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.

Summary: Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2008 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to study and report to Congress on the minimum level of sound that is necessary to be emitted from a motor vehicle, or some other method, to alert blind and other pedestrians of the presence of operating motor vehicles while traveling.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 
2008''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

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

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 following enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary shall conduct a study to--
            (1) determine the most practical means of assuring 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 assures 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.--When conducting the study, the 
Secretary shall--
            (1) review all available research regarding the effect of 
        traffic sounds on pedestrian safety, and commission such 
        research as may be necessary;
            (2) consult consumer groups representing individuals who 
        are blind, other pedestrians, cyclists, and advocates for 
        children; and
            (3) consult with automobile manufacturers and professional 
        organizations representing them.
    (c) Report.--The Secretary shall complete the study within 2 years 
of its commencement and shall transmit a report of the findings to 
Congress.

SEC. 5. MINIMUM SOUND REQUIREMENT FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

    Not later than 90 days after conclusion 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. Such standard 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.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

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

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The standard promulgated under section 5 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.