[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6256 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6256

To require the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to update 
     the motor vehicle information required to be submitted to the 
    Administration to assist a consumer in buying a passenger motor 
                                vehicle.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 12, 2020

 Mr. Pallone (for himself and Ms. Schakowsky) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to update 
     the motor vehicle information required to be submitted to the 
    Administration to assist a consumer in buying a passenger motor 
                                vehicle.

    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 ``Five-Stars for Safe Cars Act''.

SEC. 2. UPDATING THE 5-STAR SAFETY RATING SYSTEM.

    Section 32302 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(e) Roadmap.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this subsection and every year thereafter, the 
        Secretary shall publish a clear and concise report on a 
        publicly accessible website detailing efforts over the next 
        five-year period to improve the passenger motor vehicle 
        information developed under subsection (a).
            ``(2) Elements.--The report required under paragraph (1) 
        shall include--
                    ``(A) descriptions of actions that will be taken to 
                update the passenger motor vehicle information 
                developed under subsection (a), including the 
                development of test procedures, test devices, test 
                fixtures, and safety performance metrics;
                    ``(B) key milestones, including the anticipated 
                start of an action, completion of an action, and 
                effective date of an update; and
                    ``(C) descriptions of how an update will improve 
                the passenger motor vehicle information developed under 
                subsection (a).
            ``(3) Requirements.--In developing, implementing, and 
        updating the report required under paragraph (1), the Secretary 
        shall--
                    ``(A) identify and prioritize safety features and 
                technologies that are practicable and for which 
                objective rating tests and evaluation criteria exists;
                    ``(B) when reasonable and in the public interest, 
                harmonize the passenger motor vehicle information 
                developed under subsection (a) with other safety 
                information programs, including those administered 
                internationally or by private organizations, that 
                provide comparisons of safety characteristics of 
                passenger motor vehicles;
                    ``(C) establish objective criteria for the 
                selection of safety technologies to be rated;
                    ``(D) conduct annual review to evaluate 
                effectiveness of the passenger motor vehicle 
                information produced under subsection (a) at improving 
                the safety of passenger motor vehicles;
                    ``(E) provide for a reasonable period of time for 
                compliance with new or updated tests; and
                    ``(F) adhere to all deadlines established under 
                subsection (f).
            ``(4) Public comment.--The Secretary shall provide for a 
        period of public comment and review in developing the plan 
        required under paragraph (1).
    ``(f) Updating the 5-Star Safety Rating System.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall finalize the 
        proceeding entitled New Car Assessment Program (80 Fed. Reg. 
        78521) to update the passenger motor vehicle information 
        required under subsection (a).
            ``(2) Crashworthiness.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the 
        Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) update the test procedures and devices, 
                including anthropomorphic test devices, used in tests;
                    ``(B) establish new or refine injury criteria, 
                including but not limited to brain, thoracic and 
                abdomen, neck, and lower leg injury criteria;
                    ``(C) establish rear seat crashworthiness tests and 
                rating, including for seating positions beyond the 
                second row of seats;
                    ``(D) establish crashworthiness tests for all 
                designated seating positions and ratings for elderly 
                occupants;
                    ``(E) establish crashworthiness tests for all rear 
                designated seating positions and ratings for children; 
                and
                    ``(F) ensure that crashworthiness tests account for 
                occupancy of all designated seating positions, as 
                applicable.
            ``(3) Crash avoidance.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the 
        Secretary shall update and create, as applicable, crash 
        avoidance tests and ratings, which shall include forward 
        automatic emergency braking (forward collision warning, crash 
        imminent braking, and dynamic brake support), lower beam head 
        light performance, semi-automatic headlamp beam switching, 
        amber rear turn signal lamps, rear cross traffic alert, lane 
        departure warning, rear automatic emergency braking, and blind 
        spot detection.
            ``(4) Pedestrian safety.--In carrying out paragraph (1), 
        the Secretary shall establish tests and ratings for pedestrian, 
        bicyclist, and other vulnerable road users crashworthiness, 
        including the potential risks of injuries to the head, pelvis, 
        upper and lower leg, and crash avoidance, which shall include 
        automatic emergency braking and rear automatic emergency 
