Underrides!!

Don't tailgate (or hit head on) trucks!

Tailgating can be one of the most dangerous driving manuvers especially when you're doing it to a truck. I remember studying a few things on truck underride collisions somewhere (drivers ed?). The height of a truck bed is just low enough to be head level with a driver in a passenger car. This means if you run straight into the back of a flatbed or boxtruck (the underride), your head will most likely turn out like this guy in the pictures(stories/racing thread) or simply be knocked off.

Truck manufacturers have been trying to deal with this problem by installing cross "x" type metal guillitine safety reinforcements under the beds since the 1970's but (from what I remember) tests show that they aren't greatly successful at reducing damage or preventing injury. some designs have been around since the 1950's. There was one prototype system that seemed to show promise which had solid fillers under the bed so that a car would have a hrder time sliding underneath.

After some digging I found a couple web sites on the issue. Trust me, it's a big problem!

http://www.underridenetwork.org/Indexpage.html

Another link from that site: (there's an LS400 on there!)
http://www.fem.unicamp.br/~impact/english.htm

 

Good post and info.

A very sobering look at the dangerous act of tailgaiting that many of us partake in all too often.