1.This Act may be cited as the
Safe Teen and Novice Driver Uniform
Protection Act of 2009
or the STANDUP Act
.
2.Congress finds the following:
(1)The National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration has reported that—
(A)motor vehicle
crashes are the leading cause of death of Americans between 15 and 20 years of
age;
(B)from 1995 to 2006,
over 76,000 Americans between the 15 and 20 years of age died in motor vehicle
crashes, an average of 122 teenage deaths per week;
(C)teenage drivers
between 16 and 20 years of age have a fatality rate that is 4 times the rate
for drivers between 25 and 70 years of age; and
(D)teenage drivers
who are 16 years of age have a motor vehicle crash rate that is almost ten
times the crash rate for drivers between 30 and 60 years of age.
(2)According to the
American Automobile Association, teenage drivers comprise slightly more than
1/3 of all fatalities in motor vehicle crashes in which
they are involved and nearly 2/3 of all fatalities in
those crashes are other drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.
(3)According to the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the chance of a crash by a 16- or
17-year-old driver is doubled if there are 2 peers in the vehicle and
quadrupled with 3 or more peers in the vehicle.
(4)According to the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the cognitive distraction
caused by hands free and hand-held cellular phones is significant enough to
degrade a driver’s performance, particularly teenage drivers between 15 and 20
years of age.
(5)Although only 20
percent of driving by teenage drivers occurs at night, more than 50 percent of
the motor vehicle crash fatalities involving teenage drivers occur at
night.
(6)In 1997, the first
full year of its graduated driver licensing system, Florida experienced a 9
percent reduction in fatal and injurious crashes among teenage drivers between
the ages of 15 and 18, compared with 1995, according to the Insurance Institute
for Highway Safety.
(7)The Journal of the
American Medical Association reports that crashes involving 16-year-old drivers
decreased between 1995 and 1999 by 25 percent in Michigan and 27 percent in
North Carolina. Comprehensive graduated driver licensing systems were
implemented in 1997 in these States.
(8)In California,
according to the Automobile Club of Southern California, teenage passenger
deaths and injuries resulting from crashes involving 16-year-old drivers
declined by 40 percent from 1998 to 2000, the first 3 years of California’s
graduated driver licensing program. The number of at-fault collisions involving
16-year-old drivers decreased by 24 percent during the same period.
(9)The National
Transportation Safety Board reports that over 40 States and the District of
Columbia have implemented 3-stage graduated driver licensing systems. Many
States have not yet implemented other basic safety features of graduated driver
licensing laws to protect the lives of teenage and novice drivers.
(10)A
2001 Harris Poll indicates that—
(A)95 percent of
Americans support a requirement of 30 to 50 hours of practice driving with and
adult;
(B)92 percent of
Americans support a 6-month learner’s permit period; and
(C)74 percent of
Americans support limiting the number of teenage passengers in a car with a
teenage driver and supervised driving during high-risk driving periods, such as
night.
3.State graduated
driver licensing laws
(a)
(1)A State is in compliance with this section if the State
has a graduated driver licensing law that includes, for novice drivers under
the age of 21, a 2-stage licensing process described in paragraph (2) before
granting an unrestricted driver’s license.
(2)To comply with the required licensing process, a State
shall enact licensing requirement that includes—
(A)a learner’s permit
stage that—
(i)commences at age
16 years of age or older;
(ii)is
at least 6 months in duration;
(iii)prohibits the
use of a cellular telephone or any communications device in a non-emergency
situation;
(iv)prohibits
nighttime driving; and
(v)is
in effect until the commencement of the intermediate stage or until a driver
becomes 18 years of age or older;
(B)an intermediate
stage that is in effect until a driver is 18 years of age or older that—
(i)commences
immediately after the expiration of the learner’s permit stage;
(ii)is
at least 6 months in duration;
(iii)prohibits
operating a motor vehicle with more than one non-familial passenger under the
age of 21 if there is no licensed driver 21 years of age or older present in
the motor vehicle;
(iv)prohibits
nighttime driving; and
(v)prohibits the use
of a cellular telephone or any communications device in non-emergency
situations; and
(3)any other
requirement that the Secretary of Transportation (referred to in this Act as
the Secretary
) may require, including for novice drivers in the
learner’s permit stage—
(A)at least 40 hours
of behind-the-wheel training with a licensed driver who is over 21 years of
age;
(B)a driver training
course;
(C)a requirement that
any such driver be accompanied and supervised by a licensed driver 21 years of
age or older at all times when such driver is operating a motor vehicle;
and
(D)a requirement
that, in addition to any other penalties imposed by State law, the grant of an
unrestricted driver’s license be automatically delayed for any individual who
is convicted of an driving-related offense, such as driving while intoxicated,
misrepresentation of their true age, reckless driving, unbelted driving,
speeding, or other violations as determined by the Secretary, during the
learner’s and intermediate stages of the licensing process.
