Why Are These Curved?

[snymat68]

A friend of mine just asked me why the vertical side bars on a lot of the 18 wheeler "underride bars" have the bends in them. Does the bend serve a purpose, or is it purely aesthetic? Some of them have bends not nearly as pronounced as this. Some have no bends at all and are just vertical bars. Some don't even have vertical bars at the ends. Anyone in the trucking industry? Thoughts on the bends?

 

[Big Barn]

For when pulling out of parking lots (or?) and the trailer axles go into a dip the ICC bars won’t catch or snag

 

[RNeumann]

The drop down “bumper” is designed to keep cars that rear end the trailer from going underneath and decapitating the folks. The corners, as stated above, aren’t covered for swing out and off camber purposes.

 

[/pine]

Nothing to do with the actual design but an interesting side note on under-ride bars:

How Jayne Mansfield Changed the Design of Tractor-Trailers | Mental Floss

 

[snymat68]

Nothing to do with the actual design but an interesting side note on under-ride bars:

How Jayne Mansfield Changed the Design of Tractor-Trailers | Mental Floss

Yeah, I read that too. Interesting stuff.

 

[MossRoad]

Probably just to keep stuff from getting hooked on the ends. Look at the one next to it. There's none at all.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Likely just that trailer manufacturers design since it is not required. Some more truck trivia safety requirements and their relation to Pennsylvania; Jayne Mansfield having been born in Bryn Mawr, PA. Conspicuity tape; one of many accidents that led to it happened in Bartonsville, PA when a car hit an unlit flatbed trailer at night. The truck driver was backing into a motel and was totally blocking the road. One person was killed by decapitation and one had severe neck injuries but survived. Hazmat laws; A tire fire led to a truck hauling dynamite to explode killing six people, injuring more and blowing poisonous snakes into the surrounding area from a nearby reptile farm, also in PA, Marshall's Creek

 

[Beltzington]

If an OTR driver decided to occupy the same lane I was in I would prefer the enclosed style as it would to a better job at keeping my car from going underneath the rear corner of the trailer. Hopefully I never actually test that theory as at highway speeds it would not be pretty.

 

[snymat68]

Thanks for the replies guys.