[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 968 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 968
To amend title 23, United States Code, to provide incentives to States
for the development of traffic safety programs to reduce crashes
related to driver fatigue and sleep deprivation.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 27, 2003
Mr. Andrews introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 23, United States Code, to provide incentives to States
for the development of traffic safety programs to reduce crashes
related to driver fatigue and sleep deprivation.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Maggie's Law: National Drowsy
Driving Act of 2003''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) A 1995 Federal study conservatively estimated that each
year--
(A) 100,000 police-reported motor vehicle crashes
are caused by the drowsiness or fatigue of the
operator;
(B) 1,550 deaths and 71,000 injuries are the direct
result of a driver falling asleep at the wheel of a
motor vehicle; and
(C) these crashes represent at least
$12,500,000,000 in diminished productivity and property
loss.
(2) Scientific research further demonstrates that--
(A) 1,000,000 crashes are caused by driver
inattention each year; and
(B) sleep deprivation and fatigue make such
attention lapses more likely to occur.
(3) An insufficient amount of statistical data and
documentation concerning fatigue-related motor vehicle crashes
is available. Federal statistics significantly under-report the
problem of driver fatigue because the statistics are derived
primarily from police accident reports, and studies indicate
that less than one-half of all crashes are reported to the
police.
(4) Further complicating the collection of accurate data
are the following facts:
(A) Most police officers are not trained to detect
sleep-related crashes.
(B) There is no test to determine sleepiness as
there is for drunk drivers.
(C) There are still States that do not have proper
codes for sleepiness on their crash report forms.
(D) Based on clinical studies, many people are
unable to accurately recognize when they have nodded-
off for a short period of time (microsleep), thus
raising questions about the reliability of self-
reporting.
(5) In 1999, a scientifically conducted national survey of
Americans found that 23 percent of respondents reported that
they personally know someone who crashed in the past year due
to falling asleep at the wheel.
(6) In 2001, a scientifically conducted national survey of
Americans found that in the past year--
(A) 53 percent of all adults reported driving while
drowsy;
(B) 19 percent reported that they had actually
dozed off while driving; and
(C) one percent reported that they had crashed
because they dozed off.
(7) Studies confirm that while anyone can be at risk for
drowsy driving, there are several population groups that are
significantly at higher risk--
(A) young people under the age of 26, who tend to
stay up late, sleep too little, and drive at night,
represent about 55 percent of all fall asleep crashes;
(B) there are over 20,000,000 shift workers in
America and studies suggest that 20 percent to 30
percent of individuals with nontraditional work
schedules have had a fatigue-related driving mishap in
the last year;
(C) commercial drivers are susceptible to fatigue-
related crashes due to their driving schedules and the
amount of miles they drive during the year;
(D) commercial drivers have a high prevalence of a
sleep and breathing disorder called sleep apnea; and
(E) 40,000,000 Americans suffer from sleep
disorders; left untreated, disorders such as sleep
apnea can increase crash risk 3 to 7 times.
(8) In 1995, a study found that some roads, such as high-
speed, long, boring, rural highways, are more dangerous than
others for sleep-deprived motorists. The New York State Police
estimated that 40 percent of all fatal crashes along the New
York Thruway were the result of a driver falling asleep at the
wheel.
(9) Studies, such as the following, indicate that
continuous shoulder rumble strips are effective countermeasures
to drift-off-the-road crashes, which are characteristic of
drowsy driving, and fall-asleep crashes--
(A) New York State reports that accidents caused by
drivers falling asleep at 13 sites on the New York
Thruway were reduced by 84 percent following the
installation of continuous shoulder rumble strips.
(B) Pennsylvania reports a reduction of guard rail
or embankment accidents at 5 sites on the Pennsylvania
Turnpike following rumble strip installation.
(C) In 1995, an expert panel consisting of
university and federal researchers convened to assess
the current research regarding the effectiveness of
continuous shoulder rumble strips and to make
recommendations about their use. The panel concluded
that rumble strips reduce drift-off-the-road crashes
anywhere from 15 to 70 percent depending on road type
and rumble strip design being used.
SEC. 3. DROWSY DRIVING EDUCATION PROGRAMS.
Chapter 4 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``SEC. 412. DROWSY DRIVING EDUCATION PROGRAMS.
``(a) Awards.--The Secretary may enter into contracts or
cooperative agreements with, and may make grants to, State highway
offices and other experienced drowsy driving safety organizations to
obtain and distribute national, State, and local drowsy driving
education programs and supporting educational materials.
