II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 605 

To reduce the number of preventable deaths and injuries caused by underride 

crashes, to improve motor carrier and passenger motor vehicle safety, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 4, 2021 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. BURR, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. 

DUCKWORTH, Mr. KING, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mr. 

CASEY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BOOKER, and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To reduce the number of preventable deaths and injuries 

caused by underride crashes, to improve motor carrier 

and passenger motor vehicle safety, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Underrides Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) underride crashes involving passenger motor 

2 vehicles striking and traveling underneath a truck or 

3 trailer are a significant public health and safety 

4 threat; 

5 (2) the National Highway Traffic Safety Ad6 ministration has reported that hundreds of prevent7 able fatalities and life-threatening injuries have oc8 curred as a result of underride crashes; 

9 (3) the National Transportation Safety Board 

10 has recommended the installation of rear, side, and 

11 front underride guards on tractor-trailers and rear 

12 and side underride guards on single unit trucks to 

13 improve passenger motor vehicle safety; and 

14 (4) this Act is introduced in the memory of the 

15 thousands of victims of underride crashes, includ16 ing— 

17 (A) Roya Christine Sadigh, AnnaLeah 

18 Karth, Mary Lydia Karth, Roderick Cota, 

19 Moonjohn Kim, Corey Moore, Gregg Williams, 

20 Guy Champ Crawford, Carl Hall, Michael 

21 Higginbotham, Sandra Maddamma, David 

22 Mathis, Mary Katherine Mathis, James Moon23 ey, Christopher Weigl, Bill Zink, David 

24 Magnan, Jasen Swift, Samuel Sierra, Brittany 

25 McHargue, Christopher Samuel Padilla, Riley 


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1 Hein, Erin Alexander, Jordan Hensley, Edward 

2 Hall, Leslie Rosenberg, Sophie Rosenberg, Ally 

3 Davis, Matthew Simon, Alexandria Dugas, 

4 David Kent Williams, Alexander David Wolf, 

5 Audria ‘‘Audi’’ Mignon Truelove, Caitlin Renee 

6 Preston, Catherine Rosella Shore, Jeri Lynn 

7 Monette, Michael Rossi, Carl Tackett, Abigail 

8 Johnson, Harold Doug Fitch, Zac Plantz, and 

9 Matthew Burnett; 

10 (B) those whose catastrophic injuries dra11 matically changed their lives, including Julie 

12 Magnan, Nancy Meuleners, Joshua Rojas, Maiv 

13 Yang, Anita Plantage Bomgaars, Michael B. 

14 Hawkins, and Kerry Rois; and 

15 (C) those whose precious lives were cut far 

16 too short as a result of preventable underride 

17 crashes. 

18 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

19 (1) to reduce the number of preventable deaths 

20 and injuries caused by underride crashes; and 

21 (2) to improve motor carrier and passenger 

22 motor vehicle safety. 

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

24 Section 30102(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

25 amended— 


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1 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

2 striking ‘‘chapter—’’ and inserting ‘‘chapter:’’; 

3 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), (3), 

4 (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), and (13) 

5 as paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5), (7), (8), (9), (10), 

6 (11), (12), (15), (20), and (22), respectively; 

7 (3) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so re8 designated) the following: 

9 ‘‘(1) ‘comprehensive underride protection sys10 tem’ means all of the front underride guards, rear 

11 underride guards, or side underride guards, as appli12 cable, installed on a motor vehicle.’’; 

13 (4) by inserting after paragraph (5) (as so re14 designated) the following: 

15 ‘‘(6) ‘front underride guard’ means a device in16 stalled on or near the front of a motor vehicle that 

17 prevents or limits the distance that a vehicle struck 

18 by the vehicle with the device will slide under the 

19 front of the striking vehicle.’’; 

20 (5) by inserting after paragraph (12) (as so re21 designated) the following: 

22 ‘‘(13) ‘passenger motor vehicle’ has the mean23 ing given that term in section 32101. 

24 ‘‘(14) ‘rear underride guard’ means a device in25 stalled on or near the rear of a motor vehicle that 


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1 prevents or limits the distance that the front end of 

2 a vehicle striking the rear of the vehicle with the de3 vice will slide under the rear of the impacted vehi4 cle.’’; 

5 (6) by inserting after paragraph (15) (as so re6 designated) the following: 

7 ‘‘(16) ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of Trans8 portation. 

9 ‘‘(17) ‘semi-trailer’ means a trailer, other than 

10 a pole trailer, which is designed to rest upon, or be 

11 carried by, a motor vehicle. 

