I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5381 

To require motor vehicle safety standards relating to vehicle electronics and 

to reauthorize and provide greater transparency, accountability, and safety authority to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 25, 2010 

Mr. WAXMAN (for himself, Mr. RUSH, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. STUPAK, and Mr. 

BRALEY of Iowa) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To require motor vehicle safety standards relating to vehicle 

electronics and to reauthorize and provide greater transparency, accountability, and safety authority to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—VEHICLE ELECTRONICS AND SAFETY STANDARDS 

Sec. 101. Electronics and engineering expertise. 

Sec. 102. Brake override standard. 

Sec. 103. Accelerator control systems. 

Sec. 104. Pedal placement standard. 

Sec. 105. Electronic systems performance standard. 

Sec. 106. Push-button ignition systems standard. 

Sec. 107. Transmission configuration standard. 

Sec. 108. Vehicle event data recorders. 

TITLE II—TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY 

Sec. 201. Public availability of early warning data. 

Sec. 202. Improved NHTSA vehicle safety database. 

Sec. 203. Promotion of vehicle defect reporting. 

Sec. 204. NHTSA hotline for manufacturer, dealer, and mechanic personnel. 

Sec. 205. Corporate responsibility for NHTSA reports. 

Sec. 206. Appeal of defect petition rejection. 

Sec. 207. Deadlines for rulemaking. 

Sec. 208. Reports to Congress. 

TITLE III—FUNDING 

Sec. 301. Vehicle safety user fee. 

Sec. 302. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE IV—ENHANCED SAFETY AUTHORITIES 

Sec. 401. Civil penalties. 

Sec. 402. Imminent hazard authority. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 As used in this Act, the following definitions apply: 

3 (1) The term ‘‘passenger motor vehicle’’ means 

4 a motor vehicle (as defined in section 30102(a)(6) of 

5 title 49, United States Code) that is rated at less 

6 than 10,000 pounds gross vehicular weight. Such 

7 term does not include— 

8 (A) a motorcycle; 

9 (B) a trailer; or 


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1 (C) a low speed vehicle (as defined in sec2 tion 571.3 in title 49, Code of Federal Regula3 tions). 

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

5 of Transportation, acting through the Administrator 

6 of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administra7 tion. 

8 TITLE I—VEHICLE ELEC9 TRONICS AND SAFETY STAND10 ARDS 

11 SEC. 101. ELECTRONICS AND ENGINEERING EXPERTISE. 

12 (a) CENTER FOR VEHICLE ELECTRONICS AND

13 EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES.—The Secretary shall estab14 lish, within the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis15 tration, a Center for Vehicle Electronics and Emerging 

16 Technologies to build, integrate, and aggregate the agen17 cy’s expertise in vehicle electronics and other new and 

18 emerging technologies. The center shall coordinate with all 

19 components of the agency responsible for vehicle safety, 

20 including research and development, rulemaking, and de21 fects investigation. 

22 (b) HONORS RECRUITMENT PROGRAM.— 

23 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es24 tablish, within the National Highway Traffic Safety 

25 Administration, an honors program for engineering 


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1 students and other students interested in vehicle 

2 safety that will enable them to train with engineers 

3 and other safety officials for a career in vehicle safe4 ty. The Secretary is authorized to provide a stipend 

5 to students during their participation in the pro6 gram. 

7 (2) TARGETED STUDENT.—The Secretary shall 

8 develop a plan to target and make an aggressive out9 reach to recruit the top 10 percent of science, tech10 nology, engineering and mathematics students at11 tending— 

12 (A) 1890 Land Grant Institutions (as de13 fined in section 2 of the Agricultural Research, 

14 Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 

15 (7 U.S.C. 7061)); 

16 (B) Predominantly Black Institutions (as 

17 defined in section 318 of the Higher Education 

18 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059e)); 

19 (C) Tribal Colleges or Universities (as de20 fined in section 316(b) of the Higher Education 

21 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)); and 

22 (D) Hispanic Serving Institutions (as de23 fined in section 318 of the Higher Education 

24 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 059e)). 


