# Plain Language Summary of H.R. 9536

This bill focuses on making roads safer for people whose vehicles break down or get disabled on the side of the highway. Right now, when a car breaks down on the roadside, the people inside and anyone trying to help them face serious danger from passing traffic. This bill expands federal highway safety programs to specifically address these roadside accidents, which kill and injure thousands of people every year but often get overlooked in traffic safety discussions.

The bill makes several practical changes to how the government approaches this problem. First, it updates the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program to explicitly include protecting people with disabled vehicles—both the drivers and passengers stuck on the roadside and pedestrians who might be helping them. This means states can now use federal highway safety funding to install better lighting, wider shoulders, emergency pull-off areas, and other infrastructure designed specifically to protect stranded motorists. The bill also requires the Department of Transportation to create a working group that brings together truckers, first responders, insurance companies, safety experts, and community representatives to collect detailed data about roadside crashes and develop solutions.

Additionally, the bill requires better tracking and sharing of information about roadside deaths and injuries across the country. It also updates "Move Over" laws—which require drivers to slow down and change lanes when passing emergency vehicles—to include disabled vehicles on the roadside. This means drivers will be legally required to give extra space and caution to any vehicle stopped on the shoulder, not just police cars and ambulances. The overall effect is to make roadside breakdowns less deadly by improving infrastructure, increasing awareness, and ensuring that safety programs specifically account for this common but dangerous situation.

To amend title 23, United States Code, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act with respect to vehicle roadside accidents, and for other purposes.