``(b) Use of Funds.--Funds provided under a contract, cooperative
agreement, or grant under subsection (a) shall be used--
``(1) to implement drowsy driving programs which are
designed to prevent deaths and injuries due to drivers who are
impaired by fatigue and sleep deprivation and which--
``(A) educate the public in all aspects of the
dangers of driving while impaired by fatigue or
drowsiness as a result of sleep deprivation, untreated
sleep disorders, sedating medications, and alcohol use;
``(B) educate the public to recognize the signs of
fatigue while driving and how to take appropriate
countermeasures to avoid fall-asleep crashes;
``(C) train and retrain traffic safety
professionals, police officers, fire and emergency
medical personnel, and other educators in all aspects
of drowsy driving prevention; and
``(B) train police officers and accident
reconstructionists to identify fatigue impairment among
drivers and as a factor in motor vehicle crashes;
``(2) to develop a standardized, scientifically accurate
curriculum on the risks and prevention of drowsy driving and
fall-asleep motor vehicle crashes and take steps to--
``(A) develop and integrate a drowsy driving
curriculum component into all driver's education
courses under the purview of a State's transportation
department;
``(B) ensure that State departments of
transportation, health and education work together to
include a drowsy driving component in all driver's
education and health education curricula; and
``(C) the State departments of transportation shall
develop a curriculum on drowsy driving for training the
instructors who teach any course covering driver
education or traffic safety.
``(3) to consult and collaborate with existing national
drowsy driving campaigns to foster the distribution of
scientifically-based information and educational messages
regarding drowsy driving and fall-asleep crashes and to review
existing State model programs for experience and guidance;
``(4) to adopt formal policy statements and work plans for
the installation and expansion of continuous shoulder rumble
strips during highway resurfacing and new construction programs
for interstate highways and submit a report to the Secretary
each fiscal year describing the number of highway miles and
locations where continuous shoulder rumble strips have been
installed on their state highway system;
``(5) to adopt formal codes on motor vehicle accident
report forms to report fatigue-related or fall-asleep crashes;
``(6) to provide enforcement personnel training in the
detection and reporting of drowsy driving as a factor in motor
vehicle crashes; and
``(7) provide education programs to the police and the
courts regarding the sanctions available for drowsy driving
accidents.
``(d) Applications.--An entity desiring a contract, cooperative
agreement, or grant under subsection (a) shall submit an application to
the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such
information as the Secretary may reasonably require.
``(e) Reports to Secretary.--An entity which receives a contract,
cooperative agreement, or grant under subsection (a) shall prepare and
submit to the Secretary an annual report during the period in which it
receives funds under such contract, cooperative agreement, or grant.
Such a report shall contain such information as the Secretary may
require and shall, at a minimum, describe the program activities
undertaken with such funds, including--
``(1) any drowsy driving education program that has been
developed directly or indirectly by such entity and the target
population of such program;
``(2) support materials of such a program that have been
obtained by such entity and the method by which the entity
distributed such materials; and
``(3) any initiatives undertaken by such entity to develop
public-private partnerships to secure non-Federal support for
the development and distribution of drowsy driving education
programs and materials.
``(f) Report to Congress.--The Secretary shall prepare and submit
to the appropriate committees of Congress an annual report on the
implementation of this section, which includes a description of the
programs undertaken and materials developed and distributed by entities
receiving funds under subsection (a).
``(g) In this section, the following definitions apply:
``(1) Drowsy driver education programs.--The term `drowsy
driving education programs' includes publications, audiovisual,
presentations, and demonstrations.
``(2) State.--The term `State' means any State of the
United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American
Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other territory or
possession of the United States.
``(3) State model programs.--The term `State model
programs' means the State of New York's Break for Safety
program and New York Task Force on Drowsy Driving efforts.
``(4) National programs.--The term `national programs'
means the DRIVE ALERT...ARRIVE ALIVE, the National Sleep
Foundation's Campaign on Drowsy Driving and other programs
operated by non-profit organizations.
``(5) Continuous shoulder rumble strip.--The term
`continuous shoulder rumble strip' means raised or grooved
patterns inserted on the shoulder of a highway to alert drivers
drifting off the road that they are doing so.
``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated to the
Secretary $5,000,000 for the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2009, of which not
more than $350,000 may be spent in any fiscal year for administrative
costs.''.
SEC. 4. FEDERAL RESEARCH ON THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM.
(a) Study.--The Secretary of Transportation shall conduct a study
on the scope of the problem of fatigue-related automobile crashes
amongst the general driving public.
(b) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to Congress a report
containing the results of the study.
<all>