        braking.
            ``(5) Enhancing motor vehicle information.--In carrying out 
        paragraph (1), the Secretary shall create a combined overall 
        five-star vehicle rating and separate five-star ratings for 
        crashworthiness for adults (women and men), crashworthiness for 
        elderly occupants, crashworthiness for children, crash 
        avoidance, and pedestrian and bicycling crashworthiness and 
        crash avoidance. The Secretary shall ensure that the five-star 
        ratings are prominently displayed in stickers placed on motor 
        vehicles by their manufacturers and on a publicly available and 
        easily accessible website.
            ``(6) Post-crash safety.--
                    ``(A) Not later than 2 years after the date of 
                enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall complete 
                research into the development of tests for the 
                following safety features--
                            ``(i) automatic collision notification; and
                            ``(ii) advanced automatic collision 
                        notification.
                    ``(B) After completion of the research required 
                under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall include 
                each of the safety features in the passenger motor 
                vehicle information developed under subsection (a) not 
                later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this 
                Act unless the Secretary determines that doing so will 
                not improve the safety of passenger motor vehicles.
                    ``(C) If the Secretary determines that including 
                one or more of the safety features in passenger motor 
                vehicle information developed under subsection (a) will 
                not improve the safety of passenger motor vehicles, the 
                Secretary shall submit a report describing the reasons 
                for not including each of the safety features in the 
                passenger motor vehicle information developed under 
                subsection (a) to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
                of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
                Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate not 
                later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this 
                Act. If one or more of the safety features is included 
                in an international safety information program, the 
                Secretary shall detail why the tests and ratings from 
                the international safety information program, or 
                substantially similar tests and ratings, were not 
                adopted.
            ``(7) Advanced crash avoidance systems.--
                    ``(A) Not later than 2 years after the date of 
                enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall complete 
                research into the development of tests for the 
                following safety features--
                            ``(i) lane keeping assistance;
                            ``(ii) traffic jam assist;
                            ``(iii) passive drunk driving prevention 
                        system;
                            ``(iv) driver distraction prevention 
                        system; and
                            ``(v) driver monitoring.
                    ``(B) After completion of the research required 
                under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall include 
                each of the safety features in the crash avoidance 
                rating not later than 3 years after the date of 
                enactment of this Act unless the Secretary determines 
                that doing so will not improve the safety of passenger 
                motor vehicles.
                    ``(C) If the Secretary determines that including 
                one or more of the safety features in the crash 
                avoidance rating required will not improve the safety 
                of passenger motor vehicles, the Secretary shall submit 
                a report describing the reasons for not including each 
                of the safety features in the crash avoidance rating to 
                the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
                Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
                and Transportation of the Senate not later than 3 years 
                after the date of enactment of this Act. If one or more 
                of the safety features is included in an international 
                safety information program, the Secretary shall detail 
                why the tests and ratings from the international safety 
                information program, or substantially similar tests and 
                ratings, were not adopted.
            ``(8) Continuous updates.--Not later than 3 years after 
        completing the proceeding entitled New Car Assessment Program 
        (80 Fed. Reg. 78521) required under paragraph (1) and every 3 
        years thereafter, the Secretary shall update the passenger 
        motor vehicle information under subsection (a) to expand 
        consumer access to vehicles with improved safety in accordance 
        with the roadmap required under subsection (e).
            ``(9) Reporting requirement.--Should the Secretary fail to 
        meet a deadline set forth in this subsection, the Secretary 
        shall complete and submit a report to the Committee on Energy 
        and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
        on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate within 1 
        month of such deadline, providing an explanation for why the 
        deadline was not met and a detailed plan and projected timeline 
        for completing the requirements of this subsection.''.
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