II

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 387

To encourage enhanced State and Federal efforts to reduce traffic deaths

and injuries and improve traffic safety among young, old, and highrisk drivers.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 10 (legislative day, JANUARY 30), 1995

Mr. EXON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to

the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To encourage enhanced State and Federal efforts to reduce

traffic deaths and injuries and improve traffic safety

among young, old, and high-risk drivers.

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 ‘‘High-risk Drivers Act

5 of 1995’’.

6 TITLE I—HIGH-RISK AND

7 ALCOHOL-IMPAIRED DRIVERS

8 SEC. 101. FINDINGS.

9 The Congress makes the following findings:
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1 (1) The Nation’s traffic fatality rate has de2 clined from 5.5 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles

3 traveled in 1966 to an historic low of an estimated

4 1.8 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled

5 during 1992. In order to further this desired trend,

6 the safety programs and policies implemented by the

7 Department of Transportation must be continued,

8 and at the same time, the focus of these efforts as

9 they pertain to high risk drivers of all ages must be

10 strengthened.

11 (2) Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause

12 of death among teenagers, and teenage drivers tend

13 to be at fault for their fatal crashes more often than

14 older drivers. Drivers who are 16 to 20 years old

15 comprised 7.4 percent of the United States popu16 lation in 1991 but were involved in 15.4 percent of

17 fatal motor vehicle crashes. Also, on the basis of

18 crashes per 100,000 licensed drivers, young drivers

19 are the highest risk group of drivers.

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

21 through 20 died in motor vehicle crashes. This trag22 ic loss demands that the Federal Government inten23 sify its efforts to promote highway safety among

24 members of this high risk group.
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1 (4) The consumption of alcohol, speeding over

2 allowable limits or too fast for road conditions, inad3 equate use of occupant restraints, and other high

4 risk behaviors are several of the key causes for this

5 tragic loss of young drivers and passengers. The De6 partment of Transportation, working cooperatively

7 with the States, student groups, and other organiza8 tions, must reinvigorate its current programs and

9 policies to address more effectively these pressing

10 problems of teenage drivers.

11 (5) In 1991 individuals aged 70 years and

12 older, who are particularly susceptible to injury,

13 were involved in 12 percent of all motor vehicle traf14 fic crash fatalities. These deaths accounted for 4,828

15 fatalities out of 41,462 total traffic fatalities.

16 (6) The number of older Americans who drive

17 is expected to increase dramatically during the next

18 30 years. Unfortunately, during the last 15 years,

19 the Department of Transportation has supported an

20 extremely limited program concerning older drivers.

21 Research on older driver behavior and licensing has

22 suffered from intermittent funding at amounts that

23 were insufficient to address the scope and nature of

24 the challenges ahead.
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1 (7) A major objective of United States trans2 portation policy must be to promote the mobility of

3 older Americans while at the same time ensuring

4 public safety on our Nation’s highways. In order to

5 accomplish these two objectives simultaneously, the

6 Department of Transportation must support a vigor7 ous and sustained program of research, technical as8 sistance, evaluation, and other appropriate activities

9 that are designed to reduce the fatality and crash

10 rate of older drivers who have identifiable risk char11 acteristics.

12 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS.

13 For purposes of this title—

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

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

16 based on vehicle crash rates, fatality rates, traffic

17 safety violation rates, and other factors specified by

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

19 and other individuals that is higher than the risk

20 presented by the average driver.

21 (2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

22 of Transportation.

23 SEC. 103. POLICY AND PROGRAM DIRECTION.

24 (a) GENERAL RESPONSIBILITY OF SECRETARY.—

25 The Secretary shall develop and implement effective and
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1 comprehensive policies and programs to promote safe driv2 ing behavior by young drivers, older drivers, and repeat

3 violators of traffic safety regulations and laws.

