Safety group says its video shows need for underride guards

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Vehicle that has crashed and is under a semi truckA new video from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety makes its case for fitting trailers with side underride guards, which the organization says can reduce traffic fatalities. In tests shown in the video, two mid-sized cars are driven at 35 mph into the side of a trailer; one strikes a trailer fitted with a reinforced side underride guard, and another strikes a fiberglass side skirt intended to improve aerodynamics. The American Trucking Associations told the Associated Press that side underride guards are collision mitigation devices, and it prefers equipping trucks with collision avoidance technology.