II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1993

To amend title 23, United States Code, to provide a highway safety improvement program that includes incentives to States to enact primary safety 

belt laws. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 9, 2003

Mr. WARNER (for himself and Mrs. CLINTON) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

A BILL

To amend title 23, United States Code, to provide a highway 

safety improvement program that includes incentives to 

States to enact primary safety belt laws.

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 ‘‘National Highway 

5 Safety Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. 

7 (a) SAFETY IMPROVEMENT.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 148 of title 23, 

9 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
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1 ‘‘§ 148. Highway safety improvement program 

2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

3 ‘‘(1) HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PRO4 GRAM.—The term ‘highway safety improvement pro5 gram’ means the program carried out under this sec6 tion. 

7 ‘‘(2) HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT

8 PROJECT.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘highway 

10 safety improvement project’ means a project de11 scribed in the State strategic highway safety 

12 plan that—

13 ‘‘(i) corrects or improves a hazardous 

14 road location or feature; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) addresses a highway safety prob16 lem. 

17 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘highway 

18 safety improvement project’ includes a project 

19 for—

20 ‘‘(i) an intersection safety improve21 ment; 

22 ‘‘(ii) pavement and shoulder widening 

23 (including addition of a passing lane to 

24 remedy an unsafe condition); 

25 ‘‘(iii) installation of rumble strips or 

26 another warning device, if the rumble 
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1 strips or other warning devices do not ad2 versely affect the safety or mobility of 

3 bicyclists and pedestrians; 

4 ‘‘(iv) installation of a skid-resistant 

5 surface at an intersection or other location 

6 with a high frequency of accidents; 

7 ‘‘(v) an improvement for pedestrian or 

8 bicyclist safety; 

9 ‘‘(vi)(I) construction of any project for 

10 the elimination of hazards at a railway11 highway crossing that is eligible for fund12 ing under section 130, including the sepa13 ration or protection of grades at railway14 highway crossings; 

15 ‘‘(II) construction of a railway-high16 way crossing safety feature; or 

17 ‘‘(III) the conduct of a model traffic 

18 enforcement activity at a railway-highway 

19 crossing; 

20 ‘‘(vii) construction of a traffic calming 

21 feature; 

22 ‘‘(viii) elimination of a roadside obsta23 cle; 

24 ‘‘(ix) improvement of highway signage 

25 and pavement markings; 
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1 ‘‘(x) installation of a priority control 

2 system for emergency vehicles at signalized 

3 intersections; 

4 ‘‘(xi) installation of a traffic control or 

5 other warning device at a location with 

6 high accident potential; 

7 ‘‘(xii) safety-conscious planning; 

8 ‘‘(xiii) improvement in the collection 

9 and analysis of crash data; 

10 ‘‘(xiv) planning, equipment, oper11 ational activities, or traffic enforcement ac12 tivities (including police assistance) relat13 ing to workzone safety; 

14 ‘‘(xv) installation of guardrails, bar15 riers (including barriers between construc16 tion work zones and traffic lanes for the 

17 safety of motorists and workers), and 

18 crash attenuators; 

19 ‘‘(xvi) the addition or retrofitting of 

20 structures or other measures to eliminate 

21 or reduce accidents involving vehicles and 

22 wildlife; or 

23 ‘‘(xvii) installation and maintenance 

24 of signs (including fluorescent, yellow-
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1 green signs) at pedestrian-bicycle crossings 

2 and in school zones. 

3 ‘‘(3) PRIMARY SAFETY BELT LAW.—The term 

4 ‘primary safety belt law’ means a law that author5 izes a law enforcement officer to issue a citation for 

6 the failure of the operator of, or any passenger in, 

7 a motor vehicle to wear a safety belt as required by 

8 State law, based solely on that failure and without 

9 regard to whether there is any other violation of law. 

10 ‘‘(4) SAFETY PROJECT UNDER ANY OTHER SEC11 TION.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘safety 

13 project under any other section’ means a 

14 project carried out for the purpose of safety 

15 under any other section of this title. 

