Underride Guard Legislation in the 117th Congress

By Dennis Potter & Brody Garland, K&L Gates

The National Association of Trailer Manufacturers (NATM) has worked to improve the safety of America’s roadways for over 30 years with the mission of promoting trailer safety and the success of the light- and medium-duty trailer industry through education and advocacy. While NATM supports and encourages proactive trailer safety regulation, the Association’s members have expressed ongoing concerns regarding language contained within pending legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate bills that would institute a side underride guard requirement under 49 CFR §300.

The potential impact of these bills on the trailer industry is significant. Nearly 40 percent of NATM Members manufacture trailers that are 10,000 lbs. gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and above, and of those units, the vast majority are used in a commercial application, and an estimated 37 percent have a side deck height measured at least 22 inches. Early estimates of the House and Senate bills’ impact would be in the hundreds of thousands of units. Additionally, many units of the applicable size for side underride are used for purposes that would be limited or rendered impossible with the introduction of side underride.

Pending legislation before the House Committee on Appropriations would direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to prioritize working with relevant experts and stakeholders, including researchers, engineers, safety advocates, and the trucking industry, to facilitate the deployment and adoption of rear and side underride protection devices. In addition, the Committee is encouraging the Department of Transportation (DOT) to form an advisory committee on truck underrides, as well as further directing NHTSA to substantively respond to the grant of petition for rulemaking on Rear Impact Guards, Rear Impact Protection published in 2014. In the Senate, there is pending legislation coming out of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation that would direct the Secretary of Transportation to strengthen rear underride guard standards and to conduct additional research on the design and development of rear impact guards to prevent crashes at higher speeds, including the formation of an Advisory Committee on Underride Protection. This provision would also require the Secretary to amend regulations on minimum periodic inspection standards and reports to include rear impact guards and rear end protection. The Secretary would also be directed to complete additional research on side underride guards, and, if warranted, develop performance standards for side underride guards.

For the trailer industry, the creation of advisory panels would not only increase participation from industry stakeholders, it would encourage the collection of troves of valuable safety data. Current data does not exist that would support prohibitive side underride protections for the light- and medium-duty market. Further study of the issue could bolster the argument that exemptions would be warranted for the industry. The critical factor in legislative and regulatory efforts moving forward will be a focus on engagement with industry and restraint in developing performance standards that are not supported by safety data.

Dennis Potter is a Government Affairs Counselor and Brody Garland is a Government Affairs Analyst at the law and lobbying firm of K&L Gates, where they represent NATM and other clients on legislative, regulatory, policy, and political matters. Mr. Potter can be reached at Dennis.Potter@klgates.com and Mr. Garland can be reached at Brody.Garland@klgates.com.