12 ‘‘(18) ‘side underride guard’ means a device in13 stalled on or near the side of a motor vehicle that 

14 prevents or limits the distance that the front end of 

15 a vehicle striking the side of the vehicle with the de16 vice will slide under the side of the impacted vehicle. 

17 ‘‘(19) ‘single unit truck’ means a truck (exclud18 ing any attached trailer).’’; 

19 (7) by inserting after paragraph (20) (as so re20 designated) the following: 

21 ‘‘(21) ‘trailer’ means a vehicle, with or without 

22 motive power, that is designed— 

23 ‘‘(A) to carry persons or property; and 

24 ‘‘(B) to be drawn by a motor vehicle.’’; 


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1 (8) by inserting ‘‘The term’’ after the para2 graph designation in each of paragraphs (1) through 

3 (22) (as so redesignated); and 

4 (9) in each of paragraphs (1) through (22) (as 

5 so redesignated), by inserting a paragraph heading, 

6 the text of which is comprised of the term defined 

7 in the paragraph. 

8 SEC. 4. UNDERRIDE GUARD RULEMAKING. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 301 of 

10 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

11 end the following: 

12 ‘‘§ 30129. Underride guards 

13 ‘‘(a) REAR UNDERRIDE GUARDS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

15 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 

16 shall issue a final rule to require the installation of 

17 rear underride guards that meet the performance 

18 standards described in paragraph (2) on— 

19 ‘‘(A) any trailer with a gross vehicle weight 

20 rating of 10,000 pounds or more that is manu21 factured on or after the effective date of the 

22 rule; 

23 ‘‘(B) any semi-trailer with a gross vehicle 

24 weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more that is 


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1 manufactured on or after the effective date of 

2 the rule; and 

3 ‘‘(C) any single unit truck— 

4 ‘‘(i) the bottom of the carriage of 

5 which is greater than 22 inches above the 

6 ground; 

7 ‘‘(ii) with a gross vehicle weight rating 

8 of 10,000 pounds or more; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) that is manufactured on or after 

10 the effective date of the rule. 

11 ‘‘(2) PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.—A rear 

12 underride guard shall be considered to meet the per13 formance standard referred to in paragraph (1) if 

14 the rear underride guard is able to prevent intrusion 

15 from the body or frame of a vehicle described in that 

16 paragraph into the passenger compartment of a pas17 senger motor vehicle that contacts the guard while 

18 traveling at 35 miles per hour, as verified through 

19 crash testing while attached to a trailer, after— 

20 ‘‘(A) an impact in which the passenger ve21 hicle impacts the center of the rear of the trail22 er, semi-trailer, or single unit truck; 

23 ‘‘(B) an impact in which 50 percent of the 

24 width of the passenger vehicle overlaps the rear 


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1 of the trailer, semi-trailer, or single unit truck; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(C) an impact in which 30 percent of the 

4 width of the passenger vehicle overlaps the rear 

5 of the trailer, semi-trailer, or single unit truck. 

6 ‘‘(3) COMPLIANCE DATE.—Compliance with the 

7 rule issued by the Secretary under paragraph (1) 

8 shall be required beginning 1 year after the date on 

9 which the final rule is published in the Federal Reg10 ister. 

11 ‘‘(b) SIDE UNDERRIDE GUARDS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

13 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 

14 shall issue a final rule requiring the installation of 

15 side underride guards that meet the performance 

16 standards described in paragraph (2) on— 

17 ‘‘(A) any trailer with a gross vehicle weight 

18 rating of 10,000 pounds or more that is manu19 factured on or after the effective date of the 

20 rule; 

21 ‘‘(B) any semi-trailer with a gross vehicle 

22 weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more that is 

23 manufactured on or after the effective date of 

24 the rule; and 

25 ‘‘(C) any single unit truck— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the bottom of the carriage of 

2 which is greater than 22 inches above the 

3 ground; 

4 ‘‘(ii) with a gross vehicle weight rating 

5 of 10,000 pounds or more; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) that is manufactured on or after 

7 the effective date of the rule. 

8 ‘‘(2) PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.—A side 

9 underride guard shall be considered to meet the per10 formance standards referred to in paragraph (1) if 

11 the side underride guard is able to prevent intrusion 

12 from the body or frame of a vehicle described in that 

13 paragraph into the passenger compartment of a pas14 senger motor vehicle that contacts the guard while 

15 traveling 35 miles per hour at any angle between 10 

16 degrees and 90 degrees. 

17 ‘‘(3) COMPLIANCE DATE.—Compliance with the 

18 rule issued by the Secretary under paragraph (1) 

19 shall be required beginning on the date that is 1 

20 year after the date on which the final rule is pub21 lished in the Federal Register. 

