II 

Calendar No. 656 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1938 

[Report No. 111–355] 

To establish a program to reduce injuries and deaths caused by cellphone 

use and texting while driving. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 27, 2009 

Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. 

SCHUMER, Mr. THUNE, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. VITTER, Mr. CASEY, Mr. 

WARNER, Mr. NELSON of Florida, and Mr. UDALL of New Mexico) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

OCTOBER 29, 2009 

Committee discharged; referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

NOVEMBER 30, 2010 

Reported by Mr. ROCKEFELLER, with an amendment 

[Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To establish a program to reduce injuries and deaths caused 

by cellphone use and texting while driving. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2009’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Distracted driving incentive grants. 

Sec. 3. Distracted driving national education program. 

Sec. 4. Research and data collection. 

Sec. 5. Research program. 

Sec. 6. FCC report on distracted driving technology. 

Sec. 7. Provision of information to States. 

Sec. 8. Commercial motor vehicles and school buses. 

Sec. 9. Funding. 

6 SEC. 2. DISTRACTED DRIVING INCENTIVE GRANTS. 

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

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

10 ‘‘§413. Distracted driving incentive grants 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make a 

12 grant under this section to any State that enacts and im13 plements a statute that meets the requirements of sub14 sections (b) and (c) of this section. 

15 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION ON TEXTING WHILE DRIVING.— 

16 A State statute meets the requirements of this subsection 

17 if the statute— 

18 ‘‘(1) prohibits the use of a personal wireless 

19 communications device by a driver for texting while 

20 driving; 


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1 ‘‘(2) makes violation of the statute a primary 

2 offense; 

3 ‘‘(3) establishes— 

4 ‘‘(A) a minimum fine for a first violation 

5 of the statute; and 

6 ‘‘(B) increased fines for repeat violations; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(4) provides increased civil and criminal pen9 alties than would otherwise apply if a vehicle acci10 dent is caused by a driver who is using such a device 

11 in violation of the statute. 

12 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON HANDHELD CELLPHONE USE

13 WHILE DRIVING.—A State statute meets the require14 ments of this subsection if the statute— 

15 ‘‘(1) prohibits a driver from holding a personal 

16 wireless communications device to conduct a tele17 phone call while driving; 

18 ‘‘(2) allows the use of hands-free devices that 

19 enable a driver, other than a driver who has not at20 tained the age of 18, to initiate, conduct, or receive 

21 a telephone call without holding the device; 

22 ‘‘(3) makes violation of the statute a primary 

23 offense; 


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1 ‘‘(4) requires distracted driving issues to be 

2 tested as part of the State driver’s license examina3 tion; 

4 ‘‘(5) establishes— 

5 ‘‘(A) a minimum fine for a first violation 

6 of the statute; and 

7 ‘‘(B) increased fines for repeat violations; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(6) provides increased civil and criminal pen10 alties than would otherwise apply if a vehicle acci11 dent is caused by a driver who is using such a device 

12 in violation of the statute. 

13 ‘‘(d) PERMITTED EXCEPTIONS.—A statute that 

14 meets the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) may 

15 provide exceptions for— 

16 ‘‘(1) use of a personal wireless communications 

17 device by a driver to contact emergency services; 

18 ‘‘(2) manipulation of such a device by a driver 

19 to activate, deactivate, or initialize the hands-free 

20 functionality of the device; 

21 ‘‘(3) use of a personal wireless communications 

22 device by emergency services personnel while oper23 ating an emergency services vehicle and engaged in 

24 the performance of their duties as emergency serv25 ices personnel; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) use of a device by an individual employed 

2 as a commercial motor vehicle driver, or a school bus 

3 driver, within the scope of such individual’s employ4 ment if such use is permitted under the regulations 

5 promulgated pursuant to section 31152 of title 49. 

