Underride & Override Truck Accidents: Among the Most Deadly Crashes
Underride and override collisions are among the deadliest types of truck accidents. An underride crash occurs when a smaller vehicle slides beneath the trailer or rear of a large truck, often shearing off the top of the passenger vehicle at the dashboard or roof level. An override crash happens when a large truck rides up and over a smaller vehicle in front of it. Both types of crashes cause catastrophic injuries and fatalities at disproportionately high rates. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) estimates that approximately 400 passenger vehicle occupants die in underride crashes each year.
At Roden Law, our underride accident lawyers understand the federal safety standards, the ongoing regulatory failures, and the engineering solutions that could prevent these tragedies. We pursue maximum compensation from trucking companies and trailer manufacturers that fail to provide adequate underride protection.
Types of Underride Crashes
Underride collisions occur in three primary configurations, each with different risk factors and safety challenges:
- Rear underride: The most common type, occurring when a passenger vehicle strikes the rear of a truck trailer. Federal law requires rear impact guards on most trailers, but many existing guards are inadequate to prevent underride at real-world crash speeds
- Side underride: Occurs when a vehicle strikes the side of a trailer between the axles. There is currently no federal requirement for side underride guards in the United States, despite the fact that they are mandatory in the European Union and have been proven effective
- Front override: Happens when the front of a large truck overrides a smaller vehicle, typically in rear-end collisions where the truck fails to stop in time
Federal Underride Guard Regulations
Current federal regulations address only rear underride protection:
- Rear impact guards: FMVSS 223 establishes strength requirements for rear impact guards, and FMVSS 224 requires their installation on most trailers manufactured after 1998
- Known inadequacy: The IIHS has repeatedly demonstrated that many guards meeting the minimum federal standard fail to prevent underride in moderate-speed crashes, and has advocated for stronger requirements
- No side guard requirement: Despite decades of advocacy by safety organizations, the U.S. has no federal mandate for side underride guards. The Stop Underrides Act has been introduced in Congress multiple times but has not been enacted
Why Underride Crashes Are So Deadly
Underride crashes bypass the safety systems built into passenger vehicles. In a typical frontal collision, the vehicle’s crumple zone, airbags, and seatbelts work together to protect occupants. In an underride crash, the vehicle passes beneath the truck at a height that places the trailer directly at windshield or roof level. The vehicle’s safety cage is compromised or completely removed, and occupants suffer devastating head, neck, and upper body injuries. Many underride crashes are immediately fatal.
Pursuing Justice for Underride Victims
Our attorneys pursue claims against every responsible party, including the trucking company for failing to equip trailers with adequate underride guards, trailer manufacturers for defective or inadequate guard designs, drivers for negligent parking (especially on highway shoulders without reflectors), and maintenance providers who failed to repair damaged guards. We work with engineering experts to demonstrate how commercially available underride guard technology would have prevented or reduced injuries. Under Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 51-1-11) and South Carolina product liability law, manufacturers and carriers can be held strictly liable for placing unreasonably dangerous products on the road.