II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2318 

To provide driver safety grants to States with graduated driver licensing 

laws that meet certain minimum requirements. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2006 

Mr. DODD (for himself and Mr. WARNER) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public 

Works 

A BILL 

To provide driver safety grants to States with graduated 

driver licensing laws that meet certain minimum requirements. 

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 ‘‘Safe Teen and Novice 

5 Driver Uniform Protection Act of 2006’’ or the 

6 ‘‘STANDUP Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) The National Highway Traffic Safety Ad2 ministration has reported that— 

3 (A) motor vehicle crashes are the leading 

4 cause of death of Americans between 15 and 20 

5 years of age; 

6 (B) between 1995 and 2004, 63,851 Amer7 icans between 15 and 20 years of age died in 

8 motor vehicle crashes, an average of 122 teen9 age deaths per week; 

10 (C) teenage drivers between 16 and 20 

11 years of age have a fatality rate that is 4 times 

12 the rate for drivers between 25 and 70 years of 

13 age; and 

14 (D) teenage drivers who are 16 years of 

15 age have a motor vehicle crash rate that is al16 most ten times the crash rate for drivers aged 

17 between 30 and 60 years of age. 

18 (2) According to the American Automobile As19 sociation, teenage drivers comprise slightly more 

than 1 20 ⁄3 of all fatalities in motor vehicle crashes in 

which they are involved and nearly 2 21 ⁄3 of all fatalities 

22 in those crashes are other drivers, passengers, and 

23 pedestrians. 

24 (3) According to the Insurance Institute for 

25 Highway Safety, the chance of a crash by a 16- or 
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1 17-year-old driver is doubled if there are 2 peers in 

2 the vehicle and quadrupled with 3 or more peers in 

3 the vehicle. 

4 (4) According to the National Highway Traffic 

5 Safety Administration, the cognitive distraction 

6 caused by hands-free and hand-held cell phones is 

7 significant enough to degrade a driver’s perform8 ance, particularly teenage drivers between 15 and 20 

9 years of age. 

10 (5) Although only 20 percent of driving by teen11 age drivers occurs at night, more than 50 percent of 

12 the motor vehicle crash fatalities involving teenage 

13 drivers occur at night. 

14 (6) In 1997, the first full year of its graduated 

15 driver licensing system, Florida experienced a 9 per16 cent reduction in fatal and injurious crashes among 

17 teenage drivers between the ages of 15 and 18, com18 pared with 1995, according to the Insurance Insti19 tute for Highway Safety. 

20 (7) The Journal of the American Medical Asso21 ciation reports that crashes involving 16-year-old 

22 drivers decreased between 1995 and 1999 by 25 per23 cent in Michigan and 27 percent in North Carolina. 

24 Comprehensive graduated driver licensing systems 

25 were implemented in 1997 in these States. 
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1 (8) In California, according to the Automobile 

2 Club of Southern California, teenage passenger 

3 deaths and injuries resulting from crashes involving 

4 16-year-old drivers declined by 40 percent from 

5 1998 to 2000, the first 3 years of California’s grad6 uated driver licensing program. The number of at7 fault collisions involving 16-year-old drivers de8 creased by 24 percent during the same period. 

9 (9) The National Transportation Safety Board 

10 reports that 39 States and the District of Columbia 

11 have implemented 3-stage graduated driver licensing 

12 systems. Many States have not yet implemented 

13 these and other basic safety features of graduated 

14 driver licensing laws to protect the lives of teenage 

15 and novice drivers. 

16 (10) A 2001 Harris Poll indicates that— 

17 (A) 95 percent of Americans support a re18 quirement of 30 to 50 hours of practice driving 

19 with an adult; 

20 (B) 92 percent of Americans support a 6- 

21 month learner’s permit period; and 

22 (C) 74 percent of Americans support lim23 iting the number of teenage passengers in a car 

24 with a teenage driver and supervised driving 

25 during high-risk driving periods, such as night. 
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1 SEC. 3. STATE GRADUATED DRIVER LICENSING LAWS. 

2 (a) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—A State is in compli3 ance with this section if the State has a graduated driver 

4 licensing law that includes, for novice drivers under the 

5 age of 21— 

6 (1) a 3-stage licensing process, including a 

7 learner’s permit stage and an intermediate stage be8 fore granting an unrestricted driver’s license; 

9 (2) a prohibition on nighttime driving during 

10 the intermediate stage; 

11 (3) a prohibition, during the learner’s permit 

12 intermediate stages, from operating a motor vehicle 

13 with more than 1 non-familial passenger under the 

14 age of 21 if there is no licensed driver 21 years of 

15 age or older present in the motor vehicle; 

16 (4) a prohibition during the learner’s permit 

17 and intermediate stages, from using a cellular tele18 phone or any communications device in non-emer19 gency situations; and 

20 (5) any other requirement that the Secretary of 

21 Transportation (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec22 retary’’) may require, including— 

23 (A) a learner’s permit stage of at least 6 

24 months; 

25 (B) an intermediate stage of at least 6 

26 months; 
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1 (C) for novice drivers in the learner’s per2 mit stage— 

3 (i) a requirement of at least 30 hours 

4 of behind-the-wheel training with a li5 censed driver who is over 21 years of age; 

6 and 

7 (ii) a requirement that any such driv8 er be accompanied and supervised by a li9 censed driver 21 years of age or older at 

10 all times when such driver is operating a 

11 motor vehicle; and 

12 (D) a requirement that the grant of full li13 censure be automatically delayed, in addition to 

14 any other penalties imposed by State law for 

15 any individual who, while holding a provisional 

16 license, convicted of an offense, such as driving 

17 while intoxicated, misrepresentation of their 

18 true age, reckless driving, unbelted driving, 

19 speeding, or other violations, as determined by 

20 the Secretary. 