6 ‘‘(e) GRANT YEAR.—The Secretary shall make a 

7 grant under this section to a State in any year in which 

8 the State— 

9 ‘‘(1) enacts a law that meets the requirements 

10 of subsections (b) and (c) before July 1; or 

11 ‘‘(2) maintains a statute, that meets the re12 quirements of subsections (b) and (c), enacted in a 

13 previous year that is in effect through June 30th of 

14 the grant year. 

15 ‘‘(f) DISBURSEMENT AND APPORTIONMENT.—Grants 

16 to qualifying States shall be disbursed after July 1 each 

17 year according to the apportionment criteria of section 

18 402(c). 

19 ‘‘(g) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—A State that receives 

20 a grant under this section— 

21 ‘‘(1) shall use at least 50 percent of the 

22 grant— 

23 ‘‘(A) to educate and advertise to the public 

24 information about the dangers of texting or 

25 using a cellphone while driving; 


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1 ‘‘(B) for traffic signs that notify drivers 

2 about the distracted driving law of the State; 

3 ‘‘(C) for law enforcement of the distracted 

4 driving law; or 

5 ‘‘(D) for a combination of such uses; and 

6 ‘‘(2) may use up to 50 percent of the grant for 

7 other projects that improve traffic safety and that 

8 are consistent with the criteria in section 402(a). 

9 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 ‘‘(1) DRIVING.—The term ‘driving’ means oper11 ating a motor vehicle on a public road, including op12 eration while temporarily stationary because of traf13 fic, a traffic light or stop sign, or otherwise. It does 

14 not include operating a motor vehicle when the vehi15 cle has pulled over to the side of, or off, an active 

16 roadway and has stopped in a location where it can 

17 safely remain stationary. 

18 ‘‘(2) HANDS-FREE DEVICE.—The term ‘hands19 free device’ means a device that allows a driver to 

20 use a personal wireless communications device to ini21 tiate, conduct, or receive a telephone call without 

22 holding the personal wireless communications device. 

23 ‘‘(3) PERSONAL WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS

24 DEVICE.—The term ‘personal wireless communica25 tions device’ means a device through which personal 


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1 wireless services (as defined in section 

2 332(c)(7)(C)(i) of the Communications Act of 1934 

3 (47 U.S.C. 332(c)(7)(C)(i))) are transmitted. It does 

4 not include a global navigation satellite system re5 ceiver used for positioning, emergency notification, 

6 or navigation purposes. 

7 ‘‘(4) PRIMARY OFFENSE.—The term ‘primary 

8 offense’ means an offense for which a law enforce9 ment officer may stop a vehicle solely for the pur10 pose of issuing a citation in the absence of evidence 

11 of another offense. 

12 ‘‘(5) PUBLIC ROAD.—The term ‘public road’ 

13 has the meaning given that term in section 402(c). 

14 ‘‘(6) TEXTING.—The term ‘texting’ means 

15 reading from or manually entering data into a per16 sonal wireless communications device, including 

17 doing so for the purpose of SMS texting, e-mailing, 

18 instant messaging, or engaging in any other form of 

19 electronic data retrieval or electronic data commu20 nication.’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con22 tents for chapter 4 of title 23, United States Code, is 

23 amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘413. Distracted driving incentive grants.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. DISTRACTED DRIVING NATIONAL EDUCATION PRO2 GRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Na4 tional Highway Traffic Safety Administration shall estab5 lish and administer a program under which at least 2 

6 high-visibility education and advertising campaigns related 

7 to distracted driving will be carried out for the purpose 

8 specified in subsection (b) for fiscal years 2010 and 2011. 

9 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of an education and ad10 vertising campaign under this section shall be to educate 

11 the public about the risks associated with distracted driv12 ing, including those associated with— 

13 (1) texting (as defined in section 413(h)(6) of 

14 title 23, United States Code) while driving; and 

15 (2) the use of personal wireless communications 

16 devices (as defined in section 413(h)(3) of that title) 

17 while driving. 

18 (c) ADVERTISING.—The Administrator may use, or 

19 authorize the use of, funds available to carry out this sec20 tion to pay for the development, production, publication, 

21 and broadcast of electronic and print media advertising 

22 in carrying out traffic safety education and advertising 

23 campaigns under this section. The Administrator— 

24 (1) shall give consideration to advertising di25 rected at non-English speaking populations, includVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:57 Dec 01, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1938.RS S1938

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1 ing those who listen, read, or watch nontraditional 

2 media; and 

3 (2) may use a portion of the funds available for 

4 this program to target local jurisdictions that have 

5 enacted laws prohibiting texting or the use of per6 sonal wireless communications devices while driving. 

7 (d) COORDINATION WITH STATES.—The Adminis8 trator may coordinate with the States to carry out the 

9 education and advertising campaigns under this section to 

10 coincide with high-visibility enforcement of State laws pro11 hibiting texting while driving or the use of personal wire12 less communications devices while driving. 

13 (e) ANNUAL EVALUATION.—The Administrator shall 

14 conduct an annual evaluation of the effectiveness of the 

15 education and advertising campaigns under this section, 

16 and report the results to the Senate Committee on Com17 merce, Science, and Transportation, and the House of 

18 Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce. 

19 SEC. 4. RESEARCH AND DATA COLLECTION. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 408(e)(2) of title 23, 

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

22 ‘‘(2) DATA ON USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES.— 

23 ‘‘(A) The model data elements required 

24 under paragraph (1) shall include data ele25 ments, as determined appropriate by the SecVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:57 Dec 01, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1938.RS S1938

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1 retary, in consultation with the States and ap2 propriate elements of the law enforcement com3 munity, on the impact on traffic safety of the 

4 use of electronic devices while driving. 

5 ‘‘(B) In order to meet the requirements of 

6 subparagraph (A), State and local governments 

7 shall— 

8 ‘‘(i) require that official vehicle acci9 dent investigation reports include a des10 ignated space to record whether or not the 

11 use of a personal wireless communications 

12 device (as defined in section 413(h)(3)) 

13 was in use at the time of the accident by 

14 any driver involved in the accident; 

15 ‘‘(ii) require that all law enforcement 

16 officers, as part of a vehicle accident inves17 tigation, inquire about and record the in18 formation required by clause (i); and 

19 ‘‘(iii) incorporate the information col20 lected under clause (i) into its traffic safe21 ty information system.’’. 

22 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

23 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to grants under sec24 tion 408 of title 23, United States Code, for fiscal years 

25 beginning after fiscal year 2010. 


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1 SEC. 5. RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

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

3 shall establish a research program to study distracted 

4 driving by passenger and commercial vehicle drivers. 

5 (b) SCOPE.—The program shall include studies of— 

6 (1) driver behavior; 

7 (2) vehicle technology; and 

8 (3) portable electronic devices that are com9 monly brought into passenger or commercial vehi10 cles. 

11 (c) RESEARCH AGREEMENTS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section 

13 the Secretary may grant research contracts to non14 governmental entities to study distracted driving. 

15 (2) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary may not 

16 grant a research contract under this section to any 

17 person that produces or sells— 

18 (A) electronic equipment that is used in ve19 hicles; 

20 (B) portable electronic equipment com21 monly brought into passenger or commercial ve22 hicles; or 

23 (C) passenger or commercial vehicles. 


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1 SEC. 6. FCC REPORT ON DISTRACTED DRIVING TECH2 NOLOGY. 

3 Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

4 Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall sub5 mit a report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

6 Science, and Transportation and the House of Represent7 atives Committee on Energy and Commerce that identi8 fies— 

9 (1) data the Commission can collect and ana10 lyze that will assist in understanding and reducing 

11 the problem of distracted driving involving the use of 

12 personal communications devices; 

13 (2) existing and developing wireless communica14 tions technology that may be used to reduce prob15 lems associated with distracted driving; and 

16 (3) existing authority that the Commission may 

17 use to assist in reducing those problems. 

