I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1719

To promote the implementation of programs to improve the traffic safety

performance of high risk drivers.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 19, 1993

Mr. WOLF introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Public Works and Transportation

A BILL

To promote the implementation of programs to improve the

traffic safety performance of high risk drivers.

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 ‘‘High Risk Drivers Act

5 of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress makes the following findings:

8 (1) The Nation’s traffic fatality rate has de9 clined from 5.5 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles

10 traveled in 1966 to an historic low of an estimated
2

HR 1719 IH

1 1.8 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled

2 during 1992. In order to further this desired trend,

3 the safety programs and policies implemented by the

4 Department of Transportation must be continued,

5 and at the same time, the focus of these efforts as

6 they pertain to high risk drivers of all ages must be

7 strengthened.

8 (2) Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause

9 of death among teenagers, and teenage drivers tend

10 to be at fault for their fatal crashes more often than

11 older drivers. Drivers who are 16 to 20 years old

12 comprised 7.4 percent of the United States popu13 lation in 1991 but were involved in 15.4 percent of

14 fatal motor vehicle crashes. Also, on the basis of

15 crashes per 100,000 licensed drivers, young drivers

16 are the highest risk group of drivers.

17 (3) During 1991, 6,630 teenagers from age 15

18 through 20 died in motor vehicle crashes. This trag19 ic loss demands that the Federal Government inten20 sify its efforts to promote highway safety among

21 members of this high risk group.

22 (4) The consumption of alcohol, speeding over

23 allowable limits or too fast for road conditions, inad24 equate use of occupant restraints, and other high

25 risk behaviors are several of the key causes for this
3

HR 1719 IH

1 tragic loss of young drivers and passengers. The De2 partment of Transportation, working cooperatively

3 with the States, student groups, and other organiza4 tions, must reinvigorate its current programs and

5 policies to address more effectively these pressing

6 problems of teenage drivers.

7 (5) In 1991 individuals aged 70 years and

8 older, who are particularly susceptible to injury,

9 were involved in 12 percent of all motor vehicle traf10 fic crash fatalities. These deaths accounted for 4,828

11 fatalities out of 41,462 total traffic fatalities.

12 (6) The number of older Americans who drive

13 is expected to increase dramatically during the next

14 30 years. Unfortunately, during the last 15 years,

15 the Department of Transportation has supported an

16 extremely limited program concerning older drivers.

17 Research on older driver behavior and licensing has

18 suffered from intermittent funding at amounts that

19 were insufficient to address the scope and nature of

20 the challenges ahead.

21 (7) A major objective of United States trans22 portation policy must be to promote the mobility of

23 older Americans while at the same time ensuring

24 public safety on our Nation’s highways. In order to

25 accomplish these two objectives simultaneously, the
4

HR 1719 IH

1 Department of Transportation must support a vigor2 ous and sustained program of research, technical as3 sistance, evaluation, and other appropriate activities

4 that are designed to reduce the fatality and crash

5 rate of older drivers who have identifiable risk char6 acteristics.

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

8 In this Act, the following definitions apply:

9 (1) The term ‘‘high risk driver’’ means a motor

10 vehicle driver who belongs to a class of drivers that,

11 based on vehicle crash rates, fatality rates, traffic

12 safety violation rates, and other factors specified by

13 the Secretary, presents a risk of injury to the driver

14 and other individuals that is higher than the risk

15 presented by the average driver.

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

17 of Transportation.

18 SEC. 4. POLICY AND PROGRAM DIRECTION.

19 (a) GENERAL RESPONSIBILITY OF SECRETARY.—

20 The Secretary shall develop and implement effective and

21 comprehensive policies and programs to promote safe driv22 ing behavior by young drivers, older drivers, and repeat

23 violators of traffic safety regulations and laws.
5

HR 1719 IH

1 (b) SAFETY PROMOTION ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary

2 shall promote or engage in activities that seek to ensure

3 that—

4 (1) cost effective and scientifically-based guide5 lines and technologies for the nondiscriminatory

6 evaluation and licensing of high risk drivers are

7 advanced;

8 (2) model driver training, screening, licensing,

9 control, and evaluation programs are improved;

10 (3) uniform or compatible State driver point

11 systems and other licensing and driver record infor12 mation systems are advanced as a means of identify13 ing and initially evaluating high risk drivers; and

14 (4) driver training programs and the delivery of

15 such programs are advanced.

16 (c) DRIVER TRAINING RESEARCH.—The Secretary

17 shall explore the feasibility of advisability of using cost ef18 ficient simulation and other technologies as a means of

19 enhancing driver training; shall advance knowledge re20 garding the perceptual, cognitive, and decision making

21 skills needed for safe driving and to improve driver train22 ing; and shall investigate the most effective means of inte23 grating licensing, training, and other techniques for pre24 paring novice drivers for the safe use of highway systems.
6

HR 1719 IH

1 TITLE I—YOUNG DRIVER PROGRAMS

2 SEC. 101. STATE GRANTS FOR YOUNG DRIVER PROGRAMS.

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM.—Chapter

4 4 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by adding

5 at the end the following new section:

6 ‘‘§ 411. Programs for young drivers.

7 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Subject to the provi8 sions of this section, the Secretary shall make basic and

9 supplemental grants to those States which adopt and im10 plement programs for young drivers which include meas11 ures, described in this section, to reduce traffic safety

12 problems resulting from the driving performance of young

13 drivers. Such grants may only be used by recipient States

14 to implement and enforce such measures.

15 ‘‘(b) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—No grant may be

16 made to a State under this section in any fiscal year unless

17 such State enters into such agreements with the Secretary

18 as the Secretary may require to ensure that such State

19 will maintain its aggregate estimated expenditures from

20 all other sources for programs for young drivers at or

21 above the average level of such expenditures in its 2 fiscal

22 years preceding the fiscal year in which this section is en23 acted.

24 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL SHARE.—No State may receive grants

25 under this section in more than 5 fiscal years. The Federal
7

HR 1719 IH

1 share payable for any grant under this section shall not

2 exceed—

3 ‘‘(1) in the first fiscal year a State receives a

4 grant under this section, 75 percent of the cost of

5 implementing and enforcing in such fiscal year the

6 young driver program adopted by the State pursuant

7 to subsection (a);

8 ‘‘(2) in this second fiscal year the State receives

9 a grant under this section, 50 percent of the cost of

10 implementing and enforcing in such fiscal year such

11 program; and

12 ‘‘(3) in the third, fourth, and fifth fiscal years

13 the State receives a grant under this section, 25 per14 cent of the cost of implementing and enforcing in

15 such fiscal year such program.

16 ‘‘(d) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF BASIC GRANTS.—Sub17 ject to subsection (c), the amount of a basic grant made

18 under this section for any fiscal year to any State which

19 is eligible for such a grant under subsection (e) shall equal

20 30 percent of the amount apportioned to such State for

21 fiscal year 1989 under section 402 of this title. A grant

22 to a State under this section shall be in addition to the

23 State’s apportionment under section 402, and basic grants

24 during any fiscal year may be proportionately reduced to
8

HR 1719 IH

1 accommodate an applicable statutory obligation limitation

2 for that fiscal year.

3 ‘‘(e) ELIGIBILITY FOR BASIC GRANTS.—

4 ‘‘(1) GENERAL.—For purposes of this section, a

5 State is eligible for a basic grant if such State—

6 ‘‘(A) establishes and maintains a grad7 uated licensing program for drivers under 18

8 years of age that meets the requirements of

9 paragraph (2); and

10 ‘‘(B)(i) in the first year of receiving grants

11 under this section, meets three of the eight cri12 teria specified in paragraph (3);

13 ‘‘(ii) in the second year of receiving such

14 grants, meets four of such criteria;

15 ‘‘(iii) in the third year of receiving such

16 grants, meets five of such criteria;

17 ‘‘(iv) in the fourth year of receiving such

18 grants, meets six of such criteria; and

19 ‘‘(v) in fifth year of receiving such grants,

20 meets six of such criteria.

21 ‘‘(2) GRADUATED LICENSING PROGRAM.—(A) A

22 State receiving a grant under this section shall es23 tablish and maintain a graduated licensing program

24 consisting of the following licensing stages for any

25 driver under 18 years of age:
9

HR 1719 IH

1 ‘‘(i) An instructional license, valid for a

2 minimum period determined by the Secretary,

3 under which the licensee shall not operate a

4 motor vehicle unless accompanied in the front

5 passenger seat by the holder of a full driver’s

6 license.

7 ‘‘(ii) A provisional driver’s license which

8 shall not be issued unless the driver has passed

9 a written examination on traffic safety and has

10 passed a roadtest administered by the driver li11 censing agency of the State.

12 ‘‘(iii) A full driver’s license which shall not

13 be issued until the driver has held a provisional

14 license for at least 1 year with a clean driving

15 record.

16 ‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A)(iii),

17 subsection (f)(1), and subsection (f)(6)(B), a provi18 sional licensee has a clean driving record if the li19 censee—

20 ‘‘(i) has not been found, by civil or crimi21 nal process, to have committed a moving traffic

22 violation during the applicable period;

23 ‘‘(ii) has not been assessed points against

24 the license because of safety violations during

25 such period; and
10

HR 1719 IH

1 ‘‘(iii) has satisfied such other requirements

2 as the Secretary may prescribe by regulation.

3 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall determine the condi4 tions under which a State shall suspend provisional

5 driver’s licenses in order to be eligible for a basic

6 grant. At a minimum, the holder of a provisional li7 cense shall be subject to driver control actions that

8 are stricter than those applicable to the holder of a

9 full driver’s license, including warning letters and

10 suspension at a lower point threshold.

11 ‘‘(D) For a State’s first 2 years of receiving a

12 grant under this section, the Secretary may waive

13 the clean driving record requirement subparagraph

14 (A)(iii) if the State submits satisfactory evidence of

15 its efforts to establish such a requirement.

16 ‘‘(3) CRITERIA FOR BASIC GRANT.—The eight

17 criteria referred to in paragraph (1)(B) are as

18 follows:

19 ‘‘(A) The State requires that any driver

20 under 21 years of age with a blood alcohol con21 centration of 0.02 percent or greater when driv22 ing a motor vehicle shall be deemed to be driv23 ing while intoxicated for the purpose of (i) ad24 ministrative or judicial sanctions or (ii) a law or

25 regulation that prohibits any individual under
11

HR 1719 IH

1 21 years of age with a blood alcohol concentra2 tion of 0.02 percent or greater from driving a

3 motor vehicle.

4 ‘‘(B) The State has a law or regulation

5 that provides a mandatory minimum penalty of

6 at least $500 for anyone who in violation of

7 State law or regulation knowingly, or without

8 checking for proper identification, provides or

9 sells alcohol to any individual under age 21

10 years of age.

11 ‘‘(C) The State requires that all front seat

12 and rear seat occupants of any motor vehicle

13 shall use safety belts.

14 ‘‘(D) The State requires that the license of

15 a driver under 21 years of age be suspended for

16 a period specified by the State if such driver is

17 convicted of the unlawful purchase or public

18 possession of alcohol. The period of suspension

19 shall be at least 6 months for a first conviction

20 and at least 12 months for a subsequent convic21 tion; except that specific license restrictions

22 may be imposed as an alternative to such mini23 mum periods of suspension where necessary to

24 avoid undue hardship on any individual.
12

HR 1719 IH

1 ‘‘(E) The State conducts traffic safety en2 forcement activities, and education and training

3 programs—

4 ‘‘(i) with the participation of judges

5 and prosecutors, that are designed to en6 sure enforcement of traffic safety laws and

7 regulations, including those that prohibit

8 drivers under 21 years of age from driving

9 while intoxicated, restrict the unauthorized

10 use of a motor vehicle, and establish other

11 moving violations; and

12 ‘‘(ii) with the participation of student

13 and youth groups, that are designed to en14 sure compliance with such traffic safety

15 laws and regulations.

