II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1450 

To amend title 23, United States Code, to provide for the establishment 

of a commercial truck safety program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 29, 2011 

Ms. SNOWE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend title 23, United States Code, to provide for the 

establishment of a commercial truck safety program, 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 ‘‘Commercial Truck 

5 Safety Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. COMMERCIAL TRUCK SAFETY PROGRAM. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 4 of title 23, United 

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


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1450 IS

1 ‘‘§ 413. Commercial truck safety program 

2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF COVERED TRUCK.—In this sec3 tion, the term ‘covered truck’ means a 6-axle truck with 

4 a maximum gross weight of up to 100,000 pounds. 

5 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall establish a pro6 gram to improve commercial motor vehicle safety on high7 ways on the Interstate System in accordance with this sec8 tion. 

9 ‘‘(c) STATE WAIVERS FOR COVERED TRUCKS ON

10 INTERSTATE SYSTEM.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

12 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec13 retary shall initiate a rulemaking to establish, by 

14 regulation, a demonstration program under which 

15 the Governor of a State may request from the Sec16 retary, and the Secretary may grant, a 3-year waiver 

17 to covered trucks to operate on highways on the 

18 Interstate System in the State. 

19 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION OF REQUEST.—The Governor 

20 of a State seeking a waiver under this subsection 

21 shall submit to the Secretary a request for the waiv22 er that includes— 

23 ‘‘(A) a description of the proposed route of 

24 each highway, or portion of a highway, on the 

25 Interstate System on which covered trucks 

26 would be permitted to operate; 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1450 IS

1 ‘‘(B) a certification by the chief engineer 

2 of the State transportation department that the 

3 proposed route could safely accommodate traffic 

4 that includes covered trucks; 

5 ‘‘(C) a certification that the Interstate Sys6 tem within the State is maintained in good re7 pair; and 

8 ‘‘(D) such other information as the Sec9 retary may require. 

10 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

12 ‘‘(i) not later than 30 days after the 

13 date of receipt of a waiver request under 

14 paragraph (2)— 

15 ‘‘(I) acknowledge receipt of the 

16 request; and 

17 ‘‘(II) commence a review of the 

18 waiver request; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) not later than 90 days after the 

20 date of receipt, notify the Governor and 

21 appropriate members of the State legisla22 ture of the decision of the Secretary on the 

23 request. 

24 ‘‘(B) DISAPPROVAL.—If the Secretary dis25 approves a request for a waiver under this subVerDate Mar 15 2010 18:17 Jul 30, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1450.IS S1450

srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1450 IS

1 section, the Secretary shall include with the no2 tice of disapproval the specific safety concerns 

3 of the Secretary with respect to the highways 

4 covered by the request. 

5 ‘‘(C) FAILURE TO ACT.—A request for a 

6 waiver shall be considered to be approved under 

7 this subsection if the Secretary fails— 

8 ‘‘(i) to approve or disapprove a re9 quest in accordance with subparagraph 

10 (A); or 

11 ‘‘(ii) to include with a notice of dis12 approval the specific safety concerns of the 

13 Secretary as required by subparagraph 

14 (B). 

15 ‘‘(4) DATA COLLECTION AND REVIEW.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of re17 ceiving a waiver under this subsection, a State 

18 transportation department that receives such a 

19 waiver shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) collect data on the effects of the 

21 waiver (particularly the effects on accident 

22 rates involving heavier trucks); 

23 ‘‘(ii) establish a safety committee to 

24 review the data; and 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1450 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) establish rules and operating 

2 procedures for the program under this sec3 tion. 

4 ‘‘(B) SAFETY COMMITTEE.—The safety 

5 committee of a State referred to in subpara6 graph (A)(ii) shall— 

7 ‘‘(i) be appointed by the Governor of 

8 the State; 

9 ‘‘(ii) at a minimum, consist of— 

10 ‘‘(I) 1 member of the traveling 

11 public; 

12 ‘‘(II) 1 member from a business 

13 that uses truck transportation serv14 ices; 

15 ‘‘(III) 1 commercial truck driver; 

16 ‘‘(IV) 1 professional engineer 

17 from the State department of trans18 portation; and 

19 ‘‘(V) 1 member of a highway 

20 safety group; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) submit to the State and the Sec22 retary, for each of the 3 years a waiver re23 ceived under this subsection is in effect, an 

24 annual report describing the data reviewed 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 1450 IS

1 by the safety committee during the year 

2 covered by the report. 

3 ‘‘(C) RECORD OF APPROVAL.—At the end 

4 of the 3-year period of the program under this 

5 subsection, unless the Secretary, with the advice 

6 of the safety committee of a State established 

7 under subparagraph (A)(ii), determines that a 

8 waiver granted to the State under this sub9 section has resulted in an adverse impact on 

10 highway safety in the State and publishes the 

11 determination in the Federal Register, the waiv12 er provided to the State under this section shall 

13 be considered to be permanent. 

14 ‘‘(D) WAIVER OF VEHICLE WEIGHT LIM15 ITS.—Notwithstanding section 127(a), a State 

16 that receives a waiver under this subsection 

17 shall not lose any apportionment to the State 

18 under chapter 1 by reason of noncompliance 

19 with any of the vehicle weight provisions of sec20 tion 127 applicable to the use of certain vehicles 

21 weighing over 80,000 pounds on a highway.’’. 

22 SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 

23 The analysis for chapter 4 of title 23, United States 

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

‘‘413. Commercial truck safety program.’’. 

Æ 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS