103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4545

AMENDMENTS
In the Senate of the United States,

October 6 (legislative day, September 12), 1994.

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 4545) entitled ‘‘An Act to amend the rail safety

provisions of title 49, United States Code, and for other purposes’’, do pass with the following

AMENDMENTS:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 SECTION. 1. SHORT TITLES.

2 (a) TITLE I.—Title I of this Act may be cited as the

3 ‘‘Federal Railroad Safety Authorization Act of 1994’’.

4 (b) TITLE II.—Title II of this Act may be cited as

5 the ‘‘High Risk Drivers Act of 1994’’.

6 TITLE I—FEDERAL RAILROAD

7 SAFETY

8 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

9 Section 20117(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code,

10 is amended by inserting after subparagraph (B) the follow11 ing:

12 ‘‘(C) $68,289,000 for the fiscal year ending

13 September 30, 1995.

14 ‘‘(D) $75,112,000 for the fiscal year ending

15 September 30, 1996.
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1 ‘‘(E) $82,563,000 for the fiscal year ending

2 September 30, 1997.

3 ‘‘(F) $90,739,000 for the fiscal year ending

4 September 30, 1998.’’.

5 SEC. 102. HOURS OF SERVICE PILOT PROJECT.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 211 of title 49, United

7 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following

8 new section:

9 ‘‘§ 12108. Hours of service pilot project

10 ‘‘(a) PILOT PROJECTS AUTHORIZED.—A railroad or

11 railroads, and all labor organizations representing any di12 rectly affected covered service employees of the railroad or

13 railroads, may jointly petition the Secretary of Transpor14 tation for approval of one or more pilot projects to dem15 onstrate the possible benefits and costs of implementing al16 ternatives to the requirements of this Act, including, but

17 not limited to, those concerning maximum on-duty and

18 minimum off-duty periods. Based on such a joint petition,

19 the Secretary, after notice and opportunity for comment,

20 may waive, in whole or in part, compliance with this Act

21 for a period of no more than 2 years, if the Secretary deter22 mines that such waiver of compliance is in the public inter23 est and is consistent with railroad safety. Any such waiver

24 may, based on a new petition, be extended for additional

25 periods of up to 2 years, after notice and opportunity for
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1 comment. An explanation of any waiver granted under this

2 section shall be published in the Federal Register.

3 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to Congress

4 no later than June 1, 1996, an interim report that discusses

5 the status of the pilot project program and a final report

6 by January 1, 1998, that explains and analyzes the impact

7 on safety, railroad operating conditions, railroad oper8 ations, and potential benefits of any pilot projects approved

9 under this section.’’.

10 (b) CIVIL PENALTY.—The first sentence of section

11 21303(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by

12 inserting a comma and ‘‘or a provision of a waiver granted

13 under section 12108 of this title,’’ after ‘‘of this title’’ the

14 second place it appears.

15 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections for

16 chapter 211 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by

17 adding at the end thereof the following:

‘‘12108. Hours of service pilot project.’’.

18 SEC. 103. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT TO FEDERAL RAILROAD

19 SAFETY ACT OF 1970.

20 Section 20111(c) of title 49, United States Code, is

21 amended by inserting ‘‘this chapter or any of the laws

22 transferred to the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Transpor23 tation by subsection (e)(1), (2), or (6)(A) of section 6 of

24 the Department of Transportation Act, as such Act is in

25 effect on June 1, 1994, or’’ after ‘‘individual’s violation of’’.
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1 SEC. 104. BIENNIAL REPORTING ON IMPLEMENTATION OF

2 FEDERAL RAILROAD SAFETY ACT OF 1970.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 20116 of title 49, United

4 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘not later than July

5 1 of each year a report on carrying out this chapter for

6 the prior calendar year’’ in the first sentence and inserting

7 ‘‘every 2 years, on or before July 1, a report on carrying

8 out this chapter for the preceding 2 calendar years’’.

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The section heading

10 for that section is amended by striking ‘‘Annual report’’

11 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Biennial report’’.

12 SEC. 105. STATE HIGHWAY SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS.

13 (a) AMENDMENT OF REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of

14 Transportation shall conduct a rulemaking proceeding to

15 amend the regulations under section 500.407 of title 23,

16 Code of Federal Regulations, to require that each highway

17 safety management system developed, established, and im18 plemented by a State shall, among countermeasures and

19 priorities established under subsection (b)(2) of that sec20 tion—

21 (1) include public railroad-highway grade-cross22 ing closure plans that are aimed at eliminating high23 risk or redundant crossings (as defined by the Sec24 retary);

25 (2) include railroad-highway grade-crossing poli26 cies that limit the creation of new at-grade crossings
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1 for vehicle or pedestrian traffic, recreational use, or

2 any other purpose; and

3 (3) include plans for State policies, programs,

4 and resources to further reduce death and injury at

5 high-risk railroad-highway grade crossings.

6 (b) DEADLINE.—The Secretary of Transportation shall

7 complete the rulemaking proceeding described in subsection

8 (a) and prescribe the required amended regulations, not

9 later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act.

10 SEC. 106. EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION OF GRADE-CROSSING

11 PROBLEMS.

12 Section 20134 of title 49, United States Code, is

13 amended by adding at the end thereof the following new

14 subsection:

15 ‘‘(d) PILOT PROGRAMS.—

16 ‘‘(1) The Secretary of Transportation shall con17 duct a pilot program to demonstrate an emergency

18 notification system utilizing a toll free telephone

19 number that the public can use to convey to railroads,

20 either directly or through public safety personnel, in21 formation about malfunctions or other safety prob22 lems at railroad-highway grade crossings. The pilot

23 program, at a minimum—

24 ‘‘(A) shall include railroad-highway grade

25 crossings in at least 2 States,
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1 ‘‘(B) shall include provisions for public edu2 cation and awareness of the program, and

3 ‘‘(C) shall require information to be posted

4 at the railroad-highway grade crossing describ5 ing the emergency notification system and in6 structions on how to use the system.

7 The Secretary may, by grant, provide funding for the

8 expense of information signs and public awareness

9 campaigns necessary to demonstrate the notification

10 system.

11 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall complete the pilot pro12 gram not later than 24 months after the date of en13 actment of the Federal Railroad Safety Authorization

14 Act of 1994, and shall submit to the Congress not

15 later than 30 months after that date an evaluation of

16 the pilot program, together with findings as to the ef17 fectiveness of such emergency notification systems.

18 The report shall compare and contrast the structure,

19 cost, and effectiveness of the pilot program with other

20 emergency notification systems in effect within other

21 States. Such evaluation shall include analyses of the

22 safety benefits derived from the programs, cost effec23 tiveness, and the burdens on participants, including

24 the railroads and law enforcement personnel.

