1.Short title; table of
contents
(a)This Act may be cited as the Distracted
Driving Prevention Act of 2009
.
(b)The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Distracted driving incentive grants.
Sec. 3. Distracted driving national education
program.
Sec. 4. Research and data collection.
Sec. 5. Research program.
Sec. 6. FCC report on distracted driving
technology.
Sec. 7. Provision of information to States.
Sec. 8. Commercial motor vehicles and school buses.
Sec. 9. Funding.
2.Distracted
driving incentive grants
(a)Chapter 4 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following:
413.Distracted
driving incentive grants
(a)The Secretary shall make a grant under this section to
any State that enacts and implements a statute that meets the requirements of
subsections (b) and (c) of this section.
(b)Prohibition on
Texting While DrivingA State statute meets the requirements of
this subsection if the statute—
(1)prohibits the use
of a personal wireless communications device by a driver for texting while
driving;
(2)makes violation of
the statute a primary offense;
(3)establishes—
(A)a minimum fine for
a first violation of the statute; and
(B)increased fines
for repeat violations; and
(4)provides increased
civil and criminal penalties than would otherwise apply if a vehicle accident
is caused by a driver who is using such a device in violation of the
statute.
(c)Prohibition on
Handheld Cellphone Use While DrivingA State statute meets the
requirements of this subsection if the statute—
(1)prohibits a driver
from holding a personal wireless communications device to conduct a telephone
call while driving;
(2)allows the use of
hands-free devices that enable a driver, other than a driver who has not
attained the age of 18, to initiate, conduct, or receive a telephone call
without holding the device;
(3)makes violation of
the statute a primary offense;
(4)requires
distracted driving issues to be tested as part of the State driver’s license
examination;
(5)establishes—
(A)a minimum fine for
a first violation of the statute; and
(B)increased fines
for repeat violations; and
(6)provides increased
civil and criminal penalties than would otherwise apply if a vehicle accident
is caused by a driver who is using such a device in violation of the
statute.
(d)A statute that meets the requirements of subsections
(b) and (c) may provide exceptions for—
(1)use of a personal
wireless communications device by a driver to contact emergency
services;
(2)manipulation of
such a device by a driver to activate, deactivate, or initialize the hands-free
functionality of the device;
(3)use of a personal
wireless communications device by emergency services personnel while operating
an emergency services vehicle and engaged in the performance of their duties as
emergency services personnel; and
(4)use of a device by
an individual employed as a commercial motor vehicle driver, or a school bus
driver, within the scope of such individual’s employment if such use is
permitted under the regulations promulgated pursuant to section 31152 of title
49.
(e)The Secretary shall make a grant under this section to a
State in any year in which the State—
(1)enacts a law that
meets the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) before July 1; or
(2)maintains a
statute, that meets the requirements of subsections (b) and (c), enacted in a
previous year that is in effect through June 30th of the grant year.
(f)Disbursement and
ApportionmentGrants to qualifying States shall be disbursed
after July 1 each year according to the apportionment criteria of section
402(c).
(g)A State that receives a grant under this section—
(1)shall use at least
50 percent of the grant—
(A)to educate and
advertise to the public information about the dangers of texting or using a
cellphone while driving;
(B)for traffic signs
that notify drivers about the distracted driving law of the State;
(C)for law
enforcement of the distracted driving law; or
(D)for a combination
of such uses; and
(2)may use up to 50
percent of the grant for other projects that improve traffic safety and that
are consistent with the criteria in section 402(a).
(h)In
this section:
(1)The
term driving means operating a motor vehicle on a public road,
including operation while temporarily stationary because of traffic, a traffic
light or stop sign, or otherwise. It does not include operating a motor vehicle
when the vehicle has pulled over to the side of, or off, an active roadway and
has stopped in a location where it can safely remain stationary.
(2)The term hands-free device means a device
that allows a driver to use a personal wireless communications device to
initiate, conduct, or receive a telephone call without holding the personal
wireless communications device.
(3)Personal
wireless communications deviceThe term personal wireless
communications device means a device through which personal wireless
services (as defined in section 332(c)(7)(C)(i) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
332(c)(7)(C)(i))) are transmitted. It does not include a global navigation
satellite system receiver used for positioning, emergency notification, or
navigation purposes.
(4)The term primary offense means an offense
for which a law enforcement officer may stop a vehicle solely for the purpose
of issuing a citation in the absence of evidence of another offense.
(5)The term public road has the meaning given that
term in section 402(c).
(6)The
term texting means reading from or manually entering data into a
personal wireless communications device, including doing so for the purpose of
SMS texting, e-mailing, instant messaging, or engaging in any other form of
electronic data retrieval or electronic data
communication.
.
(b)The table of contents for chapter 4 of title 23, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
413. Distracted driving incentive
grants.
.
3.Distracted
driving national education program
(a)The Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration shall establish and administer a program under which at least 2
high-visibility education and advertising campaigns related to distracted
driving will be carried out for the purpose specified in subsection (b) for
fiscal years 2010 and 2011.
(b)The
purpose of an education and advertising campaign under this section shall be to
educate the public about the risks associated with distracted driving,
including those associated with—
(1)texting (as
defined in section 413(h)(6) of title 23, United States Code) while driving;
and
(2)the use of
personal wireless communications devices (as defined in section 413(h)(3) of
that title) while driving.
