In the future, hopefully improved automated driving systems will be able to avoid this sort of collision entirely.
In the meantime, I continue to be surprised that more attention is not being paid to a simple, known safety measure that in this case may well have resulted in saving Mr. Brown's life-- side impact protection on the tractor-trailer he collided with.
I did a little digging and not only is side impact protection a mandatory safety requirement in the EU, but two years ago the NTSB recommended that the NHTSA adopt mandatory side impact protection requirements for new tractor-trailers. Their findings include a study that found that 89 percent of serious and fatal injuries resulting from side impacts with trailers could have been mitigated through the use of side impact protection.
http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-recs/recletters/h-14-001-007.pdf (relevant bits start at page 7).
Here are a couple of excerpts from the NTSB's letter to the NHTSA:
Side underride. One reason why collisions with the sides of tractor-trailers are hazardous is that side underride may occur during these collisions.23 Both belted and unbelted occupants are vulnerable to injuries as a result of side underride. Side underride occurs when passenger vehicle bumpers are not at the same height and do not engage the substantial side structure of tractor-trailers. Side underride collisions are an important safety problem because they defeat crumple zones and prevent air bag deployment, both vital safety advances in improving protection of passenger vehicle occupants during crashes.24,25,26 Airbags will not deploy in some underride collisions when the sensors to trigger them are not contacted by vehicle structures.27 Crumple zones do not work as intended in underride collisions when relevant passenger vehicle structures fail to engage tractor-trailer structures. Furthermore, the occupant’s safety cage can be compromised when underride allows the passenger vehicle to sustain impacts at the level of the windshield and other areas above the hood. This effect can result in deaths and severe injuries due to intrusion of vehicle components. The adverse effects of underride collisions in defeating safety advances have been demonstrated in a study of belted occupants injured in passenger vehicles with good frontal crash test ratings.28 Head injuries were the most common type of serious injury in underride collisions, and underride collisions had higher rates of fatal and severe non-fatal injuries than other crash configurations. Intrusion into the passenger compartment was the most common contributing factor to injury in underride collisions.
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In 2012, Brumbelow estimated that 530 passenger vehicle occupants died each year during 2006–2008 in two-vehicle collisions between passenger vehicles and the sides of large trucks.32 Brumbelow also did an independent analysis using LTCCS data and concluded that the most severe injuries sustained by passenger vehicle occupants were usually due to the truck side impacts rather than other events that may have occurred during the crashes (many crashes included multiple events that could result in injury). This was the case for 69 percent of 206 crashes in which a passenger vehicle collided with the side of a large truck. About a third of collisions with the sides of large trucks involved truck-tractors and about half involved semi-trailers.
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Brumbelow’s evaluation of the potential benefits of side underride guards strongly suggested that they would reduce injury severity. Of passenger vehicle occupants with serious to fatal injuries attributed to side impacts with semi-trailers35, 89 percent were considered injuries that could have been mitigated by side underride guards. For passenger vehicle occupants with serious to fatal injuries attributed to side impacts with truck-tractor cabs, side underride guards were considered potentially beneficial for 83 percent.3
In the meantime, I continue to be surprised that more attention is not being paid to a simple, known safety measure that in this case may well have resulted in saving Mr. Brown's life-- side impact protection on the tractor-trailer he collided with.
I did a little digging and not only is side impact protection a mandatory safety requirement in the EU, but two years ago the NTSB recommended that the NHTSA adopt mandatory side impact protection requirements for new tractor-trailers. Their findings include a study that found that 89 percent of serious and fatal injuries resulting from side impacts with trailers could have been mitigated through the use of side impact protection.
http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-recs/recletters/h-14-001-007.pdf (relevant bits start at page 7).
Here are a couple of excerpts from the NTSB's letter to the NHTSA:
Side underride. One reason why collisions with the sides of tractor-trailers are hazardous is that side underride may occur during these collisions.23 Both belted and unbelted occupants are vulnerable to injuries as a result of side underride. Side underride occurs when passenger vehicle bumpers are not at the same height and do not engage the substantial side structure of tractor-trailers. Side underride collisions are an important safety problem because they defeat crumple zones and prevent air bag deployment, both vital safety advances in improving protection of passenger vehicle occupants during crashes.24,25,26 Airbags will not deploy in some underride collisions when the sensors to trigger them are not contacted by vehicle structures.27 Crumple zones do not work as intended in underride collisions when relevant passenger vehicle structures fail to engage tractor-trailer structures. Furthermore, the occupant’s safety cage can be compromised when underride allows the passenger vehicle to sustain impacts at the level of the windshield and other areas above the hood. This effect can result in deaths and severe injuries due to intrusion of vehicle components. The adverse effects of underride collisions in defeating safety advances have been demonstrated in a study of belted occupants injured in passenger vehicles with good frontal crash test ratings.28 Head injuries were the most common type of serious injury in underride collisions, and underride collisions had higher rates of fatal and severe non-fatal injuries than other crash configurations. Intrusion into the passenger compartment was the most common contributing factor to injury in underride collisions.
******
In 2012, Brumbelow estimated that 530 passenger vehicle occupants died each year during 2006–2008 in two-vehicle collisions between passenger vehicles and the sides of large trucks.32 Brumbelow also did an independent analysis using LTCCS data and concluded that the most severe injuries sustained by passenger vehicle occupants were usually due to the truck side impacts rather than other events that may have occurred during the crashes (many crashes included multiple events that could result in injury). This was the case for 69 percent of 206 crashes in which a passenger vehicle collided with the side of a large truck. About a third of collisions with the sides of large trucks involved truck-tractors and about half involved semi-trailers.
*******
Brumbelow’s evaluation of the potential benefits of side underride guards strongly suggested that they would reduce injury severity. Of passenger vehicle occupants with serious to fatal injuries attributed to side impacts with semi-trailers35, 89 percent were considered injuries that could have been mitigated by side underride guards. For passenger vehicle occupants with serious to fatal injuries attributed to side impacts with truck-tractor cabs, side underride guards were considered potentially beneficial for 83 percent.3
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