[Senate Report 109-333]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



109th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2nd Session                                                    109-333
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     

                                                       Calendar No. 601

EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT STATES SHOULD REQUIRE CANDIDATES 
  FOR DRIVER'S LICENSES TO DEMONSTRATE AN ABILITY TO EXERCISE GREATLY 
   INCREASED CAUTION WHEN DRIVING IN THE PROXIMITY OF A POTENTIALLY 
                      VISUALLY IMPAIRED INDIVIDUAL

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 OF THE

           COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION

                                   on

                            S. Con. Res. 71



                                     

      DATE deg.September 11, 2006.--Ordered to be printed


       SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
                       one hundred ninth congress
                             second session

                     TED STEVENS, Alaska, Chairman
                 DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii, Co-Chairman
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona                 JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West 
CONRAD BURNS, Montana                    Virginia
TRENT LOTT, Mississippi              JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts
KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas          BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota
OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine              BARBARA BOXER, California
GORDON H. SMITH, Oregon              BILL NELSON, Florida
JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada                  MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
GEORGE ALLEN, Virginia               FRANK LAUTENBERG, New Jersey
JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire        E. BENJAMIN NELSON, Nebraska
JIM DeMINT, South Carolina           MARK PRYOR, Arkansas
DAVID VITTER, Louisiana
                    Lisa Sutherland, Staff Director
                 Christine Kurth, Deputy Staff Director
                    Kenneth Nahigian, Chief Counsel
     Margaret Cummisky, Democratic Staff Director and Chief Counsel
 Samuel Whitehorn, Democratic Deputy Staff Director and General Counsel


                                                       Calendar No. 601
109th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2nd Session                                                    109-333

======================================================================

 
EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT STATES SHOULD REQUIRE CANDIDATES 
  FOR DRIVER'S LICENSES TO DEMONSTRATE AN ABILITY TO EXERCISE GREATLY 
   INCREASED CAUTION WHEN DRIVING IN THE PROXIMITY OF A POTENTIALLY 
                      VISUALLY IMPAIRED INDIVIDUAL

                                _______
                                

               September 11, 2006.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

       Mr. Stevens, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                     [To accompany S. Con. Res. 71]

    The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to 
which was referred the concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 71) 
TITLE deg. expressing the sense of Congress that 
States should require candidates for driver's licenses to 
demonstrate an ability to exercise greatly increased caution 
when driving in the proximity of a potentially visually 
impaired individual, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the 
concurrent resolution be agreed to.

                       PURPOSE OF THE RESOLUTION

  The purpose of S. Con. Res. 71 is to express the sense of the 
Congress that States should require candidates for driver's 
licenses to demonstrate an ability to exercise greatly 
increased caution when driving in the proximity of a 
potentially visually impaired individual.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEEDS

  S. Con. Res. 71 was introduced by Senator Akaka on December 
15, 2005. The cosponsors are Senators DeWine, Inouye, Johnson, 
Landrieu, Salazar, Schumer, Stevens, and Thune. Each year, 
careless drivers cause personal injury and death to visually 
impaired individuals and their guide dogs. To reduce these 
accidents, the resolution urges states to adopt the requirement 
that candidates for driver's licenses demonstrate an ability to 
drive with increased caution when driving in the proximity of a 
potentially visually impaired individual.

                         SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS

  S. Con. Res. 71 finds that many visually impaired people 
travel about their communities without personal assistance and 
that many visually impaired people and guide dogs suffer injury 
and death each year as a result of being struck by a motor 
vehicle. Therefore, the resolution expresses the sense of 
Congress that States should require candidates for driver's 
licenses to demonstrate an ability to exercise greatly 
increased caution when driving in the proximity of a 
potentially visually impaired individual. The resolution 
encourages states to teach candidates for driver's licenses to 
associate guide dogs and white canes with visually impaired 
pedestrians.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

  On July 19, 2006, the resolution was ordered to be reported 
favorably without amendment from the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation by voice vote.

                            ESTIMATED COSTS

  With respect to the requirements of paragraph 11(a) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, S. Con. Res. 71 is a sense of 
the Congress resolution and therefore does not have the force 
of law. As such, there is no cost associated with this 
legislation for fiscal year 2007, nor for any fiscal year 
thereafter.

                      REGULATORY IMPACT STATEMENT

  Because S. Con. Res. 71 does not create any new programs, the 
legislation will have no additional regulatory impact, and will 
result in no additional reporting requirements. The legislation 
will have no further effect on the number or types of 
individuals and businesses regulated, the economic impact of 
such regulation, the personal privacy of affected individuals, 
or the paperwork required from such individuals and businesses.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

  In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate, the Committee states that the resolution 
as reported would make no change to existing law.

                                  
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