25 ‘‘(3) Unless the Secretary determines that—
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1 ‘‘(A) the national notification system would

2 not be a cost-effective means of providing timely

3 and accurate notification of railroad-highway

4 grade crossing safety emergencies; or

5 ‘‘(B) State-level notification systems evalu6 ated by the Secretary offer a clearly superior

7 means of providing such notification, and the

8 Secretary includes in the report to the Congress

9 under paragraph (2) a strategy and schedule for

10 extending such systems to other States;

11 then the Secretary shall establish, and shall issue im12 plementing regulations for, a national notification

13 system, within 24 months after the date on which the

14 report is issued. The regulations shall include provi15 sions requiring railroads to erect and maintain ap16 propriate signs and to provide necessary railroad17 highway grade crossing information to the United

18 States DOT/AAR Rail-Highway Grade Crossing In19 ventory.

20 ‘‘(4) In addition to sums authorized under sec21 tion 20117(a)(1) of this title, there are authorized to

22 be appropriated to carry out this section not to exceed

23 $700,000 for fiscal year 1995, $250,000 for fiscal year

24 1996, $800,000 for fiscal year 1997, and $400,000 for

25 fiscal year 1998.’’.
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1 SEC. 107. OPERATION LIFESAVER.

2 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi3 tion to amounts otherwise authorized by law, there are au4 thorized to be appropriated for railroad research and devel5 opment $300,000 for fiscal year 1995, $500,000 for fiscal

6 year 1996, and $750,000 for fiscal year 1997, to support

7 Operation Lifesaver, Inc.

8 (b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary of

9 Transportation shall not provide financial assistance from

10 any amount appropriated for railroad research and devel11 opment to Operation Lifesaver, Inc., in excess of $150,000

12 for any fiscal year unless—

13 (1) such excess funding is for the development

14 and implementation of a national, multi-year, multi15 media public information and law enforcement pro16 gram for the reduction of fatalities and serious inju17 ries involving railroad-highway grade crossings and

18 trespassing on railroad rights-of-way and property;

19 and

20 (2) at least 30 percent of the costs of developing

21 and implementing such program is provided from

22 non-Federal sources, including States and railroads.

23 (c) SECRETARY OR DELEGATES TO SERVE EX OFFICIO

24 ON BOARDS OF RECIPIENT ORGANIZATIONS.—In order to

25 ensure maximum coordination and effectiveness in carrying

26 out the Operation Lifesaver program, the Secretary of
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1 Transportation or, by delegation, the Administrator of the

2 Federal Railroad Administration and the Administrator of

3 the Federal Highway Administration, is authorized to

4 serve, ex officio, as a member of the board of directors (or

5 similar governing body) of any organization receiving

6 funds made available by the Secretary for carrying out a

7 program of public information and education to reduce or

8 prevent motor vehicle accidents, injuries, and fatalities, or

9 to improve driver performance, at railroad-highway grade

10 crossings, and to prevent trespassing on railroad rights-of11 way and resulting injuries and fatalities.

12 SEC. 108. INTELLIGENT VEHICLE-HIGHWAY SYSTEMS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—In implementing the Intelligent Ve14 hicle-Highway Systems Act of 1991 (23 U.S.C. 307 note),

15 the Secretary of Transportation shall ensure that the Na16 tional Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems Program ad17 dresses, in a comprehensive and coordinated manner, the

18 use of intelligent vehicle-highway technologies to promote

19 safety at railroad-highway grade crossings. The Secretary

20 of Transportation shall ensure that two or more operational

21 tests funded under such Act shall promote highway traffic

22 safety and railroad safety.
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1 SEC. 109. VIOLATION OF GRADE-CROSSING LAWS AND REG2 ULATIONS.

3 (a) FEDERAL REGULATIONS.—Section 31311 of title

4 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

5 the following new subsection:

6 ‘‘(h) GRADE-CROSSING VIOLATIONS.—

7 ‘‘(1) SANCTIONS.—The Secretary shall issue reg8 ulations establishing sanctions and penalties relating

9 to violations, by persons operating commercial motor

10 vehicles, of laws and regulations pertaining to rail11 road-highway grade crossings.

12 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—Regulations is13 sued under paragraph (1) shall, at a minimum, re14 quire that—

15 ‘‘(A) the penalty for a single violation shall

16 not be less than a 60-day disqualification of the

17 driver’s commercial driver’s license; and

18 ‘‘(B) any employer that knowingly allows,

19 permits, authorizes, or requires an employee to

20 operate a commercial motor vehicle in violation

21 of such a law or regulation shall be subject to a

22 civil penalty of not more than $10,000.’’.

23 (b) DEADLINE.—The initial regulations required

24 under section 31310(h) of title 49, United States Code, shall

25 be issued not later than one year after the date of enactment

26 of this Act.
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1 (c) STATE REGULATIONS.—Section 31311(a) of title

2 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

3 the following new paragraph:

4 ‘‘(18) GRADE-CROSSING REGULATIONS.—The

5 State shall adopt and enforce regulations prescribed

6 by the Secretary under section 31310(h) of this title.’’.

7 SEC. 110. SAFETY ENFORCEMENT.

8 (a) COOPERATION BETWEEN FEDERAL AND STATE

9 AGENCIES.—The National Highway Traffic Safety Admin10 istration, and the Office of Motor Carriers within the Fed11 eral Highway Administration, shall on a continuing basis

12 cooperate and work with the National Association of Gov13 ernors’ Highway Safety Representatives, the Commercial

14 Vehicle Safety Alliance, and Operation Lifesaver, Inc., to

15 improve compliance with and enforcement of laws and reg16 ulations pertaining to railroad-highway grade crossings.

17 (b) REPORT.—The Secretary of Transportation shall

18 submit a report to Congress by January 1, 1996, indicating

19 (1) how the Department worked with the above mentioned

20 entities to improve the awareness of the highway and com21 mercial vehicle safety and law enforcement communities of

22 regulations and safety challenges at railroad-highway grade

23 crossings, and (2) how resources are being allocated to better

24 address these challenges and enforce such regulations.
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1 SEC. 111. INSTITUTE FOR RAILROAD AND GRADE-CROSSING

2 SAFETY.

3 The Secretary of Transportation, in conjunction with

4 a university or college having expertise in highway, traffic,

5 and railroad safety, shall establish, within one year of en6 actment of this Act, an Institute for Railroad and Grade7 Crossing Safety. The Institute shall research, develop, fund,

8 or test measures for reducing the number of fatalities and

9 injuries in railroad operations, focusing on improvements

10 in railroad-highway grade-crossing safety, railroad tres11 passing, prevention, and enforcement. There is hereby au12 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $1,000,000 for

13 each of the fiscal years 1996 through 2000 to fund activities

14 under the preceding sentence carried out by the Institute,

15 which shall report at least once each year on its use of such

16 funds in carrying out such activities and the results thereof

17 to the Secretary of Transportation and the Congress.

18 SEC. 112. RAILROAD GRADE-CROSSING TRESPASSING AND

19 VANDALISM PREVENTION STRATEGY.

20 (a) EVALUATION OF EXISTING LAWS.—In consultation

21 with affected parties, the Secretary of Transportation shall

22 evaluate and review current local, State, and Federal laws

23 regarding trespassing on railroad property and vandalism

24 affecting railroad safety, and develop model prevention

25 strategies and enforcement laws to be used for the consider26 ation of State and local legislatures and governmental enti-
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1 ties. The first such evaluation and review shall be completed

2 within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. The

3 Secretary shall revise such model prevention strategies and

4 enforcement codes periodically.

5 (b) OUTREACH PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall de6 velop and maintain a comprehensive outreach program to

7 improve communications among Federal railroad safety in8 spectors, State inspectors certified by the Federal Railroad

9 Administration, railroad police, and State and local law

10 enforcement officers, for the purpose of addressing trespass11 ing and vandalism problems on the railroads and railroad

12 property, and strengthening relevant enforcement strategies.

13 This program shall be designed to increase public and police

14 awareness of the illegality of, dangers inherent in, and the

15 extent of, trespassing on railroad rights-of-way, to develop

16 strategies to improve the prevention of trespassing and van17 dalism, and to improve the enforcement of laws relating to

18 railroad trespass, vandalism, and grade crossings safety.

19 (c) MODEL LEGISLATION.—Within 18 months after the

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, after consulta21 tion with State and local governments, shall develop and

22 make available to State and local governments model State

23 legislation providing for—

24 (1) civil or criminal penalties, or both, for van25 dalism of railroad equipment or property which could
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1 affect the safety of the public or of railroad employees;

2 and

3 (2) civil or criminal penalties, or both, for tres4 passing on a railroad owned or leased right-of-way.

5 SEC. 113. WARNING OF CIVIL LIABILITY.

6 The Secretary of Transportation shall encourage rail7 roads to warn the public about potential liability for viola8 tion of regulations related to vandalism of railroad-high9 way grade crossing signs, devices, and equipment and to

10 trespass on railroad property.

11 SEC. 114. LOCOMOTIVE WHISTLE BAN PROHIBITION.

12 (a) PROHIBITION.—No State or political subdivision

13 thereof shall enact or enforce a locomotive whistle ban with

14 respect to any railroad-highway grade crossing or series of

15 railroad-highway grade crossings after December 31, 1995,

16 unless, consistent with regulations issued under subsection

17 (c), one of the following actions has been taken with respect

18 to a crossing or series of crossings (as determined by the

19 Secretary)—

20 (1) the affected crossing is closed during the

21 hours covered by the ban;

22 (2) crossing gates and median barriers have been

23 installed and are operational;

24 (3) 4-quadrant gates have been installed and are

25 operating; or
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1 (4) other effective safety measures, described in

2 regulations issued by the Secretary (including regula3 tions involving the demonstration and evaluation of

4 new safety measures), are in place at an affected

5 crossing or series of crossings.

6 (b) TESTING.—The Secretary of Transportation is au7 thorized to approve the testing of railroad-highway grade

8 crossing safety measures, including demonstration and

9 evaluation of such measures at railroad-highway grade

10 crossings.

11 (c) REGULATIONS.—By January 1, 1996, the Sec12 retary of Transportation shall issue regulations implement13 ing this section. These regulations shall include—

14 (1) standards for safety measures identified in

15 paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (a);

16 (2) identification of any additional safety meas17 ures that provide an equivalent level of safety to that

18 provided by the safety measures identified in para19 graphs (2) and (3) of subsection (a); and

20 (3) procedures for securing approval to dem21 onstrate new railroad-highway grade crossing safety

22 measures at railroad-highway grade crossings.

23 SEC. 115. RAILROAD CAR VISIBILITY.

24 (a) REVIEW OF RULES.—The Secretary of Transpor25 tation shall conduct a review of the Department of Trans-
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1 portation’s rules with respect to railroad car visibility. As

2 part of this review, the Secretary shall collect relevant data

3 from operational experience by railroads having enhanced

4 visibility measures in service. The Secretary shall also con5 duct such research as may be required to establish whether

6 enhanced visibility of railroad cars would improve driver

7 behavior and thereby reduce railroad-highway grade cross8 ing accidents.

9 (b) REGULATIONS.—If the review and research con10 ducted under subsection (a) establishes that enhanced rail11 road car visibility would likely enhance safety in a cost12 effective manner, the Secretary shall initiate a rulemaking

13 proceeding to issue regulations requiring substantially en14 hanced visibility standards for newly manufactured and re15 manufactured railroad cars. In such proceeding the Sec16 retary shall consider, at a minimum—

17 (1) visibility from the perspective of an auto18 mobile driver;

19 (2) whether certain railroad car paint colors

20 should be prohibited or required;

21 (3) the use of reflective materials;

22 (4) the visibility of lettering on railroad cars;

23 (5) the effect of any enhanced visibility measures

24 on the health and safety of train crew members; and

25 (6) the cost/benefit ratio of any new regulations.
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1 (c) EXCLUSIONS.—In issuing regulations under sub2 section (b), the Secretary may exclude from any specific vis3 ibility requirement any category of trains or railroad oper4 ations if the Secretary determines that such an exclusion

5 is in the public interest and is consistent with railroad safe6 ty including railroad-highway crossing safety.

7 SEC. 116. CROSSING ELIMINATION; STATEWIDE CROSSING

8 FREEZE.

9 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—

10 (1) Railroad-highway grade crossings present in11 herent hazards to the safety of railroad operations

12 and to the safety of persons using those crossings. It

13 is in the public interest—

14 (A) to eliminate redundant and high risk

15 railroad-highway grade crossings; and

16 (B) to limit the creation of new crossings to

17 the minimum necessary to provide for the rea18 sonable mobility of the American people and

19 their property, including emergency access.

20 (2) Elimination of redundant and high-risk rail21 road-highway grade crossings is necessary to permit

22 optimum use of available funds to improve the safety

23 of remaining crossings, including funds provided

24 under Federal law.
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1 (3) Effective programs to reduce the number of

2 unneeded railroad-highway grade crossings, and to

3 close those crossings that cannot be made reasonably

4 safe (due to reasons of topography, angles of intersec5 tion, etc.), require the partnership of Federal, State,

6 and local officials and agencies, and affected rail7 roads.

8 (4) Promotion of a balanced national transpor9 tation system requires that highway planning specifi10 cally take into consideration the interface between

11 highways and the national railroad system.

12 (b) PARTNERSHIP AND OVERSIGHT.—The Secretary

13 shall foster a partnership among Federal, State, and local

14 transportation officials and agencies to reduce the number

15 of railroad-highway grade crossings and to improve safety

16 at remaining crossings. The Secretary shall make provision

17 for periodic review to ensure that each State (including

18 State subdivisions and local governments) is making sub19 stantial, continued progress toward achievement of the pur20 poses of this section.

