Letter to AMZN, WMT, and COST

 Messieurs  Jassy, McMillon, and Vachris;

This is an open letter about installing the same under ride protection on your trailers here in the US that are installed on your trailers in Europe and requiring your logistics partners to the do the same. According to a June 2024 report to congress from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  “In 2022, 5,936 people died in crashes involving large trucks  (including trailers and semi-trailers), an increase of 2 percent from  the previous year. This includes drivers of large trucks and their  passengers (1,097) as well as people in other vehicles (4,839) and non-occupants (672). While the point of impact for most fatal truck  crashes is the front (67% in 2021) a subset of these fatalities result  from passenger motor vehicle under-ride of the truck side or rear.”  

Your companies have championed implementing renewable energy initiatives to reduce the impacts of climate change, have led the charge for reducing the gender pay gap and required your suppliers to adhere to a code of conduct that prohibits  practices such as forced labor, human trafficking, and child labor. Your companies can also lead the efforts to make our roads safer for minimal cost and a cost you already incur in Europe. 

In Europe, semi-truck rear under ride guards must be able to withstand 180kN of force, which is the equivalent of a mid-size sedan impacting the rear guard at a 45mph velocity difference between the truck and sedan. The guard must be no more than 18" above the ground and the guard must be ~5" wide. In the US, up until the infrastructure law passed in 2022, the standards were 100kN of force on the support points and 50kNs at the center and outer edges. This is the equivalent of the same mid-size sedan impacting center or edge of the the semi-truck rear under ride guard at 22mph (kinetic energy increases with the square of velocity).  The infrastructure law increased those limits up to 35 mph (~128kN from the same car), which are still below the US standards. 

Additionally, the EU mandates side guards that must be no more than 300MM (~12 inches) above the ground to protect cyclists and cars from being caught under the truck. The US has no such law. This is to protect cyclists from being caught under the truck. The EU only requires 1kN of force at a right angle to the side guard, but the primary purpose of the side guard is to deflect vehicles and cyclists from getting stuck underneath the truck. 

LOREM IPSUM