II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 685 

To prescribe safety standards for autocycles and related equipment, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 10, 2015 

Mr. VITTER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To prescribe safety standards for autocycles and related 

equipment, 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 Autocycle Safety Act. 

5 SEC. 2. MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS. 

6 (a) DEFINED TERM.—Section 30102(a) of title 49, 

7 United States Code, is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 

9 (11) as paragraphs (2) through (12), respectively; 

10 and 


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1 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as redes2 ignated, the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) ‘autocycle’ means a motor vehicle with 3 

4 wheels, an enclosed occupant compartment, and a 

5 steering wheel, which meets applicable Federal 

6 motor vehicle safety standards, as determined nec7 essary by the Secretary of Transportation through 

8 regulation.’’. 

9 (b) APPLICABILITY OF MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY

10 STANDARDS TO AUTOCYCLES.—Chapter 301 of title 49, 

11 United States Code, is amended— 

12 (1) in the table of sections, by striking the 

13 items relating to sections 30113 and 30114 and in14 serting the following: 

‘‘30113. Exemptions. 

‘‘30114. Autocycles.’’; 

15 (2) in section 30113, by amending the section 

16 heading to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘§ 30113. Exemptions’’; 

18 (3) by redesignating section 30114 as sub19 section (i) of section 30113; and 

20 (4) by inserting after section 30113, as amend21 ed by paragraph (3), the following: 

22 ‘‘§ 30114. Autocycles 

23 ‘‘(a) INTERIM SAFETY STANDARDS FOR

24 AUTOCYCLES.—During the period beginning on the date 


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1 of the enactment of the Autocycle Safety Act and ending 

2 on the effective date of the rules issued pursuant to sub3 section (c), a person satisfies the requirements set forth 

4 in section 30112(a) with regard to an autocycle if the 

5 autocycle— 

6 ‘‘(1) complies with the motor vehicle safety 

7 standards for passenger vehicles with gross vehicle 

8 weight ratings of less than 10,000 pounds, as set 

9 forth in Part 571 of title 49, Code of Federal Regu10 lations, relating to— 

11 ‘‘(A) seating systems (FMVSS 207); 

12 ‘‘(B) belted occupant crash protection 

13 (FMVSS 208); 

14 ‘‘(C) seat belt assemblies (FMVSS 209); 

15 ‘‘(D) seat belt assembly anchorages 

16 (FMVSS 210); 

17 ‘‘(E) child restraint systems (FMVSS 

18 213); 

19 ‘‘(F) roof crush resistance (FMVSS 216); 

20 ‘‘(G) child restraint anchorage systems 

21 (FMVSS 225); and 

22 ‘‘(H) flammability of interior materials 

23 (FMVSS 302); 


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1 ‘‘(2) meets the performance criteria relating to 

2 upper interior impact set forth in FMVSS 201 to 

3 the extent possible to reach the target points; 

4 ‘‘(3) is equipped with a steering wheel air bag, 

5 2 curtain side impact air bags, anti-lock brakes, and 

6 electronic stability control; and 

7 ‘‘(4) complies with the motor vehicle safety 

8 standards for motorcycles, as set forth in Part 571 

9 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, relating 

10 to— 

11 ‘‘(A) brake hoses (FMVSS 106); 

12 ‘‘(B) lamps, reflective devices, and associ13 ated equipment (FMVSS 108); 

14 ‘‘(C) rearview mirrors (FMVSS 111); 

15 ‘‘(D) motor vehicle brake fluids (FMVSS 

16 116); 

17 ‘‘(E) new pneumatic tires (FMVSS 119); 

18 ‘‘(F) tire selection and rims (FMVSS 120); 

19 ‘‘(G) motorcycle brake systems (FMVSS 

20 122); 

21 ‘‘(H) motorcycle controls and displays 

22 (FMVSS 123); and 

23 ‘‘(I) glazing materials (FMVSS 205). 


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1 ‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY.—In determining which motor 

2 vehicle safety standards are applicable to autocycles, the 

3 Secretary of Transportation shall— 

4 ‘‘(1) apply motorcycle safety standards to those 

5 aspects of an autocycle’s performance regulated 

6 through the motor vehicle safety standards applica7 ble to motorcycles; and 

8 ‘‘(2) apply passenger car safety standards to 

9 those aspects of an autocycle’s performance regu10 lated through motor vehicle safety standards that 

11 are not otherwise regulated through a motorcycle 

12 standard. 

13 ‘‘(c) RULEMAKING.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years 

15 after the date of the enactment of the Autocycle 

16 Safety Act, the Secretary shall issue such final rules, 

17 interpretations, and test procedures that may be 

18 necessary to adapt passenger car safety standards to 

19 autocycles in accordance with subsection (b)(2). 

20 ‘‘(2) RULEMAKING.—In issuing rules to pre21 serve autocycle safety pursuant to paragraph (1), 

22 the Secretary shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) provide autocycle manufacturers with 

24 appropriate lead time to comply with the safety 

25 standards set forth in such rules; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) comply with the requirements and 

2 considerations set forth in subsections (a) and 

3 (b) of section 30111.’’. 

4 SEC. 3. AUTOCYCLE FUEL ECONOMY. 

5 Section 32901(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 

8 (19) as paragraphs (4) through (20), respectively; 

9 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(3) ‘autocycle’ means a passenger automobile 

12 with 3 wheels and an enclosed occupant compart13 ment, which meets applicable Federal motor vehicle 

14 safety standards, as determined necessary by the 

15 Secretary of Transportation through regulation.’’; 

16 (3) in paragraph (4), as redesignated, by insert17 ing ‘‘or an autocycle’’ after ‘‘a 4-wheeled vehicle’’; 

18 and 

19 (4) in paragraph (19), as redesignated, by in20 serting ‘‘(including an autocycle)’’ after the ‘‘means 

21 an automobile’’. 

Æ 


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