21 (c) CROSSING FREEZE.—If, upon review, and after op22 portunity for a hearing, the Secretary determines that a

23 State or political subdivision thereof has failed to make sub24 stantial, continued progress toward achievement of the pur25 poses of this section, then the Secretary shall impose a limit
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1 on the maximum number of public railroad-highway grade

2 crossings in that State. The limitation imposed by the Sec3 retary under this subsection shall remain in effect until the

4 State demonstrates compliance with the requirements of this

5 section. In addition, the Secretary may, for a period of not

6 more than 3 years after such a determination, require com7 pliance with specific numeric targets for net reductions in

8 the number of railroad-highway grade crossings (including

9 specification of hazard categories with which such crossings

10 are associated).

11 (d) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue such

12 regulations as may be necessary to carry out this section.

13 SEC. 117. RESEARCH PRIORITIES.

14 (a) 5-YEAR PLAN.—

15 (1) The Secretary of Transportation shall submit

16 to Congress a 5-year strategic plan that will dem17 onstrate improved programs to enhance railroad safe18 ty (including human factors and railroad-highway

19 grade-crossing safety), the prevention of trespassing

20 on railroad property, and the prevention of vandal21 ism to railroad-highway grade crossing safety devices

22 and signs. With respect to human factors, the strate23 gic plan shall establish a comprehensive program to

24 investigate workload, stress, and fatigue, operator
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1 training, ergonomics, operating rules, and other areas

2 judged appropriate by the Secretary.

3 (2) The plan shall be incorporated into the re4 search, technology development, and testing priorities

5 of the Federal Railroad Administration.

6 (3) The plan shall be submitted to Congress no

7 later than January 1, 1996.

8 (4) There are authorized to be appropriated for

9 conducting such programs $3,500,000 for each of the

10 fiscal years 1996 through 1999.

11 (b) PARTICIPATION OF OTHER AGENCIES.—In carry12 ing out the activities authorized by this Act, the Secretary

13 shall cooperate with other Federal agencies and seek to

14 maximize the use of Federal monies to apply defense-related

15 technologies to railroad-highway grade crossing safety, tres16 passing prevention, and other railroad-safety initiatives.

17 SEC. 118. COORDINATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF

18 LABOR.

19 The Secretary of Transportation shall consult with the

20 Secretary of Labor on a regular basis to assure that all

21 applicable laws affecting safe working conditions for rail22 road employees are appropriately enforced to assure a safe

23 and productive working environment for the railroad in24 dustry.
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1 SEC. 119. POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEM PROGRESS

2 REPORT.

3 The Secretary of Transportation shall make annual

4 progress reports to the Committees of the Senate and of the

5 House of Representatives with jurisdiction over railroads

6 on the development, deployment, and demonstration of

7 Positive Train Control Systems.

8 SEC. 120. PASSENGER CAR SAFETY STANDARDS.

9 Section 20133 of title 49, United States Code, is

10 amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

11 ‘‘(d) MINIMUM STANDARDS.—

12 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall issue regulations estab13 lishing minimum standards for the safety of cars used

14 by railroads to transport passengers. The regulations

15 shall address, at a minimum, crashworthiness of the

16 cars, interior features (including luggage restraints,

17 seat belts, and exposed surfaces) that may affect pas18 senger safety; maintenance and inspection of the cars;

19 emergency response procedures and equipment; and

20 any operating rules and conditions that directly af21 fect safety not otherwise governed by regulations or

22 orders. The Secretary may make applicable some or

23 all of these standards to cars existing at the time of

24 the issuance of the regulations as well as to new cars,

25 and the Secretary shall explain in the rulemaking
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1 document the basis for making such standards appli2 cable to existing cars.

3 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall issue initial standards

4 for railroad passenger safety, including standards ad5 dressing core safety concerns for which research has

6 been completed, within 3 years after the date of enact7 ment of the Federal Railroad Safety Authorization

8 Act of 1994. The initial standards may except equip9 ment used by historical, scenic, and excursion rail10 roads to transport passengers. The Secretary shall

11 complete the issuance of passenger safety standards

12 required by this section within 5 years after such

13 date.

14 ‘‘(3) The Secretary is authorized to establish

15 within the Department of Transportation 2 addi16 tional full time equivalent positions beyond the num17 ber currently authorized by existing law to assist with

18 the drafting, issuance, and implementation of the reg19 ulations described in paragraph (1).’’.

20 SEC. 121. GRANT AUTHORITY.

21 Section 103 of title 49, United States Code, is amended

22 by redesignating subsection (d) as (e), and by inserting

23 after subsection (c) the following new subsection:

24 ‘‘(d) Subject to the provisions of the Federal Property

25 and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 471
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1 et seq.), the Secretary may make, enter into, and perform

2 such contracts, grants, leases, cooperative agreements, and

3 other similar transactions with Federal or other public

4 agencies (including State and local governments) and pri5 vate organizations and persons, and to make such pay6 ments, by way of advance or reimbursement, as the Sec7 retary may determine to be necessary or appropriate to

8 carry out functions of the Federal Railroad Administration.

9 The authority of the Secretary granted by this subsection

10 shall be carried out by the Administrator. Notwithstanding

11 any other provision of this chapter, no authority to enter

12 into contracts or to make payments under this subsection

13 shall be effective, except as provided for in appropriation

14 Acts.’’.

15 SEC. 122. TOURIST RAILROADS.

16 Section 20103 of title 49, United States Code, is

17 amended by adding at the end thereof the following new

18 subsection:

19 ‘‘(f) In prescribing regulations that pertain to safety

20 that affect tourist, historic, or excursion railroad carriers,

21 the Secretary shall take into consideration any financial,

22 operational, or other factors that may be unique to such

23 railroad carriers. The Secretary shall submit a report to

24 Congress not later than September 30, 1995, on efforts made

25 to revise and update regulations that pertain to safety that
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1 affect tourist, historical, or excursion railroad carriers. The

2 report shall address the financial, operational, and other

3 factors that may be unique to these railroads.’’.

4 SEC. 123. AUTHORIZATION.

5 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec6 retary of Transportation for the benefit of Amtrak

7 $40,000,000 for fiscal year 1995 and $50,000,000 for fiscal

8 year 1996 to be used for engineering, design, and construc9 tion activities to enable the James A. Farley Post Office

10 in New York, New York, to be used as a train station and

11 commercial center and for necessary improvements and re12 development of the existing Pennsylvania Station and asso13 ciated service bundling in New York, New York.

14 TITLE II—HIGH RISK DRIVERS

15 PROGRAM

16 SUBTITLE A—HIGH-RISK AND ALCOHOL17 IMPAIRED DRIVERS

18 SEC. 211. FINDINGS.

19 The Congress makes the following findings:

20 (1) The Nation’s traffic fatality rate has declined

21 from 5.5 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled

22 in 1966 to an historic low of an estimated 1.8 deaths

23 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled during 1992. In

24 order to further this desired trend, the safety pro25 grams and policies implemented by the Department of
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1 Transportation must be continued, and at the same

2 time, the focus of these efforts as they pertain to high

3 risk drivers of all ages must be strengthened.

