The Senate Commerce Committee considered the nomination of Heidi King to be NHTSA Administrator on May 16, 2018. Here is the video from that hearing:
https://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/hearings?ID=6D165DA3-EA0F-4F1C-B1D1-A039BE79107D
If Heidi King is confirmed to be NHTSA Administrator, will she take the reins and move decisively to solve the underride problem? Will Congress tell her to do so?
NHTSA has finally released the report from the side underride study which they commissioned Texas A&M to do in 2016-2017. Here is the press release: https://www.nhtsa.gov
The study: Computer Modeling and Evaluation Of Side Underride Protective Device Designs
More later on our analysis of the research.
Knee-jerk reaction: I am glad that they finally proceeded with technical studies on side underride. But countless lives have been lost since 1969 when DOT announced that they intended to extend underride protection on the sides of large trucks after technical studies were completed.
It is high time for someone to act responsibly. Either Senator Thune can respond and move the STOP Underrides Bill forward, or NHTSA can act on its own and do supplemental comprehensive underride rulemaking. Either way, many lives will be saved.
If they refuse to act appropriately, who should bear the blame for continued preventable underride tragedies?