4 (b) SAFETY PROMOTION ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary

5 shall promote or engage in activities that seek to ensure

6 that—

7 (1) cost effective and scientifically-based guide8 lines and technologies for the nondiscriminatory

9 evaluation and licensing of high risk drivers are ad10 vanced;

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

12 control, and evaluation programs are improved;

13 (3) uniform or compatible State driver point

14 systems and other licensing and driver record infor15 mation systems are advanced as a means of identify16 ing and initially evaluating high risk drivers; and

17 (4) driver training programs and the delivery of

18 such programs are advanced.

19 (c) DRIVER TRAINING RESEARCH.—The Secretary

20 shall explore the feasibility and advisability of using cost

21 efficient simulation and other technologies as a means of

22 enhancing driver training; shall advance knowledge re23 garding the perceptual, cognitive, and decision making

24 skills needed for safe driving and to improve driver train25 ing; and shall investigate the most effective means of inte-
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1 grating licensing, training, and other techniques for pre2 paring novice drivers for the safe use of highway systems.

3 TITLE II—YOUNG DRIVER

4 PROGRAMS

5 SEC. 201. STATE GRANTS FOR YOUNG DRIVER PROGRAMS.

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM.—Chapter

7 4 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by adding

8 at the end the following new section:

9 ‘‘§ 411. Programs for young drivers

10 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Subject to the provi11 sions of this section, the Secretary shall make basic and

12 supplemental grants to those States which adopt and im13 plement programs for young drivers which include meas14 ures, described in this section, to reduce traffic safety

15 problems resulting from the driving performance of young

16 drivers. Such grants may only be used by recipient States

17 to implement and enforce such measures.

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

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

20 such State enters into such agreements with the Secretary

21 as the Secretary may require to ensure that such State

22 will maintain its aggregate estimated expenditures from

23 all other sources for programs for young drivers at or

24 above the average level of such expenditures in its 2 fiscal
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1 years preceding the fiscal year in which the High Risk

2 Drivers Act of 1994 is enacted.

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

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

5 share payable for any grant under this section shall not

6 exceed—

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

8 grant under this section, 75 percent of the cost of

9 implementing and enforcing in such fiscal year the

10 young driver program adopted by the State pursuant

11 to subsection (a);

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

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

14 implementing and enforcing in such fiscal year such

15 program; and

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

17 the State receives a grant under this section, 25 per18 cent of the cost of implementing and enforcing in

19 such fiscal year such program.

20 ‘‘(d) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF BASIC GRANTS.—Sub21 ject to subsection (c), the amount of a basic grant made

22 under this section for any fiscal year to any State which

23 is eligible for such a grant under subsection (e) shall equal

24 30 percent of the amount apportioned to such State for

25 fiscal year 1989 under section 402 of this title. A grant
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1 to a State under this section shall be in addition to the

2 State’s apportionment under section 402, and basic grants

3 during any fiscal year may be proportionately reduced to

4 accommodate an applicable statutory obligation limitation

5 for that fiscal year.

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

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec8 tion, a State is eligible for a basic grant if such

9 State—

10 ‘‘(A) establishes and maintains a grad11 uated licensing program for drivers under 18

12 years of age that meets the requirements of

13 paragraph (2); and

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

15 under this section, meets 3 of the 7 criteria

16 specified in paragraph (3);

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

18 grants, meets 4 of such criteria;

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

20 grants, meets 5 of such criteria;

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

22 grants, meets 6 of such criteria; and

23 ‘‘(v) in the fifth year of receiving such

24 grants, meets 6 of such criteria.
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1 For purposes of subparagraph (B), a State

2 shall be treated as having met one of the re3 quirements of paragraph (3) for any year if the

4 State demonstrates to the satisfaction of the

5 Secretary that, for the 3 preceding years, the

6 alcohol fatal crash involvement rate for individ7 uals under the age of 21 has declined in that

8 State and the alcohol fatal crash involvement

9 rate for such individuals has been lower in that

10 State than the average such rate for all States.

11 ‘‘(2) GRADUATED LICENSING PROGRAM.—

12 ‘‘(A) A State receiving a grant under this

13 section shall establish and maintain a grad14 uated licensing program consisting of the fol15 lowing licensing stages for any driver under 18

16 years of age:

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

18 a minimum period determined by the Sec19 retary, under which the licensee shall not

20 operate a motor vehicle unless accom21 panied in the front passenger seat by the

22 holder of a full driver’s license.

