NHTSA Issues Rule to Improve Rear Underride Protection

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has finalized a rule heightening protections for other motorists in the event of a rear underride crash. 

The rule requires rear impact guards on trailers and semi-trailers with “sufficient strength and energy absorption to protect occupants of passenger vehicles,” according to a June 30 NHTSA news release. 

Rear underride crashes can occur when a passenger vehicle rear-ends larger trucks and slides under them. The new rule will ensure the rear impact guard can withstand a 35-mph impact, an increase from the current 30 mph. 

“NHTSA’s priority is the safety of everyone on our roads,” said Dr. Steven Cliff, NHTSA administrator. “This new rule will improve protection for passengers and drivers of passenger vehicles while also meeting a critical mandate from Congress under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.” 

‘Substantially Weaker’ 

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (AHAS) released a statement the same day noting its disappointment with the rule. AHAS President Cathy Chase said the new rule is “substantially weaker than the current test” that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has been using for the past five years. 

“Unfortunately, today’s action allows trucking companies to choose a less safe course of action at the expense of road user safety,” Chase said. 

Joan Claybrook, a previous NHTSA administrator who works with AHAS, said “it would’ve been better if NHTSA had not acted at all.” 

“Instead of improving protections to reduce underride fatalities and injuries, the agency has gone backward by issuing a rule that 94 percent of trailers already meet,” Claybrook said. “As such, NHTSA has lowered the bar on public safety instead of ensuring it.” 

The administration also said in its release that it plans to publish an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to “consider requirements for side underride guards for crashes into the sides of trailers and semi-trailers.”