[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 841 Engrossed in House (EH)]

H. Res. 841

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                     November 17, 2009.
Whereas motor vehicle travel is the primary means of transportation in the 
        United States;
Whereas the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates 
        that 37,313 people, or more than 100 drivers a day, were killed in motor 
        vehicle traffic crashes in 2008;
Whereas the term ``distracted driving'' refers to anything that takes your eyes, 
        hands, or mind away from driving, including food and beverages, traffic 
        accidents, adjusting the radio, children, pets, objects moving in the 
        vehicle, talking or texting on a cell phone, smoking, putting on makeup, 
        shaving, and reading;
Whereas the NHTSA researched driver distraction with respect to both behavioral 
        and vehicle safety countermeasures in an effort to understand and 
        mitigate crashes associated with distracted driving;
Whereas, on September 30, 2009, the Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary 
        Ray LaHood announced new research findings by the NHTSA that show nearly 
        6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted or 
        inattentive driver, and more than half a million were injured;
Whereas distracted driving was reported to have been involved in 16 percent of 
        all fatal crashes in 2008 according to data from the Fatality Analysis 
        Reporting System (FARS);
Whereas the age group with the greatest proportion of distracted drivers was the 
        under-20 age group, 16 percent of all under-20 drivers in fatal crashes 
        were reported to have been distracted while driving;
Whereas an estimated 22 percent of injury crashes were reported to have involved 
        distracted driving, according to data from the General Estimates System 
        (GES);
Whereas crashes in which the critical reason for the crash was attributed to the 
        driver, approximately 18 percent involved distraction, according to the 
        National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey (NMVCCS);
Whereas during the 100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study, driver involvement in 
        secondary tasks contributed to over 22 percent of all crashes;
Whereas everyone traveling on the roads and highways needs to drive safer to 
        reduce deaths and injuries resulting from motor vehicle accidents;
Whereas driver behavior can be effectively changed through education and 
        awareness; and
Whereas the Sunday after Thanksgiving is the busiest highway traffic day of the 
        year and would be appropriate to designate as ``Drive Safer Sunday'': 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) encourages--
                    (A) high schools, colleges, universities, administrators, 
                teachers, primary schools, and secondary schools to launch 
                campus-wide educational campaigns to urge students to be careful 
                about safety when driving;
                    (B) national trucking firms to alert their drivers to be 
                especially focused on driving safely during the heaviest traffic 
                day of the year, and to publicize the importance of the day 
                using Citizen's Band (CB) radios and in truck stops across the 
                Nation;
                    (C) clergy to remind their members to travel safely when 
                attending services and gatherings;
                    (D) law enforcement personnel to remind drivers and 
                passengers to drive safer; and
                    (E) all people of the United States to use this as an 
                opportunity to educate themselves about the dangers of 
                distracted driving and highway safety; and
            (2) supports the designation of ``Drive Safer Sunday''.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.