16 ‘‘(F) The State is a member of and sub17 stantially complies with the interstate agree18 ment known as the Driver License Compact,

19 promptly and reliably transmits and receives

20 through electronic means interstate driver

21 record information (including information on

22 commercial drivers) in cooperation with the

23 Secretary and other States, and develops and

24 achieves demonstrable annual progress in imple25 menting a plan to ensure that (i) each court of
13

HR 1719 IH

1 the State report expeditiously to the State driv2 er licensing agency all traffic safety convictions,

3 license suspensions, license revocations, or other

4 license restrictions, and driver improvement ef5 forts sanctioned or ordered by the court, and

6 that (ii) such records be available electronically

7 to appropriate government officials (including

8 enforcement, officers, judges, and prosecutors)

9 upon request at all times.

10 ‘‘(G) The State prohibits the possession of

11 any open alcoholic beverage container, or the

12 consumption of any alcoholic beverage, in the

13 passenger area of any motor vehicle located on

14 a public highway or the right-of-way of a public

15 highway; except as allowed in the passenger

16 area, by persons (other than the driver), of a

17 motor vehicle designed to transport more than

18 10 passengers (including the driver) while being

19 used to provide charter transportation of pas20 sengers.

21 ‘‘(H) The State has a law or regulation

22 that provides a minimum penalty of at least

23 $100 for anyone who in violation of State law

24 or regulation drives any vehicle through,

25 around, or under any crossing, gate, or barrier
14

HR 1719 IH

1 at a railroad crossing while such gate or barrier

2 is closed or being opened or closed.

3 ‘‘(f) SUPPLEMENTAL GRANT PROGRAM.—

4 ‘‘(1) EXTENDED APPLICATION OF PROVISIONAL

5 LICENSE REQUIREMENT.—For purposes of this sec6 tion, a State is eligible for a supplemental grant for

7 a fiscal year in an amount, subject to subsection (c),

8 not to exceed 10 percent of the amount apportioned

9 to such State for fiscal year 1989 under section 402

10 of this title if such State is eligible for a basic grant

11 and in addition such State requires that a driver

12 under 21 years of age shall not be issued a full driv13 er’s license until the driver has held a provisional li14 cense for at least 1 year with a clean driving record

15 as described in subsection (e)(2)(B).

16 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF INSURANCE INFORMA17 TION.—For purposes of this section, a State is eligi18 ble for a supplemental grant for a fiscal year in an

19 amount, subject to subsection (c), not to exceed 5

20 percent of the amount apportioned to such State for

21 fiscal year 1989 under section 402 of this title if

22 such State is eligible for a basic grant and in addi23 tion such State provides, to a parent or legal guard24 ian of any provisional licensee, general information

25 prepared with the assistance of the insurance indus-
15

HR 1719 IH

1 try on the effect of traffic safety convictions and at2 fault accidents on insurance rates for young drivers.

3 ‘‘(3) READILY DISTINGUISHABLE LICENSES FOR

4 YOUNG DRIVERS.—For purposes of this section, a

5 State is eligible for a supplemental grant for a fiscal

6 year in an amount, subject to subsection (c), not to

7 exceed 5 percent of the amount apportioned to such

8 State for fiscal year 1989 under section 402 of this

9 title if such State is eligible for a basic grant and

10 in addition such State—

11 ‘‘(A) requires that the provisional driver’s

12 license, or full driver’s license, of any driver

13 under 21 years of age be readily distinguishable

14 from the licenses of drivers who are 21 years of

15 age or older, through the use of special back16 ground, marking, profile, or any other features,

17 consistent with any guidelines developed by the

18 Secretary in cooperation with the American As19 sociation of Motor Vehicle Administrators; and

20 ‘‘(B) employs the Social Security number

21 as a common identifier on every driver’s license

22 so as to facilitate the transfer of traffic records

23 among States.

24 ‘‘(4) DRIVER TRAINING PREREQUISITE.—For

25 purposes of this section, a State is eligible for a sup-
16

HR 1719 IH

1 plemental grant in an amount, subject to subsection

2 (c), not to exceed 5 percent of the amount appor3 tioned to such State for fiscal year 1989 under sec4 tion 402 of this title if such State is eligible for a

5 basic grant and in addition such State requires that

6 a provisional driver’s license may be issued only to

7 a driver who has satisfactorily completed a State-ac8 cepted driver education and training program that

9 meets Department of Transportation guidelines and

10 includes information on the interaction of alcohol

11 and controlled substances and the effect of such

12 interaction on driver performance, and information

13 on the importance of motorcycle helmet use and

14 safety belt use.