4 (2) Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of

5 death among teenagers, and teenage drivers tend to be

6 at fault for their fatal crashes more often than older

7 drivers. Drivers who are 16 to 20 years old comprised

8 7.4 percent of the United States population in 1991

9 but were involved in 15.4 percent of fatal motor vehi10 cle crashes. Also, on the basis of crashes per 100,000

11 licensed drivers, young drivers are the highest risk

12 group of drivers.

13 (3) During 1991, 6,630 teenagers from age 15

14 through 20 died in motor vehicle crashes. This tragic

15 loss demands that the Federal Government intensify

16 its efforts to promote highway safety among members

17 of this high risk group.

18 (4) The consumption of alcohol, speeding over al19 lowable limits or too fast for road conditions, inad20 equate use of occupant restraints, and other high risk

21 behaviors are several of the key causes for this tragic

22 loss of young drivers and passengers. The Department

23 of Transportation, working cooperatively with the

24 States, student groups, and other organizations, must

25 reinvigorate its current programs and policies to ad-
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1 dress more effectively these pressing problems of teen2 age drivers.

3 (5) In 1991 individuals aged 70 years and older,

4 who are particularly susceptible to injury, were in5 volved in 12 percent of all motor vehicle traffic crash

6 fatalities. These deaths accounted for 4,828 fatalities

7 out of 41,462 total traffic fatalities.

8 (6) The number of older Americans who drive is

9 expected to increase dramatically during the next 30

10 years. Unfortunately, during the last 15 years, the

11 Department of Transportation has supported an ex12 tremely limited program concerning older drivers. Re13 search on older driver behavior and licensing has suf14 fered from intermittent funding at amounts that were

15 insufficient to address the scope and nature of the

16 challenges ahead.

17 (7) A major objective of United States transpor18 tation policy must be to promote the mobility of older

19 Americans while at the same time ensuring public

20 safety on our Nation’s highways. In order to accom21 plish these two objectives simultaneously, the Depart22 ment of Transportation must support a vigorous and

23 sustained program of research, technical assistance,

24 evaluation, and other appropriate activities that are
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1 designed to reduce the fatality and crash rate of older

2 drivers who have identifiable risk characteristics.

3 SEC. 212. DEFINITIONS.

4 For purposes of this subtitle—

5 (1) The term ‘‘high risk driver’’ means a motor

6 vehicle driver who belongs to a class of drivers that,

7 based on vehicle crash rates, fatality rates, traffic

8 safety violation rates, and other factors specified by

9 the Secretary, presents a risk of injury to the driver

10 and other individuals that is higher than the risk pre11 sented by the average driver.

12 (2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of

13 Transportation.

14 SEC. 213. POLICY AND PROGRAM DIRECTION.

15 (a) GENERAL RESPONSIBILITY OF SECRETARY.—The

16 Secretary shall develop and implement effective and com17 prehensive policies and programs to promote safe driving

18 behavior by young drivers, older drivers, and repeat viola19 tors of traffic safety regulations and laws.

20 (b) SAFETY PROMOTION ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary

21 shall promote or engage in activities that seek to ensure

22 that—

23 (1) cost effective and scientifically-based guide24 lines and technologies for the nondiscriminatory eval-
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1 uation and licensing of high risk drivers are ad2 vanced;

3 (2) model driver training, screening, licensing,

4 control, and evaluation programs are improved;

5 (3) uniform or compatible State driver point

6 systems and other licensing and driver record infor7 mation systems are advanced as a means of identify8 ing and initially evaluating high risk drivers; and

9 (4) driver training programs and the delivery of

10 such programs are advanced.

11 (c) DRIVER TRAINING RESEARCH.—The Secretary

12 shall explore the feasibility and advisability of using cost

13 efficient simulation and other technologies as a means of

14 enhancing driver training; shall advance knowledge regard15 ing the perceptual, cognitive, and decision making skills

16 needed for safe driving and to improve driver training; and

17 shall investigate the most effective means of integrating li18 censing, training, and other techniques for preparing novice

19 drivers for the safe use of highway systems.

20 SUBTITLE B—YOUNG DRIVER PROGRAMS

21 SEC. 221. STATE GRANTS FOR YOUNG DRIVER PROGRAMS.

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM.—Chapter

23 4 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by adding

24 at the end the following new section:
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1 ‘‘§ 411. Programs for young drivers

2 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Subject to the provisions

3 of this section, the Secretary shall make basic and supple4 mental grants to those States which adopt and implement

5 programs for young drivers which include measures, de6 scribed in this section, to reduce traffic safety problems re7 sulting from the driving performance of young drivers.

8 Such grants may only be used by recipient States to imple9 ment and enforce such measures.

10 ‘‘(b) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—No grant may be

11 made to a State under this section in any fiscal year unless

12 such State enters into such agreements with the Secretary

13 as the Secretary may require to ensure that such State will

14 maintain its aggregate estimated expenditures from all

15 other sources for programs for young drivers at or above

16 the average level of such expenditures in its 2 fiscal years

17 preceding the fiscal year in which the High Risk Drivers

18 Act of 1994 is enacted.

19 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL SHARE.—No State may receive grants

20 under this section in more than 5 fiscal years. The Federal

21 share payable for any grant under this section shall not

22 exceed—

23 ‘‘(1) in the first fiscal year a State receives a

24 grant under this section, 75 percent of the cost of im25 plementing and enforcing in such fiscal year the
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1 young driver program adopted by the State pursuant

2 to subsection (a);

3 ‘‘(2) in the second fiscal year the State receives

4 a grant under this section, 50 percent of the cost of

5 implementing and enforcing in such fiscal year such

6 program; and

7 ‘‘(3) in the third, fourth, and fifth fiscal years

8 the State receives a grant under this section, 25 per9 cent of the cost of implementing and enforcing in such

10 fiscal year such program.

11 ‘‘(d) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF BASIC GRANTS.—Subject

12 to subsection (c), the amount of a basic grant made under

13 this section for any fiscal year to any State which is eligible

14 for such a grant under subsection (e) shall equal 30 percent

15 of the amount apportioned to such State for fiscal year 1989

16 under section 402 of this title. A grant to a State under

17 this section shall be in addition to the State’s apportion18 ment under section 402, and basic grants during any fiscal

19 year may be proportionately reduced to accommodate an

20 applicable statutory obligation limitation for that fiscal

21 year.