18 SEC. 7. PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO STATES. 

19 Section 30105 of title 49, United States Code, shall 

20 not apply to providing government-sponsored research and 

21 highway safety data, or providing technical assistance, re22 lating to legislative proposals addressing the dangers or 

23 potential dangers of— 

24 (1) texting while driving a passenger vehicle, 

25 school bus, or commercial vehicle; or 


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1 (2) the use of personal wireless communications 

2 devices (as defined in section 413(h)(3) of title 23, 

3 United States Code) while driving a passenger vehi4 cle, school bus, or commercial vehicle. 

5 SEC. 8. COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLES AND SCHOOL 

6 BUSES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 311 of 

8 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following: 

10 ‘‘§31152. Regulation of the use of distracting devices 

11 in commercial motor vehicles and school 

12 buses 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No later than 1 year after the 

14 enactment of the Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 

15 2009, the Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe reg16 ulations on the use of electronic or wireless devices, includ17 ing cell phones and other distracting devices, by an indi18 vidual employed as the operator of— 

19 ‘‘(1) a commercial motor vehicle while that indi20 vidual is engaged in the performance of such individ21 ual’s duties as the operator of the commercial motor 

22 vehicle; or 

23 ‘‘(2) a school bus (as defined in section 

24 30125(a)(1)) that is a commercial motor vehicle (as 

25 defined in section 31301(4)(A)) while that individual 


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1 is engaged in the performance of such individual’s 

2 duties as the operator of the school bus. 

3 ‘‘(b) BASIS FOR REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall 

4 base the regulations required by subsection (a) on accident 

5 data analysis, the results of ongoing research, and other 

6 information, as appropriate. 

7 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITED USE.—The Secretary shall prohibit 

8 the use of such devices in circumstances in which the Sec9 retary determines that their use interferes with the driv10 er’s safe operation of a school bus or commercial motor 

11 vehicle. 

12 ‘‘(d) PERMITTED USE.—Under the regulations, the 

13 Secretary may permit the use of a device, the use of which 

14 is prohibited under subsection (c), if the Secretary deter15 mines that such use is necessary for the safety of the driv16 er or the public in emergency circumstances.’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con18 tents for chapter 311 of title 49, United States Code, is 

19 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

20 31151 the following: 

‘‘31152. Regulation of the use of distracting devices in commercial motor vehicles and school buses.’’. 

21 SEC. 9. FUNDING. 

22 Section 2001(a) of Public Law 109–59 is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ in paragraph (4); 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘2009.’’ in paragraph (4) and 

2 inserting ‘‘2009, $94,500,000 for fiscal year 2010, 

3 and $94,500,000 for fiscal year 2011. If any amount 

4 of the funds authorized by this paragraph has not 

5 been allocated to States meeting the criteria of sec6 tion 406 of title 23, United States Code, by July 1 

7 of a fiscal year beginning after fiscal year 2009, the 

8 unallocated amount shall be allocated to States 

9 meeting the criteria of section 413 of that title.’’; 

10 and 

11 (3) by redesignating paragraph (11) as para12 graph (12) and inserting after paragraph (10) the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(11) DISTRACTED DRIVING PROGRAM.—For 

15 carrying out section 3 of the Distracted Driving Pre16 vention Act of 2009, $30,000,000 for each of fiscal 

17 years 2010 and 2011.’’. 

18 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

19 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Dis20 tracted Driving Prevention Act of 2010’’. 

21 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

22 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Distracted driving incentive grants. 

Sec. 3. Distracted driving national education program. 

Sec. 4. Research and data collection. 

Sec. 5. Research program. 

Sec. 6. FCC report on distracted driving technology. 

Sec. 7. Provision of information to States. 


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Sec. 8. Commercial motor vehicles and school buses. 

