I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 10051 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a study on the effect 

of driver-controlled technology in motor vehicles with respect to severe 

traffic injuries and traffic fatalities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 25, 2024 

Mr. MULLIN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a study 

on the effect of driver-controlled technology in motor 

vehicles with respect to severe traffic injuries and traffic 

fatalities, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Driver Technology and 

5 Pedestrian Safety Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DRIVER-CONTROLLED TECHNOLOGY SAFETY 

2 STUDY. 

3 (a) DRIVER-CONTROLLED TECHNOLOGY SAFETY

4 STUDY AGREEMENT.—Subject to the availability of appro5 priations, not later than 3 months after the date of the 

6 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation 

7 shall seek to enter into an agreement with the National 

8 Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine— 

9 (1) to conduct a study on the effect of driver10 controlled technology with respect to severe traffic 

11 injuries and traffic fatalities, including severe inju12 ries and fatalities of pedestrians, bicyclists, and 

13 other vulnerable road users; and 

14 (2) to prepare the recommendations described 

15 in section 3. 

16 (b) PERIOD OF TIME TO BE STUDIED.—The Sec17 retary of Transportation shall determine the period of 

18 time to be studied under subsection (a), which shall be 

19 a period of time that began not later than 10 years before 

20 the date on which the Secretary enters into the agreement 

21 under subsection (a). 

22 (c) INFORMATION.—The study described in sub23 section (a) shall address the following information: 

24 (1) The prevalence and characteristics of touch 

25 screen-based systems. 


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1 (2) The impact on driver distraction, property 

2 damage, severe traffic injuries, and traffic fatalities 

3 as a result of the following: 

4 (A) Replacing tactile motor vehicle controls 

5 with touch screen-based systems. 

6 (B) The characteristics of such systems, 

7 including brightness and size. 

8 (C) Driver-controlled technology that is not 

9 a touch screen-based system. 

10 (3) The user interface designs of touch screen11 based systems and other driver-controlled tech12 nology, and the effect of those designs on driver be13 havior. 

14 (4) A comparison of— 

15 (A) the extent to which viewing or manipu16 lating a touch screen-based system while driving 

17 a motor vehicle results in a severe traffic injury 

18 or a traffic fatality; and 

19 (B) the extent to which viewing or manipu20 lating a smartphone, other than a smartphone 

21 that is projecting a user interface to a touch 

22 screen-based system, while driving a motor vehi23 cle results in a severe traffic injury or a traffic 

24 fatality. 


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1 (5) Whether the time of day and other road 

2 conditions, including traffic, weather, and the num3 ber of commercial motor vehicles on a road, have a 

4 significant effect on the incidence of severe traffic 

5 injuries and traffic fatalities, the extent of any ef6 fect, the likely reasons for any effect, whether any 

7 effect varies between the United States and other 

8 countries, and any changes to touch screen-based 

9 systems and other driver-controlled technology that 

10 may help mitigate any effect. 

11 (6) Any other information that is relevant to 

12 the study, which may include a previous study. 

13 SEC. 3. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 

14 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 24 months after the 

15 date on which the Secretary of Transportation enters into 

16 an agreement under section 2, the Secretary shall— 

17 (1) submit to Congress a report that includes 

18 the findings of the study under section 2; and 

19 (2) publish the report on the public website of 

20 the Department of Transportation. 

21 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 2 months 

22 after the date on which the Secretary of Transportation 

23 satisfies the requirements of subsection (a), the Secretary 

24 shall submit to Congress recommendations that are based 


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1 on the findings of the study under section 2, including 

2 recommendations— 

3 (1) to reduce severe traffic injuries and traffic 

4 fatalities; and 

5 (2) to change the Fatality Analysis Reporting 

6 System, the National Occupant Protection Use Sur7 veys, and the Model Minimum Uniform Crash Cri8 teria of the National Highway Traffic Safety Admin9 istration, or another set of Federal surveys, to col10 lect as much data as practicable with respect to the 

11 use of a touch screen-based system while driving a 

12 motor vehicle and the use of a smartphone while 

13 driving a motor vehicle, given the variation in the 

14 methods of data collection by States and units of 

15 local government. 

16 (c) CATEGORIES.—In submitting the recommenda17 tions described in subsection (b), the Secretary of Trans18 portation— 

19 (1) may not include a recommendation that 

20 only restates an existing requirement for a depart21 ment or agency of the Federal Government; and 

22 (2) shall divide the recommendations into the 

23 following categories: 

24 (A) Any recommendations that a depart25 ment or agency of the Federal Government, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:14 Oct 29, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10051.IH H10051

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1 cluding the National Highway Traffic Safety 

2 Administration, may implement under the exist3 ing authority of the department or agency, in4 cluding any authority of the department or 

5 agency to develop or update guidance or stand6 ards on motor vehicle technology. 

7 (B) Any recommendations that would re8 quire the enactment of Federal law for a de9 partment or agency of the Federal Government, 

10 including the National Highway Traffic Safety 

11 Administration, to implement. 

12 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (1) COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE.—The term 

15 ‘‘commercial motor vehicle’’ means any of the fol16 lowing: 

17 (A) A commercial motor vehicle, as that 

18 term is defined under section 31132 of title 49, 

19 United States Code. 

20 (B) A vehicle owned or operated by a 

21 transportation network company, as that term 

22 is defined under section 346 of the National 

23 Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 

24 (Public Law 114–328; 10 U.S.C. 113 note). 


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1 (2) DRIVER-CONTROLLED TECHNOLOGY.—The 

2 term ‘‘driver-controlled technology’’— 

3 (A) means the controls and functions of a 

4 motor vehicle that are engaged at the option of 

5 a driver of the motor vehicle; 

6 (B) includes the functions that are related 

7 to driving, are not related to the safe operation 

8 of the motor vehicle, and do not involve the use 

9 of a system that is required by law; 

10 (C) includes a touch screen-based system; 

11 and 

12 (D) does not include any functions that are 

13 engaged by default as the motor vehicle is driv14 en, such as automatic braking, cameras, and 

15 dynamic lighting. 

16 (3) MOTOR VEHICLE.—The term ‘‘motor vehi17 cle’’ means a passenger motor vehicle, as that term 

18 is defined under section 32101 of title 49, United 

19 States Code. 

20 (4) TACTILE MOTOR VEHICLE CONTROL.—The 

21 term ‘‘tactile motor vehicle control’’ means a knob, 

22 a switch, a trackpad, or another physical control, 

23 that is in a motor vehicle and is not a touch screen. 


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1 (5) TOUCH SCREEN-BASED SYSTEM.—The term 

2 ‘‘touch screen-based system’’ means a computer 

3 that— 

4 (A) is in a motor vehicle; 

5 (B) controls the functions of the motor ve6 hicle, including the infotainment functions of 

7 the motor vehicle; 

8 (C) has a primary user interface that con9 sists of a touch screen and on-screen software 

10 controls; 

11 (D) may be able to be manipulated by tac12 tile motor vehicle controls; and 

13 (E) may be able to display a user interface 

14 that is projected from a smartphone. 

15 SEC. 5. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

16 (a) REGULATIONS.—This Act shall not be construed 

17 to preclude or delay the promulgation of any regulation 

18 required or authorized by law. 

19 (b) DEFERENCE.—If a court finds that a term used 

20 in this Act is ambiguous, the court shall defer to a reason21 able interpretation of the term by the Secretary of Trans22 portation. 

Æ 


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