Strick® Trailers, America’s premier manufacturer of aluminum sheet and post trailers, is pleased to announce the IIHS TOUGHGUARD certification award for its new GardX™ rear impact guard.
Strick recently passed the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Tough Guard certification testing, which evaluates the performance of rear underride guard designs on truck trailers. In the test, a midsize car traveling 35 mph is crashed into the back of a parked semitrailer. Each trailer is tested in three configurations:
- Full width
The car crashes into the center of the trailer’s rear. - 50 percent overlap
Half of the car’s width overlaps the rear of the trailer. - 30 percent overlap
Thirty percent of the car’s width overlaps the rear of the trailer.
Rear impact guards that prevent underride in all three tests qualify for the IIHS TOUGHGUARD award.
Strick plans to roll out its new GardX™ rear impact guard for long van trailers beginning with model year 2020. Additionally, a pup trailer (28’ and shorter) design will be introduced early in 2019.
“Strick is proud to have taken the necessary proactive steps to improve the rear guards of our dry van trailers and pleased with the opportunity to work with the dedicated team at IIHS” says Justin Bell, Director of Engineering, Strick Trailers.
Strick’s 18-month engineering approach began with a blank canvas and evolved into the development of a four (4) vertical member design with a revamped understructure at the rear of the trailer. Together, these enhancements meet the TOUGHGUARD standard, add minimal weight to the trailer, and make post-incident repairs as easy and low-cost as feasible.