(c)The
Administrator may use, or authorize the use of, funds available to carry out
this section to pay for the development, production, publication, and broadcast
of electronic and print media advertising in carrying out traffic safety
education and advertising campaigns under this section. The
Administrator—
(1)shall give
consideration to advertising directed at non-English speaking populations,
including those who listen, read, or watch nontraditional media; and
(2)may use a portion
of the funds available for this program to target local jurisdictions that have
enacted laws prohibiting texting or the use of personal wireless communications
devices while driving.
(d)The Administrator may coordinate with the States to
carry out the education and advertising campaigns under this section to
coincide with high-visibility enforcement of State laws prohibiting texting
while driving or the use of personal wireless communications devices while
driving.
(e)The Administrator shall conduct an annual evaluation
of the effectiveness of the education and advertising campaigns under this
section, and report the results to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation, and the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and
Commerce.
4.Research and data
collection
(a)Section 408(e)(2) of title 23, United States Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(2)Data on use of
electronic devices
(A)The model data
elements required under paragraph (1) shall include data elements, as
determined appropriate by the Secretary, in consultation with the States and
appropriate elements of the law enforcement community, on the impact on traffic
safety of the use of electronic devices while driving.
(B)In order to meet
the requirements of subparagraph (A), State and local governments shall—
(i)require that
official vehicle accident investigation reports include a designated space to
record whether or not the use of a personal wireless communications device (as
defined in section 413(h)(3)) was in use at the time of the accident by any
driver involved in the accident;
(ii)require that all
law enforcement officers, as part of a vehicle accident investigation, inquire
about and record the information required by clause (i); and
(iii)incorporate the
information collected under clause (i) into its traffic safety information
system.
.
(b)The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply with
respect to grants under section 408 of title 23, United States Code, for fiscal
years beginning after fiscal year 2010.
5.
(a)The Secretary of Transportation shall establish a
research program to study distracted driving by passenger and commercial
vehicle drivers.
(b)The
program shall include studies of—
(1)driver
behavior;
(2)vehicle
technology; and
(3)portable
electronic devices that are commonly brought into passenger or commercial
vehicles.
(c)
(1)In carrying out this section the Secretary may grant
research contracts to non-governmental entities to study distracted
driving.
(2)The
Secretary may not grant a research contract under this section to any person
that produces or sells—
(A)electronic
equipment that is used in vehicles;
(B)portable
electronic equipment commonly brought into passenger or commercial vehicles;
or
(C)passenger or
commercial vehicles.
6.FCC report on
distracted driving technologyWithin 180 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall submit a report to the
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of
Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce that identifies—
(1)data the
Commission can collect and analyze that will assist in understanding and
reducing the problem of distracted driving involving the use of personal
communications devices;
(2)existing and
developing wireless communications technology that may be used to reduce
problems associated with distracted driving; and
(3)existing authority
that the Commission may use to assist in reducing those problems.
7.Provision of
information to StatesSection
30105 of title 49, United States Code, shall not apply to providing
Government-sponsored research and highway safety data, or providing technical
assistance, relating to legislative proposals addressing the dangers or
potential dangers of—
(1)texting while
driving a passenger vehicle, school bus, or commercial vehicle; or
(2)the use of
personal wireless communications devices (as defined in section 413(h)(3) of
title 23, United States Code) while driving a passenger vehicle, school bus, or
commercial vehicle.
8.Commercial motor
vehicles and school buses
(a)Subchapter III of chapter 311 of title 49, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
31152.Regulation of
the use of distracting devices in commercial motor vehicles and school
buses
(a)No later than 1 year after the enactment of the
Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2009, the Secretary of Transportation
shall prescribe regulations on the use of electronic or wireless devices,
including cell phones and other distracting devices, by an individual employed
as the operator of—
(1)a commercial motor
vehicle while that individual is engaged in the performance of such
individual’s duties as the operator of the commercial motor vehicle; or
(2)a school bus (as
defined in section 30125(a)(1)) that is a commercial motor vehicle (as defined
in section 31301(4)(A)) while that individual is engaged in the performance of
such individual’s duties as the operator of the school bus.
(b)The Secretary shall base the regulations required by
subsection (a) on accident data analysis, the results of ongoing research, and
other information, as appropriate.
(c)The Secretary shall prohibit the use of such devices in
circumstances in which the Secretary determines that their use interferes with
the driver’s safe operation of a school bus or commercial motor vehicle.
(d)Under the regulations, the Secretary may permit the use of a
device, the use of which is prohibited under subsection (c), if the Secretary
determines that such use is necessary for the safety of the driver or the
public in emergency
circumstances.
.
(b)The table of contents for chapter 311 of title 49,
United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section
31151 the following:
31152. Regulation of the use of
distracting devices in commercial motor vehicles and school
buses.
.
9.Section 2001(a) of Public Law 109–59 is
amended—
(1)by striking
and
in paragraph (4);
(2)by striking
2009.
in paragraph (4) and inserting 2009, $94,500,000
for fiscal year 2010, and $94,500,000 for fiscal year 2011. If any amount of
the funds authorized by this paragraph has not been allocated to States meeting
the criteria of section 406 of title 23, United States Code, by July 1 of a
fiscal year beginning after fiscal year 2009, the unallocated amount shall be
allocated to States meeting the criteria of section 413 of that title.
;
and
(3)by redesignating
paragraph (11) as paragraph (12) and inserting after paragraph (10) the
following:
(11)Distracted
driving programFor carrying out section 3 of the Distracted
Driving Prevention Act of 2009, $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 and
2011.
.