Underride crash bill reintroduced in Congress

Legislation would require guards on sides and front of trucks

Posted March 7, 2019

Members in both houses of Congress reintroduced a bill that would require all trailers, semi-trailers and straight trucks to be equipped with underride guards on the sides and front of trucks to help reduce the risk of deadly crashes.

An underride crash occurs when a car slides under a large truck, such as a semi-trailer, during an accident. These types of crashes, even at low rates of speed, often cause severe injuries or deaths.

The Stop Underrides Act would:

Update outdated standards that only call for underride guards to be installed on the back of trucks;
Require that underride guards be included in a vehicle’s daily and annual inspection; and
Require the DOT to review underride standards every five years to evaluate the need for changes in response to advancements in technology.

The bill was previously introduced in 2017 but gained no traction.

News of the bill comes as the National Transportation Safety Board investigates a fatal underride crash between a Tesla car and a truck that took place in Florida last week.

The legislation was introduced by U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Marco Rubio of Florida and U.S. Representatives Steve Cohen of Tennessee and Mark DeSaulnier of California.

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