How Effective Are Grille Guards on Trucks?

Do you want to protect your semi truck from damage? Are you looking for an added layer of protection? A semi truck grille guard may be the solution you are looking for and RIGGUARD will check all the boxes. Drivers, owner-operators, and freight companies considering a grille guard may have doubts about the investment and may be asking — how effective are grille guards on trucks? We are here to help answer your questions.

How Well Do Grille Guards Protect Against Accidents?

While grille guards will not prevent an accident — they can and will minimize damage to your truck and critical engine components. Grille guards are engineered to protect the front end of your truck and will transfer the energy from the collision to the frame of your truck, rather than directly to the front end. Trucks equipped with grille guards that are involved in a traffic collision are much less likely to suffer severe damage that will result in repairs and downtime that will affect your bottom line. In the event of a low-speed collision, trucks with a high-quality grille guard will see minimal damage. A grille guard will reduce the damage to your truck and the cost of repairs in most cases. 

When you look closer at the effectiveness of grille guards on your truck, it is important to look at how much it will cost to repair damage to your truck. A grille guard will protect the vulnerable front end of your truck where your radiator, transmission, transmission cooler lines, headlights, collision-avoidance systems, and more can be damaged. Damage to these components can put your truck out of action and the downtime alone will cost from $300 to $1,000 per day on average in lost profits — not to mention the cost of repairs. It can cost a few thousand dollars to replace your radiator with parts and labor and replacement radar sensors for your collision-avoidance system can cost more than $3,000 to repair.

How Effective Are Grille Guards Against Animal Strikes?

Do your routes take you on rural highways where there are a lot of deer or other wildlife? A grille guard is almost a necessity in some parts of the country where deer and animal strikes are an everyday event. In Wisconsin alone — there were 16,153 deer-related collisions in 2023 that resulted in 14 deaths and hundreds of injuries. A grille guard will protect the front end of your truck against collisions with large and midsize animals like deer, moose, and livestock. When equipped with grille guards, trucks involved in animal strikes will often suffer minimal damage or no damage at all. 

READ MORE: What Will Semi Truck Grille Guards Protect Against?

If you are considering a semi truck grille guard, you may be asking — how effective are grille guards for trucks — and we hope this quick breakdown has helped answer your questions. Contact the RIGGUARD Team today to learn more about our grille guards and products!