Tomorrow… Tuesday, January 7th… the “TODAY” show on NBC is supposed to run a story on the deadly Truck Underride Hazard at about 7:30 AM.
A few years ago, a marvelous young Chicago woman named Roya was killed when her BMW slid partially beneath the side of a large tractor-trailer truck on the highway from Chicago to Detroit. Her accident is known as a “side underride” and about 200 Americans are killed each year because our trailers do not have any side-guards to deflect the car from crashing beneath. Over the years I’ve worked on many side underride cases, including Roya’s case, and I’ve continuously fought for side guards…. but the industry and government both don’t really care. Attached below is a PDF of what I wrote for the Sullivan Alumni Sentinel last Spring 2016.
Because of my fighting for side underride guards for many years, I was interviewed for this story… but my comments may end up on the cutting-room floor in this very short production (sandwiched between 73 insane commercials). The important point is that this “TODAY” show story will hopefully alert the public and the government officials and the media that we still need to correct this horrendous problem. European trailers have had side-guards since the 1980’s, but American trailers do not… and the new administration is boasting about no new regulations.
Thanks for watching this “TODAY” show report, and please spread the word about the critical need for side-guards on our trailers!
And here’s a 3-minute video that my son Brandon produced back in 2006 on this same subject !!
Byron Bloch
Attachments area
