Bridges not Bumpers Act of 2025

The Bridges not Bumpers Act of 2025 directs the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations requiring bridge clearance information in certain GPS navigation devices and establishes several programs to reduce bridge strikes by commercial motor vehicles.

Sec. 2, DOT bridge clearance strike working group: The Secretary must establish a working group with representatives from federal agencies, state DOTs, trucking organizations, GPS producers, law enforcement, rental companies, and railroads. The group will recommend ways to improve public-private data sharing on bridge clearance and truck routes, address liability for inaccurate data, improve driver knowledge, label rental vehicles with height/weight, provide height warnings to renters, and identify funding for incorporating data into GPS tools. Within one year of the recommendations, the Secretary must issue regulations to implement them. GPS administrators are immune from liability for injuries from using government-provided clearance height data.

Sec. 3, Sense of Congress on national education campaign: Congress states that the Secretary should conduct a national education campaign to prevent bridge strikes, targeting commercial driver education, independent operators, and motor carrier associations.

Sec. 4, National clearinghouse for bridge and tunnel clearance strikes: The Secretary must establish a national clearinghouse as a centralized repository for data and best practices to prevent bridge strikes, modeled after a specific National Academies guide. $5,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated for this section.

Sec. 5, Grants for research on potential improvements: The Secretary must establish a grant program for eligible entities (state DOTs, local governments, metropolitan planning organizations, Class II/III railroads, transportation safety organizations) to research roadway, bridge, and tunnel locations for improvement projects, analyze mitigation options, and assess countermeasure effectiveness. Grants prioritize states with high bridge strike incidence. $5,000,000 per year is authorized for fiscal years 2026 through 2030.

Sec. 6, Definitions: Defines 'commercial motor vehicle' by reference to existing law. Defines 'covered rental vehicle' as a self-propelled or towed vehicle (except a truck tractor) with a gross vehicle weight rating of at least 5,700 pounds, rented without a driver for less than 4 months, and part of a fleet of 5 or more rental vehicles.