Given the task definition and input, reply with output. In this task, you are given text for US Congressional and California state bills, your task is to generate a summary for this bill.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ''Safer Truck Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds the following:
(1) Heavy trucks carrying up to 20 metric tons of cargo on
the National Highway System are not equipped with modern safety
features presently found on cars. These features include disc
brakes, crash absorbent bumpers and body panels, sway bars,
roll bars, and underride beams. Under current law, truckers who
choose to equip their vehicles with such safety features risk
fines and other penalties for violating Federal weight and
width restrictions even when the amount of cargo carried is not
more than the amount customarily carried on trucks lacking such
safety features.
(2) Trucking is the deadliest industry in the United
States. One in every 7 Americans killed on the job is a trucker
(approximately 800 of the 5900 workplace deaths in 2001). 704
truckers were killed in truck crashes alone in 2001, along with
4,378 motorists and pedestrians--more than 5,000 preventable
deaths. Of the 130,000 people injured by commercial trucks in
2001, 29,000 were truckers. Over 150,000 people, including more
than 25,000 truckers, have been killed in preventable large-
truck crashes since the end of the Vietnam War along with more
than 3,000,000 injured. Many of these deaths can be prevented
in the future by exempting safety features from truck weight
and width restrictions and regulating only the weight of truck
cargo rather than the overall weight of the truck.
(3) New intermodal technologies have emerged that promise
to replace dangerous and inefficient long-haul trucks with
safer, more efficient short-haul trucks that will utilize road,
sea, rail, and inland waterways transportation to substantially
reduce the Nation's dependence on foreign oil and lower the
cost of food and other goods--especially for State run welfare
programs. Under current law, States are required to impose
unreasonable burdens on such intermodal trucks, such as
requiring special permits and escort vehicles which are not
required for larger, more dangerous trucks, or risk the cut off
of Federal highway funds. While some modification to roads and
bridges may be necessary to accommodate safer short-haul
intermodal trucks, the cost is insignificant compared to the
savings that will accrue from reducing the excessive wear and
tear on the National Highway System caused by obsolete long-
haul trucks and their associated high rate of death and injury.

SEC. 3. VEHICLE WEIGHT LIMITATIONS.

Section 127 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following:
''(h) Exception.--
''(1) In general.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), a State
may allow a single unit truck or bus without a trailer to carry
up to 20 metric tons or 44,080 pounds of cargo, packaging, and
load securement materials regardless of the overall weight of
the vehicle, its axle weights, or the weight of its safety and
energy conservation devices if the cargo is evenly distributed
in a compartment or combined compartments at least 40 feet
long, the overall height of the vehicle and cargo does not
exceed the width of the wheelbase, the axles are positioned at
the extreme ends of the vehicle, the gross weight and certified
empty weight of the vehicle (including detachable cargo
compartments) are marked conspicuously on the front of the
vehicle in contrasting 3-inch or taller letters and numbers.
''(2) Calculation of gross weight.--For purposes of this
subsection, the gross weight shall be calculated by adding 20
metric tons or 44,080 pounds to the empty weight.''.

SEC. 4. VEHICLE WIDTH LIMITATIONS.

Section 31113(b) of title 49, United States Code, is amended to
read as follows:
''(b) Exclusion of Safety and Energy Conservation Devices.--
''(1) Energy conservation devices.--Width calculated under
this section does not include an energy conservation device the
Secretary decides is necessary for safe and efficient operation
of a commercial motor vehicle.
''(2) Safety devices.--
''(A) In general.--A safety device that reduces the
possibility of death and injury shall not be included
in the calculation of width for purposes of this
section if such device fits entirely within the legal
travel lanes of all roads upon which the vehicle
operates.
''(B) Safety device defined.--In this subsection,
the term 'safety device' includes mirrors, grabhandles,
steps, rearview video cameras, crash absorbent bumpers
and body panels, batteries for regenerative braking,
wheels, tires, structural members, and drivetrain
components positioned to enhance vehicle stability.''.
Safer Truck Act - Amends Federal highway law to authorize a State to allow a single unit truck or bus without a trailer to operate on the Interstate System while carrying up to 20 metric tons (44,080 pounds) of cargo, packaging, and load securement materials regardless of the overall weight of the vehicle, its axle weights, or weight of its safety and energy conservation devices if: (1) the cargo is evenly distributed in a compartment or combined compartments at least 40 feet long; (2) the overall height of the vehicle and cargo does not exceed the width of the wheelbase; (3) the axles are positioned at the extreme ends of the vehicle; and (4) the gross weight and certified empty weight of the vehicle (including detachable cargo compartments) are marked conspicuously on the front of the vehicle in contrasting three-inch or taller letters and numbers.Amends Federal transportation law to revise certain commercial motor vehicle width limitations on vehicles operating on the Interstate System and on Federal-aid highways to exclude from width calculations with respect to such limitations any safety devices that reduce the possibility of death and injury, if such devices fit entirely within the legal travel lanes of all roads upon which the vehicle operates.