National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued seven recommendations urging National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) to take action to improve the safety of tractor-trailers. These recommendations stem from a 2013 NTSB safety study on single-unit trucks and other research, which identified issues that apply to tractor-trailers as well.
Like large single-unit trucks, tractor-trailers may have blind spots that can reduce the ability of drivers to see other vehicles and road users. Researchers found that limited field of view can increase the risk of death or injury among passenger vehicle occupants, pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists when drivers of tractor-trailers change lanes, make turns, go straight or back up.
Collisions with the sides of tractor-trailers resulted in about 500 deaths each year, many of which involved side underride. Researchers also found that current trailer rear underride guard standards are outdated. The recommendations call on NHTSA to require that both newly manufactured truck-tractors and trailers be equipped with side underride protection systems and that revisions be made to improve trailer rear underride guard standards to better protect passenger vehicle occupants from fatalities and serious injuries.
Click here for the complete safety recommendation letter to NHTSA.
A Blog From the American Society of Safety Engineers