16 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘safety 

17 project under any other section’ includes a 

18 project to—

19 ‘‘(i) promote the awareness of the 

20 public and educate the public concerning 

21 highway safety matters; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) enforce highway safety laws. 

23 ‘‘(5) STATE HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT

24 PROGRAM.—The term ‘State highway safety im25 provement program’ means projects or strategies in-
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1 cluded in the State strategic highway safety plan 

2 carried out as part of the State transportation im3 provement program under section 135(f). 

4 ‘‘(6) STATE STRATEGIC HIGHWAY SAFETY

5 PLAN.—The term ‘State strategic highway safety 

6 plan’ means a plan developed by the State transpor7 tation department that—

8 ‘‘(A) is developed after consultation with— 

9 ‘‘(i) a highway safety representative of 

10 the Governor of the State; 

11 ‘‘(ii) regional transportation planning 

12 organizations, if any; 

13 ‘‘(iii) representatives of major modes 

14 of transportation; 

15 ‘‘(iv) local traffic enforcement offi16 cials; 

17 ‘‘(v) persons responsible for admin18 istering section 130 at the State level; 

19 ‘‘(vi) representatives conducting Oper20 ation Lifesaver; 

21 ‘‘(vii) representatives conducting a 

22 motor carrier safety program under section 

23 31104 or 31107 of title 49;

24 ‘‘(viii) motor vehicle administration 

25 agencies; and 
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1 ‘‘(ix) other major State and local safe2 ty stakeholders; 

3 ‘‘(B) analyzes and makes effective use of 

4 State, regional, or local crash data; 

5 ‘‘(C) addresses engineering, management, 

6 operation, education, enforcement, and emer7 gency services elements of highway safety as 

8 key factors in evaluating highway projects; 

9 ‘‘(D) considers safety needs of, and high10 fatality segments of, public roads; 

11 ‘‘(E) considers the results of State, re12 gional, or local transportation and highway 

13 safety planning processes in existence as of the 

14 date of enactment of this section; 

15 ‘‘(F) describes a program of projects or 

16 strategies to reduce or eliminate safety hazards; 

17 ‘‘(G) is approved by the Governor of the 

18 State or a responsible State agency; and 

19 ‘‘(H) is consistent with the requirements of 

20 section 135(f). 

21 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

23 out a highway safety improvement program. 

24 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the highway 

25 safety improvement program shall be to achieve a 
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1 significant reduction in traffic fatalities and serious 

2 injuries on public roads. 

3 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To receive funds under this 

5 section, a State shall have in effect a State highway 

6 safety improvement program under which the 

7 State—

8 ‘‘(A) develops and implements a State 

9 strategic highway safety plan that identifies and 

10 analyzes highway safety problems and opportu11 nities as provided in paragraph (2); 

12 ‘‘(B) produces a program of projects or 

13 strategies to reduce identified safety problems; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(C) evaluates the plan on a regular basis 

16 to ensure the accuracy of the data and priority 

17 of proposed improvements. 

18 ‘‘(2) IDENTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS OF HIGH19 WAY SAFETY PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES.—As 

20 part of the State strategic highway safety plan, a 

21 State shall—

22 ‘‘(A) have in place a crash data system 

23 with the ability to perform safety problem iden24 tification and countermeasure analysis; 
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1 ‘‘(B) based on the analysis required by 

2 subparagraph (A), identify hazardous locations, 

3 sections, and elements (including roadside ob4 stacles, railway-highway crossing needs, and un5 marked or poorly marked roads) that constitute 

6 a danger to motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, 

7 and other highway users; 

8 ‘‘(C) adopt strategic and performance9 based goals that—

10 ‘‘(i) address traffic safety, including 

11 behavioral and infrastructure problems and 

12 opportunities on all roads and bridges on 

13 the Federal-aid system; 

14 ‘‘(ii) focus resources on areas of 

15 greatest need; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) are coordinated with other State 

17 highway safety programs; 

