Last month, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation considered ‎and overwhelmingly approved the Surface Transportation Investment Act of 2021. If passed by ‎the full Senate and then reconciled with the House companion bill, this legislation would ‎become the new transportation safety title to a reauthorization bill. ‎

At a high level, the bill spends $78 billion over five years on surface transportation programs, ‎including $13 billion on safety, and would be a significant increase over the previous ‎reauthorization (the FAST Act) in 2015. ‎
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Although the highlighted provisions below only apply to vehicles over 10,000 lbs. GVWR, we ‎know many if not most couriers have at least some of those, which is why we are providing this ‎update.‎

• ‎Automatic emergency braking (AEB): If passed, the Department of Transportation ‎would, within two years of enactment, require automatic emergency braking (AEB) on ‎new heavy-duty CMVs and would require operators to use these systems. A study would ‎also be required within two years of enactment on the effectiveness of AEB for collision ‎avoidance and the costs, feasibility, and benefits associated with installing it on other ‎CMVs with a GVWR above 10,000 lbs.‎
• Underride guards: This language would direct further study and research of side and ‎front underride guards rather than industry-wide mandate requiring their use. In ‎addition, the language would direct the Secretary of Transportation to, within one year, ‎strengthen rear underride guard standards, conduct additional research on their ‎effectiveness, and amend periodic inspection standards. ‎
• Electronic logging device (ELD) oversight: Requires the Secretary of Transportation ‎to submit a report to Congress outlining how the Department of Transportation intends ‎to protect proprietary and personally identifiable information obtained from ELDs and ‎how operators can challenge or appeal violations issued by FMCSA that occur as a ‎result of ELDs. ‎
• Marijuana-impaired driving: Requires states that have legalized marijuana to ‎consider programs to educate drivers on the risks associated with marijuana-impaired ‎driving.‎
• Enforcement reviews: Requires the establishment of a process for reviewing each out-‎of-service order and imminent hazard determination.
• CMV crash causation study: Requires a comprehensive study be conducted on the ‎causes and contributing factors to heavy vehicle crash causation. This effort is already ‎underway at FMCSA.
• Distracted driving: Improves programs addressing distracted and impaired driving.‎