Divided underride committee debates validity of NHTSA’s data

The validity of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s cost-benefit analysis regarding a side underride guard mandate was questioned by several members of an advisory committee tasked with reducing crashes.

During NHTSA’s Advisory Committee on Underride Protection meeting on Wednesday, April 24, a significant amount of time was spent discussing research from the agency’s 2023 advance notice of proposed rulemaking. In it, the preliminary analysis indicated that a side underride guard mandate would come with a huge price tag.

NHTSA’s cost-benefit analysis estimated that a mandate would save 17.2 lives and 69 injuries annually, while costing as much as $1.2 billion each year. According to those numbers, the cost per life saved would fall in the range of $73.5 to $103.7 million.

Eric Hein, whose son Riley died from injuries sustained in a 2015 truck crash, delivered a presentation to the committee that questioned NHTSA’s numbers. Hein called the cost-benefit analysis “flawed,” saying the agency low-balled the number of deaths resulting from underride crashes and failed to properly estimate the cost savings.

Committee members Marianne Karth and Jennifer Tierney also criticized NHTSA’s notice for not including the number of pedestrians and bicyclists killed in underride crashes.

Tierney issued a motion for the committee to ask NHTSA to withdraw the advance notice of proposed rulemaking and redo its cost-benefit analysis.

Despite opposition that withdrawing the notice would slow down the rulemaking process, the committee passed the motion with seven yes votes, six no votes and three abstentions.

Effectiveness of side underride guards

Aaron Kiefer, a committee member representing motor vehicle crash investigators, later introduced motions to recommend that NHTSA require all new semitrailers and all semitrailers manufactured after 1998 to be equipped with side underride guards.

Doug Smith, a committee member representing truck drivers, noted that the cost to retrofit some of the older trailers would be more than the value of that trailer. In addition, he pointed out that many of those older trailers are primarily used for storage.

Jeff Bennett, a committee member representing motor vehicle engineers, questioned the effectiveness of side underride guards.

“The effectiveness of side guards has not been determined,” Bennett said. “If you crash anywhere but dead center of the guard, it is not effective.”

Both of Kiefer’s motions passed.

Final meeting?

The advisory committee’s next meeting is scheduled for May 22. The committee has requested an extension to the charter and to have another meeting in June. However, those requests have not yet been accepted.

Following the final meeting, the committee will be tasked with drafting a recommendation report to NHTSA. Due to a significant divide between committee members, there also will be a dissenting report issued to the agency. A motion was passed to give the minority committee members at least a week to respond to the majority report. LL