18 ‘‘(D) advance the capabilities of the State 

19 for traffic records data collection, analysis, and 

20 integration with other sources of safety data 

21 (such as road inventories) in a manner that— 

22 ‘‘(i) complements the State highway 

23 safety program under chapter 4 and the 

24 commercial vehicle safety plan under sec25 tion 31102 of title 49; 
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1 ‘‘(ii) includes all roads and bridges on 

2 the Federal-aid system; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) identifies hazardous locations, 

4 sections, and elements on public roads that 

5 constitute a danger to motorists, bicyclists, 

6 and pedestrians; 

7 ‘‘(E)(i) determine priorities for the correc8 tion of hazardous road locations, sections, and 

9 elements (including railway-highway crossing 

10 improvements), as identified through crash data 

11 analysis; 

12 ‘‘(ii) identify opportunities for preventing 

13 the development of such hazardous conditions; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(iii) establish and implement a schedule 

16 of highway safety improvement projects for haz17 ard correction and hazard prevention; and 

18 ‘‘(F)(i) establish an evaluation process to 

19 analyze and assess results achieved by highway 

20 safety improvement projects carried out in ac21 cordance with procedures and criteria estab22 lished by this section; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) use the information obtained under 

24 clause (i) in setting priorities for highway safety 

25 improvement projects. 
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1 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State may obligate funds 

3 apportioned to the State under this section to carry 

4 out—

5 ‘‘(A) any highway safety improvement 

6 project on any—

7 ‘‘(i) road or bridge on the Federal-aid 

8 system; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) publicly owned bicycle or pedes10 trian pathway or trail; or 

11 ‘‘(B) as provided in subsection (e), for 

12 other safety projects. 

13 ‘‘(2) USE OF OTHER FUNDING FOR SAFETY.—

14 ‘‘(A) EFFECT OF SECTION.—Nothing in 

15 this section prohibits the use of funds made 

16 available under other provisions of this title for 

17 highway safety improvement projects. 

18 ‘‘(B) USE OF OTHER FUNDS.—States are 

19 encouraged to address the full scope of their 

20 safety needs and opportunities by using funds

21 made available under other provisions of this 

22 title (except a provision that specifically pro23 hibits that use). 

24 ‘‘(e) FLEXIBLE FUNDING FOR STATES WITH A STRA25 TEGIC HIGHWAY SAFETY PLAN.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To further the implementa2 tion of a State strategic highway safety plan, a State 

3 may use up to 25 percent of the amount of funds 

4 made available under this section for a fiscal year to 

5 carry out safety projects under any other section as 

6 provided in the State strategic highway safety plan. 

7 ‘‘(2) OTHER TRANSPORTATION AND HIGHWAY

8 SAFETY PLANS.—Nothing in this subsection requires 

9 a State to revise any State process, plan, or program 

10 in effect on the date of enactment of this section. 

11 ‘‘(f) REPORTS.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State shall submit to the 

13 Secretary a report that—

14 ‘‘(A) describes progress being made to im15 plement highway safety improvement projects 

16 under this section; 

17 ‘‘(B) assesses the effectiveness of those im18 provements; and 

19 ‘‘(C) describes the extent to which the im20 provements funded under this section contribute 

21 to the goals of— 

22 ‘‘(i) reducing the number of fatalities 

23 on roadways; 

24 ‘‘(ii) reducing the number of roadway25 related injuries; 
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1 ‘‘(iii) reducing the occurrences of 

2 roadway-related accidents; 

3 ‘‘(iv) mitigating the consequences of 

4 roadway-related accidents; and 

5 ‘‘(v) reducing the occurrences of road6 way-railroad grade crossing accidents. 

7 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS; SCHEDULE.—The Secretary 

8 shall establish the content and schedule for a report 

9 under paragraph (1). 

10 ‘‘(g) FEDERAL SHARE OF HIGHWAY SAFETY IM11 PROVEMENT PROJECTS.—The Federal share of the cost 

12 of a highway safety improvement project carried out with 

13 funds made available under this section shall be 90 per14 cent. 

