I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2125 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out programs and activities 

to improve highway safety. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 27, 2009 

Mr. RAHALL (for himself, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, and Mr. GERLACH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out 

programs and activities to improve highway safety. 

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 ‘‘Surface Transpor5 tation Safety Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. WORKER INJURY PREVENTION AND FREE FLOW OF 

7 VEHICULAR TRAFFIC. 

8 The Secretary of Transportation shall modify regula9 tions issued pursuant to section 1402 of the Safe, Ac10 countable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: 

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1 A Legacy for Users (23 U.S.C. 401 note; 119 Stat. 1227) 

2 to allow fire services personnel that are subject to the reg3 ulations to wear apparel meeting the high visibility re4 quirements set forth in NFPA 1971–2007 (Standard on 

5 Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and 

6 Proximity Fire Fighting) in lieu of apparel meeting the 

7 requirements set forth in ANSI/ISEA 107–2004. 

8 SEC. 3. POSITIVE PROTECTIVE DEVICES. 

9 Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 

10 of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall modify 

11 section 630.1108(a) of title 23, Code of Federal Regula12 tions, to ensure that— 

13 (1) at a minimum, positive protective measures 

14 are used to separate workers on highway construc15 tion projects from motorized traffic in all work zones 

16 conducted under traffic in areas that offer workers 

17 no means of escape, including tunnels and bridges, 

18 unless an engineering analysis determines otherwise; 

19 (2) temporary longitudinal traffic barriers are 

20 used to protect workers on highway construction 

21 projects in stationary work zones lasting 2 weeks or 

22 more when the project design speed is 45 miles per 

23 hour or greater and the nature of the work requires 

24 workers to be within one lane-width from the edge 

25 of a live travel lane, unless— 

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1 (A) an engineering analysis determines 

2 otherwise; or 

3 (B) the project is located in a State with 

4 a population density of 20 or fewer persons per 

5 square mile, outside of an urbanized area, and 

6 on a roadway with an annual average daily traf7 fic load that is less than 100 vehicles per hour; 

8 and 

9 (3) when positive protective devices are nec10 essary for highway construction projects, such de11 vices are paid for on a unit pay basis, unless doing 

12 so would create a conflict with innovative con13 tracting approaches such as design-build or a per14 formance-based contract where the contractor is 

15 paid to assume a certain risk allocation and payment 

16 is generally made on a lump sum basis. 

17 SEC. 4. USE OF PATENTED OR PROPRIETARY ITEMS TO 

18 FURTHER STATE STRATEGIC HIGHWAY SAFE19 TY PLANS. 

20 Section 112 of title 23, United States Code, is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(h) USE OF PATENTED OR PROPRIETARY ITEMS TO

23 FURTHER STATE STRATEGIC HIGHWAY SAFETY

24 PLANS.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) APPROVAL OF USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.— 

2 The Secretary shall approve the use of Federal 

3 funds made available to carry out this chapter by a 

4 State in the payment of patented or proprietary 

5 items if the State transportation department cer6 tifies, based on the documented analysis and profes7 sional judgment of qualified State transportation of8 ficials, that— 

9 ‘‘(A) the patented or proprietary item will 

10 contribute to the accomplishment of one or 

11 more goals set forth in the State’s strategic 

12 highway safety plan; 

13 ‘‘(B) no equally suitable alternative item 

14 exists; 

15 ‘‘(C) any specified patented or proprietary 

16 item will be clearly identified as a patented or 

17 proprietary item in bid documents; and 

18 ‘‘(D) any patented or proprietary item 

19 specified pursuant to the certification will be 

20 available in sufficient quantity to complete any 

21 project identified in bid documents. 

22 ‘‘(2) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—The au23 thority to utilize patented or proprietary items pro24 vided in paragraph (1) is in addition to authority to 

25 utilize such products that exists under this section 

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1 and under section 635.411 of title 23, Code of Fed2 eral Regulations, as in effect on March 2, 2009. The 

3 Secretary may not revise such regulation to reduce 

4 authority to utilize patented or proprietary items.’’. 

5 SEC. 5. MINIMUM LEVEL OF RETROREFLECTIVITY FOR 

6 PAVEMENT MARKINGS. 

7 Not later than October 1, 2010, the Secretary of 

8 Transportation shall revise the Manual on Uniform Traf9 fic Control Devices to include a standard for a minimum 

10 level of retroreflectivity that must be maintained for pave11 ment markings. Such standard shall apply to all roads 

12 open to public travel. 

