IB

Union Calendar No. 571

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5164

[Report No. 106–954]

To amend title 49, United States Code, to require reports concerning defects

in motor vehicles or tires or other motor vehicle equipment in foreign

countries, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 13, 2000

Mr. UPTON (for himself, Mr. TAUZIN, Mr. MARKEY, Mrs. WILSON, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. ROGAN, Mr. WAXMAN,

Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. FOSSELLA, Mr. GORDON, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. LUTHER, Ms. ESHOO, and Ms. MCCARTHY of Missouri) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce

OCTOBER 10, 2000

Additional sponsors: Mr. DINGELL, Mrs. CUBIN, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. EHRLICH, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. CAMP, Mr. PHELPS, Mr. REYNOLDS, Mr.

FROST, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Ms. RIVERS, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr.

BLUNT, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. LAFALCE, Mr. WYNN, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. TERRY, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr.

MOORE, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. KLINK,

and Mr. GILLMOR

OCTOBER 10, 2000

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
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[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on September 13, 2000]

A BILL

To amend title 49, United States Code, to require reports

concerning defects in motor vehicles or tires or other

motor vehicle equipment in foreign countries, 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 ‘‘Transportation Recall

5 Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation

6 (TREAD) Act’’.

7 SEC. 2. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

8 (a) DEFECTS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.—Section

9 30166 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding

10 at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(l) REPORTING OF DEFECTS IN MOTOR VEHICLES

12 AND PRODUCTS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.—

13 ‘‘(1) REPORTING OF DEFECTS, MANUFACTURER

14 DETERMINATION.—Not later than 5 working days

15 after determining to conduct a safety recall or other

16 safety campaign in a foreign country on a motor ve17 hicle or motor vehicle equipment that is identical or

18 substantially similar to a motor vehicle or motor ve-
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1 hicle equipment offered for sale in the United States,

2 the manufacturer shall report the determination to

3 the Secretary.

4 ‘‘(2) REPORTING OF DEFECTS, FOREIGN GOVERN5 MENT DETERMINATION.—Not later than 5 working

6 days after receiving notification that the government

7 of a foreign country has determined that a safety re8 call or other safety campaign must be conducted in

9 the foreign country on a motor vehicle or motor vehi10 cle equipment that is identical or substantially simi11 lar to a motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment of12 fered for sale in the United States, the manufacturer

13 of the motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment shall

14 report the determination to the Secretary.

15 ‘‘(3) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec16 retary shall prescribe the contents of the notification

17 required by this subsection.’’.

18 (b) EARLY WARNING REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—

19 Section 30166, of title 49, United States Code, is amended

20 by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(m) EARLY WARNING REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—

22 ‘‘(1) RULEMAKING REQUIRED.—Not later than

23 120 days after the date of enactment of the Transpor24 tation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Doc25 umentation (TREAD) Act, the Secretary shall ini-
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1 tiate a rulemaking proceeding to establish early

2 warning reporting requirements for manufacturers of

3 motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment to en4 hance the Secretary’s ability to carry out the provi5 sions of this chapter.

6 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall issue a

7 final rule under paragraph (1) not later than June

8 30, 2002.

9 ‘‘(3) REPORTING ELEMENTS.—

10 ‘‘(A) WARRANTY AND CLAIMS DATA.—As

11 part of the final rule promulgated under para12 graph (1), the Secretary shall require manufac13 turers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equip14 ment to report, periodically or upon request by

15 the Secretary, information which is received by

16 the manufacturer derived from foreign and do17 mestic sources to the extent that such informa18 tion may assist in the identification of defects re19 lated to motor vehicle safety in motor vehicles

20 and motor vehicle equipment in the United

21 States and which concerns—

22 ‘‘(i) data on claims submitted to the

23 manufacturer for serious injuries (including

24 death) and aggregate statistical data on

25 property damage from alleged defects in a
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1 motor vehicle or in motor vehicle equip2 ment; and

3 ‘‘(ii) customer satisfaction campaigns,

4 consumer advisories, recalls, or other activ5 ity involving the repair or replacement of

6 motor vehicles or items of motor vehicle

7 equipment.