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1 SEC. 102. BRAKE OVERRIDE STANDARD. 

2 (a) UNINTENDED ACCELERATION.—The Secretary 

3 shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding pursuant to section 

4 30111 of title 49, United States Code, to prescribe or 

5 amend a Federal motor vehicle safety standard that would 

6 mitigate unintended acceleration in passenger motor vehi7 cles. The standard— 

8 (1) shall establish performance requirements 

9 that enable a driver to bring a passenger motor vehi10 cle safely to a full stop by normal braking applica11 tion even if the vehicle is simultaneously receiving 

12 accelerator input signals; 

13 (2) may permit compliance with such require14 ments through a smart pedal system that requires 

15 brake pedal application, after a period of time deter16 mined by the Secretary, to override an accelerator 

17 input signal in order to stop the vehicle; and 

18 (3) may permit vehicles to incorporate a means 

19 by which the driver would be able to temporarily dis20 engage the technology or mechanism required under 

21 paragraph (1) to facilitate operations, such as ma22 neuvering trailers, or other operating conditions, 

23 that may require the simultaneous operation of the 

24 service brake and accelerator pedal. 


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

2 rule under subsection (a) within 1 year after the date of 

3 enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 103. ACCELERATOR CONTROL SYSTEMS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall initiate a 

6 rulemaking proceeding to amend Federal motor vehicle 

7 safety standard 124 to require that at least 1 redundant 

8 circuit or other mechanism be built into accelerator control 

9 systems, including systems controlled by electronic throt10 tle, to maintain vehicle control in the event of failure or 

11 malfunction in the accelerator control system. 

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

13 rule under subsection (a) within 2 years after the date 

14 of enactment of this Act. 

15 (c) COMBINED.—If the Secretary considers it appro16 priate, the Secretary may combine the rulemaking pro17 ceeding required by subsection (a) with the rulemaking 

18 proceeding required by section 102. 

19 SEC. 104. PEDAL PLACEMENT STANDARD. 

20 (a) CONSIDERATION OF RULE.—Not later than 18 

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

22 Secretary shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding pursuant 

23 to section 30111 of title 49, United States Code, to con24 sider prescribing or amending Federal motor vehicle safety 

25 standards to prevent the potential obstruction of pedal 


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1 movement in passenger motor vehicles by establishing 

2 minimum clearances for passenger motor vehicle foot ped3 als with respect to other pedals and the vehicle floor (in4 cluding aftermarket floor coverings), taking into account 

5 various pedal mounting configurations. 

6 (b) DEADLINE FOR DECISION.—If the Secretary de7 termines such safety standards are reasonable, prac8 ticable, and appropriate, the Secretary shall prescribe the 

9 safety standards described in subsection (a) not later than 

10 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act. If the 

11 Secretary determines that no additional safety standards 

12 are reasonable, practicable, and appropriate the Secretary 

13 shall transmit a report to the Committee on Energy and 

14 Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Com15 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

16 Senate describing the reasons such standards were not 

17 prescribed. 

18 SEC. 105. ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS PERFORMANCE STAND19 ARD. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

21 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall initiate a rule22 making proceeding pursuant to section 30111 of title 49, 

23 United States Code, to consider requiring electronic sys24 tems in passenger motor vehicles to meet minimum stand25 ards for performance. The Secretary shall consider the 


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1 findings and recommendations of the National Academy 

2 of Sciences pursuant to its study of electronic vehicle con3 trols and unintended acceleration. The standard may in4 clude requirements for electronic components, the inter5 action of those electronic components, or the effect of sur6 rounding environments on those electronic systems. 

7 (b) DEADLINE FOR DECISION.—If the Secretary de8 termines such safety standards are reasonable, prac9 ticable, and appropriate, the Secretary shall prescribe the 

10 safety standards described in subsection (a) not later than 

11 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act. If the 

12 Secretary determines that no additional safety standards 

13 are reasonable, practicable, and appropriate the Secretary 

14 shall transmit a report to the Committee on Energy and 

15 Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Com16 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

17 Senate describing the reasons such standards were not 

18 prescribed. 

