I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2333 

To enhance safety of individuals by banning the use of hand-held mobile 

devices while driving, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 23, 2011 

Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To enhance safety of individuals by banning the use of handheld mobile devices while driving, 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 ‘‘Safe Drivers Act of 

5 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) hand-held personal wireless devices are not 

9 only instrumentalities and channels of interstate 

10 commerce, but products of interstate commerce; 


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1 (2) for those reasons, regulation of the use of 

2 hand-held mobile telephones and personal wireless 

3 devices is covered by the power of Congress to regu4 late interstate commerce as enumerated in article I, 

5 section 8 of the Constitution; 

6 (3) additionally, the Supreme Court held in 

7 South Dakota v. Dole, 483 U.S. 203 (June 23, 

8 1987), that Congress may condition Federal high9 way funding on State compliance with certain condi10 tions; 

11 (4) according to a National Highway Traffic 

12 Safety Administration (NHTSA) driver distraction 

13 may be grouped into manual, visual, and cognitive 

14 distractions; 

15 (5) according to Cisco Systems Inc., North 

16 American mobile broadband traffic will grow fifty 

17 times between 2009–2014; 

18 (6) and according to CTIA, the main factors 

19 driving the rise in the use of mobile traffic include 

20 the increasing availability and capabilities of 

21 smartphones, and new form factors (such as tab22 lets), for consumers; 

23 (7) as of the date of enactment of this Act, only 

24 8 States and the District of Columbia ban mobile 

25 device use for all drivers; 


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1 (8) the Secretary of Transportation, Ray 

2 LaHood, has recognized the significance of increased 

3 driver distraction as a result of wireless devices by 

4 launching an aggressive educational campaign, 

5 issuing Department regulations, and consecutive 

6 ‘‘Distracted Driving Summits’’ with affected indus7 tries; 

8 (9) it is necessary, therefore, for Congress to 

9 act to protect the safety of all people in the United 

10 States on highways, roads, and railways in the 

11 United States; and 

12 (10) Federal legislation to address the problem 

13 of distracted driving is necessary to ensure that na14 tional minimum standards of protection exist uni15 formly. 

16 SEC. 3. REPORT ON DISTRACT DRIVING. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 

18 shall conduct a comprehensive study on distracted driving, 

19 including cognitive distraction when driving. The study 

20 should also include driver distraction impacts on young, 

21 inexperienced drivers and build upon past reports and 

22 findings that the Department has conducted. 

23 (b) REPORT FINDINGS.—Not later than 2 years after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall sub25 mit a report regarding the findings of the study under 


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1 subsection (a) to the appropriate committees of Congress, 

2 including any recommendations to revise the requirement 

3 for minimum penalties under section 167(b)(2) of title 23, 

4 United States Code. 

5 SEC. 4. OPERATION OF MOTOR VEHICLES WHILE USING A 

6 HAND-HELD MOBILE DEVICE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 23, United 

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 167. OPERATION OF MOTOR VEHICLES USING A 

11 HAND-HELD MOBILE DEVICE. 

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section the following 

13 definitions apply: 

14 ‘‘(1) HAND-HELD MOBILE DEVICE.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘hand-held 

16 mobile device’ means a mobile telephone or 

17 other personal wireless communication device 

18 that is meant for use with at least 1 hand. 

19 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘hand-held 

20 mobile device’ does not include— 

21 ‘‘(i) a voice-operated, vehicle-inte22 grated, or any device that requires the use 

23 of either hand to activate or deactivate a 

24 feature or function, or use in a hands-free 

25 manner; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a global positioning system, not 

2 integrated in a motor vehicle, that is voice3 activated or used to view directions, except 

4 that if the system requires instructions to 

5 be inputted manually by hand, the motor 

6 vehicle must not be moving or idling. 

7 ‘‘(2) MOTOR VEHICLE.—The term ‘motor vehi8 cle’ means— 

9 ‘‘(A) a vehicle driven or drawn by mechan10 ical power and manufactured primarily for use 

11 on public highways; and 

12 ‘‘(B) a railcar or other component of a 

13 fixed guideway system that is not subject to 

14 regulation by the Federal Railroad Administra15 tion. 

16 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS AND WITHHOLDING OF APPOR17 TIONMENTS FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On October 1 of the second 

19 fiscal year beginning after the date of promulgation 

20 of the regulations under subsection (d), and annually 

21 thereafter, the Secretary shall withhold 25 percent 

22 of the amount required to be apportioned to any 

23 State under each of paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) of 

24 section 104(b) for the fiscal year if the Secretary de25 termines that the State does not meet the requireVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:14 Jun 29, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2333.IH H2333

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1 ment under paragraph (2) of this subsection as of 

2 that date. 

3 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—A State shall meet the 

4 requirement under this paragraph if the State has 

5 enacted and is enforcing a law that— 

6 ‘‘(A) except in the event of an emergency, 

7 prohibits an operator, on a public road, of a 

8 moving or idling motor vehicle from using a 

9 hand-held mobile device; and 

10 ‘‘(B) requires, upon conviction of a viola11 tion of such State law, the imposition of pen12 alties in accordance with the requirements for 

13 minimum penalties described in the regulations 

14 issued under subsection (d). 

15 ‘‘(c) RECOVERY OF FUNDS WITHHELD.—All funds 

16 withheld under this section from apportionment to a State 

17 for 1 or more fiscal years shall be available for apportion18 ment to the State immediately upon a determination by 

19 the Secretary that the State meets the requirement under 

20 paragraph (2). 

21 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

22 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 

23 issue regulations to carry out this section, including re24 quirements for minimum penalties for violations of the 

25 prohibition under subsection (b)(2) (A) and (B) that— 


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1 ‘‘(1) specify a minimum penalty for a first of2 fense; and 

3 ‘‘(2) stipulate that penalties shall be graduated 

4 for repeat offenses.’’. 

5 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis of chap6 ter 1 of title such title is amended by adding after section 

7 166 the following: 

‘‘167. Operation of motor vehicles using a hand-held mobile device.’’. 

Æ 


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