8 ‘‘(B) OTHER DATA.—As part of the final

9 rule promulgated under paragraph (1), the Sec10 retary may, to the extent that such information

11 may assist in the identification of defects related

12 to motor vehicle safety in motor vehicles and

13 motor vehicle equipment in the United States,

14 require manufacturers of motor vehicles or motor

15 vehicle equipment to report, periodically or upon

16 request of the Secretary, such information as the

17 Secretary may request.

18 ‘‘(C) REPORTING OF POSSIBLE DEFECTS.—

19 The manufacturer of a motor vehicle or motor

20 vehicle equipment shall report to the Secretary,

21 in such manner as the Secretary establishes by

22 regulation, all incidents of which the manufac23 turer receives actual notice which involve fatali24 ties or serious injuries which are alleged or prov25 en to have been caused by a possible defect in
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1 such manufacturer’s motor vehicle or motor vehi2 cle equipment in the United States or a foreign

3 country when the possible defect is in a motor

4 vehicle or motor vehicle equipment that is iden5 tical or substantially similar to a motor vehicle

6 or motor vehicle equipment offered for sale in the

7 United States.

8 ‘‘(4) HANDLING AND UTILIZATION OF REPORTING

9 ELEMENTS.—

10 ‘‘(A) SECRETARY’S SPECIFICATIONS.—In re11 quiring the reporting of any information re12 quested by the Secretary under this subsection,

13 the Secretary shall specify in the final rule pro14 mulgated under paragraph (1)—

15 ‘‘(i) how such information will be re16 viewed and utilized to assist in the identi17 fication of defects related to motor vehicle

18 safety;

19 ‘‘(ii) the systems and processes the Sec20 retary will employ or establish to permit

21 such information to be reviewed and uti22 lized; and

23 ‘‘(iii) the manner and form of report24 ing such information, including in elec25 tronic form.
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1 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION IN POSSESSION OF MAN2 UFACTURER.—The regulations promulgated by

3 the Secretary under paragraph (1) may not re4 quire a manufacturer of a motor vehicle or motor

5 vehicle equipment to maintain and submit

6 records respecting information not in the posses7 sion of the manufacturer.

8 ‘‘(C) DISCLOSURE.—None of the informa9 tion collected pursuant to the final rule promul10 gated under paragraph (1) shall be disclosed

11 pursuant to section 30167(b) unless the Sec12 retary determines the disclosure of such informa13 tion will assist in carrying out sections 30117(b)

14 and 30118 through 30121.

15 ‘‘(D) BURDENSOME REQUIREMENTS.—In

16 promulgating the final rule under paragraph

17 (1), the Secretary shall not impose requirements

18 unduly burdensome to a manufacturer of a

19 motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment, taking

20 into account the manufacturer’s cost of com21 plying with such requirements and the Sec22 retary’s ability to use the information in a

23 meaningful manner to assist in the identifica24 tion of defects related to motor vehicle safety.
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1 ‘‘(5) PERIODIC REVIEW.—As part of the final

2 rule promulgated pursuant to paragraph (1), the Sec3 retary shall specify procedures for the periodic review

4 and update of such rule.’’.

5 (c) SALE OR LEASE OF DEFECTIVE OR NONCOMPLIANT

6 TIRE.—Section 30166 of title 49, United States Code, as

7 amended by subsection (b), is amended by adding at the

8 end the following:

9 ‘‘(n) SALE OR LEASE OF DEFECTIVE OR NONCOMPLI10 ANT TIRE.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, within

12 90 days of the date of this subsection, issue a final

13 rule requiring any person who knowingly and will14 fully sells or leases for use on a motor vehicle a defec15 tive tire or a tire which is not compliant with an ap16 plicable tire safety standard with actual knowledge

17 that the manufacturer of such tire has notified its

18 dealers of such defect or noncompliance as required

19 under section 30118(c) or as required by an order

20 under section 30118(b) to report such sale or lease to

21 the Secretary.