22 ‘‘(c) FRONT UNDERRIDE GUARDS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

24 after the date of enactment of this section, the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:43 Apr 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S605.IS S605

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1 retary shall issue a final rule requiring the installa2 tion of front underride guards on— 

3 ‘‘(A) any semi-truck with a gross vehicle 

4 weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more that is 

5 manufactured on or after the effective date of 

6 the rule; and 

7 ‘‘(B) any single unit truck— 

8 ‘‘(i) the bottom of the carriage of 

9 which is greater than 22 inches above the 

10 ground; 

11 ‘‘(ii) with a gross vehicle weight rating 

12 of 10,000 pounds or more; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) that is manufactured on or after 

14 the effective date of the rule. 

15 ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE DATE.—Compliance with the 

16 rule issued by the Secretary under paragraph (1) 

17 shall be required beginning on the date that is 1 

18 year after the date on which the final rule is pub19 lished in the Federal Register. 

20 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

21 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 

22 shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) complete research on equipping the 

24 vehicles described in paragraph (1) with a front 


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1 underride guard to prevent trucks from over2 riding the passenger vehicle; and 

3 ‘‘(B) submit to the Committee on Com4 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen5 ate and the Committees on Transportation and 

6 Infrastructure and Energy and Commerce of 

7 the House of Representatives a report on the 

8 research described in subparagraph (A). 

9 ‘‘(d) INSPECTION AND REPAIR REQUIREMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) POST-ACCIDENT INSPECTIONS.—To ensure 

11 that all trailers, semi-trailers, and single unit trucks 

12 are maintained in safe and proper operating condi13 tion at all times, the Secretary shall require that any 

14 trailer, semi-trailer, or single unit truck involved in 

15 an accident (as defined in section 390.5 of title 49, 

16 Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regula17 tion)) undergo and pass an inspection described in 

18 appendix G to subchapter B of chapter III of title 

19 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regu20 lations), to certify that all components of the trailer, 

21 semi-trailer, or single unit truck, as applicable, are 

22 in safe and proper operating condition. 

23 ‘‘(2) PRE-TRIP INSPECTIONS.—The Secretary 

24 shall require drivers— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to conduct a pre-trip inspection of the 

2 comprehensive underride protection system re3 quired under this section on their trailer, semi4 trailer, or single unit truck— 

5 ‘‘(i) to identify— 

6 ‘‘(I) any metal perforated by rust 

7 or corrosion that compromises struc8 tural integrity; 

9 ‘‘(II) cracked welds; 

10 ‘‘(III) cracked or fractured 

11 vertical members; 

12 ‘‘(IV) cuts and tears in any 

13 underride guard; and 

14 ‘‘(V) missing fasteners and loose 

15 fasteners; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) to ensure the dimensional integ17 rity of those guards; 

18 ‘‘(B) to include the results of the inspec19 tion described in subparagraph (A) in the driver 

20 vehicle inspection report; and 

21 ‘‘(C) to complete any necessary repairs to, 

22 or replacement of, the underride protection sys23 tem before the vehicle is operated.’’. 

24 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis 

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1 ed by striking the item relating to section 30128 and in2 serting the following: 

‘‘30128. Vehicle rollover prevention and crash mitigation. 

‘‘30129. Underride guards.’’. 

3 (c) RULEMAKINGS.—The Secretary of Transpor4 tation shall amend— 

5 (1) sections 396.11 and 396.13 of title 49, 

6 Code of Federal Regulations, in accordance with sec7 tion 30129(d)(2) of title 49, United States Code (as 

8 added by subsection (a)); 

9 (2) section 396.17 of title 49, Code of Federal 

10 Regulations, to include a requirement that motor 

11 carriers and intermodal equipment providers include 

12 an inspection of the comprehensive underride protec13 tion system (as defined in section 30102(a) of title 

14 49, United States Code) of the commercial motor ve15 hicle in a periodic inspection required under section 

16 396.17 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations; 

17 (3) section 392.7 of title 49, Code of Federal 

18 Regulations, to include the comprehensive underride 

19 protection system (as defined in section 30102(a) of 

20 title 49, United States Code) in the list of parts and 

21 accessories and components required to be in good 

22 working order under each of subsections (a) and (b) 

23 of section 392.7 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula24 tions; and 


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1 (4) appendix G to subchapter B of chapter III 

2 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations— 

3 (A) by redesignating paragraphs 6 (relat4 ing to safe loading) through 14 (relating to mo5 torcoach seats) as paragraphs 7 through 15, re6 spectively; and 

