NHTSA Denies Petition Urging Investigation
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in a Federal Register notice published April 1, denied a petition from the Institute for Safer Trucking (IST) requesting an investigation of collisions that van-type semi-trailers experience with passenger vehicles and other vulnerable road users. According to IST, these crashes cause significant injuries or death because of the lack of side underride guards.
IST requested that NHTSA investigate a potential recall of semi-trailers lacking side underride guards even though currently there is no regulation requiring that manufacturers equip trailers with such guards. IST maintains that the lack of side underride guards is a safety defect in a semi-trailer’s design. NHTSA contended that it published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) in 2023 exploring the possibility of mandating side underrides on trailers and is currently in the process of reviewing comments received both for and against side underride guards.
The agency said it had also facilitated the Advisory Committee on Underride Protection (ACUP) examining crash data relating to side collisions. ACUP published a report in the summer of 2024 calling for stronger underrides on trailers even though a cost-benefit analysis showed costs substantially outweighing the benefits of such a mandate.
For truckers, testing for marijuana continues. Just as with testing for cocaine, amphetamines, PCP, and opioids, testing for marijuana will continue to be conducted on a pre-employment, random, post-accident, reasonable suspicion, and return-to-duty basis.
As temperatures rise, so do the risks associated with tires, brakes, and overall vehicle condition. Summer heat doesn’t just stress drivers, it amplifies mechanical weaknesses, making maintenance and inspections more important than ever.
The 2026 road construction season is going to be one of the largest in U.S. history and anyone using the roads should be prepared for what’s coming.