22 ‘‘(2) DEFECT OR NONCOMPLIANCE REMEDIED OR

23 ORDER NOT IN EFFECT.—Regulations under para24 graph (1) shall not require the reporting described in
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1 paragraph (1) where before delivery under a sale or

2 lease of a tire—

3 ‘‘(A) the defect or noncompliance of the tire

4 is remedied as required by section 30120; or

5 ‘‘(B) notification of the defect or noncompli6 ance is required under section 30118(b) but en7 forcement of the order is restrained or the order

8 is set aside in a civil action to which section

9 30121(d) applies.’’.

10 (d) INSURANCE STUDY.—The Secretary of Transpor11 tation shall conduct a study to determine the feasibility and

12 utility of obtaining aggregate information on a regular and

13 periodic basis regarding claims made for private passenger

14 automobile accidents from persons in the business of pro15 viding private passenger automobile insurance or of adjust16 ing insurance claims for such automobiles. Not later than

17 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec18 retary shall transmit the results of such study to the Com19 mittee on Commerce of the House of Representatives and

20 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

21 of the Senate.

22 SEC. 3. REMEDIES WITHOUT CHARGE.

23 Section 30120(g)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is

24 amended by—
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1 (1) striking ‘‘8 calendar years’’ and inserting

2 ‘‘10 calendar years’’; and

3 (2) striking ‘‘3 calendar years’’ and inserting ‘‘5

4 calendar years’’.

5 SEC. 4. PENALTIES.

6 (a) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 30165(a) of title 49,

7 United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

8 ‘‘(a) CIVIL PENALTIES.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person that violates any of

10 sections 30112, 30115, 30117 through 30122,

11 30123(d), 30125(c), 30127, or 30141 through 30147,

12 or a regulation prescribed thereunder, is liable to the

13 United States Government for a civil penalty of not

14 more than $5,000 for each violation. A separate viola15 tion occurs for each motor vehicle or item of motor ve16 hicle equipment and for each failure or refusal to

17 allow or perform an act required by any of those sec18 tions. The maximum penalty under this subsection for

19 a related series of violations is $15,000,000.

20 ‘‘(2) SECTION 30166.—A person who violates sec21 tion 30166 or a regulation prescribed under that sec22 tion is liable to the United States Government for a

23 civil penalty for failing or refusing to allow or per24 form an act required under that section or regulation.

25 The maximum penalty under this paragraph is
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1 $5,000 per violation per day. The maximum penalty

2 under this paragraph for a related series of daily vio3 lations is $15,000,000.’’.

4 (b) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter IV of chapter 301

6 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding

7 at the end the following:

8 ‘‘§ 30170. Criminal Penalties.

9 ‘‘(a) CRIMINAL LIABILITY FOR FALSIFYING OR WITH10 HOLDING INFORMATION.—

11 ‘‘(1) GENERAL RULE.—A person who violates

12 section 1001 of title 18 with respect to the reporting

13 requirements of section 30166, with the specific inten14 tion of misleading the Secretary with respect to motor

15 vehicle or motor vehicle equipment safety related de16 fects that have caused death or grievous bodily harm

17 to an individual, shall be subject to criminal pen18 alties of a fine under title 18, United States Code, or

19 imprisoned for not more than 15 years, or both.

20 ‘‘(2) SAFE HARBOR TO ENCOURAGE REPORTING

21 AND FOR WHISTLE BLOWERS.—

22 ‘‘(A) CORRECTION.—A person described in

23 paragraph (1) shall not be subject to criminal

24 penalties under this subsection if such person
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1 corrects any improper reports or failure to re2 port within a reasonable time.

3 ‘‘(B) REASONABLE TIME AND SUFFICIENCY

4 OF CORRECTION.—The Secretary shall establish

5 by regulation what constitutes a reasonable time

6 for the purposes of subparagraph (A) and what

7 manner of correction is sufficient for purposes of

8 subparagraph (A). The Secretary shall issue a

9 final rule under this subparagraph within 90

10 days of the date of enactment of this section.

11 ‘‘(C) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a)

12 shall not take effect before the final rule under

13 subparagraph (B) takes effect.

