I 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5734 

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 

APRIL 9, 2008 

Mr. TOWNS (for himself and Mr. STEARNS) 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pedestrian Safety En5 hancement Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 As used in this Act— 


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

2 of Transportation; and 

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

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

5 United States Code. 

6 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) motor vehicles designed to provide the desir9 able benefits of reducing harmful pollutants and op10 erating with greater fuel efficiency include gasoline11 electric hybrid and electric-only vehicles, and in the 

12 foreseeable future may include vehicles powered by 

13 hydrogen fuel cell and other engine designs that rely 

14 on fuels and technologies other than the gasoline15 powered internal combustion engine; 

16 (2) these vehicle engine designs operate or are 

17 likely to operate with virtually no sound being pro18 duced by the vehicle; 

19 (3) the total number of hybrid motor vehicles 

20 sold per year in the United States is growing dra21 matically, and may someday equal or exceed the 

22 number of internal combustion engine motor vehicles 

23 on the Nation’s roads; 

24 (4) blind pedestrians cannot locate and evaluate 

25 traffic by sight and instead must listen to traffic to 


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1 discern its speed, direction, and other attributes in 

2 order to travel safely and independently; 

3 (5) other people, including pedestrians who are 

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

5 benefit from multi-sensory information available 

6 from vehicle traffic, including the sound of vehicle 

7 engines; 

8 (6) when operating on their electric engines, hy9 brid vehicles cannot be heard by blind people and 

10 others, rendering such vehicles extremely dangerous 

11 when driving on the street, emerging from drive12 ways, moving through parking lots, and in other sit13 uations where pedestrians and vehicles come into 

14 proximity with each other; 

15 (7) failure to take immediate action assuring 

16 that blind pedestrians can hear hybrid and other si17 lent vehicles in all phases of their operation will in18 evitably lead to pedestrian injuries and fatalities; 

19 and 

20 (8) such accidents are preventable through vehi21 cle designs which take into account the multi-sen22 sory nature of traffic detection and avoidance, and 

23 require that vehicles emit a minimum level of sound 

24 designed to alert all pedestrians, especially blind pe25 destrians, to the presence of such vehicles. 


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

2 OTHER PEDESTRIANS. 

3 (a) REQUIRED STUDY.—Not later than 90 days fol4 lowing enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct 

5 a study to— 

6 (1) determine the most practical means of as7 suring that blind and other pedestrians receive sub8 stantially similar information to information such 

9 pedestrians receive from sound emitted by vehicles 

10 that use internal combustion engines; 

11 (2) determine the minimum level of sound emit12 ted from a motor vehicle that is necessary to provide 

13 blind pedestrians with the information needed to 

14 make safe travel judgments; and 

15 (3) consider whether the minimum level of 

16 sound requirement or another method that conveys 

17 information essential for pedestrian safety provides 

18 the most reliable information to support safe travel 

19 of blind and other pedestrians, including— 

20 (A) which method provides blind and other 

21 pedestrians the greatest amount of information 

22 regarding location, motion, speed, and direction 

23 of travel of a motor vehicle; 

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

25 including the cost and feasibility of equipping 


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1 each individual pedestrian with any technology 

2 necessary to receive information; and 

3 (C) which method assures the least reli4 ance by blind and other pedestrians upon tech5 nology they must possess when traveling and 

6 thereby provides the greatest amount of inde7 pendence and opportunity for spontaneous trav8 el for these pedestrians. 

9 (b) REQUIRED CONSULTATION.—When conducting 

10 the study, the Secretary shall— 

11 (1) review all available research regarding the 

12 effect of traffic sounds on pedestrian safety, and 

13 commission such research as may be necessary; 

14 (2) consult consumer groups representing indi15 viduals who are blind, other pedestrians, cyclists, 

16 and advocates for children; and 

17 (3) consult with automobile manufacturers and 

18 professional organizations representing them. 

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

20 within 2 years of its commencement and shall transmit 

21 a report of the findings to Congress. 

22 SEC. 5. MINIMUM SOUND REQUIREMENT FOR MOTOR VEHI23 CLES. 

24 Not later than 90 days after conclusion of the study 

25 required under section 4, the Secretary shall promulgate 


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1 a motor vehicle safety standard under section 30111 of 

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

3 alerting blind and other pedestrians of the presence and 

4 operation of nearby motor vehicles to enable such pedes5 trians to travel safely and independently in urban, rural, 

6 and residential environments. Such standard shall provide 

7 that every motor vehicle be equipped with a method— 

8 (1) to provide blind and other pedestrians with 

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

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

11 provides substantially the same protection of such 

12 pedestrians as that provided by a motor vehicle with 

13 an internal combustion engine; and 

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

15 to determine the location, motion, speed, and direc16 tion of travel of a motor vehicle with substantially 

17 the same degree of certainty as such pedestrians are 

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

19 direction of travel of a motor vehicle with an inter20 nal combustion engine. 

21 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec23 retary of Transportation such sums as may be necessary 

24 to carry out this Act. 


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1 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 The standard promulgated under section 5 shall 

3 apply to all new motor vehicles manufactured or sold in 

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

5 after the issuance of such standard. 

Æ 


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