Sec. 9. Funding. 

Sec. 10. Prohibition on electronic visual entertainment in driver’s view. 

1 SEC. 2. DISTRACTED DRIVING INCENTIVE GRANTS. 

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

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

4 ‘‘§413. Distracted driving incentive grants 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make a grant 

6 under this section to any State that enacts and implements 

7 a statute that meets the requirements of subsections (b) and 

8 (c) of this section. 

9 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION ON TEXTING WHILE DRIVING.—A 

10 State statute meets the requirements of this subsection if 

11 the statute— 

12 ‘‘(1) prohibits the use of a personal wireless com13 munications device by a driver for texting while driv14 ing; 

15 ‘‘(2) makes violation of the statute a primary of16 fense; 

17 ‘‘(3) establishes— 

18 ‘‘(A) a minimum fine for a first violation 

19 of the statute; and 

20 ‘‘(B) increased fines for repeat violations; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(4) provides increased civil and criminal pen23 alties than would otherwise apply if a vehicle acciVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:57 Dec 01, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1938.RS S1938

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1 dent is caused by a driver who is using such a device 

2 in violation of the statute. 

3 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON HANDHELD CELLPHONE USE

4 WHILE DRIVING.—A State statute meets the requirements 

5 of this subsection if the statute— 

6 ‘‘(1) prohibits a driver from holding a personal 

7 wireless communications device to conduct a telephone 

8 call while driving; 

9 ‘‘(2) makes violation of the statute a primary of10 fense; 

11 ‘‘(3) requires distracted driving issues to be test12 ed as part of the State driver’s license examination; 

13 ‘‘(4) establishes— 

14 ‘‘(A) a minimum fine for a first violation 

15 of the statute; and 

16 ‘‘(B) increased fines for repeat violations; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(5) provides increased civil and criminal pen19 alties than would otherwise apply if a vehicle acci20 dent is caused by a driver who is using such a device 

21 in violation of the statute. 

22 ‘‘(d) PERMITTED EXCEPTIONS.—A statute that meets 

23 the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) may provide ex24 ceptions for— 


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1 ‘‘(1) use of a personal wireless communications 

2 device by a driver to contact emergency services; 

3 ‘‘(2) allows the use of hands-free devices that en4 able a driver, other than a driver who has not at5 tained the age of 18, to initiate, conduct, or receive 

6 a telephone call without holding the device; 

7 ‘‘(3) manipulation of such a device by a driver 

8 to activate, deactivate, or initialize the hands-free 

9 functionality of the device; 

10 ‘‘(4) use of a personal wireless communications 

11 device by emergency services personnel while oper12 ating an emergency services vehicle and engaged in 

13 the performance of their duties as emergency services 

14 personnel; and 

15 ‘‘(5) use of a device by an individual employed 

16 as a commercial motor vehicle driver, or a school bus 

17 driver, within the scope of such individual’s employ18 ment if such use is permitted under the regulations 

19 promulgated pursuant to section 31152 of title 49. 

20 ‘‘(e) GRANT YEAR.—The Secretary shall make a grant 

21 under this section to a State in any year beginning fiscal 

22 year 2011 in which the State— 

23 ‘‘(1) enacts a law that meets the requirements of 

24 subsections (b) and (c) before July 1; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) maintains a statute, that meets the require2 ments of subsections (b) and (c), enacted in a pre3 vious year that is in effect through June 30th of the 

4 grant year. 

5 ‘‘(f) DISBURSEMENT AND APPORTIONMENT.—Grants 

6 to qualifying States shall be disbursed after July 1 each 

7 year according to the apportionment criteria of section 

8 402(c). 

