I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1622 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 8, 2021 

Mr. COHEN (for himself, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. CARSON, Mr. 

PAYNE, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. TITUS, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. 

GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. PRICE of North 

Carolina, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. CARBAJAL, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. 

KEATING, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. MENG, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. CHU, and Mr. NADLER) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

3 (1) underride crashes involving passenger motor 

4 vehicles striking and traveling underneath a truck or 

5 trailer are a significant public health and safety 

6 threat; 

7 (2) the National Highway Traffic Safety Ad8 ministration has reported that hundreds of prevent9 able fatalities and life-threatening injuries have oc10 curred as a result of underride crashes; 

11 (3) the National Transportation Safety Board 

12 has recommended the installation of rear, side, and 

13 front underride guards on tractor-trailers and rear 

14 and side underride guards on single unit trucks to 

15 improve passenger motor vehicle safety; and 

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

17 thousands of victims of underride crashes, includ18 ing— 

19 (A) Roya Christine Sadigh, AnnaLeah 

20 Karth, Mary Lydia Karth, Roderick Cota, 

21 Moonjohn Kim, Corey Moore, Gregg Williams, 

22 Guy Champ Crawford, Carl Hall, Michael 

23 Higginbotham, Sandra Maddamma, David 

24 Mathis, Mary Katherine Mathis, James Moon25 ey, Christopher Weigl, Bill Zink, David 

26 Magnan, Jasen Swift, Samuel Sierra, Brittany 


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1 McHargue, Christopher Samuel Padilla, Riley 

2 Hein, Erin Alexander, Jordan Hensley, Edward 

3 Hall, Leslie Rosenberg, Sophie Rosenberg, and 

4 Ally Davis; 

5 (B) those whose catastrophic injuries dra6 matically changed their lives, including Julie 

7 Magnan, Nancy Meuleners, Joshua Rojas, Maiv 

8 Yang, Anita Plantage Bomgaars, and Michael 

9 B. Hawkins; and 

10 (C) those whose precious lives were cut far 

11 too short as a result of preventable underride 

12 crashes. 

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

14 (1) to reduce the number of preventable deaths 

15 and injuries caused by underride crashes; and 

16 (2) to improve motor carrier and passenger 

17 motor vehicle safety. 

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

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

20 amended— 

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

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

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

24 (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), and (13) 


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

2 (11), (12), (15), (20), and (22), respectively; 

3 (3) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so re4 designated) the following: 

5 ‘‘(1) ‘comprehensive underride protection sys6 tem’ means all of the front underride guards, rear 

7 underride guards, or side underride guards, as appli8 cable, installed on a motor vehicle.’’; 

9 (4) by inserting after paragraph (5) (as so re10 designated) the following: 

11 ‘‘(6) ‘front underride guard’ means a device in12 stalled on or near the front of a motor vehicle that 

13 prevents or limits the distance that a vehicle struck 

14 by the vehicle with the device will slide under the 

15 front of the striking vehicle.’’; 

16 (5) by inserting after paragraph (12) (as so re17 designated) the following: 

18 ‘‘(13) ‘passenger motor vehicle’ has the mean19 ing given that term in section 32101. 

20 ‘‘(14) ‘rear underride guard’ means a device in21 stalled on or near the rear of a motor vehicle that 

22 prevents or limits the distance that the front end of 

23 a vehicle striking the rear of the vehicle with the de24 vice will slide under the rear of the impacted vehi25 cle.’’; 


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1 (6) by inserting after paragraph (15) (as so re2 designated) the following: 

3 ‘‘(16) ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of Trans4 portation. 

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

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

7 carried by, a motor vehicle. 

8 ‘‘(18) ‘side underride guard’ means a device in9 stalled on or near the side of a motor vehicle that 

10 prevents or limits the distance that the front end of 

11 a vehicle striking the side of the vehicle with the de12 vice will slide under the side of the impacted vehicle. 

13 ‘‘(19) ‘single unit truck’ means a truck (exclud14 ing any attached trailer).’’; 

15 (7) by inserting after paragraph (20) (as so re16 designated) the following: 

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

18 motive power, that is designed— 

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

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

21 (8) by inserting ‘‘The term’’ after the para22 graph designation in each of paragraphs (1) through 

23 (22) (as so redesignated); and 

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

25 so redesignated), by inserting a paragraph heading, 


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1 the text of which is comprised of the term defined 

2 in the paragraph. 

3 SEC. 4. UNDERRIDE GUARD RULEMAKING. 

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

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

6 end the following: 

7 ‘‘§ 30129. Underride guards 

8 ‘‘(a) REAR UNDERRIDE GUARDS.— 

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

10 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 

11 shall issue a final rule to require the installation of 

12 rear underride guards that meet the performance 

13 standards described in paragraph (2) on— 

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

15 rating of 10,000 pounds or more that is manu16 factured on or after the effective date of the 

17 rule; 

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

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

20 manufactured on or after the effective date of 

21 the rule; and 

22 ‘‘(C) any single unit truck— 

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

24 which is greater than 22 inches above the 

25 ground; 


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

2 of 10,000 pounds or more; and 

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

4 the effective date of the rule. 

