Truck Safety Act

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Truck Safety Act''.

SEC. 2. MINIMUM AMOUNTS.

    (a) Transporting Property.--
            (1) In general.--Section 31139(b) of title 49, United 
        States Code, is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``$750,000'' and 
                inserting ``$1,500,000''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) The minimum level of financial responsibility under 
        paragraph (2) shall be adjusted annually by the Secretary to 
        reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index--All Urban 
        Consumers.''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendments made by paragraph (1) 
        shall take effect 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
        Act.
    (b) Rulemaking.--The Secretary of Transportation, by regulation, 
shall increase any minimum level of financial responsibility required 
under section 31138 or section 31139 if, after an opportunity for 
notice and comment, the Secretary determines that the current amount is 
insufficient to satisfy liability amounts covering the claims described 
in section 31138 or section 31139, as applicable.

SEC. 3. COLLISION AVOIDANCE TECHNOLOGIES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 24 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall initiate a 
rulemaking to establish a Federal motor vehicle safety standard 
requiring a motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating greater 
than 26,000 pounds be equipped with crash avoidance and mitigation 
systems, such as forward collision warning systems, forward collision 
automatic braking systems, and lane departure warning systems.
    (b) Performance and Standards.--The regulations prescribed under 
subsection (a) shall establish performance requirements and standards 
to prevent collisions with moving vehicles and stopped vehicles.
    (c) Effective Date.--The Secretary shall issue a final rule not 
later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and the 
regulations prescribed by the Secretary under this section shall take 
effect 2 years after the date of publication of the final rule.

SEC. 4. SPEED LIMITING DEVICES.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Transportation shall finalize regulations to require a 
motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 26,000 
pounds to be equipped with an electronic control module requiring the 
speed to be set at no more than 70 miles per hour by the manufacturer.

SEC. 5. HIGH-RISK CARRIER COMPLIANCE REVIEWS.

    (a) High-Risk Carrier Compliance Reviews.--Section 31104(b) of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following: ``From the funds authorized by this subsection, the 
Secretary shall ensure that a review is completed on each motor carrier 
that demonstrates through performance data that it poses the highest 
safety risk. At a minimum, a review shall be conducted whenever a motor 
carrier is among the highest risk carriers for 2 consecutive months.''.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall transmit to Congress a 
report on the actions the Secretary has taken to comply with the review 
requirement under section 31104(b) of title 49, United States Code, as 
amended, including the number of high-risk motor carriers identified 
and the high-risk motor carriers reviewed.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 4138 of the Safe, Accountable, 
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (49 
U.S.C. 31144 note) is repealed.

SEC. 6. DRIVER COMPENSATION.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 311 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 31139 the following:
``Sec. 31140. Driver compensation
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary of Transportation by regulation 
shall require that a motor carrier--
            ``(1) track the on-duty (not driving) time of an employee 
        whose base compensation is calculated in a manner other than an 
        hourly wage and who is required to keep a record of duty status 
        under the hours of service regulations prescribed by the 
        Secretary; and
            ``(2) separately compensate the employee for any on-duty 
        (not driving) time period at an hourly rate not less than the 
        Federal minimum wage rate under section 6 of the Fair Labor 
        Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206).
    ``(b) Limitation.--This section shall not apply to an employee 
whose employment is governed by a collective bargaining agreement, 
negotiated by employee representatives certified as bona fide by the 
National Labor Relations Board, if the agreement governs, and 
compensates the employee for all hours of on-duty (not driving) time.
    ``(c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section or regulations 
adopted under this section shall affect an employer's obligations under 
the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.). 
Compensation of employees under this section and regulations 
promulgated under this section shall be in addition to other 
compensation calculated for purposes of determining compliance with the 
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.).''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents of chapter 311 of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 31139 the following:

``31140. Driver compensation.''.

SEC. 7. STUDY ON COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE DRIVER COMMUTING.

    (a) Effects of Excessive Commuting.--The Administrator of the 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shall conduct a study of 
the effects of excessive commuting on safety and commercial motor 
vehicle driver fatigue.
    (b) Study.--In conducting the study, the Administrator shall 
consider--
            (1) the prevalence of excessive driver commuting in the 
        commercial motor vehicle industry, including the number and 
        percentage of drivers who commute;
            (2) the distances traveled, time zones crossed, time spent 
        commuting, and methods of transportation used;
            (3) research on the impact of excessive commuting on safety 
        and commercial motor vehicle driver fatigue;
            (4) the commuting practices of commercial motor vehicle 
        drivers and policies of motor carriers;
            (5) the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 
        regulations, policies, and guidance regarding excessive driver 
        commuting; and
            (6) any other matters the Administrator considers 
        appropriate.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report 
containing its findings under the study and any recommendations for 
regulatory or administrative action concerning excessive driver 
commuting.

Summary: Truck Safety Act This bill increases from $750,000 to $1.5 million the minimum level of financial responsibility required to satisfy liability covering public liability, property damage, and environmental restoration for the transportation of property by a commercial motor carrier in the United States or to a place outside the United States. The Department of Transportation (DOT) must increase, by regulation, the minimum level of financial responsibility for transporting property or passengers if the current amount is insufficient to satisfy liability claims. DOT shall initiate a rulemaking to establish a federal motor vehicle safety standard requiring a motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 26,000 pounds to be equipped with crash avoidance and mitigation systems. DOT shall finalize regulations to require such a motor vehicle also to be equipped with an electronic control module requiring the speed to be set by the manufacturer at a maximum 70 m. p. h. DOT must ensure that a review is completed on each motor carrier that demonstrates through performance data that it poses the highest safety risk, especially whenever it is among the highest risk carriers for two consecutive months. DOT shall require, with respect to driver compensation, that a motor carrier: track the on-duty time of an employee whose base compensation is calculated in a manner other than an hourly wage and who is required to keep a record of duty status under the hours of service regulations. And separately compensate the employee for any on-duty time period at an hourly rate not less than the federal minimum wage rate under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. This compensation requirement, however, shall not apply where employment is governed by a collective bargaining agreement, negotiated by bona fide employee representatives, if the agreement governs, and compensates the employee for, all hours of on-duty time. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shall study the effects of excessive commuting on safety and commercial motor vehicle driver fatigue.