9 ‘‘(g) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—A State that receives a 

10 grant under this section— 

11 ‘‘(1) shall use at least 50 percent of the grant— 

12 ‘‘(A) to educate and advertise to the public 

13 information about the dangers of texting or 

14 using a cellphone while driving; 

15 ‘‘(B) for traffic signs that notify drivers 

16 about the distracted driving law of the State; 

17 ‘‘(C) for law enforcement of the distracted 

18 driving law; or 

19 ‘‘(D) for a combination of such uses; and 

20 ‘‘(2) may use up to 50 percent of the grant for 

21 other projects that improve traffic safety and that are 

22 consistent with the criteria in section 402(a). 

23 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 ‘‘(1) DRIVING.—The term ‘driving’ means oper25 ating a motor vehicle on a public road, including opVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:57 Dec 01, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1938.RS S1938

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1 eration while temporarily stationary because of traf2 fic, a traffic light or stop sign, or otherwise. It does 

3 not include operating a motor vehicle when the vehicle 

4 has pulled over to the side of, or off, an active road5 way and has stopped in a location where it can safely 

6 remain stationary. 

7 ‘‘(2) HANDS-FREE DEVICE.—The term ‘hands8 free device’ means a device that allows a driver to use 

9 a personal wireless communications device to initiate, 

10 conduct, or receive a telephone call without holding 

11 the personal wireless communications device. 

12 ‘‘(3) PERSONAL WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS DE13 VICE.—The term ‘personal wireless communications 

14 device’ means a device through which personal wire15 less services (as defined in section 332(c)(7)(C)(i) of 

16 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

17 332(c)(7)(C)(i))) are transmitted. It does not include 

18 a global navigation satellite system receiver used for 

19 positioning, emergency notification, or navigation 

20 purposes. 

21 ‘‘(4) PRIMARY OFFENSE.—The term ‘primary of22 fense’ means an offense for which a law enforcement 

23 officer may stop a vehicle solely for the purpose of 

24 issuing a citation in the absence of evidence of an25 other offense. 


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1 ‘‘(5) PUBLIC ROAD.—The term ‘public road’ has 

2 the meaning given that term in section 402(c). 

3 ‘‘(6) TEXTING.—The term ‘texting’ means read4 ing from or manually entering data into a personal 

5 wireless communications device, including doing so 

6 for the purpose of SMS texting, e-mailing, instant 

7 messaging, or engaging in any other form of elec8 tronic data retrieval or electronic data communica9 tion.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

11 for chapter 4 of title 23, United States Code, is amended 

12 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘413. Distracted driving incentive grants.’’. 

13 SEC. 3. DISTRACTED DRIVING NATIONAL EDUCATION PRO14 GRAM. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the National 

16 Highway Traffic Safety Administration shall establish and 

17 administer a program under which at least 2 high-visibility 

18 education and advertising campaigns related to distracted 

19 driving will be carried out for the purpose specified in sub20 section (b) for fiscal years 2011 and 2012. 

21 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of an education and ad22 vertising campaign under this section shall be to educate 

23 the public about the risks associated with distracted driving, 

24 including those associated with— 


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1 (1) texting (as defined in section 413(h)(6) of 

2 title 23, United States Code) while driving; and 

3 (2) the use of personal wireless communications 

4 devices (as defined in section 413(h)(3) of that title) 

5 while driving. 

6 (c) ADVERTISING.—The Administrator may use, or 

7 authorize the use of, funds available to carry out this section 

8 to pay for the development, production, publication, and 

9 broadcast of electronic and print media advertising in car10 rying out traffic safety education and advertising cam11 paigns under this section. The Administrator— 

12 (1) shall give consideration to advertising di13 rected at non-English speaking populations, including 

14 those who listen, read, or watch nontraditional media; 

15 and 

16 (2) may use a portion of the funds available for 

17 this program to target local jurisdictions that have 

18 enacted laws prohibiting texting or the use of personal 

19 wireless communications devices while driving. 

20 (d) COORDINATION WITH STATES.—The Adminis21 trator may coordinate with the States to carry out the edu22 cation and advertising campaigns under this section to co23 incide with high-visibility enforcement of State laws pro24 hibiting texting while driving or the use of personal wireless 

25 communications devices while driving. 