22 ‘‘(e) ELIGIBILITY FOR BASIC GRANTS.—

23 ‘‘(1) GENERAL.—For purposes of this section, a

24 State is eligible for a basic grant if such State—
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1 ‘‘(A) establishes and maintains a graduated

2 licensing program for drivers under 18 years of

3 age that meets the requirements of paragraph

4 (2); and

5 ‘‘(B)(i) in the first year of receiving grants

6 under this section, meets three of the seven cri7 teria specified in paragraph (3);

8 ‘‘(ii) in the second year of receiving such

9 grants, meets four of such criteria;

10 ‘‘(iii) in the third year of receiving such

11 grants, meets five of such criteria;

12 ‘‘(iv) in the fourth year of receiving such

13 grants, meets six of such criteria; and

14 ‘‘(v) in fifth year of receiving such grants,

15 meets six of such criteria.

16 For purposes of subparagraph (B), a State shall be

17 treated as having met one of the requirements of

18 paragraph (3) for any year if the State demonstrates

19 to the satisfaction of the Secretary that, for the 3 pre20 ceding years, the alcohol fatal crash involvement rate

21 for individuals under the age of 21 has declined in

22 that State and the alcohol fatal crash involvement

23 rate for such individuals has been lower in that State

24 than the average such rate for all States.

25 ‘‘(2) GRADUATED LICENSING PROGRAM.—
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1 ‘‘(A) A State receiving a grant under this

2 section shall establish and maintain a graduated

3 licensing program consisting of the following li4 censing stages for any driver under 18 years of

5 age:

6 ‘‘(i) An instructional license, valid for

7 a minimum period determined by the Sec8 retary, under which the licensee shall not

9 operate a motor vehicle unless accompanied

10 in the front passenger seat by the holder of

11 a full driver’s license.

12 ‘‘(ii) A provisional driver’s license

13 which shall not be issued unless the driver

14 has passed a written examination on traffic

15 safety and has passed a roadtest adminis16 tered by the driver licensing agency of the

17 State.

18 ‘‘(iii) A full driver’s license which shall

19 not be issued until the driver has held a

20 provisional license for at least 1 year with

21 a clean driving record.

22 ‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A)(iii),

23 subsection (f)(1), and subsection (f)(6)(B), a pro24 visional licensee has a clean driving record if the

25 licensee—
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1 ‘‘(i) has not been found, by civil or

2 criminal process, to have committed a mov3 ing traffic violation during the applicable

4 period;

5 ‘‘(ii) has not been assessed points

6 against the license because of safety viola7 tions during such period; and

8 ‘‘(iii) has satisfied such other require9 ments as the Secretary may prescribe by

10 regulation.

11 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall determine the con12 ditions under which a State shall suspend provi13 sional driver’s licenses in order to be eligible for

14 a basic grant. At a minimum, the holder of a

15 provisional license shall be subject to driver con16 trol actions that are stricter than those applica17 ble to the holder of a full driver’s license, includ18 ing warning letters and suspension at a lower

19 point threshold.

20 ‘‘(D) For a State’s first 2 years of receiving

21 a grant under this section, the Secretary may

22 waive the clean driving record requirement of

23 subparagraph (A)(iii) if the State submits satis24 factory evidence of its efforts to establish such a

25 requirement.
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1 ‘‘(3) CRITERIA FOR BASIC GRANT.—The seven

2 criteria referred to in paragraph (1)(B) are as fol3 lows:

4 ‘‘(A) The State requires that any driver

5 under 21 years of age with a blood alcohol con6 centration of 0.02 percent or greater when driv7 ing a motor vehicle shall be deemed to be driving

8 while intoxicated for the purpose of (i) adminis9 trative or judicial sanctions or (ii) a law or reg10 ulation that prohibits any individual under 21

11 years of age with a blood alcohol concentration

12 of 0.02 percent or greater from driving a motor

13 vehicle.

14 ‘‘(B) The State has a law or regulation that

15 provides a mandatory minimum penalty of at

16 least $500 for anyone who in violation of State

17 law or regulation knowingly, or without checking

18 for proper identification, provides or sells alcohol

19 to any individual under 21 years of age.

20 ‘‘(C) The State requires that the license of

21 a driver under 21 years of age be suspended for

22 a period specified by the State if such driver is

23 convicted of the unlawful purchase or public pos24 session of alcohol. The period of suspension shall

25 be at least 6 months for a first conviction and
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1 at least 12 months for a subsequent conviction;

2 except that specific license restrictions may be

3 imposed as an alternative to such minimum pe4 riods of suspension where necessary to avoid

5 undue hardship on any individual.

6 ‘‘(D) The State conducts youth-oriented

7 traffic safety enforcement activities, and edu8 cation and training programs—

9 ‘‘(i) with the participation of judges

10 and prosecutors, that are designed to ensure

11 enforcement of traffic safety laws and regu12 lations, including those that prohibit driv13 ers under 21 years of age from driving

14 while intoxicated, restrict the unauthorized

15 use of a motor vehicle, and establish other

16 moving violations; and

17 ‘‘(ii) with the participation of student

18 and youth groups, that are designed to en19 sure compliance with such traffic safety

20 laws and regulations.

21 ‘‘(E) The State prohibits the possession of

22 any open alcoholic beverage container, or the

23 consumption of any alcoholic beverage, in the

24 passenger area of any motor vehicle located on a

25 public highway or the right-of-way of a public
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1 highway; except as allowed in the passenger

2 area, by persons (other than the driver), of a

3 motor vehicle designed to transport more than 10

4 passengers (including the driver) while being

5 used to provide charter transportation of pas6 sengers.

7 ‘‘(F) The State provides, to a parent or

8 legal guardian of any provisional licensee, gen9 eral information prepared with the assistance of

10 the insurance industry on the effect of traffic

11 safety convictions and at-fault accidents on in12 surance rates for young drivers.

13 ‘‘(G) The State requires that a provisional

14 driver’s license may be issued only to a driver

15 who has satisfactorily completed a State-accepted

16 driver education and training program that

17 meets Department of Transportation guidelines

18 and includes information on the interaction of

19 alcohol and controlled substances and the effect of

20 such interaction on driver performance, and in21 formation on the importance of motorcycle hel22 met use and safety belt use.

23 ‘‘(f) SUPPLEMENTAL GRANT PROGRAM.—

24 ‘‘(1) EXTENDED APPLICATION OF PROVISIONAL

25 LICENSE REQUIREMENT.—For purposes of this sec-
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1 tion, a State is eligible for a supplemental grant for

2 a fiscal year in an amount, subject to subsection (c),

3 not to exceed 10 percent of the amount apportioned

4 to such State for fiscal year 1989 under section 402

5 of this title if such State is eligible for a basic grant

6 and in addition such State requires that a driver

7 under 21 years of age shall not be issued a full driv8 er’s license until the driver has held a provisional li9 cense for at least 1 year with a clean driving record

10 as described in subsection (e)(2)(B).

