[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 27, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5106-S5107]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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  SENATE RESOLUTION 321--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE TO REDUCE 
                   TRAFFIC FATALITIES TO ZERO BY 2050

  Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mr. Markey, Mr. Wyden, Mr. King, Ms. 
Klobuchar, and Mr. Lujan) submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation:

                              S. Res. 321

       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''), 
     38,680 lives were lost in motor vehicle crashes in 2020 and 
     all of the deaths were preventable;
       Whereas more than 100 people lose their lives on a typical 
     day on the roadways of the Nation, with traffic crashes being 
     the leading cause of death for people ages 1 to 25;
       Whereas alcohol-impaired driving crashes are a leading 
     killer on the roadways of the Nation, with 10,142 lives lost 
     to alcohol-impaired driving in 2019, according to NHTSA;
       Whereas, according to NHTSA, in 2019, 3,142 people died in 
     motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers and an 
     estimated additional 424,000 people were injured in motor 
     vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers;

[[Page S5107]]

       Whereas, according to NHTSA, 6,205 pedestrians were killed 
     in traffic crashes the United States in 2019, representing a 
     13 percent increase in the last 5 years;
       Whereas, according to NHTSA, the number of pedestrian 
     fatalities increased by 44 percent from 2010 to 2019;
       Whereas, according to the National Complete Streets 
     Coalition at Smart Growth America, the pedestrian fatality 
     rate for American Indian and Alaska Native people is 221 
     percent higher than that of White, non-Hispanic people in the 
     United States, and Black people were struck and killed by 
     drivers at a 82 percent higher rate than White, non-Hispanic 
     people in the United States;
       Whereas, according to NHTSA, a total of 843 bicyclists were 
     killed in crashes with motor vehicles in 2019, representing a 
     36 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 2019;
       Whereas, according to NHTSA, in 2019, 45 percent of motor 
     vehicle traffic fatalities occurred on rural roads, despite 
     only 30 percent of miles traveled occurring on rural roads;
       Whereas, according to NHTSA, seatbelts saved 14,955 lives 
     in 2017 but lack of universal seatbelt usage costs the 
     economy of the United States $10,000,000,000 annually;
       Whereas, according to NHTSA, in 2019, 47 percent of 
     passenger vehicle occupants who died in a motor vehicle crash 
     were unrestrained, while 86 percent of occupants who survived 
     a motor vehicle crash were restrained;
       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 26 
     percent of all traffic fatalities in 2019;
       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 killer on the 
     roadways of our Nation;
       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 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 systems approach in 
     United States transportation to improve access, safety, and 
     mobility; and
       (7) supports the use of the term ``crash'' and not 
     ``accident'' when describing traffic incidents and encourages 
     all United States Government agencies to use this term.

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