19 SEC. 106. PUSH-BUTTON IGNITION SYSTEMS STANDARD. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall initiate a 

21 rulemaking proceeding pursuant to section 30111 of title 

22 49, United States Code, to prescribe or amend a Federal 

23 motor vehicle safety standard for passenger motor vehicles 

24 equipped with push-button ignition systems, to establish 

25 the standard operation and function of such systems when 


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1 used by drivers, including drivers unfamiliar with the vehi2 cle, in an emergency situation when the vehicle is in mo3 tion. 

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

5 rule under subsection (a) within 2 years after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 107. TRANSMISSION CONFIGURATION STANDARD. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall initiate a 

9 rulemaking proceeding pursuant to section 30111 of title 

10 49, United States Code, to revise Federal motor vehicle 

11 safety standard 102, to improve the recognition of the 

12 gear selector positions for drivers, including drivers unfa13 miliar with the vehicle, and to improve the conspicuity of 

14 the neutral position. 

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

16 rule under subsection (a) within 1 year after the date of 

17 enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 108. VEHICLE EVENT DATA RECORDERS. 

19 (a) REQUIRED EVENT DATA RECORDERS.—Not later 

20 than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this sec21 tion, the Secretary shall modify the regulation contained 

22 in part 563 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, to 

23 require that passenger motor vehicles sold in the United 

24 States be equipped with an event data recorder that meets 

25 the requirements for event data recorders set forth in such 


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1 part. The Secretary shall require manufacturers to include 

2 such event data recorders in their entire fleet beginning 

3 in model year 2015. 

4 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR EVENT DATA RECORD5 ERS.—The Secretary shall initiate a rulemaking pro6 ceeding pursuant to section 30111 of title 49, United 

7 States Code, to require that the event data recorders re8 quired to be installed in passenger motor vehicles pursuant 

9 to subsection (a) continuously record vehicle operational 

10 data that can be stored and accessed for retrieval and 

11 analysis in accordance with subsections (c) and (d). 

12 (c) SPECIFICATIONS.—The rule— 

13 (1) shall require such recorders to store data 

14 covering a reasonable time before, during, and after 

15 a crash or airbag deployment, including information 

16 on engine performance, steering, braking, accelera17 tion, vehicle speed, seat belt use, and airbag deploy18 ment level, deactivation status, deployment time, and 

19 deployment stage, and may require such recorders to 

20 store other data, such as data related to vehicle roll21 overs, as the Secretary considers appropriate; 

22 (2) shall require such recorders to store data 

23 covering at least a sufficient period of time to cap24 ture all relevant data from a crash, including vehicle 


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1 rollovers, and shall establish appropriate recording 

2 times for capturing data prior to a crash event; 

3 (3) may require such recorders to capture cer4 tain events such as rapid deceleration and full brak5 ing lasting more than 10 seconds, even if there is 

6 not a crash or airbag deployment; 

7 (4) may not require information recorded or 

8 transmitted by such data recorders to include the ve9 hicle location, except for the purposes of emergency 

10 response; 

11 (5) shall require that data stored on such re12 corders be accessible, regardless of vehicle manufac13 turer or model, with commercially available equip14 ment; 

15 (6) shall specify any data format requirements 

16 or other requirements, including a standardized data 

17 access port, the Secretary determines appropriate to 

18 facilitate accessibility and analysis; and 

19 (7) shall require that such recorders meet at 

20 least the performance requirements for crash resist21 ance included in part 563 of title 49, Code of Fed22 eral Regulations (as amended January 14, 2008), 

23 and, if the Secretary determines that these require24 ments do not provide adequate temperature, crash, 


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1 or water resistance, shall establish such additional 

2 standards. 

3 (d) LIMITATIONS ON INFORMATION RETRIEVAL.— 

4 (1) OWNERSHIP OF DATA.—The rule issued 

5 under subsection (b) shall provide that any data in 

6 a data recorder required under the rule is the prop7 erty of the owner or lessee of the motor vehicle in 

8 which the data recorder is installed. 