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

24 which shall not be issued unless the driver

25 has passed a written examination on traffic
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1 safety and has passed a roadtest adminis2 tered by the driver licensing agency of the

3 State.

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

5 not be issued until the driver has held a

6 provisional license for at least 1 year with

7 a clean driving record.

8 ‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph

9 (A)(iii), subsection (f)(1), and subsection

10 (f)(6)(B), a provisional licensee has a clean

11 driving record if the licensee—

12 ‘‘(i) has not been found, by civil or

13 criminal process, to have committed a mov14 ing traffic violation during the applicable

15 period;

16 ‘‘(ii) has not been assessed points

17 against the license because of safety viola18 tions during such period; and

19 ‘‘(iii) has satisfied such other require20 ments as the Secretary may prescribe by

21 regulation.

22 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall determine the

23 conditions under which a State shall suspend

24 provisional driver’s licenses in order to be eligi25 ble for a basic grant. At a minimum, the holder
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1 of a provisional license shall be subject to driver

2 control actions that are stricter than those ap3 plicable to the holder of a full driver’s license,

4 including warning letters and suspension at a

5 lower point threshold.

6 ‘‘(D) For a State’s first 2 years of receiv7 ing a grant under this section, the Secretary

8 may waive the clean driving record requirement

9 of subparagraph (A)(iii) if the State submits

10 satisfactory evidence of its efforts to establish

11 such a requirement.

12 ‘‘(3) CRITERIA FOR BASIC GRANT.—The 7 cri13 teria referred to in paragraph (1)(B) are as follows:

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

15 under 21 years of age with a blood alcohol con16 centration of 0.02 percent or greater when driv17 ing a motor vehicle shall be deemed to be driv18 ing while intoxicated for the purpose of (i) ad19 ministrative or judicial sanctions or (ii) a law or

20 regulation that prohibits any individual under

21 21 years of age with a blood alcohol concentra22 tion of 0.02 percent or greater from driving a

23 motor vehicle.

24 ‘‘(B) The State has a law or regulation

25 that provides a mandatory minimum penalty of
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1 at least $500 for anyone who in violation of

2 State law or regulation knowingly, or without

3 checking for proper identification, provides or

4 sells alcohol to any individual under 21 years of

5 age.

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

7 a driver under 21 years of age be suspended for

8 a period specified by the State if such driver is

9 convicted of the unlawful purchase or public

10 possession of alcohol. The period of suspension

11 shall be at least 6 months for a first conviction

12 and at least 12 months for a subsequent convic13 tion; except that specific license restrictions

14 may be imposed as an alternative to such mini15 mum periods of suspension where necessary to

16 avoid undue hardship on any individual.

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

18 traffic safety enforcement activities, and edu19 cation and training programs—

20 ‘‘(i) with the participation of judges

21 and prosecutors, that are designed to en22 sure enforcement to traffic safety laws and

23 regulations, including those that prohibit

24 drivers under 21 years of age from driving

25 while intoxicated, restrict the unauthorized
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1 use of a motor vehicle, and establish other

2 moving violations; and

3 ‘‘(ii) with the participation of student

4 and youth groups, that are designed to en5 sure compliance with such traffic safety

6 laws and regulations.

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

8 any open alcoholic beverage container, or the

9 consumption of any alcoholic beverage, in the

10 passenger area of any motor vehicle located on

11 a public highway or the right-of-way of a public

12 highway; except as allowed in the passenger

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

14 motor vehicle designed to transport more than

15 10 passengers (including the driver) while being

16 used to provide charter transportation of pas17 sengers.