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1 (e) ANNUAL EVALUATION.—The Administrator shall 

2 conduct an annual evaluation of the effectiveness of the edu3 cation and advertising campaigns under this section, and 

4 report the results to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

5 Science, and Transportation, and the House of Representa6 tives Committee on Energy and Commerce. 

7 SEC. 4. RESEARCH AND DATA COLLECTION. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 408(e)(2) of title 23, 

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

10 ‘‘(2) DATA ON USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES.— 

11 ‘‘(A) The model data elements required 

12 under paragraph (1) shall include data elements, 

13 as determined appropriate by the Secretary, in 

14 consultation with the States and appropriate ele15 ments of the law enforcement community, on the 

16 impact on traffic safety of the use of electronic 

17 devices while driving. 

18 ‘‘(B) In order to meet the requirements of 

19 subparagraph (A), State and local governments 

20 shall— 

21 ‘‘(i) require that official vehicle acci22 dent investigation reports include a des23 ignated space to record whether or not the 

24 use of a personal wireless communications 

25 device (as defined in section 413(h)(3)) was 


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1 in use at the time of the accident by any 

2 driver involved in the accident; 

3 ‘‘(ii) require that all law enforcement 

4 officers, as part of a vehicle accident inves5 tigation, inquire about and record the infor6 mation required by clause (i); and 

7 ‘‘(iii) incorporate the information col8 lected under clause (i) into its traffic safety 

9 information system.’’. 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub11 section (a) shall apply with respect to grants under section 

12 408 of title 23, United States Code, for fiscal years begin13 ning after fiscal year 2010. 

14 SEC. 5. RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

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

16 shall establish a research program to study distracted driv17 ing by passenger and commercial vehicle drivers. 

18 (b) SCOPE.—The program shall include studies of— 

19 (1) driver behavior; 

20 (2) vehicle technology; and 

21 (3) portable electronic devices that are commonly 

22 brought into passenger or commercial vehicles. 

23 (c) RESEARCH AGREEMENTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section 

2 the Secretary may grant research contracts to non3 governmental entities to study distracted driving. 

4 (2) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary may not grant 

5 a research contract under this section to any person 

6 that produces or sells— 

7 (A) electronic equipment that is used in ve8 hicles; 

9 (B) portable electronic equipment commonly 

10 brought into passenger or commercial vehicles; or 

11 (C) passenger or commercial vehicles. 

12 SEC. 6. FCC REPORT ON DISTRACTED DRIVING TECH13 NOLOGY. 

14 Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

15 Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall submit 

16 a report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, 

17 and Transportation and the House of Representatives Com18 mittee on Energy and Commerce that identifies— 

19 (1) data the Commission can collect and analyze 

20 that will assist in understanding and reducing the 

21 problem of distracted driving involving the use of per22 sonal communications devices; 

23 (2) existing and developing wireless communica24 tions technology that may be used to reduce problems 

25 associated with distracted driving; and 


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1 (3) existing authority that the Commission may 

2 use to assist in reducing those problems. 

3 SEC. 7. PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO STATES. 

4 Section 30105 of title 49, United States Code, shall 

5 not apply to providing government-sponsored research and 

6 highway safety data, or providing technical assistance, re7 lating to legislative proposals addressing the dangers or po8 tential dangers of— 

9 (1) texting while driving a passenger vehicle, 

10 school bus, or commercial vehicle; or 

11 (2) the use of personal wireless communications 

12 devices (as defined in section 413(h)(3) of title 23, 

13 United States Code) while driving a passenger vehi14 cle, school bus, or commercial vehicle. 

15 SEC. 8. COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLES AND SCHOOL 

16 BUSES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 311 of 

18 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

19 end the following: 

20 ‘‘§31152. Regulation of the use of distracting devices 

21 in commercial motor vehicles and school 

22 buses 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No later than 1 year after the en24 actment of the Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2010, 

