FHWA Issues Underride Bar Rule

Following on a 1996 rule that requires trailers to be manufactured with rear underride guards, the Federal Highway Administration issued a regulation Sept. 1 ordering trailer owners to keep the guards in good condition.

The rule applies to trucks made after Jan. 26, 1998, and echoes the requirements established when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a rule in 1996 for trailer makers to install underride guards on trailers and semitrailers with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more (1-22-96, p. 3). Both rules require the guards to be placed no more than 22 inches from the ground and set minimum standards for the strength of the equipment.

The underride guards are designed to reduce the severity of accidents when a vehicle strikes a trailer from behind. Two rules are necessary because NHTSA has authority over new truck design, while FHWA handles maintenance issues.

While trucking supported the original rule and even started installing the guards years before they were mandated, some in the industry have concerns about the new regulation, which takes effect Oct. 1.

“We remain concerned by a requirement that the manufacturer’s certification label be retained on the guard,” said Larry Strawhorn, vice president of engineering at ATA. “Some labels fall off in service and others are obliterated by road debris. In addition, carriers cannot get labels for certain replacement parts.”

The rule discourages states from penalizing motor carriers for minor damage that would not adversely affect guard performance.

FHWA restated its position last week that insufficient accident, cost and research data exist to support retrofitting older trucks with underride guards and that the obstacles to obtaining the data are insurmountable.

“The FHWA believes it is inappropriate to initiate a retrofitting rulemaking when the data to develop more detailed cost estimates does not exist and cannot be generated without a massive program of economic research,” the agency wrote.