New Massachusetts law includes rule for side underride guards

A transportation safety bill signed into law in Massachusetts includes a mandate for side underride guards for certain trucks.

Since 2015, the city of Boston requires side guards on all city-contracted vehicles over 10,000 pounds, or tractor-trailers with a combined weight over 26,000 pounds. The ordinance also mandates affected vehicles have convex mirrors, cross-over mirrors, and blind-spot awareness decals.

Other cities to adopt mandates for city trucks include Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation Volpe Center.

New underride rule

Outgoing Gov. Charlie Baker has signed into law a bill that applies the side underride guard rule, or lateral protective device, to trucks owned or leased by the state.

The underride rule applying to trucks took effect immediately. Trucks contracted with the state must include the devices starting in 2025.

Affected trucks are required to use backup cameras, convex mirrors and cross-over mirrors.

Previously H5103, the new law defines affected state-owned or -contracted vehicles as a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or semitrailer unit classified as a Class 3 or above by the Federal Highway Administration, with a gross vehicle weight rating exceeding 10,000 pounds.

Advocates say the mandate is intended to prevent vulnerable users of the road from being run over in side collisions.

“Some of the most tragic accidents have occurred when large vehicles started up and could not see people on the street around them,” Sen. William Brownsberger, D-Belmont, said in prepared remarks. “Other tragic accidents have occurred when people have been caught by the sideways sweeping motion of longer trucks when they turn.”

Brownsberger added that the rule should be applied to all large vehicles.

“While these safety devices should be installed on all large vehicles, we had to limit the scope of the legislation to those with a nexus to the commonwealth to avoid running afoul of the federal constitutional prohibition on state regulation of interstate commerce.

“Over time, we may be able to somewhat expand the scope.”

Vulnerable road users

Also included in the road safety bill is a provision to increase passing distance for all vehicles.

The new law is an extension of the state’s existing move-over law. H5103 establishes a minimum distance for motor vehicles when passing vulnerable road users.

Affected road users include cyclists, construction workers, emergency responders and anyone else who is not in a vehicle.

Specifically, the rule requires at least a four-foot “safe passing distance” between vehicles and vulnerable road users. Vehicle operators are required to pass at a reasonable and proper speed.

Drivers are permitted to cross the center line to achieve a safe passing distance, when it is safe to do so. LL

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