II 

Calendar No. 619 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 694 

[Report No. 110–275] 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations to reduce 

the incidence of child injury and death occurring inside or outside of 

light motor vehicles, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 27, 2007 

Mrs. CLINTON (for herself, Mr. SUNUNU, Mr. REED, Mr. KERRY, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. SCHUMER, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. ROBERTS, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mrs. BOXER, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. ENSIGN, Mr. 

MCCAIN, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. BAUCUS, 

Mr. TESTER, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. DORGAN, Mr. 

WYDEN, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. PRYOR, Mr. OBAMA, Mr. BROWN, Mr. 

DODD, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. CONRAD, 

Mrs. MCCASKILL, and Mr. SPECTER) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

MARCH 13, 2008 

Reported by Mr. INOUYE, with an amendment and an amendment to the title 

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

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations 

to reduce the incidence of child injury and death occurVerDate Aug 31 2005 06:11 Mar 14, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\S694.RS S694

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ring inside or outside of light motor vehicles, 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 ‘‘Cameron Gulbransen 

5 Kids and Cars Safety Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RULEMAKING REGARDING CHILD SAFETY. 

7 (a) POWER WINDOW SAFETY.—Not later than 18 

8 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

9 Secretary of Transportation (referred to in this Act as the 

10 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall issue regulations, applicable to light 

11 motor vehicles, requiring power windows and panels to 

12 automatically reverse direction when they detect an ob13 struction to prevent children from being trapped, injured, 

14 or killed. 

15 (b) REARWARD VISIBILITY.—Not later than 24 

16 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

17 Secretary shall issue regulations, applicable to light motor 

18 vehicles, requiring a rearward visibility performance 

19 standard that provides drivers with a means for detecting 

20 the presence of a person or object behind the vehicle to 

21 prevent death and injury resulting from backing incidents, 

22 particularly incidents involving small children and disabled 

23 persons. 

24 (c) PHASE-IN PERIOD.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The regulations issued pur2 suant to subsections (a) and (b) shall require— 

3 (A) a phase-in period, as determined by 

4 the Secretary, for compliance with the regula5 tions, which period shall commence not later 

6 than 6 months after the date on which final 

7 rules are issued; and 

8 (B) that new light motor vehicles manufactured after the date that is 31 9 ⁄2 years after the 

10 issuance of the final rule shall comply with such 

11 regulations. 

12 (2) PHASE-IN PRIORITIES.—In requiring the 

13 phase-in of rearward visibility performance regula14 tions under this subsection, the Secretary shall con15 sider whether to give priority during the phase-in to 

16 types of light motor vehicles that have a compara17 tively larger or longer rear blind zone. If the Sec18 retary determines that any type of light motor vehi19 cles should be given priority, the Secretary shall 

20 issue regulations that specify— 

21 (A) which type or types of light motor ve22 hicles shall be phased-in first; and 

23 (B) the percentages in which such light 

24 motor vehicles shall be phased-in. 


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1 (d) PREVENTING VEHICLES FROM ROLLING

2 AWAY.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 24 months 

4 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec5 retary shall issue regulations to require light motor 

6 vehicles that are equipped with an automatic trans7 mission that includes a ‘‘Park’’ position to have a 

8 system that requires the service brake to be de9 pressed before the transmission can be shifted out of 

10 ‘‘Park’’. This system shall function in any starting 

11 system key position in which the transmission can be 

12 shifted out of ‘‘Park’’. 

13 (2) APPLICABILITY.—The regulation issued 

14 under paragraph (1) shall apply to light motor vehi15 cles manufactured on or after September 1, 2010. 

16 (3) PUBLICATION OF NONCOMPLIANT VEHI17 CLES.— 

18 (A) INFORMATION SUBMISSION.—Not later 

19 than 60 days after the date of the enactment of 

20 this Act, for the current model year, and annu21 ally thereafter through 2010, each motor vehi22 cle manufacturer shall submit to the Secretary 

23 the make and model of light motor vehicles that 

24 are equipped with automatic transmissions that 


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1 do not comply with the regulations required 

2 under paragraph (1). 

3 (B) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 30 

4 days after receiving the information submitted 

5 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 

6 publish and otherwise make available to the 

7 public the make and model of the light motor 

8 vehicles that do not comply with the regulations 

9 required under paragraph (1). Any vehicle not 

10 included in the publication under this subpara11 graph will be assumed to comply with the regu12 lations issued under paragraph (1). 

13 (e) DATABASE ON INJURIES AND DEATHS IN NON14 TRAFFIC, NONCRASH EVENTS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec17 retary shall establish and maintain a database of in18 juries and deaths in nontraffic, noncrash events in19 volving light motor vehicles. 

20 (2) CONTENTS.—The database established pur21 suant to paragraph (1) shall include information re22 garding— 

23 (A) the number, types, and causes of inju24 ries and deaths resulting from the events de25 scribed in paragraph (1); 


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1 (B) the make, model, and model year of 

2 light motor vehicles involved in such events; and 

3 (C) other variables that the Secretary de4 termines will enhance the value of the database. 