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

19 legal guardian of any provisional licensee, gen20 eral information prepared with the assistance of

21 the insurance industry on the effect of traffic

22 safety convictions and at-fault accidents on in23 surance rates for young drivers.

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

25 driver’s license may be issued only to a driver
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1 who has satisfactorily completed a State-accept2 ed driver education and training program that

3 meets Department of Transportation guidelines

4 and includes information on the interaction of

5 alcohol and controlled substances and the effect

6 of such interaction on driver performance, and

7 information on the importance of motorcycle

8 helmet use and safety belt use.

9 ‘‘(f) SUPPLEMENTAL GRANT PROGRAM.—

10 ‘‘(1) EXTENDED APPLICATION OF PROVISIONAL

11 LICENSE REQUIREMENT.—For purposes of this sec12 tion, a State is eligible for a supplemental grant for

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

14 not to exceed 10 percent of the amount apportioned

15 to such State for fiscal year 1989 under section 402

16 of this title if such State is eligible for basic grant

17 and in addition such State requires that a driver

18 under 21 years of age shall not be issued a full driv19 er’s license until the driver has held a provisional li20 cense for at least 1 year with a clean driving record

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

22 ‘‘(2) REMEDIAL DRIVER EDUCATION.—For pur23 poses of this section, a State is eligible for a supple24 mental grant for a fiscal year in an amount, subject

25 to subsection (c), not to exceed 5 percent of the
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1 amount apportioned to such State for fiscal year

2 1989 under section 402 of this title if such State is

3 eligible for a basic grant and in addition such State

4 requires, at a lower point threshold than for other

5 drivers, remedial driver improvement instruction for

6 drivers under 21 years of age and requires such re7 medial instruction for any driver under 21 years of

8 age who is convicted of reckless driving, excessive

9 speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol, or

10 driving while intoxicated.

11 ‘‘(3) RECORD OF SERIOUS CONVICTIONS; HA12 BITUAL OR REPEAT OFFENDER SANCTIONS.—For

13 purposes of this section, a State is eligible for a sup14 plemental grant for a fiscal year in an amount, sub15 ject to subsection (c), not to exceed 5 percent of the

16 amount apportioned to such State for fiscal year

17 1989 under section 402 of this title if such State is

18 eligible for a basic grant and in addition such

19 State—

20 ‘‘(A) requires that a notation of any seri21 ous traffic safety conviction of a driver be main22 tained on the driver’s permanent traffic record

23 for at least 10 years after the date of the con24 viction; and
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1 ‘‘(B) provides additional sanctions for any

2 driver who, following conviction of a serious

3 traffic safety violation, is convicted during the

4 next 10 years of one or more subsequent seri5 ous traffic safety violations.

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

7 For purposes of this section, a State is eligible for

8 a supplemental grant for a fiscal year in an amount,

9 subject to subsection (c), not to exceed 5 percent of

10 the amount apportioned to such State for fiscal year

11 1989 under section 402 of this title if such State is

12 a member of and substantially complies with the

13 interstate agreement known as the Driver License

14 Compact, promptly and reliably transmits and re15 ceives through electronic means interstate driver

16 record information (including information on com17 mercial drivers) in cooperation with the Secretary

18 and other States, and develops and achieves demon19 strable annual progress in implementing a plan to

20 ensure that (i) each court of the State report expedi21 tiously to the State driver licensing agency all traffic

22 safety convictions, license suspensions, license rev23 ocations, or other license restrictions, and driver im24 provement efforts sanctioned or ordered by the

25 court, and that (ii) such records be available elec-
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1 tronically to appropriate government officials (in2 cluding enforcement, officers, judges, and prosecu3 tors) upon request at all times.

