Underride guards are a critical but often overlooked component of highway safety. These safety devices are fitted to the rear and sides of large semitrucks and trailers. They provide valuable protection for other vehicles and their occupants when they’re near big rigs.
Many drivers might wonder what the purpose of these underride guards is. Learning a bit about this may help drivers to feel more secure on the roads.
What do underride guards do?
Underride guards are designed to stop passenger vehicles from sliding underneath semitrucks during accidents. Without these guards, the top of a passenger vehicle can be sheared off in an underride crash, significantly increasing the risk of severe injury or fatality for the car’s occupants. The underride guards are the only way to prevent this from happening. They provide significant protection, especially at higher speeds.
The effectiveness of underride guards is closely linked to their design and maintenance. Some trucking companies may try to skirt around the guidelines or skimp on the cost. This can lead to significant safety issues for others on the roadways. Lax maintenance and guards that don’t meet applicable standards can become a part of a personal injury lawsuit, so that’s a factor for victims to consider.
Any crash with a semitruck can lead to significant injuries to the occupants of the other vehicle. Those victims will likely need to seek medical care, which can lead to them incurring significant expense. Those individuals may choose to file a compensation claim so they can recover the cost of medical care and other damages like lost wages.