13 SEC. 6. HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. 

14 (a) HIGHWAY SIGNS AND PAVEMENT MARKINGS.— 

15 Section 148(a)(3)(B)(xi) of title 23, United States Code, 

16 is amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(xi) Installation, replacement, and 

18 upgrade of highway signs and pavement 

19 markings, including any upgrade of mate20 rials and the implementation of any assess21 ment or management method designed to 

22 meet a State-established performance 

23 standard, Federal regulation, or require24 ment contained in the Manual on Uniform 

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1 Traffic Control Devices relating to min2 imum levels of retroreflectivity.’’. 

3 (b) MAINTAINING MINIMUM LEVELS OF

4 RETROREFLECTIVITY.— 

5 (1) DEFINITION.—Section 148(a) of such title 

6 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(7) PROJECT TO MAINTAIN MINIMUM LEVELS

8 OF RETROREFLECTIVITY.—The term ‘project to 

9 maintain minimum levels of retroreflectivity’ means 

10 a project undertaken pursuant to the provisions of 

11 the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices re12 quiring public agencies to use an assessment or 

13 management method that is designed to maintain 

14 highway sign or pavement marking retroreflectivity 

15 at or above prescribed minimum levels.’’. 

16 (2) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—Section 148(d)(1) of 

17 such title is amended— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara19 graph (A); 

20 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 

21 subparagraph (C); and 

22 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(B) any project to maintain minimum lev25 els of retroreflectivity on a public road, whether 

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1 or not such project is included in the State 

2 strategic highway safety plan; or’’. 

3 (3) INCREASED FEDERAL SHARE.—The first 

4 sentence of section 120(c)(1) is amended by insert5 ing ‘‘maintaining minimum levels of retroreflectivity 

6 of highway signs or pavement markings,’’ after ‘‘sig7 nalization,’’. 

8 SEC. 7. ROADWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FOR 

9 OLDER DRIVERS AND PEDESTRIANS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 

11 shall carry out a program to improve traffic signs and 

12 pavement markings in all States (as such term is defined 

13 in section 101 of title 23, United States Code) in a manner 

14 consistent with the recommendations included in the pub15 lication of the Federal Highway Administration entitled 

16 ‘‘Guidelines and Recommendations to Accommodate Older 

17 Drivers and Pedestrians (FHWA–RD–01–103)’’ and 

18 dated October 2001. 

19 (b) APPORTIONMENT OF FUNDS.—On October 1 of 

20 each fiscal year, the Secretary shall apportion sums au21 thorized to be appropriated to carry out this section for 

22 such fiscal year among the several States using the overall 

23 formula share for each State for fiscal year 2009 for all 

24 funds subject to section 105 of title 23, United States 

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1 Code, including equity bonus funds, obtained after appli2 cation of such section 105 for such fiscal year. 

3 (c) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the cost 

4 of a project carried out under this section shall be deter5 mined in accordance with section 120 of title 23, United 

6 States Code. 

7 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

8 authorized to be appropriated out of the Highway Trust 

9 Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) $90,000,000 

10 to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 2010 

11 through 2014. 

12 (e) APPLICABILITY OF TITLE 23.—Funds made 

13 available to carry out this section shall be available for 

14 obligation in the same manner as if such funds were ap15 portioned under chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code. 

16 SEC. 8. RAIL-HIGHWAY GRADE CROSSINGS. 

17 (a) TRANSPARENCY OF STATE SURVEY AND SCHED18 ULE OF RAILWAY-HIGHWAY GRADE CROSSINGS.— 

19 (1) SURVEY AND SCHEDULE OF PROJECTS.— 

20 Section 130(d) of title 23, United States Code, is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Each 

22 State shall make surveys and schedules compiled 

23 under this subsection available to the public through 

24 the Internet Web site of the State.’’. 

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1 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

2 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date that 

3 is 180 days after the date of enactment of this sub4 section. 

5 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

6 authorized to be appropriated out of the Highway Trust 

7 Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) to carry out 

8 section 130 of title 23, United States Code, $220,000,000 

9 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014. 

10 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 130 of 

11 title 23, United States Code, is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (e)(1) by striking the first 

13 sentence; and 

14 (2) in subsections (f)(1) and (f)(3) by striking 

15 ‘‘set aside’’ and inserting ‘‘made available’’. 

16 SEC. 9. REVIEW OF SAFETY OF RAIL-HIGHWAY GRADE 

17 CROSSINGS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 

19 shall conduct a comprehensive review of the safety of all 

20 rail-highway grade crossings in the United States. 