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

6 underride guard shall be considered to meet the per7 formance standard referred to in paragraph (1) if 

8 the rear underride guard is able to prevent intrusion 

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

10 paragraph into the passenger compartment of a pas11 senger motor vehicle that contacts the guard while 

12 traveling at 35 miles per hour, as verified through 

13 crash testing while attached to a trailer, after— 

14 ‘‘(A) an impact in which the passenger ve15 hicle impacts the center of the rear of the trail16 er, semi-trailer, or single unit truck; 

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

18 width of the passenger vehicle overlaps the rear 

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

20 and 

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

22 width of the passenger vehicle overlaps the rear 

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

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

25 rule issued by the Secretary under paragraph (1) 


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1 shall be required beginning 1 year after the date on 

2 which the final rule is published in the Federal Reg3 ister. 

4 ‘‘(b) SIDE UNDERRIDE GUARDS.— 

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

6 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 

7 shall issue a final rule requiring the installation of 

8 side underride guards that meet the performance 

9 standards described in paragraph (2) on— 

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

11 rating of 10,000 pounds or more that is manu12 factured on or after the effective date of the 

13 rule; 

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

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

16 manufactured on or after the effective date of 

17 the rule; and 

18 ‘‘(C) any single unit truck— 

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

20 which is greater than 22 inches above the 

21 ground; 

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

23 of 10,000 pounds or more; and 

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

25 the effective date of the rule. 


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

2 underride guard shall be considered to meet the per3 formance standards referred to in paragraph (1) if 

4 the side underride guard is able to prevent intrusion 

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

6 paragraph into the passenger compartment of a pas7 senger motor vehicle that contacts the guard while 

8 traveling 35 miles per hour at any angle between 10 

9 degrees and 90 degrees. 

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

11 rule issued by the Secretary under paragraph (1) 

12 shall be required beginning on the date that is 1 

13 year after the date on which the final rule is pub14 lished in the Federal Register. 

15 ‘‘(c) FRONT UNDERRIDE GUARDS.— 

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

17 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec18 retary shall issue a final rule requiring the installa19 tion of front underride guards on— 

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

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

22 manufactured on or after the effective date of 

23 the rule; and 

24 ‘‘(B) 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) COMPLIANCE DATE.—Compliance with the 

9 rule issued by the Secretary under paragraph (1) 

10 shall be required beginning on the date that is 1 

11 year after the date on which the final rule is pub12 lished in the Federal Register. 

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

14 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 

15 shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) complete research on equipping the 

17 vehicles described in paragraph (1) with a front 

18 underride guard to prevent trucks from over19 riding the passenger vehicle; and 

20 ‘‘(B) submit to the Committee on Com21 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen22 ate and the Committees on Transportation and 

23 Infrastructure and Energy and Commerce of 

24 the House of Representatives a report on the 

25 research described in subparagraph (A). 


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

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

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

4 are maintained in safe and proper operating condi5 tion at all times, the Secretary shall require that any 

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

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

8 Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regula9 tion)) undergo and pass an inspection described in 

10 appendix G to subchapter B of chapter III of title 

11 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regu12 lations), to certify that all components of the trailer, 

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

14 in safe and proper operating condition. 

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

16 shall require drivers— 

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

18 comprehensive underride protection system re19 quired under this section on their trailer, semi20 trailer, or single unit truck— 

21 ‘‘(i) to identify— 

22 ‘‘(I) any metal perforated by rust 

23 or corrosion that compromises struc24 tural integrity; 

25 ‘‘(II) cracked welds; 


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1 ‘‘(III) cracked or fractured 

2 vertical members; 

3 ‘‘(IV) cuts and tears in any 

4 underride guard; and 

5 ‘‘(V) missing fasteners and loose 

6 fasteners; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) to ensure the dimensional integ8 rity of those guards; 

9 ‘‘(B) to include the results of the inspec10 tion described in subparagraph (A) in the driver 

11 vehicle inspection report; and 

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

13 or replacement of, the underride protection sys14 tem before the vehicle is operated.’’. 

15 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis 

16 for chapter 301 of title 49, United States Code, is amend17 ed by striking the item relating to section 30128 and in18 serting the following: 

‘‘30128. Vehicle rollover prevention and crash mitigation. 

‘‘30129. Underride guards.’’. 

