Legislation Revived to Protect Drivers From Underride Crashes

Why It Matters

Requiring side underride guards addresses a critical safety gap, potentially reducing dozens of fatalities annually and reshaping industry safety standards.

Key Takeaways

• Requires side underride guards on all new commercial trucks
• NHTSA must finalize rulemaking for side guards
• DOT to restart advisory committee on underride protection
• GAO and National Academies to study underride prevalence
• Free training for law enforcement on underride crash identification

Pulse Analysis

Underride collisions, where a passenger vehicle slides beneath a tractor‑trailer, claim dozens of lives each year in the United States. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that between 2015 and 2022, over 200 fatalities resulted from such crashes, many of which could have been mitigated by side or front guards. Existing federal standards only mandate rear underride guards, leaving the vehicle’s sides and front vulnerable. As larger trucks dominate freight corridors, the risk of side‑impact underrides has risen, prompting safety advocates to push for broader protective measures.

The Stop Underrides Act 2.0, reintroduced by Senators Gillibrand and Luján and a bipartisan House team, seeks to close that safety gap. The bill directs NHTSA to finalize rulemaking that mandates side underride guards on all new commercial trucks, restarts the DOT’s Advisory Committee on Underride Protection, and creates a public portal for underride research. It also commissions the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to quantify underride incidents—including front‑impact cases—and tasks the Government Accountability Office with evaluating the 2022 rear‑guard rule. Additionally, NHTSA will develop free, on‑demand training for law‑enforcement agencies to correctly document these crashes.

If enacted, the legislation could reshape truck design standards and create a new compliance market for side‑guard manufacturers, while prompting fleets to retrofit older vehicles where feasible. Improved data collection and GAO analysis are expected to reveal gaps in the current Fatality Analysis Reporting System, enabling more accurate safety metrics. Industry groups have expressed cautious support, noting potential cost implications but emphasizing the public‑health benefits. Over the longer term, consistent side‑guard adoption may lower underride fatalities, reduce insurance claims, and set a precedent for further vehicle‑safety innovations across the freight sector.