Study of Truck Side Guards to Reduce Pedestrian Fatalities

Truck side guards are devices designed to keep pedestrians and bicyclists from being run over by a large truck’s rear wheels in side-impact collisions. Side guards have been required standard equipment since the 1980s in Europe and Japan, and more recently in Brazil. They are also widely adopted in China, South America, and Australia. Based on studies in the United Kingdom (U.K.), side guards are an effective technology for reducing the number of fatalities and the severity of injuries. For example, bicyclist fatalities declined by 61 percent and pedestrian fatalities by 20 percent in side impact collisions with trucks after the U.K.’s side guard mandate. Despite three decades of international experience, the operational, cost-benefit, and regulatory aspects of requiring truck side guards in the United States has not been studied. This research project addresses this gap. Five key tasks are included in this project: (1) study interaction of a potential side guard with other truck parts and accessories (e.g., fuel tanks, fire extinguisher, exhaust system) and the implications for a new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation; (2) investigate applicable international side guard standards; (3) perform a preliminary cost-benefit analysis of truck side guard deployment; (4) propose recommendations; and (5) propose means for voluntary adoption.

• Record URL:
  https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/research-and-analysis/technology/study-truck-side-guards-reduce-pedestrian-fatalities

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $200,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  DTMC7517V00002

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Department of Transportation

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Kwan, Quon

• Performing Organizations:

  Volpe National Transportation Systems Center

  Transportation Planning Division
  55 Broadway
  Cambridge, MA  United States  02142-1093
• Start Date: 20170307
• Expected Completion Date: 20190306
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Deployment; Pedestrians; Security
• Subject Areas: Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01656573
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
• Contract Numbers: DTMC7517V00002
• Files: RIP, USDOT
• Created Date: Jan 17 2018 4:17PM