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What Is an Underride Accident
An underride accident occurs when a passenger vehicle slides beneath the trailer of a commercial truck during a collision. Because truck trailers ride high off the ground, the front of a passenger vehicle can slide under the trailer's rear or side, bypassing the crumple zone, airbags, and other occupant protection systems. The trailer structure intrudes directly into the occupant compartment at head and neck level, causing catastrophic head and neck injuries, decapitation, and fatalities at speeds that would normally be survivable.
Rear underride occurs when a following vehicle strikes the back of a stopped, slowing, or turning truck and slides beneath the trailer. Side underride occurs when a vehicle strikes the side of a trailer and slides underneath — the vehicle's roof is sheared off by the trailer's underside. Both types are disproportionately fatal; IIHS research has found that rear underride is a contributing factor in approximately 400 passenger vehicle occupant deaths annually in the United States.
NHTSA and FMCSA Underride Guard Standards
FMCSA regulations under 49 CFR Part 393 require rear underride guards (RUGs) on trailers manufactured after 1998. The current standard (FMCSA 393.86 / NHTSA FMVSS No. 223) requires guards capable of withstanding 100,000 lbs of force per side and 50,000 lbs at the center. However, safety advocates and IIHS crash testing have demonstrated that many compliant guards fail catastrophically in real-world offset crashes — where the vehicle strikes the corner of the trailer rather than the center. IIHS has petitioned NHTSA for decades to adopt stronger European guard standards, which have proven substantially more effective in preventing occupant intrusion.
Side underride guards are not currently required by federal law, despite IIHS and safety advocacy groups demonstrating that voluntary side guards can prevent underride in many crash scenarios. Several states have proposed side underride guard legislation. Carriers who voluntarily equip their fleets with side underride guards create a higher standard of care argument that can be used against carriers who do not, in litigation arising from side underride crashes.
Liability for Underride Crashes
Liability for underride accidents may rest with the truck driver (for sudden braking, turning into a vehicle's path, or operating without required lighting), the motor carrier (for failing to maintain adequate guards or using trailers with known deficient guards), and the trailer manufacturer (under product liability theories if the guard was defectively designed or manufactured). Expert witness testimony from highway safety engineers is critical for demonstrating that a properly designed guard would have prevented the fatality or catastrophic injury.
Evidence essential in underride cases includes: post-crash measurements of guard deformation and intrusion depth, crash reconstruction showing impact geometry, NHTSA guard performance test data, carrier maintenance records for the guard, and comparative analysis with European guard standards. Cases where guards met minimum FMCSA standards but failed due to offset impact geometry support product liability claims against guard manufacturers that have produced substantial recoveries.
Key data
Data & Statistics
Approximately 400 passenger vehicle occupant deaths annually involve rear underride into trailers
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
IIHS offset crash tests show many FMCSA-compliant rear guards fail catastrophically in real-world scenarios
IIHS Underride Guard Research 2024
Side underride guards are not federally required despite preventing occupant fatalities in IIHS testing
IIHS / NHTSA Rulemaking Docket
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
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