11 ‘‘(2) REMEDIAL DRIVER EDUCATION.—For pur12 poses of this section, a State is eligible for a supple13 mental grant for a fiscal year in an amount, subject

14 to subsection (c), not to exceed 5 percent of the

15 amount apportioned to such State for fiscal year 1989

16 under section 402 of this title if such State is eligible

17 for a basic grant and in addition such State requires,

18 at a lower point threshold than for other drivers, re19 medial driver improvement instruction for drivers

20 under 21 years of age and requires such remedial in21 struction for any driver under 21 years of age who

22 is convicted of reckless driving, excessive speeding,

23 driving under the influence of alcohol, or driving

24 while intoxicated.
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1 ‘‘(3) RECORD OF SERIOUS CONVICTIONS; HABIT2 UAL OR REPEAT OFFENDER SANCTIONS.—For pur3 poses of this section, a State is eligible for a supple4 mental grant for a fiscal year in an amount, subject

5 to subsection (c), not to exceed 5 percent of the

6 amount apportioned to such State for fiscal year 1989

7 under section 402 of this title if such State is eligible

8 for a basic grant and in addition such State—

9 ‘‘(A) requires that a notation of any serious

10 traffic safety conviction of a driver be main11 tained on the driver’s permanent traffic record

12 for at least 10 years after the date of the convic13 tion; and

14 ‘‘(B) provides additional sanctions for any

15 driver who, following conviction of a serious

16 traffic safety violation, is convicted during the

17 next 10 years of one or more subsequent serious

18 traffic safety violations.

19 ‘‘(4) INTERSTATE DRIVER LICENSE COMPACT.—

20 The State is a member of and substantially complies

21 with the interstate agreement known as the Driver Li22 cense Compact, promptly and reliably transmits and

23 receives through electronic means interstate driver

24 record information (including information on com25 mercial drivers) in cooperation with the Secretary
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1 and other States, and develops and achieves demon2 strable annual progress in implementing a plan to

3 ensure that (i) each court of the State report expedi4 tiously to the State driver licensing agency all traffic

5 safety convictions, license suspensions, license revoca6 tions, or other license restrictions, and driver im7 provement efforts sanctioned or ordered by the court,

8 and that (ii) such records be available electronically

9 to appropriate government officials (including en10 forcement, officers, judges, and prosecutors) upon re11 quest at all times.

12 ‘‘(5) The State has a law or regulation that pro13 vides a minimum penalty of at least $100 for anyone

14 who in violation of State law or regulation drives

15 any vehicle through, around, or under any crossing,

16 gate, or barrier at a railroad crossing while such gate

17 or barrier is closed or being opened or closed.

18 ‘‘(6) VEHICLE SEIZURE PROGRAM.—The State

19 has a law or regulation that—

20 ‘‘(A) mandates seizure by the State or any

21 political subdivision thereof of any vehicle driven

22 by an individual in violation of an alcohol-relat23 ed traffic safety law, if such violator has been

24 convicted on more than one occasion of an alco25 hol-related traffic offense within any 5-year pe-
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1 riod beginning after the date of enactment of this

2 section, or has been convicted of driving while

3 his or her driver’s license is suspended or revoked

4 by reason of a conviction for such an offense;

5 ‘‘(B) mandates that the vehicle be forfeited

6 to the State or a political subdivision thereof if

7 the vehicle was solely owned by such violator at

8 the time of the violation;

9 ‘‘(C) requires that the vehicle be returned to

10 the owner if the vehicle was a stolen vehicle at

11 the time of the violation; and

12 ‘‘(D) authorizes the vehicle to be released to

13 a member of such violator’s family, the co-owner,

14 or the owner, if the vehicle was not a stolen vehi15 cle and was not solely owned by such violator at

16 the time of the violation, and if the family mem17 ber, co-owner, or owner, prior to such release,

18 executes a binding agreement that the family

19 member, co-owner, or owner will not permit such

20 violator to drive the vehicle and that the vehicle

21 shall be forfeited to the State or a political sub22 division thereof in the event such violator drives

23 the vehicle with the permission of the family

24 member, co-owner or owner.
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1 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section,

3 $9,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1996,

4 $12,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1997,

5 and $14,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30,

6 1998, $16,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30,

7 1999, and $18,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September

8 30, 2000.’’.

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis of chap10 ter 4 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by insert11 ing immediately after the item relating to section 410 the

12 following new item:

‘‘411. Programs for young drivers.’’.

13 (c) DEADLINES FOR ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS.—

14 The Secretary shall issue and publish in the Federal Reg15 ister proposed regulations to implement section 411 of title

16 23, United States Code (as added by this section), not later

17 than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act. The

18 final regulations for such implementation shall be issued,

19 published in the Federal Register, and transmitted to Con20 gress not later than 12 months after such date of enactment.

21 SEC. 222. PROGRAM EVALUATION.

22 (a) EVALUATION BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary

23 shall, under section 403 of title 23, United States Code, con24 duct an evaluation of the effectiveness of State provisional

25 driver’s licensing programs and the grant program author-
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1 ized by section 411 of title 23, United States Code (as added

2 by section 101 of this Act).

3 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—By January 1, 1997, the

4 Secretary shall transmit a report on the results of the eval5 uation conducted under subsection (a) and any related re6 search to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans7 portation of the Senate and the Committee on Public Works

8 and Transportation of the House of Representatives. The

9 report shall include any related recommendations by the

10 Secretary for legislative changes.

11 SUBTITLE C—OLDER DRIVER PROGRAMS

12 SEC. 231. OLDER DRIVER SAFETY RESEARCH.

13 (a) RESEARCH ON PREDICTABILITY OF HIGH RISK

14 DRIVING.—

15 (1) The Secretary shall conduct a program that

16 funds, within budgetary limitations, the research

17 challenges presented in the Transportation Research

18 Board’s report entitled ‘‘Research and Development

19 Needs for Maintaining the Safety and Mobility of

20 Older Drivers’’ and the research challenges pertaining

21 to older drivers presented in a report to Congress by

22 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

23 entitled ‘‘Addressing the Safety Issues Related to

24 Younger and Older Drivers’’.
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1 (2) To the extent technically feasible, the Sec2 retary shall consider the feasibility and further the

3 development of cost efficient, reliable tests capable of

4 predicting increased risk of accident involvement or

5 hazardous driving by older high risk drivers.

6 (b) SPECIALIZED TRAINING FOR LICENSE EXAMIN7 ERS.—The Secretary shall encourage and conduct research

8 and demonstration activities to support the specialized

9 training of license examiners or other certified examiners

10 to increase their knowledge and sensitivity to the transpor11 tation needs and physical limitations of older drivers, in12 cluding knowledge of functional disabilities related to driv13 ing, and to be cognizant of possible countermeasures to deal

14 with the challenges to safe driving that may be associated

15 with increasing age.

