[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6518 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6518

 To direct the Secretary of Transportation to study the feasibility of 
    more widespread use of in-vehicle technology to prevent alcohol-
 impaired driving, to require a Federal motor vehicle safety standard 
  related to rollover prevention and crash mitigation, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 13, 2010

   Mr. Rush introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of Transportation to study the feasibility of 
    more widespread use of in-vehicle technology to prevent alcohol-
 impaired driving, to require a Federal motor vehicle safety standard 
  related to rollover prevention and crash mitigation, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. DEFINITION.

    As used in this Act, the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
Transportation, acting through the Administrator of the National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

         TITLE I--IN-VEHICLE ALCOHOL DETECTION DEVICE RESEARCH

SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

    This title may be cited as the ``Research of Alcohol Detection 
Systems for Stopping Alcohol-related Fatalities Everywhere Act of 
2010'' or the ``ROADS SAFE Act of 2010''.

SEC. 102. DRIVER ALCOHOL DETECTION SYSTEM RESEARCH.

    (a) Research.--The Secretary shall carry out a collaborative 
research effort to continue to explore the feasibility and the 
potential benefits of, and the public policy challenges associated 
with, more widespread deployment of in-vehicle technology to prevent 
alcohol-impaired driving.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act and for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015, the 
Secretary shall submit an annual report to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate--
            (1) describing progress in carrying out the collaborative 
        research effort; and
            (2) including an accounting for the use of Federal funds 
        obligated or expended in carrying out that effort.

SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS.

    In this title:
            (1) Alcohol-impaired driving.--The term ``alcohol-impaired 
        driving'' means operation of a motor vehicle (as defined in 
        section 30102(a)(6) of title 49, United States Code) by an 
        individual whose blood alcohol content is at or above the legal 
        limit.
            (2) Legal limit.--The term ``legal limit'' means a blood 
        alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or greater (as specified 
        by section 163 of title 23, United States Code) or such other 
        percentage limitation as may be established by applicable 
        Federal, State, or local law.

SEC. 104. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.

    Nothing in this title shall be construed to modify or otherwise 
affect any Federal, State, or local government law, civil or criminal, 
with respect to the operation of a motor vehicle.

                   TITLE II--SAFETY AND TRANSPARENCY

SEC. 201. COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE ROLLOVER PREVENTION AND CRASH 
              MITIGATION.

    (a) Rulemaking.--Not later than 6 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall initiate a rulemaking 
proceeding pursuant to section 30111 of title 49, United States Code, 
to prescribe or amend a Federal motor vehicle safety standard to reduce 
commercial motor vehicle rollover and loss of control crashes and 
mitigate deaths and injuries associated with such crashes for air-
braked truck tractors and motorcoaches with a gross vehicle weight 
rating of more than 26,000 pounds.
    (b) Required Performance Standards.--The rulemaking proceeding 
initiated under subsection (a) shall establish standards to reduce the 
occurrence of rollovers consistent with stability enhancing 
technologies that address both rollovers and loss-of-control crashes.
    (c) Deadline.--The Secretary shall issue a final rule under 
subsection (a) not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of 
this Act.

SEC. 202. STUDY OF CRASH DATA COLLECTION.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall issue a report regarding the quality 
of data collected through the National Automotive Sampling System, 
including the Special Crash Investigations, and recommendations for 
improvements to this data collection program. The report shall include 
information regarding--
            (1) the analysis and conclusions the National Highway 
        Traffic Safety Administration can reach based on the amount of 
        data collected in a given year, and the additional analysis and 
        conclusions it could reach if more crash investigations were 
        conducted each year;
            (2) the number of investigations per year that would allow 
        for optimal data analysis and crash information;
            (3) the results of a comprehensive review of the data 
        elements collected from each crash to determine if additional 
        data should be collected; which review shall include input from 
        interested parties, such as suppliers, automakers, safety 
        advocates, the medical community and research organizations; 
        and
            (4) the resources that would be necessary for the National 
        Highway Traffic Safety Administration to implement these 
        recommendations.
    (b) Submission of Report.--The report shall be submitted to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and to 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 
upon completion.

SEC. 203. NHTSA HOTLINE FOR MANUFACTURER, DEALER, AND MECHANIC 
              PERSONNEL.

    The Secretary shall--
            (1) establish a means by which mechanics, passenger motor 
        vehicle dealership personnel, and passenger motor vehicle 
        manufacturer personnel may contact the National Highway Traffic 
        Safety Administration directly and confidentially regarding 
        potential passenger motor vehicle safety defects; and
            (2) publicize the means for contacting the National Highway 
        Traffic Safety Administration in a manner that targets 
        mechanics, passenger motor vehicle dealership personnel, and 
        manufacturer personnel.

SEC. 204. HONORS RECRUITMENT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish, within the 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an honors program for 
engineering students, computer science students, and other students 
interested in vehicle safety that will enable such students to train 
with engineers and other safety officials for a career in vehicle 
safety. The Secretary is authorized to provide a stipend to students 
during their participation in the program.
    (b) Targeted Students.--The Secretary shall develop a plan to 
target and make an aggressive outreach to recruit the top 10 percent of 
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics students attending--
            (1) 1890 Land Grant Institutions (as defined in section 2 
        of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform 
        Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7061));
            (2) Predominantly Black Institutions (as defined in section 
        318 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059e));
            (3) Tribal Colleges or Universities (as defined in section 
        316(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        1059c(b))); and
            (4) Hispanic-Serving Institutions (as defined in section 
        502(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101a)).

SEC. 205. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF EARLY WARNING DATA.

    Section 30166(m) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking clause (ii) and 
        inserting the following:
                            ``(ii) customer satisfaction campaigns, 
                        customer advisories, recalls, consumer 
                        complaints, warranty claims, field reports, 
                        technical service bulletins, or other activity 
                        involving the repair or replacement of motor 
                        vehicles or motor vehicle equipment.''; and
            (2) in paragraph (4), by striking subparagraph (C) and 
        inserting the following:
                    ``(C) Disclosure.--The information provided to the 
                Secretary pursuant to this subsection shall be 
                disclosed publicly unless exempt from disclosure under 
                section 552(b) of title 5. The Secretary shall 
                administer this subsection with a presumption in favor 
                of maximum public availability of information. The 
                following types of information shall presumptively not 
                be exempt from disclosure under section 552(b) of title 
                5:
                            ``(i) Vehicle safety defect information 
                        related to incidents involving death or injury.
                            ``(ii) Aggregated numbers of property 
                        damage claims.
                            ``(iii) Aggregated numbers of consumer 
                        complaints related to potential vehicle 
                        defects.''.
                                 <all>