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Impact Bumpers On Truck Trailers

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Currently, rear impact guards on truck trailers are effective at up to 30 mph. These “bumpers” are also known as ICC bumpers or underride guards. That speed was set because the crash protection standards that must protect occupants of passenger vehicles is set at 30 mph. However, because passenger vehicles how must protect occupants that are involved in frontal impact crashes at up to 35 mph, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a “notice of proposed rule making” that requires ICC bumpers to be withstand a crash at up to 35 mph.
The ICC bumpers are required on most trailers and semitrailers so that should a vehicle hit the trailer from the rear, the guards keep the vehicle from going under the trailer. According to the NHTSA, many newer trailers already meet this regulation. If the regulation is put in place, it would affect Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards …show more content…

Any time a smaller vehicle, especially a compact vehicle, runs into the back of a large trailer, it has the potential to go so far under the trailer that the bottom of the trailer could decapitate or otherwise harm those in the passenger vehicle. ICC bumpers prevent this from happening at speeds under 35 or 30 mph.
Trucks Without Underride Guards or ICC Bumpers
Some trucks, such as dump trucks, are not required to have ICC bumpers. Although the ICC bumpers don't protect vehicles that hit the trailer or trucks at the outer edges, the bumpers have saved many lives in crashes where the vehicle struck a truck or trailer from the inner edges to the center. Because they do work, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has asked the NHTSA to require that rear impact guards are installed on dump trucks and other trucks that are not required to have them.
How the IIHS Tests Underride

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