4 ‘‘(5) For purposes of this section, a State is eli5 gible for a supplemental grant for a fiscal year in an

6 amount, subject to subsection (c), not to exceed 5

7 percent of the amount apportioned to such State for

8 fiscal year 1989 under section 402 of this title if

9 such State has a law or regulation that provides a

10 minimum penalty of at least $100 for anyone who

11 in violation of State law or regulation drives any ve12 hicle through, around, or under any crossing, gate,

13 or barrier at a railroad crossing while such gate or

14 barrier is closed or being opened or closed.

15 ‘‘(6) VEHICLE SEIZURE PROGRAM.—For pur16 poses of this section, a State is eligible for a supple17 mental grant for a fiscal year in an amount, subject

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

19 amount apportioned to such State for fiscal year

20 1989 under section 402 of this title if such State

21 has a law or regulation that—

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

23 political subdivision thereof of any vehicle driv24 en by an individual in violation of an alcohol25 related traffic safety law, if such violator has
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1 been convicted on more than one occasion of an

2 alcohol-related traffic offense within any 5-year

3 period beginning after the date of enactment of

4 this section, or has been convicted of driving

5 while his or her driver’s license is suspended or

6 revoked by reason of a conviction for such an

7 offense;

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

9 to the State or a political subdivision thereof if

10 the vehicle was solely owned by such violator at

11 the time of the violation;

12 ‘‘(C) requires that the vehicle be returned

13 to the owner if the vehicle was a stolen vehicle

14 at the time of the violation; and

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

16 to a member of such violator’s family, the co17 owner, or the owner, if the vehicle was not a

18 stolen vehicle and was not solely owned by such

19 violator at the time of the violation, and if the

20 family member, co-owner, or owner, prior to

21 such release, executes a binding agreement that

22 the family member, co-owner, or owner will not

23 permit such violator to drive the vehicle and

24 that the vehicle shall be forfeited to the State

25 or a political subdivision thereof in the event
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1 such violator drives the vehicle with the permis2 sion of the family member, co-owner, or owner.

3 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

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

5 $9,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1996,

6 $12,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30,

7 1997, $14,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September

8 30, 1988, $16,000,000 for the fiscal year ending Septem9 ber 30, 1999, and $18,000,000 for the fiscal year ending

10 September 30, 2000.’’.

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis of

12 chapter 4 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by

13 inserting immediately after the item relating to section

14 410 the following new item:

‘‘411. Programs for young drivers.’’.

15 (c) DEADLINES FOR ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS.—

16 The Secretary shall issue and publish in the Federal Reg17 ister proposed regulations to implement section 411 of

18 title 23, United States Code (as added by this section),

19 not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of

20 this Act. The final regulations for such implementation

21 shall be issued, published in the Federal Register, and

22 transmitted to Congress not later than 12 months after

23 such date of enactment.
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1 SEC. 202. PROGRAM EVALUATION.

2 (a) EVALUATION BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary

3 shall, under section 403 of title 23, United States Code,

4 conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness of State provi5 sional driver’s licensing programs and the grant program

6 authorized by section 411 of title 23, United States Code

7 (as added by section 101 of this Act).

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

9 the Secretary shall transmit a report on the results of the

10 evaluation conducted under subsection (a) and any related

11 research to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and

12 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Pub13 lic Works and Transportation of the House of Representa14 tives. The report shall include any related recommenda15 tions by the Secretary for legislative changes.

16 TITLE III—OLDER DRIVER

17 PROGRAMS

18 SEC. 301. OLDER DRIVER SAFETY RESEARCH.

19 (a) RESEARCH ON PREDICTABILITY OF HIGH RISK

20 DRIVING.—

21 (1) The Secretary shall conduct a program that

22 funds, within budgetary limitations, the research

23 challenges presented in the Transportation Research

24 Board’s report entitled ‘‘Research and Development

25 Needs for Maintaining the Safety and Mobility of

26 Older Drivers’’ and the research challenges pertain-
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1 ing to older drivers presented in a report to Con2 gress by the National Highway Traffic Safety Ad3 ministration entitled ‘‘Addressing the Safety Issues

4 Related to Younger and Older Drivers’’.

5 (2) To the extent technically feasible, the Sec6 retary shall consider the feasibility and further the

7 development of cost efficient, reliable tests capable of

8 predicting increased risk of accident involvement of

9 hazardous driving by older high risk drivers.

