Have you lost someone close to you, or in your community, because of a truck crash? Hundreds of people die every year when pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and occupants of passenger vehicles go under trucks.
It can happen to anyone — even if their car has a 5-Star Safety Rating — like it has happened to tens of thousands of Americans including my daughters, AnnaLeah (17) and Mary (13). It can happen to you.
Join a STOP Underrides National Town Hall via Zoom on April 15 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. You will be able to tell your U.S. Senators and Representative that you want them to pass the STOP Underrides Act of 2026. This bill will make strong underride guards mandatory so that truck crashes become more SURVIVABLE .
Your voice at this unique advocacy gathering can help us get this long-overdue legislation across the finish line. Please answer the questions below. We’d love to have you join TEAM Underride in this way.
Ask your Members of Congress to participate, and multiply your voice by telling others about this opportunity.
STOP Underrides National Zoom Town Hall SAVE THE DATE – FRONT & BACK
STOP Underrides Bill Re-Introduced In Senate & House
On February 4, 2026, U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and U.S. Representatives Steve Cohen (D-TN-9), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA-10), and Deborah Ross (D-NC-2) introduced legislation to help prevent deadly truck underride crashes.
Legislation was introduced in 2017, 2019, and 2021. Underride provisions were included in the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. The 2026 Stop Underrides Act 2.0 would expand on current restrictions by instructing rulemaking to require side underride guards on new trucks, improving data collection, and directing additional research on underride crashes. Specifically, this bill would:
Require the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to finalize rulemaking requiring side underride guards on commercial trucks.
Restart the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Advisory Committee on Underride Protection, to provide recommendations for how to reduce underride crashes and severe injuries and fatalities caused by underrides.
Require the DOT to publish a website making underrides research accessible to researchers, industry, and advocates.
Instruct the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study on the prevalence of underride incidents, including those involving the fronts of large trucks.
Instruct NHTSA to create free, on-demand web-based training for state and local law enforcement to better identify and document underride crashes.
Instruct the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study of the implementation of NHTSA’s 2022 rear underride rule and provide suggestions to better improve the rule.
Instruct NHTSA to review its Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and correct crashes in the database that should have been classified as an underride but were not — including Vulnerable Road Users, i.e., pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists.
The House bill is H.R. 7354. Its companion bill in the Senate is S. 3775. You can read the full bill text here.
“Truck underride guards are one of the best and easiest solutions for protecting passengers during collisions with large trucks,” said Senator Gillibrand. “The Stop Underrides Act 2.0 is commonsense legislation that will protect passengers and make our roads safer. I look forward to working across the aisle to get this passed.”
“I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing life-saving legislation to make our roads safer,” said Senator Luján.“The Stop Underrides Act will help prevent deadly underride crashes and protect families from tragic, preventable loss. I’m grateful for Senator Gillibrand’s leadership on this important issue, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to get this bill signed into law.”
“The Stop Underrides Act 2.0 would help prevent these terrible and too-often fatal truck-trailer accidents by ensuring that cars can no longer slide underneath trucks,” said Representative Cohen. “In introducing this legislation, I’m reminded of my constituents Randy and Laurie Higginbotham who lost their son in an underride crash in Memphis in 2014. The Stop Underrides Act 2.0 builds on important progress made in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and will save lives by helping to end these fatal crashes.”
“With truck underride collisions claiming the lives of at least 300 people per year, the time to act on reforms is now. Small changes will make a big difference, and we cannot leave any room for error,”said Congressman DeSaulnier. “I am proud to join my colleagues in advancing this bill to put an end to these avoidable tragedies.”
“Requiring trucks to have underride guards is a simple way to prevent hundreds of deaths on our roads,” said Congresswoman Ross.“These guards are a proven, effective safety measure that will reduce underride crashes as well as severe injuries and fatalities caused by underrides. I have heard directly from families in my district about the lives this improvement could save. I’m proud to introduce legislation that will prevent vehicle fatalities and make our roads safer for drivers in North Carolina and across the country.”
We had the opportunity to discuss underride with our representative, Congresswoman Ross, during a 2025 Town Hall. We appreciate her responsiveness and her support of this important legislation.