5 (3) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall make 

6 the information contained in the database estab7 lished pursuant to paragraph (1) available to the 

8 public. 

9 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 (1) LIGHT MOTOR VEHICLE.—The term ‘‘light 

11 motor vehicle’’ means a motor vehicle, other than a 

12 motorcycle, with a gross vehicle weight rating of not 

13 more than 10,000 pounds. 

14 (2) REAR BLIND ZONE.—The term ‘‘rear blind 

15 zone’’ means the area behind a light motor vehicle 

16 which the driver cannot see using the vehicle mirrors 

17 and windows provided as original equipment. 

18 SEC. 3. CHILD SAFETY INFORMATION PROGRAM. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 

20 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall pro21 vide information about hazards to children in nontraffic, 

22 noncrash incident situations by— 

23 (1) supplementing an existing consumer infor24 mation program relating to child safety; or 


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1 (2) creating a new consumer information pro2 gram relating to child safety. 

3 (b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the 

4 program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

5 (1) utilize information collected under section 

6 2(e) regarding nontraffic, noncrash injuries, and 

7 other relevant data from private organizations, to es8 tablish priorities for the program; 

9 (2) address ways in which parents and care10 givers can reduce risks to small children arising 

11 from backover incidents, hyperthermia in closed ve12 hicles, accidental actuation of power windows, and 

13 any other risks that the Secretary determines should 

14 be addressed; and 

15 (3) make information related to the program 

16 available to the public through the Internet and 

17 other means. 

18 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

19 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cameron Gulbransen 

20 Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2007’’ or the ‘‘K.T. Safe21 ty Act of 2007’’. 

22 SEC. 2. RULEMAKING REGARDING CHILD SAFETY. 

23 (a) POWER WINDOW SAFETY.— 

24 (1) CONSIDERATION OF RULE.—Not later than 

25 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, 


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1 the Secretary of Transportation (referred to in this 

2 Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall initiate a rulemaking to 

3 consider prescribing or amending Federal motor vehi4 cle safety standards to require power windows and 

5 panels on motor vehicles to automatically reverse di6 rection when such power windows and panels detect 

7 an obstruction to prevent children and others from 

8 being trapped, injured, or killed. 

9 (2) DEADLINE FOR DECISION.—If the Secretary 

10 determines such safety standards are reasonable, 

11 practicable, and appropriate, the Secretary shall pre12 scribe, under section 30111 of title 49, United States 

13 Code, the safety standards described in paragraph (1) 

14 not later than 30 months after the date of enactment 

15 of this Act. If the Secretary determines that no addi16 tional safety standards are reasonable, practicable, 

17 and appropriate, the Secretary shall— 

18 (A) not later than 30 months after the date 

19 of enactment of this Act, transmit a report to the 

20 Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

21 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

22 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

23 Senate describing the reasons such standards 

24 were not prescribed; and 


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1 (B) publish and otherwise make available to 

2 the public through the Internet and other means 

3 (such as the ‘‘Buying a Safer Car’’ brochure) in4 formation regarding which vehicles are or are 

5 not equipped with power windows and panels 

6 that automatically reverse direction when an ob7 struction is detected. 

8 (b) REARWARD VISIBILITY.—Not later than 12 months 

9 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

10 shall initiate a rulemaking to revise Federal Motor Vehicle 

11 Safety Standard 111 (FMVSS 111) to expand the required 

12 field of view to enable the driver of a motor vehicle to detect 

13 areas behind the motor vehicle to reduce death and injury 

14 resulting from backing incidents, particularly incidents in15 volving small children and disabled persons. The Secretary 

16 may prescribe different requirements for different types of 

17 motor vehicles to expand the required field of view to enable 

18 the driver of a motor vehicle to detect areas behind the 

19 motor vehicle to reduce death and injury resulting from 

20 backing incidents, particularly incidents involving small 

21 children and disabled persons. Such standard may be met 

22 by the provision of additional mirrors, sensors, cameras, 

23 or other technology to expand the driver’s field of view. The 

24 Secretary shall prescribe final standards pursuant to this 


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1 subsection not later than 36 months after the date of enact2 ment of this Act. 

3 (c) PHASE-IN PERIOD.— 

4 (1) PHASE-IN PERIOD REQUIRED.—The safety 

5 standards prescribed pursuant to subsections (a) and 

6 (b) shall establish a phase-in period for compliance, 

7 as determined by the Secretary, and require full com8 pliance with the safety standards not later than 48 

9 months after the date on which the final rule is 

10 issued. 

11 (2) PHASE-IN PRIORITIES.—In establishing the 

12 phase-in period of the rearward visibility safety 

13 standards required under subsection (b), the Secretary 

14 shall consider whether to require the phase-in accord15 ing to different types of motor vehicles based on data 

16 demonstrating the frequency by which various types 

17 of motor vehicles have been involved in backing inci18 dents resulting in injury or death. If the Secretary 

19 determines that any type of motor vehicle should be 

20 given priority, the Secretary shall issue regulations 

21 that specify— 

22 (A) which type or types of motor vehicles 

23 shall be phased-in first; and 

24 (B) the percentages by which such motor ve25 hicles shall be phased-in. 


