美国国家公共电台 NPR Moms Who Lost Daughters In Truck Underride Collisions Push for Greater Safety（在线收听）

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Now this Mother's Day, a story about mothers on a mission. They were united in grief after losing children in accidents involving large trucks. They're pushing Congress to toughen truck safety standards, hoping to save others from suffering the same loss. And as NPR's Geoff Bennett reports, they're finding out just how difficult it can be to turn ideas into reality on Capitol Hill.

GEOFF BENNETT, BYLINE: Four years ago, Marianne Karth was driving with three of her nine children from their home in North Carolina to a family wedding in Texas when an 18-wheeler sideswiped their blue Crown Victoria, spinning it around and then hitting it again, hurling the rear of the car under another truck. Sitting in the back were her two girls.

MARIANNE KARTH: It's like they were here just yesterday, and they were so full of life.

BENNETT: Karth remembers 17-year-old AnnaLeah as the creative one. Mary, she says, was a ham, the life of the party. And in her 13 years, Mary never once cut her hair.

KARTH: Actually, she had her first haircut when the emergency room nurse cut her braids off to take care of her because her face was just smashed. And they saved it for me. I'm so thankful that they saved the braids because - just a wonderful memory of Mary.

BENNETT: In 2004, Lois Durso's daughter, Roya, was driving in a blizzard when her car skidded out of control and slid under the side of a truck. Roya died instantly.

LOIS DURSO: Oh, she was beautiful. She had a heart to match. She was 26 years old, just starting her life.

BENNETT: Durso and Karth have since devoted themselves to preventing what are known as truck underride collisions. It's what happens when a car collides with a truck and gets lodged underneath. The metal barriers you see hanging from the backs of most large trucks - those are underride guards, and they're supposed to keep smaller vehicles from sliding under.

But the current safety standard was issued nearly two decades ago. Many are weak and can crumble upon impact. At a trucking industry conference just months ago, the two moms met for the first time. They say their bond was immediate.

KARTH: She asked me all kinds of questions about my daughters. And man, I was crying, you know, just with a shared comfort and grief and getting to know one another really quickly. And then we go around at this conference and, you know, talking to all these trucking people. And that was just two months ago, and we're like sisters and best friends.

DURSO: Buddies here, you know?

BENNETT: Buddies and now partners in a campaign aimed at urging Congress and the Department of Transportation to improve federal guidelines for rear underride guards and to require guards on the sides of trucks, too. The two moms wrote a bill and named it in honor of their daughters. It calls for comprehensive underride protection on all trucks. In just the last three weeks, they've made six self-funded trips to Washington to meet with lawmakers from both parties.

KARTH: OK. And I'm Marianne Karth. Hi.

DURSO: I'm Lois Durso. Hi.

(CROSSTALK)

BENNETT: They say the response so far has been positive, but they've got plenty of hurdles to clear. Joan Claybrook is with the Truck Safety Coalition. She says advocates like Karth and Durso are competing against a well-funded trucking industry that has affiliated groups pushing their interests in all 50 states.

JOAN CLAYBROOK: And so they're just everyplace. And they're powerful in their home districts, so members of Congress pay attention to them. The truck safety victims have never been organized until we started the Truck Safety Coalition, and they do live all over the country. But they don't have the economic clout that the trucking industry does.

BENNETT: The American Trucking Associations says the industry hasn't come to an agreement on underride guards. Some truck companies have already added extra protection on their own. Meanwhile, Lois Durso says she's prepared for the long fight.

DURSO: One day, Marianne called and she said, why are we doing this? And I said, because we are two moms that's sick and tired of waiting.

BENNETT: She says they're clear-eyed about the political realities their legislation faces and are no less determined.

Geoff Bennett, NPR News, the Capitol.