I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 288

To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish programs to enhance 

roadway safety and improve transportation efficiency in the United 

States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 8, 2003

Mr. INSLEE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL

To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish programs 

to enhance roadway safety and improve transportation 

efficiency in the United States, 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 ‘‘Roadway Safety and 

5 Congestion Mitigation Improvements Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF ROADWAY SAFETY PROGRAM. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 23, United 

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 
2

•HR 288 IH 

1 ‘‘§ 165. Roadway safety program 

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab3 lish and implement a roadway safety program in accord4 ance with this section. 

5 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—A State may obligate 

6 funds apportioned under this section to carry out the fol7 lowing roadway safety enhancement activities: 

8 ‘‘(1) OLDER DRIVER ROADWAY SAFETY EN9 HANCEMENTS.—

10 ‘‘(A) ROADWAY ENHANCEMENTS.—All 

11 roadway enhancements recommended in the 

12 Federal Highway Administration Publication: 

13 Guidelines and Recommendations to Accommo14 date Older Drivers and Pedestrians (FHWA–

15 RD–01–103). 

16 ‘‘(B) CONSTRUCTION SAFETY ENHANCE17 MENTS.—All construction safety enhancements 

18 to which section 120(c) applies. Acquisition and 

19 installation of guardrail, guardrail end treat20 ments, median barriers, bridge railings, barrier 

21 terminals, concrete barrier end treatments, 

22 breakaway utility poles, crash cushions, impact 

23 attenuators, and permanent and temporary 

24 traffic control devices that meet the guidelines 

25 contained in the National Cooperative Highway 

26 Research Program Report 350 of the Transpor-
3

•HR 288 IH 

1 tation Research Board of the National Academy 

2 of Sciences. Acquisition and installation of 

3 guide sign lighting retrieval systems. Installa4 tion of rumble strips. Such other safety projects 

5 as the Secretary may designate. 

6 ‘‘(2) SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS.—

7 ‘‘(A) SIGN AND PAVEMENT MARKING MAN8 AGEMENT SYSTEM PROGRAMS.—Development of 

9 sign and pavement marking management sys10 tem programs for States, cities, and other local 

11 governments. 

12 ‘‘(B) RETRO REFLECTIVITY SYSTEM UP13 GRADES.—System upgrades to bring roadways 

14 in compliance with congressionally mandated 

15 minimum levels of retro reflectivity for pave16 ment markings and signs. 

17 ‘‘(3) RUN-OFF-ROAD MITIGATION.—

18 ‘‘(A) WET-NIGHT PAVEMENT MARKINGS.—

19 Improvement of wet-night pavement markings. 

20 ‘‘(B) RUMBLE STRIPS AND ROAD SIGN21 ING.—Installation of auditory and visual road22 way warning system rumble strips and road 

23 signs. 
4

•HR 288 IH 

1 ‘‘(4) SPEED MANAGEMENT.—Conduct of pilot 

2 programs to determine the benefits of variable speed 

3 limits. 

4 ‘‘(5) PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE SAFETY.—Im5 plementation of pedestrian and bicycle safety coun6 termeasures, such as auditory crosswalks, round7 abouts, bicycle lane designations, upgraded signals, 

8 signage, and pavement markings. 

9 ‘‘(6) INTERSECTION SAFETY.—Installation of 

10 intersection safety countermeasures that enhance 

11 signing, markings, and retiming signalization and 

12 conduct of an analysis of the effectiveness of auto13 mated enforcement technologies in reducing injuries 

14 and fatalities. 

15 ‘‘(7) EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.—Acquisition 

16 and storage of emergency management signs (includ17 ing changeable message signs), development of an 

18 emergency management system to facilitate the 

19 movement of traffic, pedestrians, and emergency 

20 personnel in the event of a national emergency, and 

21 development of a crisis management response func22 tion to provide the necessary traffic control, crisis

23 communication, and inventory to respond in the 

24 event of a local, regional, or national crisis. 
5

•HR 288 IH 

1 ‘‘(8) ALCOHOL AND SEATBELT AWARENESS.—

2 Acquisition and installation of roadway advisory 

3 signage, including signs that promote seatbelt usage 

4 and signs that discourage motorists from operating 

5 a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. 

6 ‘‘(9) HIGHWAY-RAIL CROSSINGS.—Effectuation 

7 of grade separation, and installation of protective de8 vices, signs, and markings, at highway-rail grade 

9 crossings. 