7 (B) by inserting after paragraph 5 (relat8 ing to lighting devices) the following: 

9 ‘‘6. REAR IMPACT GUARDS AND REAR END PRO10 TECTION.—Any trailer or semitrailer required under 

11 section 393.86 to be equipped with a rear impact 

12 guard or rear end protection— 

13 ‘‘(A) that does not meet the requirements 

14 under section 393.86; 

15 ‘‘(B) that— 

16 ‘‘(i) is missing; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) has— 

18 ‘‘(I) any metal perforated by rust 

19 or corrosion that compromises struc20 tural integrity; 

21 ‘‘(II) a cracked weld; 

22 ‘‘(III) a cracked or fractured 

23 vertical member; 

24 ‘‘(IV) a cut or tear in any 

25 underride guard component; or 


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1 ‘‘(V) a missing fastener or a 

2 loose fastener; or 

3 ‘‘(C) for which the dimensional integrity of 

4 the guard or protection is compromised.’’. 

5 SEC. 5. RESEARCH AND PERIODIC REVIEW OF UNDERRIDE 

6 GUARD STANDARDS. 

7 (a) REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.—As soon as prac8 ticable, the Secretary of Transportation (referred to in 

9 this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall issue a Request for 

10 Proposals for the design of 2 high-capacity rear underride 

11 barrier prototypes of a generic guard (with energy absorp12 tion and without energy absorption) to prevent underride 

13 crashes and protect motor vehicle passengers against se14 vere injury at crash speeds of up to 65 miles per hour. 

15 (b) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall— 

16 (1) evaluate the proposals received in response 

17 to the Request for Proposals issued pursuant to sub18 section (a); and 

19 (2) update the underride guard standards 

20 under section 30129 of title 49, United States Code 

21 (as added by section 4(a)), as appropriate, to pro22 vide the best underride protection that is techno23 logically feasible. 

24 (c) PERIODIC REVIEWS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—At such times as the Sec2 retary determines to be appropriate, the Secretary 

3 may— 

4 (A) conduct a review of underride guard 

5 standards to evaluate the need for changes in 

6 response to advancements in technology; and 

7 (B) upgrade the standards accordingly. 

8 (2) REPORT.—After each review conducted 

9 under this subsection, the Secretary shall submit to 

10 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans11 portation of the Senate and the Committees on 

12 Transportation and Infrastructure and Energy and 

13 Commerce of the House of Representatives a report 

14 on the results of the review. 

15 SEC. 6. COMMITTEE ON UNDERRIDE PROTECTION. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Transpor17 tation shall establish the Committee on Underride Protec18 tion (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Committee’’) to 

19 monitor the ongoing underride rulemaking process. 

20 (b) REPRESENTATION.—The Committee shall be 

21 composed of— 

22 (1) 1 representative of truck manufacturers; 

23 (2) 1 representative of trailer manufacturers; 

24 (3) 1 roadside inspector; 


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1 (4) 1 motor vehicle engineer, who shall be a 

2 technician who works on motor vehicle safety im3 provements; 

4 (5) 1 motor vehicle crash reconstructionist; 

5 (6) 2 representatives of consumer-oriented traf6 fic safety organizations; 

7 (7) 1 representative of the truck and auto in8 surance industry; 

9 (8) 1 law enforcement crash investigator; 

10 (9) 1 emergency medical service provider; 

11 (10) 1 public health or injury prevention profes12 sional; and 

13 (11) at least 4 people whose families have been 

14 impacted by an underride crash. 

15 (c) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall meet— 

16 (1) until the final rules have been issued pursu17 ant to section 30129 of title 49, United States Code 

18 (as added by section 4(a))— 

19 (A) monthly, via conference call; and 

20 (B) quarterly, in person, at the Depart21 ment of Transportation headquarters; and 

22 (2) subsequent to the issuance of the final rules 

23 described in paragraph (1), annually, at the Depart24 ment of Transportation headquarters, to assess the 

25 status of underride crash protection. 


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1 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Committee shall submit 

2 an annual report to the appropriate congressional commit3 tees that describes the progress made by the Secretary of 

4 Transportation in meeting the rulemaking deadlines set 

5 forth in section 30129 of title 49, United States Code (as 

6 added by section 4(a)). 

7 SEC. 7. PUBLICATION OF VICTIMS OF TRUCK UNDERRIDE 

8 CRASHES. 

9 The Secretary of Transportation shall— 

10 (1) publish data on victims of truck underride 

11 crashes on a publicly accessible website; and 

12 (2) update the data described in paragraph (1) 

13 not less frequently than quarterly. 

Æ 


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