1.Short
title; table of contents
(a)This Act may be cited
as the Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act
of 2007
.
(b)The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of
contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
Sec. 3. Regulations for improved occupant protection and
motorcoach crash avoidance.
Sec. 4. Study and report on improved bus crashworthiness and
crash avoidance.
Sec. 5. Improved oversight of providers of motorcoach services
and of other motor carriers of passengers.
Sec. 6. Motorcoach driver training.
Sec. 7. Improved commercial driver's license
testing.
Sec. 8. Improved physical fitness oversight and commercial
driver medical certificates.
Sec. 9. Safety enforcement technology to reduce driver
fatigue.
Sec. 10. Commercial motor vehicle safety inspection
programs.
Sec. 11. Regulations.
2.In this Act:
(1)The term advanced glazing means glazing
installed in a portal on the side or the roof of a motorcoach that is designed
to be highly resistant to partial or complete occupant ejection in all types of
motor vehicle crashes.
(2)The
term bus has the meaning given such term in section 571.3(b) of
title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the day before the date
of the enactment of this Act).
(3)The term commercial motor vehicle has
the meaning given such term in section 31132(1) of title 49, United States
Code.
(4)The
term manufacturer has the meaning given such term in section
30102(a) of title 49, United States Code.
(5)The term motor carrier has the meaning given
such term in section 13102(14) of title 49, United States Code.
(6)The
term motorcoach has the meaning given the term
over-the-road bus
in section 3038(a)(3) of the Transportation
Equity Act for the 21st Century (Public Law 105–178; 49 U.S.C. 5310 note), but
does not include the following:
(A)Buses used in
public transportation provided by a State or local government.
(B)School buses,
including multifunction school activity buses.
(7)The term motorcoach manufacturer means
a manufacturer that manufactures, assembles, or imports motorcoaches for resale
in the United States.
(8)The term motorcoach services means
passenger transportation by motorcoach for compensation.
(9)Multifunction
school activity busesThe term multifunction school
activity buses has the meaning given such term in section 571.3(b) of
title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the day before the date
of the enactment of this Act).
(10)The
term portal means any opening on the front, sides, rear, or roof
of a motorcoach that could, in the event of a crash involving the motorcoach,
permit the partial or complete ejection of any occupant from the motorcoach,
including a young child.
(11)Provider of
motorcoach servicesThe term provider of motorcoach
services means a motor carrier that provides passenger transportation
services with a motorcoach for compensation, including per-trip compensation
and contracted or chartered compensation.
(12)The term public transportation has
the meaning given such term in section 5302(a)(10) of title 49, United States
Code.
(13)The term safety belt has the meaning given such
term in section 153(i)(4)(B) of title 23, United States Code.
(14)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of Transportation.
3.Regulations for
improved occupant protection and motorcoach crash avoidance
(a)Regulations
required 1 year after the date of the enactment of this ActNot
later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
shall prescribe regulations as follows:
(1)The Secretary shall require safety belts be installed in
motorcoaches at each designated seating position.
(2)Anti-ejection
safety countermeasuresThe Secretary shall require motorcoaches
have advanced glazing installed in each motorcoach portal to prevent partial or
complete ejection of passengers of motorcoaches, including such passengers that
are children.
(3)The Secretary shall require installation in
motorcoaches of improved firefighting equipment for the purpose of effectively
suppressing fires in motorcoaches to prevent passenger deaths and
injuries.
(b)Regulations
required 2 years after the date of the enactment of this ActNot
later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
shall prescribe regulations as follows:
(1)Compartmentalization
safety countermeasuresThe Secretary shall require enhanced
compartmentalization safety countermeasures for motorcoaches, including
enhanced seating designs, to reduce substantially the risk of passengers being
thrown from their seats and colliding with other passengers, interior surfaces,
or components in the event of a crash involving a motorcoach.
(2)Interior impact
protectionThe Secretary shall establish enhanced occupant impact
protection standards for motorcoach interiors to reduce substantially serious
injuries for all passengers of motorcoaches.
(3)The Secretary shall require motorcoaches be
equipped with stability enhancing technologies, such as electronic stability
control, roll stability control, and torque vectoring, to reduce substantially
the number and frequency of rollover crashes among motorcoaches.
(4)Roof strength
and crush resistanceThe Secretary shall establish improved roof
standards for motorcoaches that substantially improve the resistance of
motorcoach roofs to deformation and intrusion to prevent serious occupant
injury in rollover crashes involving motorcoaches.
(5)The Secretary shall require enhanced conspicuity of
motorcoaches to enable other motor vehicle operators, cyclists, and pedestrians
to better detect motorcoaches in order to reduce the risk of collisions
involving motorcoaches.