10 ‘‘(10) COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL REQUIRE11 MENTS.—Measures taken by the State department 

12 of transportation to comply with regulations issued 

13 by the Secretary under subsection (c). 

14 ‘‘(c) STATE REQUIREMENTS.—

15 ‘‘(1) REGULATIONS.—Not later than September 

16 30, 2005, the Secretary shall issue regulations re17 quiring each State to comply with the following re18 quirements: 

19 ‘‘(A) TRAINING OF INSTALLERS.—All in20 stallers of guardrail and associated roadside 

21 safety systems working in the State on highway 

22 projects eligible for assistance under this chap23 ter after September 30, 2006, shall be trained 

24 in the proper method of installation of such sys25 tems. 
6

•HR 288 IH 

1 ‘‘(B) PAVEMENT MARKINGS.—All pave2 ment marking edge lines installed on such 

3 projects after September 30, 2006, shall be not 

4 less than 6 inches in width. 

5 ‘‘(C) WORK ZONE SAFETY AND MOBILITY

6 ENHANCEMENT.—

7 ‘‘(i) EQUIPPING AND TRAINING OF

8 ROADWAY WORKERS.—All roadway workers 

9 on such projects who, after September 30, 

10 2005, are exposed to or working adjacent 

11 to moving motor vehicles shall be equipped 

12 with a high-visibility garment and shall be 

13 trained in basic roadway work zone safety 

14 to minimize their vulnerability and the risk 

15 to motorists. 

16 ‘‘(ii) TRAINING OF SUPERVISORS.—All 

17 workers involved with the installation and 

18 removal of temporary traffic control de19 vices on such projects shall be supervised, 

20 after September 30, 2005, by individuals 

21 who are able to demonstrate to the head of 

22 the State transportation department, or 

23 the designee of the head of such depart24 ment, that they have passed a rigorous 
7

•HR 288 IH 

1 technician level work zone installation 

2 training course. 

3 ‘‘(iii) TRAINING OF TRAFFIC CONTROL

4 FLAGGERS.—All individuals providing, 

5 after September 30, 2005, traffic control 

6 flagging duties on such projects shall be 

7 able to demonstrate to the head of such 

8 department, or the designee of the head of 

9 such department, that they have received 

10 rigorous training in proper traffic control 

11 techniques, device usage, and placement. 

12 ‘‘(iv) MINIMUM WIDTH FOR PAVE13 MENT MARKINGS.—All pavement markings 

14 used, after September 30, 2005, in work 

15 zones on such projects shall be not less 

16 than 6 inches in width. 

17 ‘‘(D) HIGH-RISK WORK ZONE SPECIFICA18 TIONS.—After September 30, 2006, before com19 mencement of construction or maintenance 

20 work on a segment of highway with an average 

21 daily travel of 50,000 or greater or a bridge 

22 with an average daily travel of 25,000 or great23 er, the State shall agree to and comply with the 

24 following conditions: 
8

•HR 288 IH 

1 ‘‘(i) A traffic control supervisor 

2 trained under subparagraph (C)(ii) will be 

3 present during the installation or reconfig4 uration of temporary traffic control devices 

5 to be used for the project. 

6 ‘‘(ii) All individuals providing traffic 

7 control flagging duties for the work will 

8 demonstrate to the head of the State de9 partment of transportation, or the designee 

10 of the head of such department, that they 

11 have received training in proper traffic 

12 control techniques, device usage, and place13 ment. 

14 ‘‘(iii) The lead contractor for the work 

15 will designate a person trained and cer16 tified in temporary traffic control ‘best 

17 practices’ that have the responsibility and 

18 authority to ensure compliance with the 

19 traffic control plan for the work. 

20 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall cer21 tify annually each State that is complying with the 

22 regulations issued under this subsection. 

23 ‘‘(d) WORK ZONE SAFETY DATA.—The Secretary 

24 shall gather annual work zone safety and mobility data
9

•HR 288 IH 

1 and transmit to Congress a biennial report on the status 

2 of roadway work zone safety and mobility. 

3 ‘‘(e) POSITIVE SEPARATION STANDARD.—Not later 

4 than October 1, 2004, the Secretary shall develop a na5 tional standard on the use of positive separation for road6 way work zones of highway projects eligible for assistance 

7 under this chapter. 