10 (b) SPECIALIZED TRAINING FOR LICENSE EXAMIN11 ERS.—The Secretary shall encourage and conduct re12 search and demonstration activities to support the special13 ized training of license examiners or other certified exam14 iners to increase their knowledge and sensitivity to the

15 transportation needs and physical limitations of older driv16 ers, including knowledge of functional disabilities related

17 to driving, and to be cognizant of possible counter18 measures to deal with the challenges to safe driving that

19 may be associated with increasing age.

20 (c) COUNSELING PROCEDURES AND CONSULTATION

21 METHODS.—The Secretary shall encourage and conduct

22 research and disseminate information to support and en23 courage the development of appropriate counseling proce24 dures and consultation methods with relatives, physicians,

25 the traffic safety enforcement and the motor vehicle licens-
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1 ing communities, and other concerned parties. Such proce2 dures and methods shall include the promotion of vol3 untary action by older high risk drivers to restrict or limit

4 their driving when medical or other conditions indicate

5 such action is advisable. The Secretary shall consult exten6 sively with the American Association of Retired Persons,

7 the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administra8 tors, the American Occupational Therapy Association, the

9 American Automobile Association, the Department of

10 Health and Human Services, the American Public Health

11 Association, and other interested parties in developing

12 educational materials on the interrelationship of the aging

13 process, driver safety, and the driver licensing process.

14 (d) ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION MEANS.—The

15 Secretary shall ensure that the agencies of the Depart16 ment of Transportation overseeing the various modes of

17 surface transportation coordinate their policies and pro18 grams to ensure that funds authorized under the Inter19 modal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991

20 (Public Law 102–240; 105 Stat. 1914) and implementing

21 Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Ap22 propriation Acts take into account the transportation

23 needs of older Americans by promoting alternative trans24 portation means whenever practical and feasible.
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1 (e) STATE LICENSING PRACTICES.—The Secretary

2 shall encourage State licensing agencies to use restricted

3 licenses instead of canceling a license whenever such ac4 tion is appropriate and if the interests of public safety

5 would be served, and to closely monitor the driving per6 formance of older drivers with such licenses. The Sec7 retary shall encourage States to provide educational mate8 rials of benefit to older drivers and concerned family mem9 bers and physicians. The Secretary shall promote licensing

10 and relicensing programs in which the applicant appears

11 in person and shall promote the development and use of

12 cost effective screening processes and testing of physio13 logical, cognitive, and perception factors as appropriate

14 and necessary. Not less than one model State program

15 shall be evaluated in light of this subsection during each

16 of the fiscal years 1996 through 1998. Of the sums au17 thorized under subsection (i), $250,000 is authorized for

18 each such fiscal year for such evaluation.

19 (f) IMPROVEMENT OF MEDICAL SCREENING.—The

20 Secretary shall conduct research and other activities de21 signed to support and encourage the States to establish

22 and maintain medical review or advisory groups to work

23 with State licensing agencies to improve and provide cur24 rent information on the screening and licensing of older

25 drivers. The Secretary shall encourage the participation
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1 of the public in these groups to ensure fairness and con2 cern for the safety and mobility needs of older drivers.

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

4 implementing the Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems

5 Act of 1991 (23 U.S.C. 307 note), the Secretary shall en6 sure that the National Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Sys7 tems Program devotes sufficient attention to the use of

8 intelligent vehicle-highway systems to aid older drivers in

9 safely performing driver functions. Federally-sponsored

10 research, development, and operational testing shall en11 sure the advancement of night vision improvement sys12 tems, technology to reduce the involvement of older drivers

13 in accidents occurring at intersections, and other tech14 nologies of particular benefit to older drivers.

