Sponsors (10)
The bill would strengthen underride-protection standards, data collection, and survivor involvement to reduce deadly crashes, but it also imposes meaningful compliance, administrative, and taxpayer costs—especially for small and rural carriers—while some actions depend on studies that could delay immediate rule changes.
Pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and passenger-vehicle occupants across urban and rural areas would face fewer fatal and severe underride crashes because the bill requires clearer definitions and stronger front/side/rear underride protections and rulemaking.
Vehicle manufacturers, fleet owners, and operators get clearer statutory definitions and legal certainty about covered parts (front/side/rear guards), simplifying compliance planning and product design.
Predictable rulemaking timelines (e.g., 18 months to finalize a rule, two-year compliance windows) and required periodic reviews create a schedule for manufacturers and regulators to plan upgrades and update standards over time.
Manufacturers, fleet owners, and truck operators — especially small carriers — will face substantial upfront costs to design, produce, retrofit, or install stronger underride guards, costs that are likely to be passed through as higher shipping prices and increased consumer prices.
Small, rural, and independent carriers may struggle to meet retrofit and production timelines (e.g., the two-year compliance window) and could be disproportionately burdened without funding or transition support.
Broader statutory definitions and memorialized safety objectives expand regulatory scope and enforcement, increasing administrative burden and scrutiny for small firms, shippers, and motor carriers.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Directs DOT to require side underride guards on new trailers, semitrailers, and single‑unit trucks, plus studies, data improvements, committee action, and law‑enforcement training.
Official title: To reduce the incidence of death by underride by enhancing underride protection on trailers, semitrailers, and single unit trucks, which will result in more survivable truck crashes, to improve motor carrier, passenger motor vehicle, and Vulnerable Road User safety, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 4, 2026 by Stephen Cohen · Last progress February 4, 2026
Requires the Department of Transportation to finalize and implement binding federal safety standards that require side underride guards on new trailers, semitrailers, and single‑unit trucks, plus related rulemaking, data collection, studies, advisory committee activity, public information, and law‑enforcement training to reduce deaths and serious injuries when passenger vehicles or vulnerable road users strike or slide under large trucks. Sets concrete timelines: the Secretary must issue a final rule within 18 months, require compliance within 2 years after the rule is finalized, reconvene and expand an underride advisory committee with specified meeting/reporting rules, commission independent studies (NASEM and GAO), improve crash reporting and provide free training for state/local law enforcement, and maintain a public underride research repository updated at least quarterly.