I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 734 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to study and establish a motor 

vehicle safety standard that provides for a means of alerting blind and 

other pedestrians of motor vehicle operation. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 28, 2009 

Mr. TOWNS (for himself, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. 

CARNAHAN, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. FILNER, Mr. HARE, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. 

LATHAM, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. 

MCDERMOTT, Mr. PASTOR of Arizona, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. 

RUPPERSBERGER, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. SESSIONS, Ms. 

SHEA-PORTER, Mr. STARK, Mr. STEARNS, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, 

Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. NADLER of 

New York, Ms. BERKLEY, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. COHEN, Mr. WALZ, 

and Mrs. LOWEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to study and establish a motor vehicle safety standard that provides for 

a means of alerting blind and other pedestrians of motor 

vehicle operation. 

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. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pedestrian Safety En3 hancement Act of 2009’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 As used in this Act— 

6 (1) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

7 of Transportation; and 

8 (2) the term ‘‘motor vehicle’’ has the meaning 

9 given such term in section 30102(a)(6) of title 49, 

10 United States Code. 

11 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

12 Congress finds that— 

13 (1) motor vehicles designed to provide the desir14 able benefits of reducing harmful pollutants and op15 erating with greater fuel efficiency include gasoline16 electric hybrid and electric-only vehicles, and in the 

17 foreseeable future may include vehicles powered by 

18 hydrogen fuel cell and other engine designs that rely 

19 on fuels and technologies other than the gasoline20 powered internal combustion engine; 

21 (2) these vehicle engine designs operate or are 

22 likely to operate with virtually no sound being pro23 duced by the vehicle; 

24 (3) the total number of hybrid motor vehicles 

25 sold per year in the United States is growing dra26 matically, and may someday equal or exceed the 


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1 number of internal combustion engine motor vehicles 

2 on the Nation’s roads; 

3 (4) blind pedestrians cannot locate and evaluate 

4 traffic by sight and instead must listen to traffic to 

5 discern its speed, direction, and other attributes in 

6 order to travel safely and independently; 

7 (5) other people, including pedestrians who are 

8 not blind, bicyclists, runners, and small children, 

9 benefit from multi-sensory information available 

10 from vehicle traffic, including the sound of vehicle 

11 engines; 

12 (6) when operating on their electric engines, hy13 brid vehicles cannot be heard by blind people and 

14 others, rendering such vehicles extremely dangerous 

15 when driving on the street, emerging from drive16 ways, moving through parking lots, and in other sit17 uations where pedestrians and vehicles come into 

18 proximity with each other; 

19 (7) failure to take immediate action assuring 

20 that blind pedestrians can hear hybrid and other si21 lent vehicles in all phases of their operation will in22 evitably lead to pedestrian injuries and fatalities; 

23 and 

24 (8) such accidents are preventable through vehi25 cle designs which take into account the multi-senVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:20 Jan 29, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H734.IH H734

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1 sory nature of traffic detection and avoidance, and 

2 require that vehicles emit a minimum level of sound 

3 designed to alert all pedestrians, especially blind pe4 destrians, to the presence of such vehicles. 

5 SEC. 4. STUDY OF METHOD TO PROTECT BLIND AND 

6 OTHER PEDESTRIANS. 

7 (a) REQUIRED STUDY.—Not later than 90 days fol8 lowing enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct 

9 a study to— 

10 (1) determine the most practical means of as11 suring that blind and other pedestrians receive sub12 stantially similar information to information such 

13 pedestrians receive from sound emitted by vehicles 

14 that use internal combustion engines; 

15 (2) determine the minimum level of sound emit16 ted from a motor vehicle that is necessary to provide 

17 blind pedestrians with the information needed to 

18 make safe travel judgments; and 

19 (3) consider whether the minimum level of 

20 sound requirement or another method that conveys 

21 information essential for pedestrian safety provides 

22 the most reliable information to support safe travel 

23 of blind and other pedestrians, including— 

24 (A) which method provides blind and other 

25 pedestrians the greatest amount of information 


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1 regarding location, motion, speed, and direction 

2 of travel of a motor vehicle; 

3 (B) the cost and feasibility of each method, 

4 including the cost and feasibility of equipping 

5 each individual pedestrian with any technology 

6 necessary to receive information; and 

7 (C) which method assures the least reli8 ance by blind and other pedestrians upon tech9 nology they must possess when traveling and 

10 thereby provides the greatest amount of inde11 pendence and opportunity for spontaneous trav12 el for these pedestrians. 

13 (b) REQUIRED CONSULTATION.—When conducting 

14 the study, the Secretary shall— 

15 (1) review all available research regarding the 

16 effect of traffic sounds on pedestrian safety, and 

17 commission such research as may be necessary; 

18 (2) consult consumer groups representing indi19 viduals who are blind, other pedestrians, cyclists, 

20 and advocates for children; and 

21 (3) consult with automobile manufacturers and 

22 professional organizations representing them. 

23 (c) REPORT.—The Secretary shall complete the study 

24 within 2 years of its commencement and shall transmit 

25 a report of the findings to Congress. 


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1 SEC. 5. MINIMUM SOUND REQUIREMENT FOR MOTOR VEHI2 CLES. 

3 Not later than 90 days after conclusion of the study 

4 required under section 4, the Secretary shall promulgate 

5 a motor vehicle safety standard under section 30111 of 

6 title 49, United States Code, to establish a method for 

7 alerting blind and other pedestrians of the presence and 

8 operation of nearby motor vehicles to enable such pedes9 trians to travel safely and independently in urban, rural, 

10 and residential environments. Such standard shall provide 

11 that every motor vehicle be equipped with a method— 

12 (1) to provide blind and other pedestrians with 

13 a non-visual alert regarding the location, motion, 

14 speed, and direction of travel of a motor vehicle that 

15 provides substantially the same protection of such 

16 pedestrians as that provided by a motor vehicle with 

17 an internal combustion engine; and 

18 (2) that will permit a blind or other pedestrian 

19 to determine the location, motion, speed, and direc20 tion of travel of a motor vehicle with substantially 

21 the same degree of certainty as such pedestrians are 

22 able to determine the location, motion, speed, and 

23 direction of travel of a motor vehicle with an inter24 nal combustion engine. 


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1 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec3 retary of Transportation such sums as may be necessary 

4 to carry out this Act. 

5 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

6 The standard promulgated under section 5 shall 

7 apply to all new motor vehicles manufactured or sold in 

8 the United States beginning on that date that is 2 years 

9 after the issuance of such standard. 

Æ 


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