14 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION WITH DEPARTMENT OF JUS15 TICE.—The Attorney General may bring an action, or ini16 tiate grand jury proceedings, for a violation of subsection

17 (a) only at the request of the Secretary of Transportation.’’.

18 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The subchapter

19 analysis for subchapter IV of chapter 301 of title 49,

20 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

21 the following:

‘‘30170. Criminal penalties.’’.

22 SEC. 5. ACCELERATION OF MANUFACTURER REMEDY PRO23 GRAM.

24 Section 30120(c) of title 49, United States Code, is

25 amended by inserting at the end thereof the following:
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1 ‘‘(3) If the Secretary determines that a manufacturer’s

2 remedy program is not likely to be capable of completion

3 within a reasonable time, the Secretary may require the

4 manufacturer to accelerate the remedy program if the Sec5 retary finds—

6 ‘‘(A) that there is a risk of serious injury or

7 death if the remedy program is not accelerated; and

8 ‘‘(B) that acceleration of the remedy program

9 can be reasonably achieved by expanding the sources

10 of replacement parts, expanding the number of au11 thorized repair facilities, or both.

12 The Secretary may prescribe regulations to carry out this

13 paragraph.’’.

14 SEC. 6. SALES OF REPLACED TIRES.

15 Section 30120(d) of title 49, United States Code, is

16 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In the case

17 of a remedy program involving the replacement of tires the

18 manufacturer shall include a plan addressing how to pre19 vent, to the extent reasonably within the control of the man20 ufacturer, replaced tires from being resold for installation

21 on a motor vehicle. The manufacturer shall include infor22 mation about the implementation of such plan with each

23 quarterly report to the Secretary about the progress about

24 the notification and remedy campaign.’’.
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1 SEC. 7. SALES OF REPLACED EQUIPMENT.

2 Section 30112 of title 49, United States Code, is

3 amended by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON SALES OF REPLACED EQUIP5 MENT.—No person may sell any item of motor vehicle

6 equipment (including a tire) for installation on a motor

7 vehicle that is the subject of a decision under section

8 30118(b) or a notice required under section 30118(c) or was

9 removed from a motor vehicle as part of an action taken

10 under section 30120(a) or 30120(b) in a condition that it

11 may be used for its original purpose unless the item of

12 motor vehicle equipment is no longer defective or is other13 wise free of the condition that was the subject of the action

14 taken under section 30120(a) or 30120(b).’’.

15 SEC. 8. CERTIFICATION LABEL.

16 Section 30115 of title 49, United States Code, is

17 amended by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before ‘‘A man18 ufacturer’’ and by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION LABEL.—In the case of the certifi20 cation label affixed by an intermediate or final stage manu21 facturer of a motor vehicle built in more than 1 stage, each

22 intermediate or final stage manufacturer shall certify with

23 respect to each applicable Federal motor vehicle safety

24 standard—

25 ‘‘(1) that it has complied with the specifications

26 set forth in the compliance documentation provided
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1 by the incomplete motor vehicle manufacturer in ac2 cordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary;

3 or

4 ‘‘(2) that it has elected to assume responsibility

5 for compliance with that standard.

6 If the intermediate or final stage manufacturer elects to as7 sume responsibility for compliance with the standard cov8 ered by the documentation provided by an incomplete motor

9 vehicle manufacturer, the intermediate or final stage manu10 facturer shall notify the incomplete motor vehicle manufac11 turer in writing within a reasonable time of affixing the

12 certification label. A violation of this subsection shall not

13 be subject to a civil penalty under section 30165.’’.

14 SEC. 9. ENDURANCE AND RESISTANCE STANDARDS FOR

15 TIRES.

16 The Secretary of Transportation shall conduct a rule17 making to revise and update the tire standards published

18 at 49 C.F.R. 571.109 and 49 C.F.R. 571.119. The Secretary

19 shall complete the rulemaking under this section not later

20 than June 1, 2002.

21 SEC. 10. IMPROVED TIRE INFORMATION.

22 (a) TIRE LABELING.—Within 30 days after the date

23 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation

24 shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding to improve the label25 ing of tires required by section 30123 of title 49, United
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1 States Code to assist consumers in identifying tires that

2 may be the subject of a recall by the manufacturer. The Sec3 retary shall complete the rulemaking not later than June

4 1, 2002.