9 (2) PRIVACY.—The rule issued under sub10 section (b) shall provide that information recorded 

11 or transmitted by such a data recorder may not be 

12 retrieved by a person other than the owner or lessee 

13 of the motor vehicle in which the recorder is in14 stalled unless— 

15 (A) a court authorizes retrieval of the in16 formation in furtherance of a legal proceeding; 

17 (B) the owner or lessee consents to the re18 trieval of the information for any purpose, in19 cluding the purpose of diagnosing, servicing, or 

20 repairing the motor vehicle; or 

21 (C) the information is retrieved by a Gov22 ernment motor vehicle safety agency for the 

23 purpose of improving motor vehicle safety if the 

24 personally identifiable information of the owner, 

25 lessee, or driver of the vehicle and the vehicle 


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1 identification number is not disclosed in connec2 tion with the retrieved information. 

3 (3) TAMPER RESISTANCE.—The rule issued 

4 under subsection (b) shall establish performance re5 quirements for preventing unauthorized access to the 

6 data stored on such event data recorder in order to 

7 protect the security, integrity, and authenticity of 

8 the data. 

9 (e) DISCLOSURE OF EXISTENCE AND PURPOSE OF

10 EVENT DATA RECORDER.—The rule issued under sub11 section (a) shall provide that any owner’s manual or simi12 lar documentation provided to the first purchaser of a pas13 senger motor vehicle for purposes other than resale shall 

14 disclose that the vehicle is equipped with such a data re15 corder and explain the purpose of the recorder. 

16 (f) ACCESS TO EVENT DATA RECORDERS IN DEFECT

17 INVESTIGATIONS.—Section 30166(c)(3)(C) of title 49, 

18 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘, including 

19 any electronic data contained within the vehicle’s diag20 nostic system or event data recorder’’ after ‘‘equipment’’. 

21 (g) DEADLINE FOR RULEMAKING.—The Secretary 

22 shall issue a final rule under subsection (a) not later than 

23 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 TITLE II—TRANSPARENCY AND 

2 ACCOUNTABILITY 

3 SEC. 201. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF EARLY WARNING DATA. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 30166(m) of title 49, 

5 United States Code, is amended by in paragraph (4), by 

6 striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(C) DISCLOSURE.—The information pro8 vided to the Secretary pursuant to this sub9 section shall be disclosed publicly unless exempt 

10 from disclosure under section 552(b) of title 

11 5.’’. 

12 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 2 years after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 

14 regulations regarding public access to information sub15 mitted pursuant to section 30166(m). The Secretary may 

16 establish categories of information provided pursuant to 

17 such section that must be made available to the public and 

18 categories that are exempt from public disclosure under 

19 section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code. 

20 (c) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the rulemaking 

21 required under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult 

22 with the Director of the Office of Government Information 

23 Services within the National Archives and the Director of 

24 the Office of Information Policy of the Department of Jus25 tice. 


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1 (d) PRESUMPTION AND LIMITATION.—The Secretary 

2 shall issue the regulations with a presumption in favor of 

3 maximum public availability of information. The following 

4 types of information shall not be eligible for protection 

5 under section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States Code, and 

6 shall not be withheld from public disclosure: 

7 (1) Production information regarding passenger 

8 motor vehicles, information on incidents involving 

9 death or injury, and numbers of property damage 

10 claims. 

11 (2) Aggregated numbers of consumer com12 plaints. 

13 (e) NULLIFICATION OF PRIOR REGULATIONS.—Be14 ginning 2 years after the date of the enactment of this 

15 Act, the regulations establishing early warning reporting 

16 class determinations in appendix C of section 512 of title 

17 49, Code of Federal Regulations, shall have no force or 

18 effect. 

