August 13, 2021
 
Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E.
Washington, DC 20590

Dear Secretary Buttigieg,

We are petitioning the U.S. Department of Transportation to take specific immediate action towards the goal of ending traffic deaths by including Single Unit Trucks (SUTS) and vulnerable road users in the scope of mandated and studied comprehensive underride protection, as called for in the STOP Underrides Bill. SUTs outnumber tractor-trailers and, in fact, comprehensive underride protection on them has already been recommended by the NTSB and the IIHS. Yet SUTs are not included in the Underride Sections of the recently passed Senate and House Infrastructure legislation.

Therefore, we are asking that you expedite work on the 2014 Karth Family  petition for underride protection on Single Unit Trucks by taking the following actions:

* Establish the Advisory Committee On Underride Protection, as called for in the STOP Underrides Bill and the Infrastructure Legislation in both the House and Senate.

* Proceed immediately to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for comprehensive underride protection on Single Unit Trucks - front, side, and rear.

* Add language explicitly stating that all mandated and studied comprehensive underride guards are to protect all road users, including Vulnerable Road Users.

Respectfully submitted,

Marianne & Jerry Karth
AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety