So, what did you do today? If someone were to ask me that question, I would have to admit that I spent hours emailing legislators in Washington, D.C. — asking them to sponsor and support the Roya, AnnaLeah & Mary Comprehensive Underride Protection Act of 2017, otherwise known as RAM CUP Act of 2017.
My partner in the process was Lois Durso, a mom who lost her 26 year-old daughter, Roya Sadigh, 12 years ago to a side underride crash. Still to this day, side guards are not required on the sides of large trucks — even though there were 1,534 reported side underride deaths from 1994-2014 in the U.S.
Lois and I met after the February 7, 2017, airing of the Today Show investigative report on side underride. Ever since, we have been meeting with truck industry and government leaders to raise awareness on the problem of deadly truck underride and the solutions available to prevent these tragedies.
At the end of our time in Washington, D.C., last week, Lois and I decided that enough was enough! We were sick and tired of waiting for someone else to resolve this decades-old problem. So we took the bull by the horn and drafted comprehensive underride protection legislation. And, today, we introduced the country’s legislators to our proposal.
We are hoping to get widespread, bipartisan support. We welcome participation by citizens willing to contact their legislators — urging them to sponsor and vote for this life-saving bill, the RAM CUP Act of 2017.
- Contact your U.S. Representative here: http://www.house.gov/representatives/
- Contact your U.S. Senators here: https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
If they have not heard of this bill yet, please send them to our website (annaleahmary.com) for further information:
- Summary of the bill: RAM CUP Act of 2017 SUMMARY
- Information Packet on the Truck Underride Problem: RESOURCE INFORMATION for the RAM CUP bill
- Draft 15 of the Roya, AnnaLeah and Mary Comprehensive Underride Protection Act of 2017: RAMCUP Draft 15 with Cover