19 SEC. 202. IMPROVED NHTSA VEHICLE SAFETY DATABASE. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall im22 prove public accessibility to information on the National 

23 Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s publicly acces24 sible vehicle safety databases by— 


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1 (1) improving organization and functionality, 

2 including design features such as drop-down menus, 

3 and allowing for data to be searched, aggregated, 

4 and downloaded; 

5 (2) providing greater consistency in presen6 tation of vehicle safety issues; and 

7 (3) improving searchability about specific vehi8 cles and issues through standardization of commonly 

9 used search terms. 

10 (b) VEHICLE RECALL INFORMATION.—The Secretary 

11 shall require that motor vehicle recall information be made 

12 available to consumers on the Internet, searchable by vehi13 cle identification number in a format that preserves con14 sumer privacy. The Secretary may initiate a rulemaking 

15 proceeding to require that such information be available 

16 on manufacturer websites or through other reasonable 

17 means. 

18 (c) ACCESSIBILITY OF MANUFACTURER COMMUNICA19 TIONS.—Section 30166(f) of title 49, United States Code, 

20 is amended by inserting ‘‘, and make available on a pub21 licly accessible Internet Web site,’’ after ‘‘Secretary of 

22 Transportation’’. 

23 SEC. 203. PROMOTION OF VEHICLE DEFECT REPORTING. 

24 Section 32302 of title 49, United States Code, is 

25 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(d) MOTOR VEHICLE DEFECT REPORTING INFOR2 MATION.— 

3 ‘‘(1) RULEMAKING REQUIRED.—Within 1 year 

4 after the date of enactment of the Motor Vehicle 

5 Safety Act of 2010 the Secretary shall prescribe reg6 ulations that require passenger motor vehicle manu7 facturers to affix, in the glove compartment or in 

8 another readily accessible location on the vehicle, a 

9 sticker, decal, or other device that provides, in sim10 ple and understandable language, information about 

11 how to submit a safety-related motor vehicle defect 

12 complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety 

13 Administration. The information may not be placed 

14 on the label required by section 3 of the Automobile 

15 Information Disclosure Act (15 U.S.C. 1232). 

16 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—The requirements estab17 lished under paragraph (1) shall apply to passenger 

18 motor vehicles manufactured in model years begin19 ning more than 1 year after the date on which a 

20 final rule is published under that paragraph.’’. 

21 SEC. 204. NHTSA HOTLINE FOR MANUFACTURER, DEALER, 

22 AND MECHANIC PERSONNEL. 

23 The Secretary shall— 

24 (1) establish a means by which mechanics, 

25 automobile dealership personnel, and automobile 


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1 manufacturer personnel may contact the National 

2 Highway Traffic Safety Administration directly and 

3 confidentially regarding potential passenger auto4 mobile safety defects; and 

5 (2) publicize the means for contacting the Na6 tional Highway Traffic Safety Administration in a 

7 manner that targets mechanics, automobile dealer8 ship personnel, and manufacturer personnel. 

9 SEC. 205. CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY FOR NHTSA RE10 PORTS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 30166 of title 49, United 

12 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(o) CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY FOR REPORTS.— 

15 The Secretary shall require, for each company submitting 

16 information to the Secretary in response to a request for 

17 information in a safety or compliance investigation under 

18 this chapter, that a senior official responsible for safety 

19 residing in the United States certify that— 

20 ‘‘(1) the signing official has reviewed the sub21 mission; and 

22 ‘‘(2) based on the official’s knowledge, the sub23 mission does not contain any untrue statement of a 

24 material fact or omit to state a material fact nec25 essary in order to make the statements made, in 


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1 light of the circumstances under which such state2 ments were made, not misleading.’’. 

3 (b) CIVIL PENALTY.—Section 30165(a) of title 49, 

4 United States Code, is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘A person’’ in paragraph (3) 

6 and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (4), 

7 a person’’; and 

8 (2) by adding at the end thereof the following: 

9 ‘‘(4) FALSE, MISLEADING, OR INCOMPLETE RE10 PORTS.—A person who knowingly and willfully sub11 mits materially false, misleading, or incomplete in12 formation to the Secretary, after certifying the same 

13 information as accurate and complete under the cer14 tification process established pursuant to section 

15 30166(o), shall be subject to a civil penalty of not 

16 more than $5,000 per day. The maximum penalty 

17 under this paragraph for a related series of daily 

18 violations is $5,000,000.’’. 