15 ‘‘(5) REMEDIAL DRIVER EDUCATION.—For pur16 poses of this section, a State is eligible for a supple17 mental grant for a fiscal year in an amount, subject

18 to subsection (c), not to exceed 5 percent of the

19 amount apportioned to such State for fiscal year

20 1989 under section 402 of this title if such State is

21 eligible for a basic grant and in addition such State

22 requires, at a lower point threshold than for other

23 drivers, remedial driver improvement instruction for

24 drivers under 21 years of age and requires such re25 medial instruction for any driver under 21 years of
17

HR 1719 IH

1 age who is convicted of reckless driving, driving

2 under the influence of alcohol, or driving while

3 intoxicated.

4 ‘‘(6) PROVISIONAL LICENSE REQUIREMENT

5 AFTER LICENSE SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION.—For

6 purposes of this section, a State is eligible for a sup7 plemental grant for a fiscal year in an amount, sub8 ject to subsection (c), not to exceed 5 percent of the

9 amount apportioned to such State for fiscal year

10 1989 under section 402 of this title if such State is

11 eligible for a basic grant and in addition such State

12 requires that any driver whose driving privilege is

13 restored after license suspension or revocation re14 sulting from a traffic safety violation shall for at

15 least 1 year be subject to the following:

16 ‘‘(A) The restored license shall be imme17 diately suspended, for a period to be determined

18 by the Secretary, upon the driver’s conviction of

19 any moving traffic safety violation, except that

20 the Secretary may by regulation define limited

21 circumstances under which the State may waive

22 this immediate suspension requirement.

23 ‘‘(B) A full driver’s license shall be issued

24 only after the driver has held a provisional li-
18

HR 1719 IH

1 cense for at least 1 year with a clean driving

2 record, as described in subsection (e)(2)(B).

3 ‘‘(C) The driver shall be—

4 ‘‘(i) deemed to be driving while intoxi5 cated if the driver has a blood alcohol con6 centration of .02 percent or greater; or

7 ‘‘(ii) prohibited from operating a

8 motor vehicle with such a blood alcohol

9 concentration.

10 ‘‘(7) RECORD OF SERIOUS CONVICTIONS; HA11 BITUAL OR REPEAT OFFENDER SANCTIONS.—For

12 purposes of this section, a State is eligible for a sup13 plemental grant for a fiscal year in an amount, sub14 ject to subsection (c), not to exceed 5 percent of the

15 amount apportioned to such State for fiscal year

16 1989 under section 402 of this title if such State is

17 eligible for a basic grant and in addition such

18 State—

19 ‘‘(A) requires that a notation of any seri20 ous traffic safety conviction of a driver be main21 tained on the driver’s permanent traffic record

22 for at least 10 years after the date of the con23 viction; and

24 ‘‘(B) provides additional sanctions for any

25 driver who, following conviction of a serious
19

HR 1719 IH

1 traffic safety violation, is convicted during the

2 next 10 years of one or more subsequent seri3 ous traffic safety violations.

4 ‘‘(8) OVERSIGHT OF ALCOHOL SALES TO UN5 DERAGE DRINKERS.—For purposes of this section, a

6 State is eligible for a supplemental grant for a fiscal

7 year in an amount, subject to subsection (c), not to

8 exceed 5 percent of the amount appropriated to such

9 State for fiscal year 1989 under section 402 of this

10 title if such State is eligible for a basic grant and

11 in addition such State exercises effective oversight of

12 colleges and universities that provide or allow the

13 selling of alcohol to underage drinkers as defined by

14 State law or regulation.

15 ‘‘(g) APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER 1.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro17 vided in this subsection, all provisions of chapter 1

18 of this title that are applicable to National Highway

19 System funds, other than provisions relating to the

20 apportionment formula and provisions limiting the

21 expenditure of such funds to the Federal-aid sys22 tems, shall apply to the funds authorized to be ap23 propriated to carry out this section.