(6)The Secretary shall amend Federal motor vehicle
safety standard number 302 (49 CFR 571.302; relating to flammability of
interior materials) to require realistic tests to improve the resistance of
motorcoach interiors and components to burning, prevent inhalation by
passengers of toxic smoke and vapors, and permit sufficient time for the safe
evacuation of passengers from the motorcoach.
(7)Resistance to
fuel system firesThe Secretary shall amend Federal motor vehicle
safety standard number 301 (49 CFR 571.301; relating to fuel system integrity)
to require that motorcoaches have improved fuel systems in order to suppress
fuel-fed fires and substantially reduce occupant deaths and injuries from fuel
fires.
(8)The Secretary shall require motorcoaches be equipped
with the following:
(A)Improved
emergency evacuation designsImproved emergency exit window,
door, and roof hatch designs to expedite access and use by passengers of
motorcoaches to ensure rapid evacuation from a motorcoach under all emergency
circumstances, including crashes and fires.
(B)Emergency
interior lightingEmergency interior lighting systems, including
luminescent or retroreflectorized delineation of evacuation paths and exits,
that are triggered by a crash or other emergency incidents to accomplish more
rapid and effective evacuation of passengers.
(c)Regulations
required 3 years after the date of the enactment of this ActNot
later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
shall prescribe regulations as follows:
(1)Require motorcoaches be equipped with adaptive cruise
control for maintaining safe trailing distances when underway and a collision
warning system that provides sufficient advance notice to the operator of a
motorcoach of any imminent impact.
(2)Automatic fire
suppressionRequire motorcoaches be equipped with highly
effective fire suppression systems that automatically respond to and suppress
all fires in such motorcoaches.
(d)Application of
regulations
(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), a regulation
prescribed in accordance with subsection (a), (b), or (c) shall apply to all
motorcoaches that are manufactured on or after the effective date of such
regulation.
(2)Retrofit safety
requirements for in-service motorcoaches
(A)(i)Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), a regulation prescribed in accordance with subsection (a)(1)
shall apply to all motorcoaches used for motorcoach services on or after the
effective date of such regulation.
(ii)Except as provided in subparagraph
(B), a regulation prescribed in accordance with subsection (a)(3) shall apply
to all motorcoaches used for motorcoach services on or after the effective date
of such regulation.
(iii)Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), a regulation prescribed in accordance with subsection (b)(5)
shall apply to all motorcoaches used for motorcoach services on or after the
effective date of such regulation.
(B)In
the case of a motorcoach that was used for motorcoach services before the
effective date of a regulation described in subparagraph (A), such regulation
shall not apply to such motorcoach until—
(i)2
years after the effective date of such regulation; or
(ii)if
the Secretary determines that the application date described in clause (i)
would cause undue hardship, 5 years after the effective date of such
regulation.
4.Study and report
on improved bus crashworthiness and crash avoidance
(a)Not
later than September 30, 2008, the Secretary shall complete a study of the
following, with respect to buses that are more than 10,000 pounds gross vehicle
weigh rating (GVWR):
(1)Bus safety design
improvements and countermeasures for improving bus crashworthiness to achieve
substantial improvements in occupant protection in all types of crashes,
including the following:
(A)Active and
passive restraint systems.
(B)Enhanced
passenger compartmentalization.
(C)Upper and lower
interior occupant impact protection.
(D)Improved
resistance to roof failures leading to deformation and intrusion that result in
occupant injury.
(E)Improved
resistance to occupant partial and complete ejection.
(F)Improved crash
compatibility with other types and weights of motor vehicles in order to reduce
both the number and severity of crashes and the number and severity of occupant
injuries both in buses and in the other vehicles.
(2)Crash avoidance
improvements to reduce the number and severity of bus crashes, including the
following:
(A)Collision warning
systems.
(B)Improved braking
capabilities.
(C)Enhanced bus
conspicuity.
(D)Increased
resistance to loss-of-control crashes.
(E)Improved
resistance to rollover crashes.
(3)Bus fire
protection and passenger evacuation improvements, including the
following:
(A)Effective
emergency exit design.
(B)Effective
emergency evacuation of passengers.
(C)Effective manual
and automated fire suppression systems.
(D)Increased vehicle
resistance to fire propagation, including both exterior and interior resistance
to burning.
(E)Suppression of
toxic smoke and vapors in bus fires.
(F)Resistance to bus
fuel system fires.
(G)Training of bus
operators in the use of firefighting equipment and the safe evacuation of
passengers.
(4)Such other
occupant protection safety countermeasures as the Secretary considers
appropriate.
(b)Not
later than September 30, 2008, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy
and Commerce of the House of Representatives a report setting forth the
findings of the Secretary with respect to the study required by subsection (a)
and recommendations for legislative and regulatory changes.
5.Improved
oversight of providers of motorcoach services and of other motor carriers of
passengers
(a)Section 31144 of
title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
(h)Periodic safety
reviews of providers of motorcoach services
(1)Not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of
this subsection, the Secretary shall require, by regulation, each provider of
motorcoach services registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration on or after the date of the enactment of this subsection to
undergo a periodic safety review.