19 SEC. 206. APPEAL OF DEFECT PETITION REJECTION. 

20 Section 30162 of title 49, United States Code, is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(f) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—A decision of the Secretary 

23 to deny a petition filed under subsection (a)(2) of this sec24 tion is agency action subject to judicial review under chap25 ter 7 of title 5, and such action shall not be considered 


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1 committed to agency discretion within the meaning of sec2 tion 701(a)(2) of such title. A person aggrieved by the 

3 denial of a petition may obtain judicial review by filing 

4 an action in the court of appeals of the United States for 

5 the circuit in which the person resides or has its principal 

6 place of business or the United States Court of Appeals 

7 for the District of Columbia Circuit not more than 180 

8 days after notice of the denial of the petition is published 

9 in the Federal Register.’’. 

10 SEC. 207. DEADLINES FOR RULEMAKING. 

11 If the Secretary determines that a deadline for a final 

12 rule under this Act, or an amendment made by this Act, 

13 cannot be met, the Secretary shall— 

14 (1) notify the Committee on Energy and Com15 merce of the House of Representatives and the Sen16 ate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans17 portation and explain why that deadline cannot be 

18 met; and 

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

20 SEC. 208. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

21 (a) STUDY ON EARLY WARNING DATA.—Not later 

22 than 3, 5, 7, and 9 years after the date of enactment of 

23 this Act, the Office of the Inspector General of the Depart24 ment of Transportation shall complete a study of the utili25 zation of Early Warning data by the National Highway 


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1 Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Each study shall 

2 evaluate the following: 

3 (1) The number and type of requests for infor4 mation made by the NHTSA based on data received 

5 in the Early Warning Reporting system. 

6 (2) The number of safety defect investigations 

7 opened by NHTSA using any information reported 

8 to the agency through the Early Warning Reporting 

9 system. 

10 (3) The nature and vehicle defect category of 

11 all such safety defect investigations. 

12 (4) The number of investigations described in 

13 paragraph (2) that are subsequently closed without 

14 further action. 

15 (5) The duration of each investigation described 

16 in paragraph (2). 

17 (6) The percentage of each investigation that 

18 result in a finding of a safety defect or recall by the 

19 agency. 

20 (7) Other information the Office of the Inspec21 tor General deems appropriate. 

22 (b) REPORT ON OPERATIONS OF THE CENTER FOR

23 VEHICLE ELECTRONICS AND EMERGING TECH24 NOLOGIES.—Not later than 3 years after the date of en25 actment of this Act, the Secretary shall report to Congress 


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1 regarding the operations of the Center for Vehicle Elec2 tronics and Emerging Technologies. Such report shall in3 clude information about the accomplishments of the Cen4 ter, the role the Center plays in integrating and aggre5 gating expertise across NHTSA, and priorities of the Cen6 ter over the next 5 years. 

7 (c) STUDY OF CRASH DATA COLLECTION.—Not later 

8 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

9 Secretary shall issue a report regarding the quality of data 

10 collected through the National Automotive Sampling Sys11 tem, including the Special Crash Investigations, and rec12 ommendations for improvements to this data collection 

13 program. The report shall include information regard14 ing— 

15 (1) the analysis and conclusions NHTSA can 

16 reach based on the amount of data collected in a 

17 given year, and the additional analysis and conclu18 sions NHTSA could reach if more crash investiga19 tions were conducted each year; 

20 (2) the number of investigations per year that 

21 would allow for optimal data analysis and crash in22 formation; 

23 (3) the results of a comprehensive review of the 

24 data elements collected from each crash to determine 

25 if additional data should be collected; which review 


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1 shall include input from interested parties, such as 

2 suppliers, automakers, safety advocates, the medical 

3 community and research organizations; and 

4 (4) the resources that would be necessary for 

5 NHTSA to implement these recommendations. 

6 (d) SUBMISSION OF REPORTS.—Each report shall be 

7 submitted to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

8 the House of Representatives and to the Committee on 

9 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

10 upon completion. 

