Transportation companies do not control the conduct of their drivers. At best, they can screen carefully for professionals with unsafe histories, provide adequate training and monitor the conduct of their employees. Still, they generally have vicarious liability for the negligence of their drivers.
They may also have direct liability for negligence related to their fleet vehicles. Transportation companies generally also need to be proactive about ensuring the vehicles in their fleet are in safe operating condition.
Routine maintenance and necessary repairs are important for safety. Making adequate investments in safety equipment can also help reduce crash risk and severity. Underride guards can save lives, and transportation companies can make the choice to invest in devices that limit the likelihood of a devastating underride collision.
Requirements don’t adequately protect smaller vehicles
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) helps enforce the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s) baseline standards for underride guards. Many companies buy the cheapest guards that comply with NHTSA regulations. However, safety research clearly shows that stronger, larger guards work more effectively at preventing deadly rear underride crashes than guards that only conform to mandatory standards.
Additionally, federal rules do not yet require side underride guards, but these devices are also critical to driver safety if a crash occurs. When transportation companies expose others to unnecessary risk as a means of saving a little bit of money, their decisions can have dire implications for others if their drivers cause collisions.
Identifying weak or missing underride guards as a contributing factor to an underride semi-truck collision could help people pursue justice after a crash. Companies may be liable for collision-related losses in scenarios where questionable safety decisions contribute to the severity of a collision.