(2)In the regulations prescribed pursuant to paragraph (1),
the Secretary shall establish the elements of the periodic safety review,
including basic safety management controls.
(3)As part of the safety review required by this subsection,
the Secretary shall assign a safety fitness rating to each provider of
motorcoach services and shall reassess such rating not less frequently than
every 3 years.
(4)Motorcoach
services definedIn this subsection, the term provider of
motorcoach services has the meaning provided such term in section 2 of
the Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act of
2007.
(b)Revision of
safety audit systemNot later than September 30, 2008, the
Secretary shall revise the safety fitness audit system of the Department of
Transportation established pursuant to section 31144 of title 49, United States
Code, to conform with safety recommendation H–99–6 of the National
Transportation Safety Board issued February 26, 1999.
6.Motorcoach
driver training
(a)Establishment
of training curriculum
(1)Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall establish, by regulation, a training curriculum
for drivers of motorcoaches to be adopted by public and private schools and
motor carriers that provide training for drivers of motorcoaches.
(2)The training curriculum required by paragraph (1)
shall include the following:
(A)Classroom and
behind-the-wheel instruction that is adequate for all new drivers of
motorcoaches to operate safely motorcoaches and respond effectively to
emergency situations.
(B)Instruction in
advanced knowledge and skills that are necessary to operate motorcoaches
safely, including the knowledge and skills necessary—
(i)to
suppress motorcoach fires; and
(ii)to
evacuate passengers from motorcoaches safely.
(b)
(1)The Secretary shall require each motorcoach driver
seeking a commercial driver’s license (CDL) passenger endorsement to undergo a
training program that includes the training curriculum established pursuant to
subsection (a) before taking a test for a commercial driver’s license passenger
endorsement.
(2)Certificate of
completion requiredThe Secretary shall require that each driver
seeking to take the test for the commercial driver’s license passenger
endorsement shall present a certificate to a State licensing authority
certifying that the driver has—
(A)successfully
completed a motorcoach driver training course that includes the curriculum
established in accordance with subsection (a); and
(B)received a
passing grade for an examination at the culmination of such training
course.
(c)Report on
feasibility of establishing a system of certification of training
programsNot later than September 30, 2008, the Secretary shall
submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate
and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives a report on the feasibility of establishing a system of
certification of public and private schools and of motor carriers that provide
motorcoach driver training in accordance with the curriculum established by the
Secretary pursuant to subsection (a).
7.Improved
commercial driver's license testing
(a)Increased
stringency of examination for commercial driver's license passenger-carrying
endorsement
(1)The Secretary shall prescribe standards that improve the
quality and stringency of the examination for the commercial driver’s license
passenger-carrying endorsement. Such standards shall require—
(A)a more stringent
knowledge test than the test in effect on the day before the date of the
enactment of this Act; and
(B)a more stringent
examination of the driving skills necessary to operate safely a commercial
motor vehicle with passengers than the examination of such skills in effect on
the day before the date of the enactment of this Act.
(2)In
prescribing the standards required by paragraph (1), the Secretary shall
cooperate with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.
(b)Modification of
requirements for commercial driver's license passenger-carrying
endorsementThe Secretary shall establish by regulation a
requirement that a driver shall have a commercial driver's license
passenger-carrying endorsement in order to operate a commercial motor vehicle
and transport not less than 9 and not more than 15 passengers (including a
driver) in interstate commerce for compensation.
8.Improved
physical fitness oversight and commercial driver medical certificates
(a)Require passage
of rigorous examination To be listed in National Registry of Medical
ExaminersSection 31149(c)(1)(D) of title 49, United States Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(D)develop, as
appropriate, specific courses and materials for medical examiners who wish to
be listed in the national registry established under this section and develop a
rigorous examination for which a passing grade must be achieved to be listed in
such national
registry;
.
(b)Integration of
Federal medical qualification certificate and commercial driver’s
licenseNot later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall prescribe the regulations required by section 215
of the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 (49 U.S.C. 31305
note).
(c)Medical
examination form comparisonsNot later than 2 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall require by regulation
that—
(1)each time a
medical examiner performs a medical examination to certify an applicant for a
commercial driver's license under section 391.43 of title 49, Code of Federal
Regulations, such medical examiner shall submit to the appropriate State
licensing agency the form for such examination required by section 391.43(f) of
such title (as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this
Act); and
(2)as a condition of
approval of a State plan under section 31102(d) of title 49, United States Code
(as added by section
10(b)), State licensing authorities compare the forms they
receive pursuant to paragraph (1) with the medical examiner's certificate
required by section 391.43(g) of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (as in
effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act) to determine
the accuracy and validity of the information contained in such forms and
certificates.