19 (c) RULEMAKINGS.—The Secretary of Transpor20 tation shall amend— 

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

22 Code of Federal Regulations, in accordance with sec23 tion 30129(d)(2) of title 49, United States Code (as 

24 added by subsection (a)); 


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

2 Regulations, to include a requirement that motor 

3 carriers and intermodal equipment providers include 

4 an inspection of the comprehensive underride protec5 tion system (as defined in section 30102(a) of title 

6 49, United States Code) of the commercial motor ve7 hicle in a periodic inspection required under section 

8 396.17 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations; 

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

10 Regulations, to include the comprehensive underride 

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

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

13 accessories and components required to be in good 

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

15 of section 392.7 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula16 tions; and 

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

18 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations— 

19 (A) by redesignating paragraphs 6 (relat20 ing to safe loading) through 14 (relating to mo21 torcoach seats) as paragraphs 7 through 15, re22 spectively; and 

23 (B) by inserting after paragraph 5 (relat24 ing to lighting devices) the following: 


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1 ‘‘6. REAR IMPACT GUARDS AND REAR END PRO2 TECTION.—Any trailer or semitrailer required under 

3 section 393.86 to be equipped with a rear impact 

4 guard or rear end protection— 

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

6 under section 393.86; 

7 ‘‘(B) that— 

8 ‘‘(i) is missing; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) has— 

10 ‘‘(I) any metal perforated by rust 

11 or corrosion that compromises struc12 tural integrity; 

13 ‘‘(II) a cracked weld; 

14 ‘‘(III) a cracked or fractured 

15 vertical member; 

16 ‘‘(IV) a cut or tear in any 

17 underride guard component; or 

18 ‘‘(V) a missing fastener or a 

19 loose fastener; or 

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

21 the guard or protection is compromised.’’. 

22 SEC. 5. RESEARCH AND PERIODIC REVIEW OF UNDERRIDE 

23 GUARD STANDARDS. 

24 (a) REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.—As soon as prac25 ticable, the Secretary of Transportation (referred to in 


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

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

3 barrier prototypes of a generic guard (with energy absorp4 tion and without energy absorption) to prevent underride 

5 crashes and protect motor vehicle passengers against se6 vere injury at crash speeds of up to 65 miles per hour. 

7 (b) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall— 

8 (1) evaluate the proposals received in response 

9 to the Request for Proposals issued pursuant to sub10 section (a); and 

11 (2) update the underride guard standards 

12 under section 30129 of title 49, United States Code 

13 (as added by section 4(a)), as appropriate, to pro14 vide the best underride protection that is techno15 logically feasible. 

16 (c) PERIODIC REVIEWS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years after 

18 the underride guard standards are updated pursuant 

19 to subsection (b)(2), and every 5 years thereafter, 

20 the Secretary shall— 

21 (A) conduct a review of underride guard 

22 standards to evaluate the need for changes in 

23 response to advancements in technology; and 

24 (B) update the standards accordingly. 


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1 (2) REPORT.—After each review conducted 

2 under this section, the Secretary shall submit to the 

3 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor4 tation of the Senate and the Committees on Trans5 portation and Infrastructure and Energy and Com6 merce of the House of Representatives a report on 

7 the results of the review. 

8 SEC. 6. COMMITTEE ON UNDERRIDE PROTECTION. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Transpor10 tation shall establish the Committee on Underride Protec11 tion (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Committee’’) to 

12 oversee the ongoing underride rulemaking process. 

13 (b) REPRESENTATION.—The Committee shall be 

14 composed of— 

15 (1) 1 representative of truck manufacturers; 

16 (2) 1 representative of trailer manufacturers; 

17 (3) 1 roadside inspector; 

18 (4) 1 motor vehicle engineer, who shall be a 

19 technician who works on motor vehicle safety im20 provements; 

21 (5) 1 motor vehicle crash reconstructionist; 

22 (6) 2 representatives of consumer-oriented traf23 fic safety organizations; 

24 (7) 1 representative of the truck and auto in25 surance industry; 


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1 (8) 1 law enforcement crash investigator; 

2 (9) 1 emergency medical service provider; 

3 (10) 1 public health or injury prevention profes4 sional; and 

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

6 impacted by an underride crash. 

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

8 (1) until the final rules have been issued pursu9 ant to section 30129 of title 49, United States Code 

10 (as added by section 4(a))— 

11 (A) monthly, via conference call; and 

12 (B) quarterly, in person, at the Depart13 ment of Transportation headquarters; and 

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

15 described in paragraph (1), annually, at the Depart16 ment of Transportation headquarters, to assess the 

17 status of underride crash protection. 

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

19 an annual report to the appropriate congressional commit20 tees that describes the progress made by the Secretary of 

21 Transportation in meeting the rulemaking deadlines set 

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

23 added by section 4(a)). 


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1 SEC. 7. PUBLICATION OF VICTIMS OF TRUCK UNDERRIDE 

2 CRASHES. 

3 The Secretary of Transportation shall— 

4 (1) publish data on victims of truck underride 

5 crashes on a publicly accessible website; and 

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

7 not less frequently than quarterly. 

Æ 


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