8 ‘‘(f) RURAL LOCAL ROADS SAFETY PROGRAM.—

9 ‘‘(1) FUNDING LIMITATION.—Not to exceed 10 

10 percent of the funds apportioned to a State under 

11 section 104(b)(5) for the roadway safety program 

12 for a fiscal year may be obligated by the State—

13 ‘‘(A) for eligible activities under subsection 

14 (b) on public roads that are functionally classi15 fied as rural minor collectors or rural local 

16 roads; and 

17 ‘‘(B) for any measure necessary to facili18 tate the safe travel of schoolchildren by bicycle 

19 or walking between their homes and school on 

20 any public road within a 3 mile radius. 

21 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share 

22 payable on account of an activity carried out under 

23 this subsection shall be 100 percent of the cost 

24 thereof. 
10

•HR 288 IH 

1 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than January 1, 

2 2009, after providing States, local governments, and 

3 other interested parties an opportunity for comment, 

4 the Secretary shall transmit to the Committee on 

5 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

6 Representatives and the Committee on Environment 

7 and Public Works of the Senate a report that—

8 ‘‘(A) describes progress made in carrying 

9 out the program under this subsection; and 

10 ‘‘(B) includes recommendations as to 

11 whether the program should be continued or 

12 modified. 

13 ‘‘(g) HIGHWAY-RAIL CROSSINGS.—

14 ‘‘(1) FUNDING LIMITATION.—Not to exceed 5 

15 percent of the funds apportioned to a State under 

16 section 104(b)(5) for the roadway safety program 

17 for a fiscal year may be obligated for carrying out 

18 eligible activities described in subsection (b)(9). 

19 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share 

20 payable on account of an activity carried out under 

21 subsection (b)(9) shall be 80 percent of the cost 

22 thereof. 

23 ‘‘(h) NONTRANSFERABILITY OF FUNDS.—Notwith24 standing any other provision of law, funds apportioned to 

25 the States under section 104(b)(5) for the roadway safety 
11

•HR 288 IH 

1 program may not be transferred to any other apportion2 ment of the State under section 104 or 144 for such fiscal 

3 year. 

4 ‘‘(i) SET-ASIDE.—Before making an apportionment 

5 under section 104(b)(5) for a fiscal year, the Secretary 

6 shall set aside the following amounts: 

7 ‘‘(1) EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS FOR OLDER

8 AND INEXPERIENCED DRIVERS.—An amount not 

9 less than $3,000,000 and not to exceed $5,000,000 

10 to be awarded by the Secretary in a public-private 

11 partnership for development and distribution of edu12 cational materials and programs to assist older and 

13 inexperienced drivers in how to safely navigate the 

14 roadway. 

15 ‘‘(2) RESEARCH AND DATA EVALUATION AND

16 ANNUAL REPORT.—$25,000,000 for roadway safety 

17 research and data evaluation and the development 

18 and issuance of an annual report evaluating the im19 pact of all safety construction programs and activi20 ties. 

21 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL WORK ZONE SAFETY INFORMA22 TION CLEARINGHOUSE.—Such amount as the Sec23 retary determines, but not to exceed $500,000, to 

24 support the program activities of the National Work 

25 Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse. 
12

•HR 288 IH 

1 ‘‘(4) NATIONAL WORK ZONE AWARENESS WEEK

2 ACTIVITIES.—$500,000 to support Federal and 

3 State sponsored national work zone awareness week 

4 activities. 

5 ‘‘(5) LOCAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PRO6 GRAM.—$500,000 only for fiscal year 2004 to pro7 vide for the training and certification as roadway 

8 flagger trainers of such local technical assistance 

9 program staff as the Secretary determines appro10 priate. 

11 ‘‘(j) FEDERAL SHARE.—Except as provided in sub12 sections (f) and (g), the Federal share payable on account 

13 of an activity carried out under this section shall be 90 

14 percent of the cost thereof. 

15 ‘‘(k) LOCATION OF PROJECTS.—Except as provided 

16 in subsection (f), roadway safety program projects may 

17 not be undertaken on roads functionally classified as local 

18 or rural minor collectors, unless such roads are on a Fed19 eral-aid highway system on January 1, 1991, and except 

20 as approved by the Secretary. 

21 ‘‘(l) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

22 ‘‘State’’ has the meaning such term has in section 401.’’. 