16 (c) COUNSELING PROCEDURES AND CONSULTATION

17 METHODS.—The Secretary shall encourage and conduct re18 search and disseminate information to support and encour19 age the development of appropriate counseling procedures

20 and consultation methods with relatives, physicians, the

21 traffic safety enforcement and the motor vehicle licensing

22 communities, and other concerned parties. Such procedures

23 and methods shall include the promotion of voluntary ac24 tion by older high risk drivers to restrict or limit their driv25 ing when medical or other conditions indicate such action
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1 is advisable. The Secretary shall consult extensively with

2 the American Association of Retired Persons, the American

3 Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, the American

4 Occupational Therapy Association, the American Auto5 mobile Association, the Department of Health and Human

6 Services, the American Public Health Association, and

7 other interested parties in developing educational materials

8 on the interrelationship of the aging process, driver safety,

9 and the driver licensing process.

10 (d) ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION MEANS.—The

11 Secretary shall ensure that the agencies of the Department

12 of Transportation overseeing the various modes of surface

13 transportation coordinate their policies and programs to

14 ensure that funds authorized under the Intermodal Surface

15 Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (Public Law 102–

16 240; 105 Stat. 1914) and implementing Department of

17 Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriation Acts

18 take into account the transportation needs of older Ameri19 cans by promoting alternative transportation means when20 ever practical and feasible.

21 (e) STATE LICENSING PRACTICES.—The Secretary

22 shall encourage State licensing agencies to use restricted li23 censes instead of canceling a license whenever such action

24 is appropriate and if the interests of public safety would

25 be served, and to closely monitor the driving performance
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1 of older drivers with such licenses. The Secretary shall en2 courage States to provide educational materials of benefit

3 to older drivers and concerned family members and physi4 cians. The Secretary shall promote licensing and relicensing

5 programs in which the applicant appears in person and

6 shall promote the development and use of cost effective

7 screening processes and testing of physiological, cognitive,

8 and perception factors as appropriate and necessary. Not

9 less than one model State program shall be evaluated in

10 light of this subsection during each of the fiscal years 1996

11 through 1998. Of the sums authorized under subsection (i),

12 $250,000 is authorized for each such fiscal year for such

13 evaluation.

14 (f) IMPROVEMENT OF MEDICAL SCREENING.—The Sec15 retary shall conduct research and other activities designed

16 to support and encourage the States to establish and main17 tain medical review or advisory groups to work with State

18 licensing agencies to improve and provide current informa19 tion on the screening and licensing of older drivers. The

20 Secretary shall encourage the participation of the public in

21 these groups to ensure fairness and concern for the safety

22 and mobility needs of older drivers.

23 (g) INTELLIGENT VEHICLE-HIGHWAY SYSTEMS.—In

24 implementing the Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems Act

25 of 1991 (23 U.S.C. 307 note), the Secretary shall ensure
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1 that the National Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems Pro2 gram devotes sufficient attention to the use of intelligent

3 vehicle-highway systems to aid older drivers in safely per4 forming driver functions. Federally-sponsored research, de5 velopment, and operational testing shall ensure the ad6 vancement of night vision improvement systems, technology

7 to reduce the involvement of older drivers in accidents oc8 curring at intersections, and other technologies of particu9 lar benefit to older drivers.

10 (h) TECHNICAL EVALUATIONS UNDER INTERMODAL

11 SURFACE TRANSPORTATION EFFICIENCY ACT.—In conduct12 ing the technical evaluations required under section 6055

13 of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of

14 1991 (Public Law 102–240; 105 Stat. 2192), the Secretary

15 shall ensure that the safety impacts on older drivers are

16 considered, with special attention being devoted to ensuring

17 adequate and effective exchange of information between the

18 Department of Transportation and older drivers or their

19 representatives.

20 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of the

21 funds authorized under section 403 of title 23, United

22 States Code, $1,250,000 is authorized for each of the fiscal

23 years 1995 through 1997, to support older driver programs

24 described in subsections (a), (b), (c), (e), and (f).
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1 SUBTITLE D—HIGH RISK DRIVERS

2 SEC. 241. STUDY ON WAYS TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC RECORDS

3 OF ALL HIGH RISK DRIVERS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 1 year after the date of en5 actment of this Act, the Secretary shall complete a study

6 to determine whether additional or strengthened Federal ac7 tivities, authority, or regulatory actions are desirable or

8 necessary to improve or strengthen the driver record and

9 control systems of the States to identify high risk drivers

10 more rapidly and ensure prompt intervention in the licens11 ing of high risk drivers. The study, which shall be based

12 in part on analysis obtained from a request for information

13 published in the Federal Register, shall consider steps nec14 essary to ensure that State traffic record systems are unam15 biguous, accurate, current, accessible, complete, and (to the

16 extent useful) uniform among the States.

17 (b) SPECIFIC MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION.—Such

18 study shall at a minimum consider—

19 (1) whether specific legislative action is nec20 essary to improve State traffic record systems;

21 (2) the feasibility and practicality of further en22 couraging and establishing a uniform traffic ticket ci23 tation and control system;

24 (3) the need for a uniform driver violation point

25 system to be adopted by the States;
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1 (4) the need for all the States to participate in

2 the Driver License Reciprocity Program conducted by

3 the American Association of Motor Vehicle Adminis4 trators;

5 (5) ways to encourage the States to cross-ref6 erence driver license files and motor vehicle files to fa7 cilitate the identification of individuals who may not

8 be in compliance with driver licensing laws; and

9 (6) the feasibility of establishing a national pro10 gram that would limit each driver to one driver’s li11 cense from only one State at any time.

12 (c) EVALUATION OF NATIONAL INFORMATION SYS13 TEMS.—As part of the study required by this section, the

14 Secretary shall consider and evaluate the future of the na15 tional information systems that support driver licensing.

16 In particular, the Secretary shall examine whether the

17 Commercial Driver’s License Information System, the Na18 tional Driver Register, and the Driver License Reciprocity

19 program should be more closely linked or continue to exist

20 as separate information systems and which entities are best

21 suited to operate such systems effectively at the least cost.

22 The Secretary shall cooperate with the American Associa23 tion of Motor Vehicle Administrators in carrying out this

24 evaluation.
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1 SEC. 242. STATE PROGRAMS FOR HIGH RISK DRIVERS.

2 The Secretary shall encourage and promote State driv3 er evaluation, assistance, or control programs for high risk

4 drivers. These programs may include in-person license reex5 aminations, driver education or training courses, license re6 strictions or suspensions, and other actions designed to im7 prove the operating performance of high risk drivers.

8 SUBTITLE E—FUNDING

9 SEC. 251. FUNDING FOR 23 USC 410 PROGRAM.

10 In addition to any amount otherwise appropriated

11 or available for such use, there are authorized to be appro12 priated $15,000,000 for fiscal years 1995, 1996, and 1997

13 for the purpose of carrying out section 410 of title 23, Unit14 ed States Code.

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘An Act to authorize

appropriations to carry out certain Federal railroad safety laws, and for other purposes.’’.

Attest:

Secretary.
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