[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 841 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 841

  To direct the Secretary of Transportation to study and establish a 
  motor vehicle safety standard that provides for a means of alerting 
        blind and other pedestrians of motor vehicle operation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 21, 2009

Mr. Kerry (for himself and Mr. Specter) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Secretary of Transportation to study and establish a 
  motor vehicle safety standard that provides for a means of alerting 
        blind and other pedestrians of motor vehicle operation.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 
2009''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Motor vehicle.--The term ``motor vehicle'' has the 
        meaning given such term in section 30102(a)(6) of title 49, 
        United States Code.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Transportation.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) motor vehicles designed to provide the desirable 
        benefits of reducing harmful pollutants and operating with 
        greater fuel efficiency include gasoline-electric hybrid and 
        electric-only vehicles, and in the foreseeable future may 
        include vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cell and other engine 
        designs that rely on fuels and technologies other than the 
        gasoline-powered internal combustion engine;
            (2) these vehicle engine designs operate or are likely to 
        operate with virtually no sound being produced by the vehicle;
            (3) the total number of hybrid motor vehicles sold per year 
        in the United States is growing dramatically, and may someday 
        equal or exceed the number of internal combustion engine motor 
        vehicles on the Nation's roads;
            (4) blind pedestrians cannot locate and evaluate traffic by 
        sight and instead must listen to traffic to discern its speed, 
        direction, and other attributes in order to travel safely and 
        independently;
            (5) other people, including pedestrians who are not blind, 
        bicyclists, runners, and small children, benefit from multi-
        sensory information available from vehicle traffic, including 
        the sound of vehicle engines;
            (6) when operating on their electric engines, hybrid 
        vehicles cannot be heard by blind people and others, rendering 
        such vehicles extremely dangerous when driving on the street, 
        emerging from driveways, moving through parking lots, and in 
        other situations where pedestrians and vehicles come into 
        proximity with each other;
            (7) failure to take immediate action assuring that blind 
        pedestrians can hear hybrid and other silent vehicles in all 
        phases of their operation will inevitably lead to pedestrian 
        injuries and fatalities; and
            (8) such accidents are preventable through vehicle designs 
        which take into account the multi-sensory nature of traffic 
        detection and avoidance, and require that vehicles emit a 
        minimum level of sound designed to alert all pedestrians, 
        especially blind pedestrians, to the presence of such vehicles.

SEC. 4. STUDY OF METHOD TO PROTECT BLIND AND OTHER PEDESTRIANS.

    (a) Required Study.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct a study to--
            (1) determine the most practical means of ensuring that 
        blind and other pedestrians receive substantially similar 
        information to information such pedestrians receive from sound 
        emitted by vehicles that use internal combustion engines;
            (2) determine the minimum level of sound emitted from a 
        motor vehicle that is necessary to provide blind pedestrians 
        with the information needed to make safe travel judgments; and
            (3) consider whether the minimum level of sound requirement 
        or another method that conveys information essential for 
        pedestrian safety provides the most reliable information to 
        support safe travel of blind and other pedestrians, including--
                    (A) which method provides blind and other 
                pedestrians the greatest amount of information 
                regarding location, motion, speed, and direction of 
                travel of a motor vehicle;
                    (B) the cost and feasibility of each method, 
                including the cost and feasibility of equipping each 
                individual pedestrian with any technology necessary to 
                receive information; and
                    (C) which method ensures the least reliance by 
                blind and other pedestrians upon technology they must 
                possess when traveling and thereby provides the 
                greatest amount of independence and opportunity for 
                spontaneous travel for these pedestrians.
    (b) Required Consultation.--While conducting the study, the 
Secretary shall--
            (1) review all available research regarding the effect of 
        traffic sounds on pedestrian safety;
            (2) commission such additional research as may be 
        necessary;
            (3) consult with consumer groups representing individuals 
        who are blind, other pedestrians, cyclists, and advocates for 
        children; and
            (4) consult with automobile manufacturers and professional 
        organizations which represent such manufacturers.
    (c) Report.--The Secretary shall--
            (1) complete the study required under this section not 
        later than 2 years after commencing such study; and
            (2) submit a report to Congress that contains the findings 
        of such study.

SEC. 5. MINIMUM SOUND REQUIREMENT FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after completion of the 
study required under section 4, the Secretary shall promulgate a motor 
vehicle safety standard under section 30111 of title 49, United States 
Code, to establish a method for alerting blind and other pedestrians of 
the presence and operation of nearby motor vehicles to enable such 
pedestrians to travel safely and independently in urban, rural, and 
residential environments.
    (b) Requirements.--The standard required under this section shall 
provide that every motor vehicle be equipped with a method--
            (1) to provide blind and other pedestrians with a non-
        visual alert regarding the location, motion, speed, and 
        direction of travel of a motor vehicle that provides 
        substantially the same protection of such pedestrians as that 
        provided by a motor vehicle with an internal combustion engine; 
        and
            (2) that will permit a blind or other pedestrian to 
        determine the location, motion, speed, and direction of travel 
        of a motor vehicle with substantially the same degree of 
        certainty as such pedestrians are able to determine the 
        location, motion, speed, and direction of travel of a motor 
        vehicle with an internal combustion engine.
    (c) Effective Date.--The standard promulgated under this section 
shall apply to all new motor vehicles manufactured or sold in the 
United States beginning on that date that is 2 years after the issuance 
of such standard.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums 
as may be necessary to carry out this Act.
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