A container chassis designed by Stoughton Trailers has received the first award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for protection against rear underride crashes.
A rear underride guard is a metal frame attached to the back of a semitrailer to prevent passenger cars from sliding beneath the trailer in the event of a rear-end crash.
Underride guards that meet IIHS’s safety criteria are more likely than others to withstand an impact, reducing the severity of the crash.
Wisconsin-based Stoughton had previously earned the award for its dry vans and refrigerated vans. Now the company’s 53-foot intermodal chassis – which carry shipping containers directly transferred from ships or railcars – also meets IIHS’s “Toughguard” criteria, the insurance group announced on Thursday.
“We’re excited about the commitment that Stoughton has shown to preventing underride crashes,” said IIHS President David Harkey in a statement. “Improving the safety of commercial vehicles is a key part of our 30×30 strategy, which targets a 30% reduction in road fatalities by 2030.”
IIHS pointed out that in 2022, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration updated federal regulations governing rear underride protection on large trucks. However, “the new rule remains far less stringent than the Toughguard requirements and is not expected to push manufacturers to improve,” IIHS contends.
Stoughton was among the earliest trailer manufacturers to earn the group’s Toughguard safety award for its dry vans and refrigerated trailers in 2017. To date, nine North American trailer manufacturers, including the eight largest, have earned the awards.