21 (b) RULEMAKING.—After public notice and comment 

22 rulemaking the Secretary shall issue regulations necessary 

23 to implement this section. 
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1 SEC. 4. INCENTIVE GRANTS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—For each of the first 3 fiscal years 

3 beginning after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec4 retary shall award a grant to any State in compliance with 

5 section 3(a) on or before the first day of that fiscal year 

6 that submits an application under subsection (b). 

7 (b) APPLICATION.—Any State desiring a grant under 

8 this section shall submit an application to the Secretary 

9 at such time, in such manner, and containing such infor10 mation as the Secretary may require, including a certifi11 cation by the governor of the State that the State is in 

12 compliance with section 3(a). 

13 (c) GRANTS.—For each fiscal year described in sub14 section (a), amounts appropriated to carry out this section 

15 shall be apportioned to each State in compliance with sec16 tion 3(a) in an amount determined by multiplying— 

17 (1) the amount appropriated to carry out this 

18 section for such fiscal year; by 

19 (2) the ratio that the amount of funds appor20 tioned to each such State for such fiscal year under 

21 section 402 of title 23, United States Code, bears to 

22 the total amount of funds apportioned to all such 

23 States for such fiscal year under such section 402. 

24 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts received under a 

25 grant under this section shall be used for— 
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1 (1) enforcement and providing training regard2 ing the State graduated driver licensing law to law 

3 enforcement personnel and other relevant State 

4 agency personnel; 

5 (2) publishing relevant educational materials 

6 that pertain directly or indirectly to the State grad7 uated driver licensing law; and 

8 (3) other administrative activities that the Sec9 retary considers relevant to the State graduated 

10 driver licensing law. 

11 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated out of the Highway 

13 Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) 

14 $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2007 through 

15 2009 to carry out this section. 

16 SEC. 5. WITHHOLDING OF FUNDS FOR NON-COMPLIANCE. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

18 (1) FISCAL YEAR 2010.—The Secretary shall 

19 withhold 1.5 percent of the amount otherwise re20 quired to be apportioned to any State for fiscal year 

21 2010 under each of the paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) 

22 of section 104(b) of title 23, United States Code, if 

23 that State is not in compliance with section 3(a) of 

24 this Act on October 1, 2009. 
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1 (2) FISCAL YEAR 2011.—The Secretary shall 

2 withhold 3 percent of the amount otherwise required 

3 to be apportioned to any State for fiscal year 2011 

4 under each of the paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) of 

5 section 104(b) of title 23, United States Code, if 

6 that State is not in compliance with section 3(a) of 

7 this Act on October 1, 2010. 

8 (3) FISCAL YEAR 2012 AND THEREAFTER.—The 

9 Secretary shall withhold 6 percent of the amount 

10 otherwise required to be apportioned to any State 

11 for each fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 2012 

12 under each of the paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) of 

13 section 104(b) of title 23, United States Code, if 

14 that State is not in compliance with section 3(a) of 

15 this Act on the first day of such fiscal year. 

16 (b) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY OF WITHHELD

17 FUNDS.— 

18 (1) FUNDS WITHHELD ON OR BEFORE SEP19 TEMBER 30, 2011.—Any amount withheld from any 

20 State under subsection (a) on or before September 

21 30, 2011, shall remain available for distribution to 

22 the State under subsection (c) until the end of the 

23 third fiscal year following the fiscal year for which 

24 such amount is appropriated. 
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1 (2) FUNDS WITHHELD AFTER SEPTEMBER 30, 

2 2011.—Any amount withheld under subsection (a)(2) 

3 from any State after September 30, 2011, may not 

4 be distributed to the State. 

5 (c) APPORTIONMENT OF WITHHELD FUNDS AFTER

6 COMPLIANCE.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—If, before the last day of the 

8 period for which funds withheld under subsection (a) 

9 are to remain available to a State under subsection 

10 (b), the State comes into compliance with section 

11 3(a), the Secretary shall, on the first day on which 

12 the State comes into compliance, distribute to the 

13 State any amounts withheld under subsection (a) 

14 that remains available for apportionment to the 

15 State. 

16 (2) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY OF SUBSE17 QUENTLY APPORTIONED FUNDS.—Any amount dis18 tributed under paragraph (1) shall remain available 

19 for expenditure by the State until the end of the 

20 third fiscal year for which the funds are so appor21 tioned. Any amount not expended by the State by 

22 the end of such period shall revert back to the 

23 Treasury of the United States. 

24 (3) EFFECT OF NON-COMPLIANCE.—If a State 

25 is not in compliance with section 3(a) at the end of 
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1 the period for which any amount withheld under 

2 subsection (a) remains available for distribution to 

3 the State under subsection (b), such amount shall 

4 revert back to the Treasury of the United States. 

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