24 ‘‘(2) INCONSISTENT PROVISIONS.—If the Sec25 retary determines that a provision of chapter 1 of
20

HR 1719 IH

1 this title is inconsistent with this section, such provi2 sion shall not apply to funds authorized to be appro3 priated to carry out this section.

4 ‘‘(3) CREDIT FOR STATE AND LOCAL EXPENDI5 TURES.—The aggregate of all expenditures made

6 during any fiscal year by a State and its political

7 subdivisions (exclusive of Federal funds) for carrying

8 out the State highway safety program (other than

9 planning and administration) shall be available for

10 the purpose of crediting such State during such fis11 cal year for the non-Federal share of the cost of any

12 project under this section (other than one for plan13 ning or administration) without regard to whether

14 such expenditures were actually made in connection

15 with such project.

16 ‘‘(4) INCREASED FEDERAL SHARE FOR CERTAIN

17 INDIAN TRIBE PROGRAMS.—In the case of a local

18 highway safety program carried out by an Indian

19 tribe, if the Secretary is satisfied that an Indian

20 tribe does not have sufficient funds available to meet

21 the non-Federal share of the cost of such program,

22 the Secretary may increase the Federal share of the

23 cost thereof payable under this title to the extent

24 necessary.
21

HR 1719 IH

1 ‘‘(5) TREATMENT OF TERM ‘STATE HIGHWAY

2 DEPARTMENT’.—In applying provisions of chapter 1

3 in carrying out this section, the term ‘State highway

4 department’ as used in such provisions shall mean

5 the Governor of a State and, in the case of an In6 dian tribe program, the Secretary of the Interior.

7 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

8 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section,

9 $18,000,000 for each of the fiscal years ending September

10 30, 1994, and September 30, 1995, $20,000,000 for the

11 fiscal year ending September 30, 1996, and $22,000,000

12 for each of the fiscal years ending September 30, 1997,

13 and September 30, 1998.’’.

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis of

15 chapter 4 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by

16 inserting immediately after the item relating to section

17 410 the following new item:

‘‘411. Programs for young drivers.’’.

18 (c) DEADLINES FOR ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS.—

19 The Secretary shall issue and publish in the Federal Reg20 ister proposed regulations to implement section 411 of

21 title 23, United States Code (as added by this section),

22 not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of

23 this Act. The final regulations for such implementation

24 shall be issued, published in the Federal Register, and
22

HR 1719 IH

1 transmitted to Congress not later than 12 months after

2 such date of enactment.

3 SEC. 102. PROGRAM EVALUATION.

4 (a) EVALUATION BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary

5 shall, under section 403 of title 23, United States Code,

6 conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness of State provi7 sional driver’s licensing programs and the grant program

8 authorized by section 411 of title 23, United States Code

9 (as added by section 101 of this Act).

10 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—By January 1, 1997,

11 the Secretary shall transmit a report on the results of the

12 evaluation conducted under subsection (a) and any related

13 research to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and

14 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Pub15 lic Works and Transportation of the House of Representa16 tives. The report shall include any related recommenda17 tions by the Secretary for legislative changes.

18 TITLE II—OLDER DRIVER PROGRAMS

19 SEC. 201. OLDER DRIVER SAFETY RESEARCH.

20 (a) RESEARCH ON PREDICTABILITY OF HIGH RISK

21 DRIVING.—(1) The Secretary shall conduct a program

22 that funds, within budgetary limitations, the research

23 challenges presented in the Transportation Research

24 Board’s report ‘‘Research and Development Needs for

25 Maintaining the Safety and Mobility of Older Drivers’’.
23

HR 1719 IH

1 (2) To the extent technically feasible, the Secretary

2 shall consider the feasibility and further the development

3 of cost efficient, reliable tests capable of predicting in4 creased risk of accident involvement or hazardous driving

5 by older high risk drivers.

