on impossible to build new rail infrastructure to get freight where it needs to go.

It takes a lot longer to ship something on a train than on a truck.

Add on the fact that transport in general is getting more expensive, and I don't think more regulations on trucking is the right answer.

Just install the guards on the side of trailers and be done with it...

Most modern passenger car passenger cells don't need roll cages because their passenger safety cells are properly engineered, and because crash safety is much more comprehensive, with wheels and suspension components designed to intentionally fail and crumple in a crash so they aren't pushed into the passenger cell.

A ton of cars pass Euro-NCAP and IIHS crash and rollover tests with flying colors.

Roll cages were a Thing because, well, this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPF4fBGNK0U

Obviously not every car is up to snuff, especially at the bottom end of the market. You couldn't pay me to drive a current production GM, Ford, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, etc compact sedan.

5-point harnesses aren't really that necessary at 0-60mph speeds in a vehicle with modern airbags; the fifth strap is mostly for anti-submarining but a number of manufacturers have produced seats that are anti-submarining and anti-submarining dashboard design (both material and shape) is a thing as well.

All of it's possible, it's just a lot of car companies are cheap and consumers don't really shop based on stuff like "is there an anti-submarining design to the dash."