11 TITLE III—FUNDING 

12 SEC. 301. VEHICLE SAFETY USER FEE. 

13 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter I of chapter 301 of 

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

15 end the following: 

16 ‘‘§ 30107. Vehicle Safety User Fee 

17 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There is estab18 lished in the Treasury of the United States a separate ac19 count for the deposit of fees under this section to be 

20 known as the Vehicle Safety Fund. 

21 ‘‘(b) ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION OF VEHICLE

22 SAFETY FEES.—Beginning 1 year after the date of enact23 ment of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010, the Sec24 retary shall assess and collect, in accordance with this sec25 tion, a vehicle safety user fee from the manufacturer for 


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1 each motor vehicle that is certified as compliant with ap2 plicable motor vehicle safety standards pursuant to section 

3 30115. 

4 ‘‘(c) DEPOSIT.—The Secretary shall deposit any fees 

5 collected pursuant to subsection (b) into the Vehicle Safe6 ty Fund established by subsection (a). 

7 ‘‘(d) USE.—Amounts in the Vehicle Safety Fund 

8 shall be available to the Secretary, as provided in sub9 section (i), for making expenditures to meet the obliga10 tions of the United States to carry out vehicle safety pro11 grams of the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis12 tration. 

13 ‘‘(e) VEHICLE SAFETY USER FEE.— 

14 ‘‘(1) FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD YEAR FEES.— 

15 The fee assessed under this section for the first 

16 three years shall be as follows: 

17 ‘‘(A) $3 for each vehicle certified during 

18 the first year in which such fees are assessed. 

19 ‘‘(B) $6 for each vehicle certified during 

20 the second year in which such fees are assessed. 

21 ‘‘(C) $9 for each vehicle certified during 

22 the third year in which such fees are assessed. 

23 ‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT YEARS.—The fee assessed 

24 under this section for each vehicle certified after the 

25 third year in which such fees are assessed shall be 


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1 adjusted by the Secretary by notice published in the 

2 Federal Register to reflect the total percentage 

3 change that occurred in the Consumer Price Index 

4 for all Urban Consumers for the 12-month period 

5 ending June 30 preceding the fiscal year for which 

6 fees are being established. 

7 ‘‘(3) PAYMENT.—The Secretary shall require 

8 payment of fees under this section on a quarterly 

9 basis and not later than one quarter after the date 

10 on which the fee was assessed. 

11 ‘‘(f) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 9 months after 

12 the date of enactment of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 

13 2010, the Secretary shall promulgate rules governing the 

14 collection and payment of fees pursuant to this section. 

15 ‘‘(g) LIMITATIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Fees under this section 

17 shall not be collected for a fiscal year unless appro18 priations for vehicle safety programs of the National 

19 Highway Traffic Safety Administration for such fis20 cal year (excluding the amount of fees appropriated 

21 for such fiscal year) are equal to or greater than the 

22 amount of appropriations for vehicle safety pro23 grams of the National Highway Traffic Safety Ad24 ministration for fiscal year 2010. 


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1 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY.—If the Secretary does not 

2 assess fees under this section during any portion of 

3 a fiscal year because of paragraph (1), the Secretary 

4 may assess and collect such fees, without any modi5 fication in the rate, at a later date in such fiscal 

6 year notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 

7 (e)(3) relating to the date fees are to be paid. 

8 ‘‘(h) COLLECTION OF UNPAID FEES.—In any case 

9 where the Secretary does not receive payment of a fee as10 sessed under this section within 30 days after it is due, 

11 such fee shall be treated as a claim of the United States 

12 Government subject to subchapter II of chapter 37 of title 

13 31. 