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

24 such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relat25 ing to section 164 the following:

‘‘165. Roadway safety program.’’.
13

•HR 288 IH 

1 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (b) and (c), 

3 there is to be authorized to be appropriated, out of the 

4 Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Ac5 count), to carry out the roadway safety program under 

6 section 165 of title 23, United States Code, for each of 

7 fiscal years 2004 through 2008 $3,000,000,000. 

8 (b) LIMITATION.—For any fiscal year, funds to be 

9 made available to carry out section 165 of title 23, United 

10 States Code, by this section shall be available only if the 

11 total amount made available from the Highway Trust 

12 Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) for such fis13 cal year, other than by this section, exceeds 

14 $27,700,000,000. 

15 (c) SPECIAL RULE.—For any fiscal year, if the total 

16 amount made available from the Highway Trust Fund 

17 (other than the Mass Transit Account), other than by this 

18 section, exceeds $27,700,000,000 and is less than 

19 $30,700,000,000, the amount made available by this sec20 tion shall be equal to the difference between the total 

21 amount so made available from such Trust Fund and 

22 $27,700,000,000. 

23 SEC. 4. APPORTIONMENT. 

24 Section 104 of title 23, United States Code, is 

25 amended—
14

•HR 288 IH 

1 (1) in subsection (a)(1) by inserting ‘‘roadway 

2 safety program under section 165,’’ after ‘‘section 

3 133,’’; 

4 (2) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) of 

5 subsection (b)—

6 (A) by striking ‘‘set-aside authorized by 

7 subsection (f)’’ and inserting ‘‘set-asides au8 thorized by subsections (d) and (f) of this sec9 tion and subsection (i) of section 165’’; and 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘and the Surface Trans11 portation program’’ and inserting ‘‘the Surface 

12 Transportation program, and the Roadway 

13 Safety program’’; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end of subsection (b) the 

15 following new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(5) ROADWAY SAFETY PROGRAM.—

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the roadway safe18 ty program, in accordance with the following 

19 formula: 

20 ‘‘(i) 25 percent of the apportionments 

21 in the ratio that—

22 ‘‘(I) the total lane miles of Fed23 eral-aid highways in each State; bears 

24 to 
15

•HR 288 IH 

1 ‘‘(II) the total lane miles of Fed2 eral-aid highways in all States. 

3 ‘‘(ii) 40 percent of the apportionments 

4 in the ratio that—

5 ‘‘(I) the total vehicle miles trav6 eled on lanes on Federal-aid highways 

7 in each State; bears to 

8 ‘‘(II) the total vehicle miles trav9 eled on lanes on Federal-aid highways 

10 in all States. 

11 ‘‘(iii) 35 percent of the apportion12 ments in the ratio that—

13 ‘‘(I) the estimated tax payments 

14 attributable to highway users in each 

15 State paid into the Highway Trust 

16 Fund (other than the Mass Transit 

17 Account) in the latest fiscal year for 

18 which data are available; bears to 

19 ‘‘(II) the estimated tax payments 

20 attributable to highway users in all 

21 States paid into the Highway Trust 

22 Fund (other than the Mass Transit 

23 Account) in the latest fiscal year for 

24 which data are available. 
16

•HR 288 IH 

1 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM APPORTIONMENT.—Not2 withstanding subparagraph (A), each State 

shall receive a minimum of 1 3 ⁄2 of 1 percent of 

4 the funds apportioned under this paragraph.’’. 

5 SEC. 5. INCREASED FEDERAL SHARE FOR CERTAIN POLICE 

6 ASSISTANCE. 

7 Section 120(c) of title 23, United States Code, is 

8 amended by inserting after ‘‘crossing closure,’’ the fol9 lowing: ‘‘police assistance during ‘high-risk’ work zone ac10 tivities (such as installation, removal, or maintenance of 

11 traffic control devices and mobile work zone operations), 

12 enforcement of speed limits during ‘high-risk’ work zone 

13 environments as determined by the head of the State de14 partment of transportation,’’. 

15 SEC. 6. INCREASED FEDERAL SHARE FOR CERTAIN POSI16 TIVE SEPARATION MEASURES. 

17 Section 120(c) of title 23, United States Code, is fur18 ther amended by inserting before ‘‘or installation of traffic 

19 lights’’ the following: ‘‘provision of positive separation to 

20 protect motorists and personnel working in a work zone 

21 on a highway project eligible for assistance under this 

22 chapter and for which traffic must be maintained through23 out construction of the project at operational speeds equal 

24 to or greater than 45 miles per hour,’’.

Æ