In the Senate, the Stop Underrides Act 2.0 is cosponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). This bill is supported by the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, America Walks, AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety, Cascade Bicycle Club, Casey Feldman Foundation, Center for Auto Safety, EndDistractedDriving.org, Families for Safe Streets, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, League of American Bicyclists, Institute for Safer Trucking, Kids and Car Safety, Ride Illinois, Ride of Silence, Road Safe America, Sylvia Bingham Fund, Safe Routes Partnership, Stop Underrides, and Truck Safety Coalition.
In an effort to address long-standing complaints from the trucking industry that underride protection equipment adds weight and increases fuel costs, the new bill includes a performance standard whereby any new side underride guards must “contribute to fuel efficiency through the integration of aerodynamic design or components furthering fuel efficiency.” The provision is aimed at offsetting the operational costs of the guards by essentially requiring them to function as side skirts. Legislation would require crash protection on new trucks
However, in his description of the new bill, he also mentions that prior versions included a retrofit requirement which is not in the 2026 legislation. While it is true that previous versions of the bill, in 2017 and 2019, contained a retrofit requirement, we decided to remove that provision in the 2021 re-introduction of the STOP Underrides Bill. We did that not because we no longer thought it beneficial for the saving of lives but in order to garner broader Republican support.
Thankfully, we already had the support of Senator Marco Rubio, who had co-led underride legislation with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand since it was first introduced in 2017:
“Hundreds of individuals across the nation are lost to underride collisions every year, with Florida unfortunately ranking among the top states for reported fatalities,” Rubio said. “As a parent with kids of driving age, I look forward to working in a bipartisan fashion to advance efforts to make our roads safer.” Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Marco Rubio introduce bill to prevent truck underride deaths
In fact, we had been in discussions with Senator Richard Burr and with his staff over the years and in 2021 knew that he would become an original cosponsor if we removed the retrofit requirement.
You see, he wasn’t shortsighted; he saw the big picture. He knew that strong underride regulations would be a Win/Win situation—good for victims of truck crashes because they would have a better chance of surviving but also good for business when all relevant factors are taken into account. Although Senator Burr has retired and can no longer support this legislation, I hope that his former colleagues will see the light and follow in his footsteps.
Likewise, we’ve had conversations with Republican staff of the House T&I Committee and Senate Commerce Committee, as well as many other Republican legislators, including Senator John Thune (former Chair of the Commerce Committee), Senator Ted Cruz (current Chair of the Commerce Committee), and Senator Todd Young, who represents Indiana where three trailer manufacturers are headquartered. One of them, Wabash Trailers, proudly announced their improved rear underride guard in 2016 and showcased their side guard prototype at a trucking conference in 2017 — although they are, regrettably, not installing them on their trailers at this time.
Since we no longer have Senators Rubio and Burr to champion underride protection, I would be beyond delighted if these sitting Senators would choose to lead the way in strong Republican support of this common-sense legislation.
Petition for NHTSA To Recall Semitrailers Due To Lack Of Side Underride Guards
On September 14, 2021, a petition was submitted to NHTSA to investigate and recall semitrailers due to the lack of side underride guards which would prevent catastrophic injuries and deaths.
Dear Secretary Buttigieg:
In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 30162 and 49 C.F.R § 552.1, please find our petition to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to promptly initiate a safety defect investigation into van-type or box semitrailers because of a known safety hazard and defect from collisions with passenger vehicles and other vulnerable road users (pedestrians, bicyclists, or motorcyclists) resulting in death and significant injuries due to a lack of side underride guards. This investigation will clearly demonstrate that NHTSA should issue a recall order pursuant to 49 U.S.C. §§ 30118(b), 30119, and 30120 for all van-type and box semitrailers that lack side underride guards.
Respectfully,
Eric Hein, Jerry & Marianne Karth, and Lois Durso
We welcome letters of support to reinforce the importance of this vital recall.