(b)After
public notice and comment rulemaking the Secretary shall issue regulations
necessary to implement this section.
4.
(a)For each of the first 3 fiscal years beginning after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall award a grant to any State
in compliance with section 3(a) on or before the first day of that fiscal year
that submits an application under subsection (b).
(b)Any
State desiring a grant under this section shall submit an application to the
Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the
Secretary may require, including a certification by the Governor of the State
that the State is in compliance with section 3(a). The Secretary shall review
each State application and determine whether or not the State is in compliance
with subsection 3(a).
(c)For
such fiscal year described in subsection (a), amounts appropriated to carry out
this section shall be apportioned to each State in compliance with section 3(a)
in an amount determined by multiplying—
(1)the amount
appropriated to carry out this section for such fiscal year; by
(2)the ratio that the
amount of funds apportioned to each such State for such fiscal year under
section 402 of title 23, United States Code, bears to the total amount of funds
apportioned to all such States for such fiscal year under such section.
(d)Amounts received from a grant under this section shall be
used for—
(1)enforcement of
section 3(a);
(2)training for law
enforcement personnel and other relevant State agency personnel relating to the
enforcement of section 3(a);
(3)publishing relevant
educational materials that pertain directly or indirectly to the State
graduated driver licensing law; and
(4)other
administrative activities that the Secretary considers relevant to the State
graduated driver licensing law.
(e)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated out of the Highway Trust Fund (other than the
Mass Transit Account) $25,000,000 for each fiscal year under section 4(a) to
carry out this section.
5.Withholding of
funds for noncompliance
(a)
(1)The Secretary shall withhold 3 percent of the amount
otherwise required to be apportioned to any State for fiscal year 2011 under
each of the paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) of section 104(b) of title 23, United
States Code, if the State is not in compliance with section 3(a) of this Act on
October 1, 2010.
(2)The Secretary shall withhold 5 percent of the amount
otherwise required to be apportioned to any State for fiscal year 2012 under
each of the paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) of section 104(b) of title 23, United
States Code, if that State is not in compliance with section 3(a) of this Act
on October 1, 2011.
(3)Fiscal year 2013
and thereafterThe Secretary shall withhold 10 percent of the
amount otherwise required to be apportioned to any State for fiscal year
beginning with fiscal year 2013 under each of the paragraphs (1), (3), and (4)
of section 104(b) of title 23, United States Code, if that State is not in
compliance with section 3(a) of this Act on the first day of such fiscal
year.
(b)Period of
availability of withheld funds
(1)Funds withheld
on or before September 30, 2012Any amount withheld from any
State under subsection (a) on or before September 30, 2012, shall remain
available for distribution to the State under subsection (c) until the end of
the third fiscal year following the fiscal year for which such amount is
appropriated.
(2)Funds withheld
after September 30, 2012Any amount withheld under subsection
(a)(2) from any State after September 30, 2012, may not be distributed to the
State.
(c)Apportionment of
withheld funds after compliance
(1)If, before the last day of the period for which funds
withheld under subsection (a) remain available to a State under subsection (b),
the State comes into compliance with section 3(a), the Secretary shall, on the
first day on which the Secretary determines the State has come into compliance,
distribute to the State any amounts withheld under subsection (a) that remains
available for apportionment to the State.
(2)Period of
availability of subsequently apportioned fundsAny amount
distributed under paragraph (1) shall remain available for expenditure by the
State until the end of the third fiscal year following the year for which the
funds are so apportioned. Any amount not expended by the State by the end of
such period shall revert back to the Treasury of the United States.
(3)If a State is not in compliance with section 3(a)
at the end of the period for which any amount withheld under subsection (a)
remains available for distribution to the State under subsection (b), such
amount shall revert back to the Treasury of the United States.