Federal trucking regulations cannot guarantee car passenger safety in the event of a car accident, and following those regulations does not necessarily mean the owners or operators of the truck aren’t liable for the resulting harm.

Car accident attorneys are available to counsel those who have had a run-in with a semi truck.

In a truck accident with a passenger car, it’s the occupants of the cars who are most at risk. Trucks far outmatch passenger cars in size and weight, and their high ground clearance makes it possible for passenger cars to slide underneath the trailer.

These dangers are reflected in the survival rates documented in car accidents involving trucks. In 2013, of all the known fatal car accidents involving only a passenger vehicle and a large truck, 97 percent of those killed were occupants of the passenger vehicle.

Truck Driver Fatigue

The long hours and demanding deadlines placed on truck drivers makes driver fatigue a serious problem. The rules governing how long truckers can drive were slightly relaxed in 2004. Federal regulations now allow truck drivers to drive up to 11 hours at a stretch, even though one research study found truck drivers are twice as likely to crash after driving for only eight hours.

For years, enforcement of these time restrictions has depended on drivers’ self-reporting of their hours in logbooks that they are required to maintain. These records are easy to falsify and a few studies have found many truckers do just that.

In March 2014, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration proposed a rule requiring electronic logging devices that would ostensibly provide more reliable records of driving time and rest breaks. Previous efforts to require these devices have failed because of concerns that they could be used to harass drivers.

Underride Guards

Large trucks with high ground clearance present passenger cars with the unique risk of underride.

Underride occurs when a passenger car slides underneath the truck’s trailer, often at the rear of the truck. Despite the development of many new car safety features in recent years, most of those features offer little protection from an underride with an 18-wheeler.

Federal regulations require rigid guards on the rears of trailers to prevent underride in case of a car accident. However, a 2010 study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that guards built to the federal standard often fail, sometimes resulting in serious injury or death. In July 2014 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced plans to upgrade their standards for rear-impact underride guards.

Some major trailer manufacturers have already installed underride guards that are stronger than those required by U.S. regulations, also featuring some measurable improvement in safety. These stronger guards effectively prevent underride when a passenger car crashes near the center of the trailer’s rear end, but they still do not prevent significant damage when the car impacts more to the outer back corner.

Car accidents also result in underride at the fronts and sides of trailers. However, there is no regulatory requirement for front or side underride guards in U.S. trucks.

Despite these regulatory requirements, a car accident with a large truck can still result in serious injury or loss of life. Car accident attorneys are available to speak with victims about what rights they may have and how they may be able to get compensation by filing a truck accident lawsuit.