14 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi15 tion to funds appropriated under section 30104, there is 

16 authorized to be appropriated from the Vehicle Safety 

17 Fund to the Secretary for the National Highway Traffic 

18 Safety Administration for each fiscal year in which fees 

19 are collected under subsection (b) an amount equal to the 

20 total amount collected during the previous fiscal year from 

21 fees assessed pursuant to this section. Such amounts are 

22 authorized to remain available until expended. 

23 ‘‘(j) CREDITING AND AVAILABILITY OF FEES.—Fees 

24 authorized under subsection (b) shall be collected and 


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1 available for obligation only to the extent and in the 

2 amount provided in advance in appropriations Acts.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for such 

4 chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating 

5 to section 30106 the following: 

‘‘30107. Vehicle safety user fee.’’. 

6 SEC. 302. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 Section 30104 of title 49, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘$98,313,500’’; and 

10 (2) by striking ‘‘in each fiscal year beginning’’ 

11 and all that follows and inserting ‘‘and to carry out 

12 the Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010— 

13 ‘‘(1) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

14 ‘‘(2) $240,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; and 

15 ‘‘(3) $280,000,000 for fiscal year 2013.’’. 

16 TITLE IV—ENHANCED SAFETY 

17 AUTHORITIES 

18 SEC. 401. CIVIL PENALTIES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 30165 of title 49, United 

20 States Code, is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 

22 (A) in the first sentence by striking 

23 ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$25,000’’; and 

24 (B) in the third sentence, by striking 

25 ‘‘$15,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$200,000,000’’; 


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1 (2) in subsection (a)(3)— 

2 (A) in the second sentence by striking 

3 ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$25,000’’; and 

4 (B) in the third sentence, by striking 

5 ‘‘$15,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$200,000,000’’; 

6 and 

7 (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(c) RELEVANT FACTORS IN DETERMINING AMOUNT

10 OF PENALTY OR COMPROMISE.—In determining the 

11 amount of a civil penalty or compromise, the nature, cir12 cumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation shall be 

13 considered. This shall include, where appropriate, the na14 ture of the defect or noncompliance, the severity of the 

15 risk of injury, the occurrence or absence of injury, the 

16 number of motor vehicles or items of motor vehicle equip17 ment distributed with the defect or noncompliance, the ex18 istence of an imminent hazard, the appropriateness of 

19 such penalty in relation to the size of the business of the 

20 person charged, recognizing the potential for undue ad21 verse economic impacts on small businesses, and such 

22 other factors as appropriate.’’. 

23 (b) CIVIL PENALTY CRITERIA.—Not later than 1 

24 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and in ac25 cordance with the procedures of section 553 of title 5, 


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1 United States Code, the Secretary shall issue a final regu2 lation providing its interpretation of the penalty factors 

3 described in section 30165(c) of title 49, United States 

4 Code, as added by subsection (a). 

5 (c) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be 

6 construed as preventing the imposition of penalties under 

7 section 30165 of title 49, United States Code, prior to 

8 the issuance of a final rule pursuant to subsection (b). 

9 SEC. 402. IMMINENT HAZARD AUTHORITY. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 30118(b) of title 49, 

11 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(3) IMMINENT HAZARD ORDERS.—If the Sec14 retary of Transportation in making a decision under 

15 subsection (a) also initially decides that such defect 

16 or noncompliance presents a substantial likelihood of 

17 death or serious injury to the public, the Secretary 

18 shall notify such manufacturer. The opportunity for 

19 the manufacturer to present information, views, and 

20 arguments in accordance with paragraph (1) shall be 

21 provided as soon as practicable but not later than 10 

22 calendar days after the initial decision. The Sec23 retary shall expedite proceedings for a decision and 

24 order under paragraph (1) and shall, as appropriate, 

25 issue an imminent hazard order.’’. 


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1 (b) PROCEDURES.—Not later than 2 years after the 

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

3 procedures for the issuance and enforcement of imminent 

4 hazard orders under section 30118(b)(3) of title 49, 

5 United States Code (as added by subsection (a)), con6 sistent with the provisions of chapter 301 of such title and 

7 the Administrative Procedures Act. 

Æ 


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