This type of protection is mandatory for the rear but not for the sides of the trucks. The new IIHS study wants to change that.
It's an unusual type of accident. But the truth is that it happens, mainly in the US – in 2015 alone more than 300 people lost their lives in side collisions against trucks. The numbers show that, in accidents involving a passenger vehicle and a truck, the side impact causes more deaths than the rear impact.NOT TO BE MISSED: Back when people were used in the crash test
The new study by the IIHS (Insurance Institute For Highway Safety), the American entity responsible for evaluating the safety of vehicles in circulation in the USA (equivalent to our Euro NCAP), shows how side guards – «underride guards» – can prevent , in the event of an accident, a passenger vehicle 'slides' under a lorry:
IIHS carried out two crash tests at 56 km/h, involving a Chevrolet Malibu and a semi-trailer over 16 meters in length: one with fiberglass side skirts, used only to improve aerodynamics, and the other with a side protection developed by Airflow Deflector and which can be applied to most heavy goods vehicles. As you can see in the video above, the results were overwhelming.
“Tests show that side shields can save lives. We think it is time to make these protections mandatory, especially with the increase in the number of fatal accidents”.
David Zuby, Vice President of IIHS