Louisiana motorists killed and injured by poorly designed truck bumpers.

In an article published last week, the editorial board of the Sun Journal asked for immediate action by federal regulators to improve the design and strength of the rear-impact safety guards of trucks and trailers.

What is wrong with truck and trailer rear bumpers?

In 1967 actress Jane Mansfield was killed when her convertible plowed into the rear end of a truck in Louisiana. The tragic accident prompted authorities to require that all heavy trucks and semi-trailers be fitted with rear-end bars.

A highway insurance group recently tested the so-called Mansfield bars and concluded that the present U.S. standard for rear-impact guards is grossly inadequate.

When the effectiveness of the guard was questioned in 1996, new standards were adopted, setting a uniform height of 22 inches. Accounts of the hearings at the time showed safety advocates urging that a lower and stronger guard be installed. This was, however, overruled after intense lobbying by the trucking industry.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, in Canada the rear guard minimum standard is 75 percent stronger than the present U.S. standard and performs adequately. Crash test photos illustrate the difference in a compelling way:

At speeds as low as 35 mph, the Chevrolet Malibu sedan collapses the bar and rides underneath the truck or trailer (left picture). The front seat passengers are crushed. The Canadian rear-impact guard (right picture), however, stops the car, whose body is designed to gradually collapse and dissipate the energy of the impact. The frame around the front passenger remains intact.

Every year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 423 people die and over 5,000 are injured when their vehicles rear-end a semi-trailer or heavy truck.

Forty-four years after Jane Mansfield's death, it is about time effective measures were taken.

If you have been hurt in a Louisiana truck accident, contact immediately the attorneys of the Young Firm in New Orleans for a FREE consultation on your case at (504) 680-4100 (local) or (866) 660-7220 (toll free) or by sending us an e-mail.