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1 (d) PREVENTING MOTOR VEHICLES FROM ROLLING

2 AWAY.— 

3 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Each motor vehicle with an 

4 automatic transmission that includes a ‘‘park’’ posi5 tion manufactured for sale after September 1, 2010, 

6 shall be equipped with a system that requires the serv7 ice brake to be depressed before the transmission can 

8 be shifted out of ‘‘park’’. This system shall function 

9 in any starting system key position in which the 

10 transmission can be shifted out of ‘‘park’’. 

11 (2) TREATMENT AS MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY

12 STANDARD.—A violation of paragraph (1) shall be 

13 treated as a violation of a motor vehicle safety stand14 ard prescribed under section 30111 of title 49, United 

15 States Code, and shall be subject to enforcement by the 

16 Secretary under chapter 301 of such title. 

17 (3) PUBLICATION OF NONCOMPLIANT VEHI18 CLES.— 

19 (A) INFORMATION SUBMISSION.—Not later 

20 than 60 days after the date of the enactment of 

21 this Act, for the current model year and annu22 ally thereafter through 2010, each motor vehicle 

23 manufacturer shall transmit to the Secretary the 

24 make and model of motor vehicles with auto25 matic transmissions that include a ‘‘park’’ posiVerDate Aug 31 2005 06:11 Mar 14, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S694.RS S694

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1 tion that do not comply with the requirements of 

2 paragraph (1). 

3 (B) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 30 days 

4 after receiving the information submitted under 

5 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall publish 

6 and otherwise make available to the public 

7 through the Internet and other means the make 

8 and model of the applicable motor vehicles that 

9 do not comply with the requirements of para10 graph (1). Any motor vehicle not included in the 

11 publication under this subparagraph shall be 

12 presumed to comply with such requirements. 

13 (e) DEFINITION OF MOTOR VEHICLE.—As used in this 

14 Act and for purposes of the motor vehicle safety standards 

15 described in subsections (a) and (b), the term ‘‘motor vehi16 cle’’ has the meaning given such term in section 30102(a)(6) 

17 of title 49, United States Code, except that such term shall 

18 not include— 

19 (1) a motorcycle or trailer (as such terms are de20 fined in section 571.3 of title 49, Code of Federal Reg21 ulations); or 

22 (2) any motor vehicle that is rated at more than 

23 10,000 pounds gross vehicular weight. 

24 (f) DATABASE ON INJURIES AND DEATHS IN NON25 TRAFFIC, NONCRASH EVENTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

3 shall establish and maintain a database of injuries 

4 and deaths in nontraffic, noncrash events involving 

5 motor vehicles. 

6 (2) CONTENTS.—The database established pursu7 ant to paragraph (1) shall include information re8 garding— 

9 (A) the number, types, and causes of inju10 ries and deaths resulting from the events de11 scribed in paragraph (1); 

12 (B) the make, model, and model year of 

13 motor vehicles involved in such events; and 

14 (C) other variables that the Secretary deter15 mines will enhance the value of the database. 

16 (3) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall make the 

17 information contained in the database established 

18 pursuant to paragraph (1) available to the public 

19 through the Internet and other means. 

20 SEC. 3. CHILD SAFETY INFORMATION PROGRAM. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall provide 

23 information about hazards to children in nontraffic, 

24 noncrash incident situations by— 


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1 (1) supplementing an existing consumer infor2 mation program relating to child safety; or 

3 (2) creating a new consumer information pro4 gram relating to child safety. 

5 (b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the 

6 program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

7 (1) utilize information collected pursuant to sec8 tion 2(f) regarding nontraffic, noncrash injuries, and 

9 other relevant data the Secretary considers appro10 priate, to establish priorities for the program; 

11 (2) address ways in which parents and care12 givers can reduce risks to small children arising from 

13 back over incidents, hyperthermia in closed motor ve14 hicles, accidental actuation of power windows, and 

15 any other risks the Secretary determines should be ad16 dressed; and 

17 (3) make information related to the program 

18 available to the public through the Internet and other 

19 means. 

20 SEC. 4. DEADLINES. 

21 If the Secretary determines that the deadlines applica22 ble under this Act cannot be met, the Secretary shall— 

23 (1) establish new deadlines; and 

24 (2) notify the Committee on Energy and Com25 merce of the House of Representatives and the ComVerDate Aug 31 2005 06:11 Mar 14, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S694.RS S694

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1 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

2 the Senate of the new deadlines and describing the 

3 reasons the deadlines specified under this Act could 

4 not be met. 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to direct the 

Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations to reduce the incidence of child injury and death occurring inside or outside of motor vehicles, and for other purposes.’’. 


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Calendar No. 619 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 694 

[Report No. 110

–275] 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue 

motor vehicles, and for other purposes. and death occurring inside or outside of light regulations to reduce the incidence of child injury 

MARCH 13, 2008 

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the 

title 


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