(d)Additional
oversight of licensing authorities
(1)Section 31149(c)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is
amended—
(A)in subparagraph
(E), by striking basis; and
and inserting
basis;
;
(B)in subparagraph
(F), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and
;
and
(C)by adding at the
end the following:
(G)each year, review
the licensing authorities of 10 States to assess the accuracy and validity of
physical examination reports and medical certificates submitted by certified
medical examiners to such State licensing
agencies.
.
(2)Internal
oversight policy
(A)Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall establish an oversight policy and process within
the Department of Transportation for purposes of carrying out the requirement
of subparagraph (G) of such section 31149(c)(1), as added by paragraph
(1).
(B)The requirement of subparagraph (G) of section 31149(c)(1)
of title 49, United States Code, shall take effect on the date that the
oversight policies and processes are established pursuant to subparagraph
(A).
(e)Deadline for
establishment of national registry of medical examinersNot later
than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
establish the national registry of medical examiners required by section
31149(d)(1) of title 49, United States Code.
(f)Additional
function of Medical Review BoardSection 31149(a)(1) of title 49,
United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
(1)Establishment
and functionThe Secretary of Transportation shall establish a
Medical Review Board with the following functions:
(A)Providing the
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration with medical advice and
recommendations on medical standards and guidelines for the following:
(i)The physical
qualifications of operators of commercial motor vehicles.
(ii)Medical examiner
education.
(iii)Medical
research.
(B)Providing the
Secretary with advice and recommendations concerning the criteria to be used
for evaluating medical examiners for admission to the national registry
established under this
section.
.
9.Safety
enforcement technology to reduce driver fatigue
(a)Not later than 1 year
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall prescribe
regulations requiring that all commercial motor vehicles used by a motor
carrier in interstate commerce be equipped with electronic on-board recorders
linked with vehicle engine functions and electronic control modules that
accurately record commercial driver hours of service and provide real-time
tracking of driver and vehicle location.
(b)The
regulations prescribed under subsection (a) shall apply to all commercial motor
vehicles used by motor carriers in interstate commerce beginning on the date
that is 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
10.Commercial
motor vehicle safety inspection programs
(a)Section 31142 of title 49, United States Code, is amended
by striking subsections (a) and (b) and inserting the following:
(a)Annual safety
inspection program
(1)In order to receive a grant pursuant to section 31102 of
this title, a State shall carry out an annual safety inspection program for
commercial motor vehicles, including motor carriers transporting not less than
9 and not more than 15 passengers (including a driver), that receives approval
from the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (3).
(2)Inspection of
safety equipmentA commercial motor vehicle inspected under a
program established pursuant to paragraph (1) is required to pass an inspection
of all safety equipment required under the regulations prescribed under section
31136 of this title.
(3)Periodic review
of State safety inspection programsNot less frequently than once
every 3 years, the Secretary shall review and approve or disapprove each safety
inspection program established pursuant to paragraph (1).
(b)Regulations for
inspection of vehicles and record retention
(1)The Secretary shall prescribe regulations on Government
standards for—
(A)inspection of
commercial motor vehicles under programs established pursuant to subsection
(a); and
(B)retention by
employers of records of such an inspection.
(2)Regulations
prescribed under this subsection are treated as regulations prescribed under
section 31136 of this
title.
.
(b)Condition on
State grantsSection 31102(d) of such title is amended to read as
follows:
(d)Continuous
evaluation of plans
(1)On the basis of reports submitted by a State motor
vehicle safety agency of a State with a plan approved under this section and
the Secretary's own investigations, the Secretary shall make a continuing
evaluation of the way the State is carrying out the plan. If the Secretary
finds, after notice and opportunity for comment, the State plan previously
approved is not being followed or has become inadequate to ensure enforcement
of the regulations, standards, or orders, the Secretary shall withdraw approval
of the plan and notify the State.
(2)Approval of annual commercial motor vehicle
inspection programsIf, under
paragraph (3) of section 31142(a) of this title, the Secretary disapproves of
an annual safety inspection program of a State established pursuant to
paragraph (1) of such section 31142(a), the Secretary shall withdraw approval
of the plan of such State and notify the State.
(3)Effective date
of plan disapprovalA State plan stops being effective under this
subsection when notice is received by the State under this subsection.
(4)A State adversely affected by a withdrawal of approval
under this subsection may seek judicial review under chapter 7 of title
5.
(5)Retention of
jurisdictionNotwithstanding a withdrawal of approval under this
subsection, the State may retain jurisdiction in administrative or judicial
proceedings begun before the withdrawal if the issues involved are not related
directly to the reasons for the
withdrawal.
.
(c)The amendments made by this section shall take effect 1 year
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
11.Any standard or regulation prescribed or
modified pursuant to this Act shall be done in accordance with section 553 of
title 5, United States Code.