On a Friday afternoon — February 26, 2021 — over 50 people met via Zoom to discuss comprehensive underride protection. The purpose of the meeting was to report on progress which has been made by several subcommittees since an earlier meeting in 2020 — including Industry Engagement, Research, and Engineering Subcommittees.
The goal of the Underride Engineering Subcommittee — to which trailer manufacturers were invited — was to create a Consensus Side Guard Standard which would provide additional insight for the development of a side guard regulation. Lengthy conversation and exchange of information has led this group to submit the following recommendation:
A side underride guard shall be considered to meet the performance standard if it is able to provide vehicle crash compatibility with a midsize car, to prevent intrusion into the occupant survival space, when it is struck at any location, at any angle, and at any speed up to and including 40 mph.
The Task Force went so far as to suggest that the Truck Trailers Manufacturers Association (TTMA) discuss the Consensus Side Guard Standard at their upcoming annual meeting in San Antonio, April 7-10, 2021. We encouraged them to come together in a Joint Agreement to adopt or improve the Consensus Side Guard Standard, as an association, and fast track the manufacturing of side guards by their 80th Anniversary in 2022.
Accept the standard; build a guard.
IIHS successful 40 mph AngelWing side guard crash test, 8/29/17
Zoom Video Recording of the Side Guard Task Force Meeting on February 26, 2021 NOTE: The meeting begins at around 7:00 minutes into the video.
Sean O’Malley, Senior Test Coordinator at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), gave a presentation at the Side Guard Task Force. He stated that, “Everything we do here, we do to save lives. I wasn’t kidding when I said the rear underride program (ToughGuard) is what I’m most proud of. ” Trailer manufacturers responded to the IIHS creation of a safety marketplace for improved rear underride guards by working to meet the TOUGHGuardAward level of protection at the rear of tractor-trailers. Why then would they not do the same to meet the Consensus Side Guard Standard of protection at the sides of tractor-trailers — particularly since the IIHS supports it with their 40 m.p.h. test?
Underride is underride no matter with what part of the truck you collide — because the bottom of large trucks sit up higher from the ground than the bumpers of passenger vehicles. All the way around.
So now what do we do? Will we wait another 100 years? How many more lives have to be sacrificed?
This compelling video will show you why Death By Underride, though unnatural & preventable, still continues.
Trucking companies could demand trailers with side underride guards. Trailer manufacturers could supply trailers with side underride guards. Or the government could mandate side underride guards — ideally with the support of industry because a government law or regulation will place all manufacturers on a level playing field.
Families of underride victims and engineers appealed to trailer manufacturers to take the bull by the horn, embrace the Consensus Side Guard Standard, and move forward with developing and installing side underride guards ahead of government requirements.
Today, I was reflecting on the Side Guard Task Force meeting and a strategy for action going forward. As I was looking up information on an engineer from one of the manufacturers, whom I’d met several years ago, I noticed that the manufacturer is making plans to hire an engineering intern for the Summer of 2021. Beautiful! Brilliant! How about we show this young intern how engineers can save lives.
Imagine engineering students from universities around the nation spending the coming year doing internships or senior capstone projects at trailer manufacturing companies working alongside industry engineers on side underride guard development. Collaboration could take place and serve to more rapidly bring about the development and implementation of long-overdue, life-saving technology.
Note: The Side Guard Task Force meeting on February 26, 2021, was a follow-up to an earlier meeting. On April 17, 2020, over 40 people participated in a virtual meeting of a volunteer Underride Protection Committee’s “Side Guard Task Force.” This included two engineers from trailer manufacturers. As a follow-up, several subcommittees began to hold virtual meetings, including an Underride Engineering Subcommittee.
After listening to Andy Young interview Eric Hein about the loss of his son, Riley, in a side underride, participants viewed a photo memorial slideshow of some of the countless underride victims:
Underride Victim Photo Memorial – The Tip of the Iceberg
Some of the many individuals and organizations who have made contributions to the work on underride protection were celebrated in this Underride Hero Hall of Fame video:
Underride Hero Hall of Fame
Note: the video of the complete meeting is an unedited Zoom recording. As excerpts from the agenda are created, YouTube video links will be added. – Marianne Karth
