Mariska Hargitay’s new documentary revives story of how “Mansfield Bars” on semi-trucks came to be
More than five decades after Jayne Mansfield’s tragic death, her daughter—Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay—is using film to revisit the story that shaped her life, and unknowingly helped change U.S. highway safety forever.
Mariska Hargitaty's My Mom Jayne debuts
Hargitay’s new documentary, My Mom Jayne, just premiered on Max after making its debut at the Tribeca Festival on June 13th. It marks her debut as a feature film director.
The movie explores the life and sudden death of her mother, the blonde bombshell and '60s sex symbol, who was killed in a horrific car crash in 1967. Mariska, who was only three at the time, was in the car with her mother when the crash happened, along with her two brothers and two other adults.
In the documentary, she learns something that’s both chilling and deeply personal: her brother Zoltan tells her that after the crash, she had actually been left behind at the scene.
Now, at 61, Mariska is reclaiming the story for herself—and bringing with it a piece of safety history that still affects drivers on the road today.
The story behind that bar you’ve seen under semi-trucks
If you’ve ever sat behind an 18-wheeler at a red light and noticed the thick steel bar stretching across its back, that’s not just for show. Known officially as a rear underrun guard, most people call it something else: a Mansfield bar.
That name comes directly from the accident that killed Jayne Mansfield. It was the middle of the night when her car crashed into the back of a semi-truck that had slowed behind a mosquito fogging vehicle.
Thick fog made the trailer nearly invisible, and there was no rear bumper to stop the Buick from sliding underneath it. Mansfield and the two other adults in the front seat died instantly.
In the aftermath, federal regulators pushed for rear-impact protection on trailers. The bar became law and inherited Mansfield’s name in the process.
TikTok users are just now learning the story—and sharing their own
A TikTok video from @ashofthesouth, where she films herself checking truck trailers for the infamous bar, has garnered over 250,000 views and plenty of comments.
@ashofthesouth Me checking every 18 wheeler I pass this morning to make sure they have the Mansfield Bar . #jaynemansfield #mansfieldbar #mymomjayne #documentary ♬ original sound - username222222000000
“Me checking every 18 wheeler I pass this morning to make sure they have the Mansfield Bar,” @ashofthesouth wrote in the caption of the video.
"A girl in a town near mine passed away because the truck her friend crashed into didn’t have a Mansfield bar," one person wrote in the comments.
"EVER SINCE I FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS YEARS AGO I ALWAYS LOOK AT THEM," another said.
"That bar put on those truck trailers saved me one night,” someone else shared. “I'll never forget getting woke up like that. I was sleeping in the back of my truck, and all of a sudden it happened."
"Crazy, her death made it possible for others to have a fighting chance in the future," another added.
"Every safety rule and regulation is written in the blood of those who were unfortunate enough to be the example," a fifth pointed out.
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