[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 274 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 274

Expressing the sense of the Senate to reduce traffic fatalities to zero 
                                by 2050.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 22, 2023

Mr. Blumenthal (for himself, Mr. Markey, Mr. King, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. 
    Lujan, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Fetterman, and Ms. Smith) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Senate to reduce traffic fatalities to zero 
                                by 2050.

Whereas roadway fatalities kill tens of thousands of people in the United States 
        each year;
Whereas, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 
        (referred to in this preamble as ``NHTSA''), 42,939 lives were lost in 
        motor vehicle crashes in 2021 and all of the deaths were preventable;
Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, traffic 
        crashes are a leading cause of death for people ages 1 to 54 and kill 
        more than 100 people every day;
Whereas, according to NHTSA, alcohol-impaired driving crashes are a leading 
        killer on the roadways of the United States, with 13,384 lives lost to 
        alcohol-impaired driving in 2021;
Whereas, according to NHTSA, 3,522 people died in motor vehicle crashes 
        involving distracted drivers in 2021;
Whereas, according to NHTSA, 7,388 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in 
        the United States in 2021, representing a 22 percent increase in the 
        last 5 years;
Whereas, according to NHTSA, the number of pedestrian fatalities increased by 53 
        percent from 2012 to 2021;
Whereas, according to the National Complete Streets Coalition at Smart Growth 
        America, the pedestrian fatality rate compared to that of White, non-
        Hispanic people in the United States is--

    (1) 220 percent higher for American Indian and Alaska Native people;

    (2) 100 percent higher for Black people; and

    (3) 20 percent higher for Hispanic and Latinx people;

Whereas, according to NHTSA, a total of 961 bicyclists were killed in crashes 
        with motor vehicles in 2021, representing a 32 percent increase in the 
        last 10 years;
Whereas independent research in 2015 found that motor vehicle crash death rates 
        were as much as 4.3 times greater for those at the bottom of the 
        education spectrum than those at the top;
Whereas, according to NHTSA, motorcycles represented only 3 percent of all 
        registered vehicles, but accounted for 14 percent of all traffic 
        fatalities and 17 percent of all occupant fatalities in 2021;
Whereas, according to NHTSA, in 2021, 40 percent of motor vehicle traffic 
        fatalities occurred on rural roads, despite only 32 percent of miles 
        traveled occurring on rural roads;
Whereas, according to NHTSA, seatbelts prevented 14,653 fatalities and 450,000 
        serious injuries in 2019, saving $93,000,000,000 in medical care, lost 
        productivity, and other injury-related costs;
Whereas, according to NHTSA, in 2021, 50 percent of passenger vehicle occupants 
        who died in a motor vehicle crash were unrestrained, while 85 percent of 
        occupants who survived a motor vehicle crash were restrained;
Whereas the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine cite that 
        approximately 40 percent of crash fatalities initially survived the 
        impact but later died, highlighting the importance of improving post-
        crash care;
Whereas, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, increasing 
        speed limits over the last 25 years have led to approximately 37,000 
        deaths;
Whereas, according to NHTSA, speeding accounted for 29 percent of all traffic 
        fatalities in 2021;
Whereas, according to Consumer Reports, existing safety technologies could cut 
        road fatalities in half if such technologies were made standard on all 
        vehicles, saving approximately 20,000 lives annually;
Whereas roadway fatalities and injuries rose during the COVID-19 pandemic and 
        remain a persistent cause of death in the United States;
Whereas a deep history of inequalities in the United States continues to impact 
        transportation systems, with low-income neighborhoods experiencing more 
        than twice as many pedestrian fatalities as neighborhoods with the 
        highest incomes, according to the National Complete Streets Coalition at 
        Smart Growth America;
Whereas roadway fatalities disproportionately affect people of color and 
        underserved communities and there must be an effort to collect better 
        data to understand these impacts;
Whereas too many families in the United States have been personally affected by 
        preventable crashes; and
Whereas a data-driven safe systems approach is proven to be effective at 
        reducing traffic fatalities and injuries, including through taking into 
        account all aspects of the transportation environment and not requiring 
        a single actor to be responsible for traffic safety: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) commits to advancing policies that will end roadway 
        fatalities by 2050;
            (2) calls on Congress and the Department of Transportation 
        to commit to working together to achieve zero roadway 
        fatalities by the year 2050;
            (3) supports efforts to address disparities and other 
        equity-related issues related to transportation safety;
            (4) calls on the Department of Transportation, and the 
        agencies within the Department of Transportation, to improve 
        data gathering and tracking of traffic crashes and other issues 
        related to transportation safety;
            (5) calls on the Department of Transportation, and the 
        agencies within the Department of Transportation, to commit to 
        the implementation of proven countermeasures and interventions 
        to prioritize transportation safety;
            (6) recognizes the need for a safe system approach to 
        transportation in the United States to improve access, safety, 
        and mobility; and
            (7) supports the use of the term ``crash'', instead of 
        ``accident'', when describing traffic incidents and encourages 
        all agencies of the Federal Government to use this term.
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