Today, Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN-9), a senior member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) are leading their colleagues in a bicameral letter expressing their serious concerns regarding the final rule on rear underride protection recently issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on June 30th. Last year, several provisions of Senator Gillibrand’s and Congressman Cohen’s Stop Underrides Act were included in the bipartisan infrastructure bill, including a requirement that NHTSA complete rulemaking to improve the protections for drivers and passengers in the event of an underride crash, which occurs when a car slides under a large truck, such as a semi-trailer, during an accident. Instead of strengthening requirements, the new NHTSA rule undermines current industry standards. In light of these concerns, Senator Gillibrand, Congressman Cohen, and their colleagues are requesting further explanation from NHTSA regarding the final rule, as well as additional insights into NHTSA’s approach to underride protection going forward.
“While we were hopeful when initially notified about the final underrides rule, we were extremely disappointed to see that it functionally lowers the bar for truck safety in the United States,” said the lawmakers. “Instead of meaningfully raising the standards that transportation and logistics companies must meet, the rule merely comports the standards to general industry practice. Deaths caused by underride crashes are preventable, and we remain committed to working with NHTSA to clarify and enhance safety standards to help prevent future tragedies.”
When an underride accident happens, a car’s safety features are rendered useless because most of the car slides under the trailer and the trailer undercarriage crashes straight through the windows and into the passengers. The passengers in the car often suffer severe head and neck injuries, including decapitation. These accidents are frequently fatal, even at low speeds. Each year, hundreds of people are killed in underride accidents, but this data is estimated to be undercounted due to differences in local police reporting.
Original source can be found here.