25 the Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe regulations 


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1 on the use of electronic or wireless devices, including cell 

2 phones and other distracting devices, by an individual em3 ployed as the operator of— 

4 ‘‘(1) a commercial motor vehicle while that indi5 vidual is engaged in the performance of such individ6 ual’s duties as the operator of the commercial motor 

7 vehicle; or 

8 ‘‘(2) a school bus (as defined in section 

9 30125(a)(1)) that is a commercial motor vehicle (as 

10 defined in section 31301(4)(A)) while that individual 

11 is engaged in the performance of such individual’s 

12 duties as the operator of the school bus. 

13 ‘‘(b) BASIS FOR REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall 

14 base the regulations required by subsection (a) on accident 

15 data analysis, the results of ongoing research, and other in16 formation, as appropriate. 

17 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITED USE.—The Secretary shall prohibit 

18 the use of such devices in circumstances in which the Sec19 retary determines that their use interferes with the driver’s 

20 safe operation of a school bus or commercial motor vehicle. 

21 ‘‘(d) PERMITTED USE.—Under the regulations, the 

22 Secretary may permit the use of a device, the use of which 

23 is prohibited under subsection (c), if the Secretary deter24 mines that such use is necessary for the safety of the driver 

25 or the public in emergency circumstances.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

2 for chapter 311 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

3 by inserting after the item relating to section 31151 the fol4 lowing: 

‘‘31152. Regulation of the use of distracting devices in commercial motor vehicles 

and school buses.’’. 

5 SEC. 9. FUNDING. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2001(a)(4) of Public Law 

7 109–59 is amended by striking ‘‘2010.’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘2010, of which $7,500,000 shall be for carrying out section 

9 3 of the Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2010. If any 

10 amount of the funds authorized by this paragraph has not 

11 been allocated to States meeting the criteria of section 406 

12 of title 23, United States Code, by July 1 of a fiscal year 

13 beginning after fiscal year 2009, the unallocated amount 

14 shall be allocated to States meeting the criteria of section 

15 413 of that title. Unallocated amounts from sections 406 

16 and 413 in a fiscal year shall be carried over to the next 

17 fiscal year for use under sections 406 and 413.’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 406 of title 

19 23, United States Code, is amended by striking subsections 

20 (c) and (d). 

21 SEC. 10. PROHIBITION ON ELECTRONIC VISUAL ENTER22 TAINMENT IN DRIVER’S VIEW. 

23 (a) VISUAL ENTERTAINMENT SCREENS IN DRIVER’S

24 VIEW.—The Secretary of Transportation shall initiate a 


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1 rulemaking proceeding to prescribe a Federal motor vehicle 

2 safety standard that would prohibit electronic screens from 

3 displaying broadcast television, movies, video games, and 

4 other forms of similar visual entertainment that is visible 

5 to the driver while driving. The standard shall allow elec6 tronic screens that display information or images regarding 

7 operation of the vehicle, vehicle surroundings, telematic 

8 functions such as the vehicle’s navigation and communica9 tions system, weather, time, or the vehicle’s audio system. 

10 (b) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall issue a final rule 

11 under subsection (a) within 2 years after the date of enact12 ment of this Act. 

13 (c) DEADLINE FOR RULEMAKING.—If the Secretary de14 termines that a deadline for a final rule under this Act 

15 or an amendment made by this Act cannot be met, the Sec16 retary shall— 

17 (1) notify the House of Representatives Com18 mittee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate 

19 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor20 tation and explain why that deadline cannot be met; 

21 and 

22 (2) establish a new deadline for that rule. 


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Calendar No. 656 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1938 

[Report No. 111–355] 

A BILL 

To establish a program to reduce injuries and 

driving. deaths caused by cellphone use and texting while 

NOVEMBER 30, 2010 

Reported with an amendment 


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