15 ‘‘(h) USE OF FUNDS.—

16 ‘‘(1) PROJECTS UNDER SECTION 402.—For fis17 cal year 2005 and each fiscal year thereafter, 10 

18 percent of the funds made available to a State under 

19 this section shall be obligated for projects under sec20 tion 402, unless by October 1 of the fiscal year, the 

21 State—

22 ‘‘(A) has in effect a primary safety belt 

23 law; or 

24 ‘‘(B) demonstrates that the safety belt use 

25 rate in the State is at least 90 percent. 
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1 ‘‘(2) WITHHOLDING.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For fiscal year 2007, 

3 the Secretary shall withhold 2 percent, and for 

4 each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary shall 

5 withhold 4 percent, of the funds apportioned to 

6 a State under paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) of 

7 section 104(b) and section 144 if, by October 1 

8 of that fiscal year, the State does not—

9 ‘‘(i) have in effect a primary safety 

10 belt law; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) demonstrate that the safety belt 

12 use rate in the State is at least 90 percent. 

13 ‘‘(B) RESTORATION.—If, within 3 years 

14 after the date on which funds are withheld from 

15 a State under subparagraph (A), the State has 

16 in effect a primary safety belt law or has dem17 onstrated that the safety belt use rate in the 

18 State is at least 90 percent, the apportionment 

19 of the State shall be increased by the amount 

20 withheld. 

21 ‘‘(C) LAPSE.—If, within 3 years after the 

22 date on which funds are withheld from a State 

23 under subparagraph (A), the State does not 

24 have in effect a primary safety belt law or has 

25 not demonstrated that the safety belt use rate 
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1 in the State is at least 90 percent, the amount 

2 withheld shall lapse.’’. 

3 (2) ALLOCATIONS OF APPORTIONED FUNDS.—

4 Section 133(d) of title 23, United States Code, is 

5 amended—

6 (A) by striking paragraph (1); 

7 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

8 through (5) as paragraphs (1) through (4), re9 spectively; 

10 (C) in paragraph (2) (as redesignated by 

11 subparagraph (B))—

12 (i) in the first sentence of subpara13 graph (A)—

14 (I) by striking ‘‘subparagraphs 

15 (C) and (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘subpara16 graph (C)’’; and 

17 (II) by striking ‘‘80 percent’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘90 percent’’; 

19 (ii) by striking subparagraph (C); 

20 (iii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

21 (D) and (E) as subparagraphs (C) and 

22 (D), respectively; and 

23 (iv) in subparagraph (C) (as redesig24 nated by clause (iii)), by adding a period 

25 at the end; and 
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1 (D) in paragraph (4)(A) (as redesignated 

2 by subparagraph (B)), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

3 (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’. 

4 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

5 (A) Chapter 1 of title 23, United States 

6 Code, is amended by striking the item relating 

7 to section 148 and inserting the following:

‘‘148. Highway safety improvement program.’’.

8 (b) APPORTIONMENT OF HIGHWAY SAFETY IM9 PROVEMENT PROGRAM FUNDS.—Section 104(b) of title 

10 23, United States Code, is amended—

11 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

12 inserting after ‘‘Improvement program,’’ the fol13 lowing: ‘‘the highway safety improvement program,’’; 

14 and

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(5) HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PRO17 GRAM.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the highway safe19 ty improvement program, in accordance with 

20 the following formula: 

21 ‘‘(i) 25 percent of the apportionments 

22 in the ratio that—

23 ‘‘(I) the total lane miles of Fed24 eral-aid highways in each State; bears 

25 to 
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1 ‘‘(II) the total lane miles of Fed2 eral-aid highways in all States. 

3 ‘‘(ii) 40 percent of the apportionments 

4 in the ratio that—

5 ‘‘(I) the total vehicle miles trav6 eled on lanes on Federal-aid highways 

7 in each State; bears to 

8 ‘‘(II) the total vehicle miles trav9 eled on lanes on Federal-aid highways 

10 in all States. 