5 (b) INFLATION LEVELS AND LOAD LIMITS.—In the

6 rulemaking initiated under subsection (a), the Secretary

7 may take whatever additional action is appropriate to en8 sure that the public is aware of the importance of observing

9 motor vehicle tire load limits and maintaining proper tire

10 inflation levels to the safe operation of a motor vehicle. Such

11 additional action may include a requirement that the man12 ufacturer of motor vehicles provide the purchasers of the

13 motor vehicles information on tire inflation levels and load

14 limits if the Secretary determines that requiring such man15 ufacturers to provide such information is the most appro16 priate way such information can be provided.

17 SEC. 11. ROLLOVER TESTS.

18 Section 30117 of title 49, United States Code, is

19 amended by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(c) ROLLOVER TESTS.—

21 ‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than 2 years

22 from the date of enactment of this subsection, the Sec23 retary of Transportation, acting through the National

24 Highway Traffic Safety Administration, shall—
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1 ‘‘(A) develop a dynamic test on rollovers by

2 motor vehicles for the purposes of a consumer in3 formation program; and

4 ‘‘(B) carry out a program of conducting

5 such tests.

6 ‘‘(2) TEST RESULTS.—As the Secretary develops

7 a test under paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary, acting

8 through the National Highway Traffic Safety Admin9 istration, shall conduct a rulemaking to determine

10 how best to disseminate test results to the public.

11 ‘‘(3) MOTOR VEHICLES COVERED.—This sub12 section applies to passenger cars, multipurpose pas13 senger vehicles, and trucks with a gross vehicle weight

14 rating of 10,000 pounds or less. A motor vehicle de15 signed to provide temporary residential accommoda16 tions is not covered.’’.

17 SEC. 12. TIRE PRESSURE WARNING.

18 Not later than one year after the date of enactment

19 of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation, acting through

20 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, shall

21 complete a rulemaking for a regulation to require a warn22 ing system in a motor vehicle to indicate to the operator

23 when a tire is significantly under inflated. Such require24 ment shall become effective not later than 2 years after the

25 date of the completion of such rulemaking.
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1 SEC. 13. IMPROVING CRITERIA USED IN A RECALL.

2 (a) REVIEW OF STANDARDS AND CRITERIA USED IN

3 OPENING A DEFECT INVESTIGATION.—The Secretary shall,

4 not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this

5 Act, undertake a comprehensive review of all standards, cri6 teria, procedures, and methods, including data management

7 and analytical capabilities, used by the National Highway

8 Traffic Safety Administration in determining whether to

9 open a defect investigation pursuant to subchapter II or

10 IV of chapter 301 of title 49, United States Code, and shall

11 undertake such steps as may be necessary to update and

12 improve such standards, criteria, procedures, or methods,

13 including data management and analytical capabilities.

14 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year

15 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall

16 transmit to the Committee on Commerce of the House of

17 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science,

18 and Transportation of the Senate a report describing the

19 Secretary’s findings and actions under subsection (a).

20 SEC. 14. FOLLOW-UP REPORT.

21 One year after the date of enactment of this Act, the

22 Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Ad23 ministration shall report to the Congress on the implemen24 tation of the amendments made by this Act and any rec25 ommendations for additional amendments for consumer

26 safety.
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1 SEC. 15. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 In addition to any sums authorized to be appropriated

3 by sections 30104 or 32102 of title 49, United States Code,

4 there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of

5 Transportation for the National Highway Traffic Safety

6 Administration for fiscal year 2001 $9,100,000 to carry out

7 this Act and the amendments made by this Act. Such funds

8 shall not be available for the general administrative ex9 penses of the Secretary or the Administration.
Union Calendar No. 571

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5164

[Report No. 106–954]

A BILL

To amend title 49, United States Code, to require

reports concerning defects in motor vehicles ortires or other motor vehicle equipment in foreigncountries, and for other purposes.

OCTOBER 10, 2000

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,

and ordered to be printed