21 (b) METHOD.—In reviewing the safety of a rail-high22 way grade crossing under subsection (a), the Secretary 

23 shall— 

24 (1) assess, at a minimum, safety conditions, av25 erage daily traffic, proximity to schools, past acciWWOODS2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS

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1 dents, fatalities, and possible safety improvements; 

2 and 

3 (2) determine the best method for making the 

4 crossing safer, including closings, grade separations, 

5 installation of protective devices, and other methods. 

6 (c) PRIORITY LIST.—Based on the information col7 lected in conducting the comprehensive review under sub8 section (a), the Secretary shall compile, maintain, and 

9 submit to Congress a list of the 10 rail-highway grade 

10 crossings in each State that have the greatest need for 

11 safety improvements. 

12 (d) INCLUSION IN RAIL-HIGHWAY GRADE CROSSING

13 DATABASE.—The Secretary shall include the information 

14 collected in conducting the comprehensive review under 

15 subsection (a), and the priority list submitted under sub16 section (c), in the national database on the safety of rail17 highway grade crossings required under section 20168(a) 

18 of title 49, United States Code, as added by section 10 

19 of this Act. 

20 (e) UPDATE.—The Secretary shall update the com21 prehensive review under subsection (a) at least once every 

22 4 years. 

23 (f) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary 

24 shall make priority lists and databases compiled under this 

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1 section available to the public through the Internet Web 

2 site of the Department of Transportation. 

3 (g) LIMITATION ON USE OF DATA IN JUDICIAL PRO4 CEEDINGS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

5 any report, review, survey, schedule, list, data, or informa6 tion or document of any kind compiled or collected pursu7 ant to this section, including for the purpose of identi8 fying, evaluating, or planning the safety enhancement of 

9 a potential accident site or railway-highway crossing pur10 suant to this section shall not be subject to discovery or 

11 admitted into evidence in a Federal or State court pro12 ceeding or considered for other purposes in any action for 

13 damages arising from any occurrence at a location men14 tioned or addressed in such report, review, survey, sched15 ule, list, or data. 

16 SEC. 10. RAIL-HIGHWAY GRADE CROSSING SAFETY. 

17 (a) RAIL-HIGHWAY GRADE CROSSING SAFETY.— 

18 Subchapter II of chapter 201 of title 49, United States 

19 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘§ 20168. Rail-highway grade crossing safety informa21 tion 

22 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF DATABASE.—The Sec23 retary of Transportation shall establish and maintain a 

24 national database of information on the safety of rail-high25 way grade crossings in the United States. 

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1 ‘‘(b) ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT REPORTS TO BE IN2 CLUDED IN DATABASE.—The Secretary shall include in 

3 the database under subsection (a) information from inci4 dent reports filed with the Federal Railroad Administra5 tion regarding accidents and other safety-related incidents 

6 that have occurred at rail-highway grade crossings.’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for sub8 chapter II of such chapter is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following: 

‘‘20168. Rail-highway grade crossing safety information.’’. 

10 SEC. 11. RURAL STATE INITIATIVE. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—To address the problem of a sig12 nificant portion of traffic fatalities occurring on highways 

13 in rural areas, the Secretary of Transportation shall, for 

14 each fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 2010, allocate 

15 $20,000,000 to each State with a population density of 

16 less than 20 persons per square mile (based on the most 

17 recent decentennial census) for use by such States for 

18 projects, programs, and activities that are eligible for as19 sistance under section 148 of title 23, United States Code, 

20 and not located in an urbanized area (as defined in section 

21 134(b)(6) of such title). 

22 (b) TREATMENT OF FUNDS.—Such allocations shall 

23 not be considered an apportionment within the meaning 

24 of section 105 of such title or considered a ‘‘specific pro25 gram’’ within the meaning of such section 105. 

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1 (c) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the cost 

2 of a project carried out under this section shall be deter3 mined in accordance with section 120 of such title. 

4 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

5 authorized to be appropriated out of the Highway Trust 

6 Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) such sums 

7 as may be necessary to carry out this section for each of 

8 fiscal years 2010 through 2014. 

9 (e) APPLICABILITY OF TITLE 23.—Except as pro10 vided by subsection (b), funds made available to carry out 

11 this section shall be available for obligation in the same 

12 manner as if such funds were apportioned under chapter 

13 1 of title 23, United States Code. 

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