11 ‘‘(iii) 35 percent of the apportion12 ments in the ratio that—

13 ‘‘(I) the estimated tax payments 

14 attributable to highway users in each 

15 State paid into the Highway Trust 

16 Fund (other than the Mass Transit 

17 Account) in the latest fiscal year for 

18 which data are available; bears to 

19 ‘‘(II) the estimated tax payments 

20 attributable to highway users in all 

21 States paid into the Highway Trust 

22 Fund (other than the Mass Transit 

23 Account) in the latest fiscal year for 

24 which data are available. 
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1 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM APPORTIONMENT.—Not2 withstanding subparagraph (A), each State 

shall receive a minimum of 1 3 ⁄2 of 1 percent of 

4 the funds apportioned under this paragraph.’’. 

5 (c) ELIMINATION OF HAZARDS RELATING TO HIGH6 WAY FACILITIES.—

7 (1) FUNDS FOR PROTECTIVE DEVICES.—Sec8 tion 130(e) of title 23, United States Code, is 

9 amended—

10 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘PROTEC11 TIVE DEVICES’’ and inserting ‘‘RAILWAY-HIGH12 WAY CROSSINGS’’; 

13 (B) by striking the first sentence and in14 serting the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year, at 

16 least $200,000,000 of the funds authorized and ex17 pended under section 148 shall be available for the 

18 elimination of hazards and the installation of protec19 tive devices at railway-highway crossings.’’; and 

20 (C) by striking ‘‘Sums authorized’’ and in21 serting the following: 

22 ‘‘(2) OBLIGATION.—Sums authorized’’. 

23 (2) BIENNIAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Sec24 tion 130(g) of title 23, United States Code, is 

25 amended in the third sentence—
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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘and the Committee on 

2 Commerce, Science, and Transportation,’’ after 

3 ‘‘Public Works’’; and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘not later than April 1 of 

5 each year’’ and inserting ‘‘every other year’’. 

6 (3) EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS; APPORTION7 MENT.—Section 130 of title 23, United States Code, 

8 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(k) EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS; APPORTIONMENT.—

10 Funds made available to carry out this section shall be—

11 ‘‘(1) available for expenditure on compilation 

12 and analysis of data in support of activities carried 

13 out under subsection (g); and 

14 ‘‘(2) apportioned in accordance with section 

15 104(b)(5).’’. 

16 (d) TRANSITION.—

17 (1) IMPLEMENTATION.—Except as provided in 

18 paragraph (2), to qualify for funding under section 

19 148 of title 23, United States Code (as amended by 

20 subsection (a)), a State shall develop and implement 

21 a State strategic highway safety plan as required by 

22 subsection (c) of that section not later than October 

23 1 of the second fiscal year after the date of enact24 ment of this Act. 

25 (2) INTERIM PERIOD.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Before October 1 of the 

2 second fiscal year after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act and until the date on which a State 

4 develops and implements a State strategic high5 way safety plan, the Secretary shall apportion 

6 funds to a State for the highway safety im7 provement program and the State may obligate 

8 funds apportioned to the State for the highway 

9 safety improvement program under section 148 

10 for projects that were eligible for funding under 

11 sections 130 and 152 of that title, as in effect 

12 on the day before the date of enactment of this 

13 Act. 

14 (B) NO STRATEGIC HIGHWAY SAFETY

15 PLAN.—If a State has not developed a strategic 

16 highway safety plan by October 1 of the second 

17 fiscal year after the date of enactment of this 

18 Act, but demonstrates to the satisfaction of the 

19 Secretary that progress is being made toward 

20 developing and implementing such a plan, the 

21 Secretary shall continue to apportion funds for 

22 1 additional fiscal year for the highway safety 

23 improvement program under section 148 of title 

24 23, United States Code, to the State, and the 

25 State may continue to obligate funds appor-
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1 tioned to the State under this section for 

2 projects that were eligible for funding under 

3 sections 130 and 152 of that title, as in effect 

4 on the day before the date of enactment of this 

5 Act. 

6 (C) PENALTY.—If a State has not adopted 

7 a strategic highway safety plan by the date that 

8 is 2 years after the date of enactment of this 

9 Act, funds made available to the State under 

10 section 1101(6) shall be redistributed to other 

11 States in accordance with section 104(b) of title 

12 23, United States Code.

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