15 (h) TECHNICAL EVALUATIONS UNDER INTERMODAL

16 SURFACE TRANSPORTATION EFFICIENCY ACT.—In con17 ducting the technical evaluations required under section

18 6055 of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency

19 Act of 1991 (Public Law 102–240; 105 Stat. 2192), the

20 Secretary shall ensure that the safety impacts on older

21 drivers are considered, with special attention being de22 voted to ensuring adequate and effective exchange of infor23 mation between the Department of Transportation and

24 older drivers or their representatives.
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1 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of the

2 funds authorized under section 403 of title 23, United

3 States Code, $1,250,000 is authorized for each of the fis4 cal years 1995 through 1997 to support older driver pro5 grams described in subsections (a), (b), (c), (e), and (f).

6 TITLE IV—HIGH RISK DRIVERS

7 SEC. 401. STUDY ON WAYS TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC RECORDS

8 OF ALL HIGH RISK DRIVERS.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 1 year after the date of

10 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall complete a

11 study to determine whether additional or strengthened

12 Federal activities, authority, or regulatory actions are de13 sirable or necessary to improve or strengthen the driver

14 record and control systems of the States to identify high

15 risk drivers more rapidly and ensure prompt intervention

16 in the licensing of high risk drivers. The study, which shall

17 be based in part on analysis obtained from a request for

18 information published in the Federal Register, shall con19 sider steps necessary to ensure that State traffic record

20 systems are unambiguous, accurate, current, accessible,

21 complete, and (to the extent useful) uniform among the

22 States.

23 (b) SPECIFIC MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION.—Such

24 study shall at a minimum consider—
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1 (1) whether specific legislative action is nec2 essary to improve State traffic record systems;

3 (2) the feasibility and practicality of further en4 couraging and establishing a uniform traffic ticket

5 citation and control system;

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

7 system to be adopted by the States;

8 (4) the need for all the States to participate in

9 the Driver License Reciprocity Program conducted

10 by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Ad11 ministrators;

12 (5) ways to encourage the States to cross-ref13 erence driver license files and motor vehicle files to

14 facilitate the identification of individuals who may

15 not be in compliance with driver licensing laws; and

16 (6) the feasibility of establishing a national pro17 gram that would limit each driver to one driver’s li18 cense from only one State at any time.

19 (c) EVALUATION OF NATIONAL INFORMATION SYS20 TEMS.—As part of the study required by this section, the

21 Secretary shall consider and evaluate the future of the na22 tional information systems that support driver licensing.

23 In particular, the Secretary shall examine whether the

24 Commercial Driver’s License Information System, the Na25 tional Driver Register, and the Driver License Reciprocity
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1 program should be more closely linked or continue to exist

2 as separate information systems and which entities are

3 best suited to operate such systems effectively at the least

4 cost. The Secretary shall cooperate with the American As5 sociation of Motor Vehicle Administrators in carrying out

6 this evaluation.

7 SEC. 402. STATE PROGRAMS FOR HIGH RISK DRIVERS.

8 The Secretary shall encourage and promote State

9 driver evaluation, assistance, or control programs for high

10 risk drivers. These programs may include in-person license

11 reexaminations, driver education or training courses, li12 cense restrictions or suspensions, and other actions de13 signed to improve the operating performance of high risk

14 drivers.

15 TITLE V—ENHANCED AUTHOR16 IZATION FOR 410 PROGRAM

17 SEC. 501. FUNDING FOR 23 USC 410 PROGRAM.

18 In addition to any amount otherwise appropriated or

19 available for such use, there are authorized to be appro20 priated $15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1995,

21 1996, and 1997 for the purpose of carrying out section

22 410 of title 23, United States Code.

Æ

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