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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10051 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Driver Technology and Pedestrian 
Safety Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. DRIVER-CONTROLLED TECHNOLOGY SAFETY STUDY.

    (a) Driver-Controlled Technology Safety Study Agreement.--Subject 
to the availability of appropriations, not later than 3 months after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation 
shall seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of 
Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine--
            (1) to conduct a study on the effect of driver-controlled 
        technology with respect to severe traffic injuries and traffic 
        fatalities, including severe injuries and fatalities of 
        pedestrians, bicyclists, and other vulnerable road users; and
            (2) to prepare the recommendations described in section 3.
    (b) Period of Time To Be Studied.--The Secretary of Transportation 
shall determine the period of time to be studied under subsection (a), 
which shall be a period of time that began not later than 10 years 
before the date on which the Secretary enters into the agreement under 
subsection (a).
    (c) Information.--The study described in subsection (a) shall 
address the following information:
            (1) The prevalence and characteristics of touch screen-
        based systems.
            (2) The impact on driver distraction, property damage, 
        severe traffic injuries, and traffic fatalities as a result of 
        the following:
                    (A) Replacing tactile motor vehicle controls with 
                touch screen-based systems.
                    (B) The characteristics of such systems, including 
                brightness and size.
                    (C) Driver-controlled technology that is not a 
                touch screen-based system.
            (3) The user interface designs of touch screen-based 
        systems and other driver-controlled technology, and the effect 
        of those designs on driver behavior.
            (4) A comparison of--
                    (A) the extent to which viewing or manipulating a 
                touch screen-based system while driving a motor vehicle 
                results in a severe traffic injury or a traffic 
                fatality; and
                    (B) the extent to which viewing or manipulating a 
                smartphone, other than a smartphone that is projecting 
                a user interface to a touch screen-based system, while 
                driving a motor vehicle results in a severe traffic 
                injury or a traffic fatality.
            (5) Whether the time of day and other road conditions, 
        including traffic, weather, and the number of commercial motor 
        vehicles on a road, have a significant effect on the incidence 
        of severe traffic injuries and traffic fatalities, the extent 
        of any effect, the likely reasons for any effect, whether any 
        effect varies between the United States and other countries, 
        and any changes to touch screen-based systems and other driver-
        controlled technology that may help mitigate any effect.
            (6) Any other information that is relevant to the study, 
        which may include a previous study.

SEC. 3. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 24 months after the date on which the 
Secretary of Transportation enters into an agreement under section 2, 
the Secretary shall--
            (1) submit to Congress a report that includes the findings 
        of the study under section 2; and
            (2) publish the report on the public website of the 
        Department of Transportation.
    (b) Recommendations.--Not later than 2 months after the date on 
which the Secretary of Transportation satisfies the requirements of 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to Congress recommendations 
that are based on the findings of the study under section 2, including 
recommendations--
            (1) to reduce severe traffic injuries and traffic 
        fatalities; and
            (2) to change the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, the 
        National Occupant Protection Use Surveys, and the Model Minimum 
        Uniform Crash Criteria of the National Highway Traffic Safety 
        Administration, or another set of Federal surveys, to collect 
        as much data as practicable with respect to the use of a touch 
        screen-based system while driving a motor vehicle and the use 
        of a smartphone while driving a motor vehicle, given the 
        variation in the methods of data collection by States and units 
        of local government.
    (c) Categories.--In submitting the recommendations described in 
subsection (b), the Secretary of Transportation--
            (1) may not include a recommendation that only restates an 
        existing requirement for a department or agency of the Federal 
        Government; and
            (2) shall divide the recommendations into the following 
        categories:
                    (A) Any recommendations that a department or agency 
                of the Federal Government, including the National 
                Highway Traffic Safety Administration, may implement 
                under the existing authority of the department or 
                agency, including any authority of the department or 
                agency to develop or update guidance or standards on 
                motor vehicle technology.
                    (B) Any recommendations that would require the 
                enactment of Federal law for a department or agency of 
                the Federal Government, including the National Highway 
                Traffic Safety Administration, to implement.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Commercial motor vehicle.--The term ``commercial motor 
        vehicle'' means any of the following:
                    (A) A commercial motor vehicle, as that term is 
                defined under section 31132 of title 49, United States 
                Code.
                    (B) A vehicle owned or operated by a transportation 
                network company, as that term is defined under section 
                346 of the National Defense Authorization Act for 
                Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114-328; 10 U.S.C. 113 
                note).
            (2) Driver-controlled technology.--The term ``driver-
        controlled technology''--
                    (A) means the controls and functions of a motor 
                vehicle that are engaged at the option of a driver of 
                the motor vehicle;
                    (B) includes the functions that are related to 
                driving, are not related to the safe operation of the 
                motor vehicle, and do not involve the use of a system 
                that is required by law;
                    (C) includes a touch screen-based system; and
                    (D) does not include any functions that are engaged 
                by default as the motor vehicle is driven, such as 
                automatic braking, cameras, and dynamic lighting.
            (3) Motor vehicle.--The term ``motor vehicle'' means a 
        passenger motor vehicle, as that term is defined under section 
        32101 of title 49, United States Code.
            (4) Tactile motor vehicle control.--The term ``tactile 
        motor vehicle control'' means a knob, a switch, a trackpad, or 
        another physical control, that is in a motor vehicle and is not 
        a touch screen.
            (5) Touch screen-based system.--The term ``touch screen-
        based system'' means a computer that--
                    (A) is in a motor vehicle;
                    (B) controls the functions of the motor vehicle, 
                including the infotainment functions of the motor 
                vehicle;
                    (C) has a primary user interface that consists of a 
                touch screen and on-screen software controls;
                    (D) may be able to be manipulated by tactile motor 
                vehicle controls; and
                    (E) may be able to display a user interface that is 
                projected from a smartphone.

SEC. 5. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

    (a) Regulations.--This Act shall not be construed to preclude or 
delay the promulgation of any regulation required or authorized by law.
    (b) Deference.--If a court finds that a term used in this Act is 
ambiguous, the court shall defer to a reasonable interpretation of the 
term by the Secretary of Transportation.
                                 <all>
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