6 (b) SPECIALIZED TRAINING FOR LICENSE EXAMIN7 ERS.—The Secretary shall encourage and conduct re8 search and demonstration activities to support the special9 ized training of license examiners or other certified exam10 iners to increase their knowledge and sensitivity to the

11 transportation needs and physical limitations of older driv12 ers, including knowledge of functional disabilities related

13 to driving, and to be cognizant of possible counter14 measures to deal with the challenges to safe driving that

15 may be associated with increasing age.

16 (c) COUNSELING PROCEDURES AND CONSULTATION

17 METHODS.—The Secretary shall encourage and conduct

18 research and disseminate information to support and en19 courage the development of appropriate counseling proce20 dures and consultation methods with relatives, physicians,

21 the traffic safety enforcement and the motor vehicle licens22 ing communities, and other concerned parties. Such proce23 dures and methods shall include the promotion of vol24 untary action by older high risk drivers to restrict or limit

25 their driving when medical or other conditions indicate
24

HR 1719 IH

1 such action is advisable. The Secretary shall consult exten2 sively with the American Association of Retired Persons,

3 the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administra4 tors, the American Occupational Therapy Association, the

5 American Automobile Association, the Department of

6 Health and Human Services, the American Public Health

7 Association, and other interested parties in developing

8 educational materials on the interrelationship of the aging

9 process, driver safety, and the driver licensing process.

10 (d) ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION MEANS.—The

11 Secretary shall ensure that the agencies of the Depart12 ment of Transportation overseeing the various modes of

13 surface transportation coordinate their policies and pro14 grams to ensure that funds authorized under the Inter15 modal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991

16 (Public Law 102–240; 105 Stat. 1914) and implementing

17 Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Ap18 propriations Acts take into account the transportation

19 needs of older Americans by promoting alternative trans20 portation means whenever practical and feasible.

21 (e) STATE LICENSING PRACTICES.—The Secretary

22 shall encourage State licensing agencies to use restricted

23 licenses instead of canceling a license whenever such ac24 tion is appropriate and if the interests of public safety

25 would be served, and to closely monitor the driving per-
25

HR 1719 IH

1 formance of older drivers with such licenses. The Sec2 retary shall encourage States to provide educational mate3 rials of benefit to older drivers and concerned family mem4 bers and physicians. The Secretary shall promote licensing

5 and relicensing programs in which the applicant appears

6 in person and shall promote the development and use of

7 cost effective screening processes and testing of physio8 logical, cognitive, and perception factors as appropriate

9 and necessary. Not less than one model State program

10 shall be evaluated in light of this subsection during each

11 of the fiscal years 1996 through 1998. Of the sums au12 thorized under subsection (i), $250,000 is authorized for

13 each such fiscal year for such evaluation.

14 (f) IMPROVEMENT OF MEDICAL SCREENING.—The

15 Secretary shall conduct research and other activities de16 signed to support and encourage the States to establish

17 and maintain medical review or advisory groups to work

18 with State licensing agencies to improve and provide cur19 rent information on the screening and licensing of older

20 drivers. The Secretary shall encourage the participation

21 of the public in these groups to ensure fairness and con22 cern for the safety and mobility needs of older drivers.

23 (g) INTELLIGENT VEHICLE-HIGHWAY SYSTEMS.—In

24 implementing the Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems

25 Act of 1991 (23 U.S.C. 307 note), the Secretary shall en-
26

HR 1719 IH

1 sure that the National Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Sys2 tems Program devotes sufficient attention to the use of

3 intelligent vehicle-highway systems to aid older drivers in

4 safely performing driver functions. Federally-sponsored

5 research, development, and operational testing shall en6 sure the advancement of night vision improvement sys7 tems, technology to reduce the involvement of older drivers

8 in accidents occurring at intersections, and other tech9 nologies of particular benefit to older drivers.

10 (h) TECHNICAL EVALUATIONS UNDER INTERMODAL

11 SURFACE TRANSPORTATION EFFICIENCY ACT.—In con12 ducting the technical evaluations required under section

13 6055 of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency

14 Act of 1991 (Public Law 102–240; 105 Stat. 2192), the

15 Secretary shall ensure that the safety impacts on older

16 drivers are considered, with special attention being de17 voted to ensuring adequate and effective exchange of infor18 mation between the Department of Transportation and

19 older drivers or their representatives.

20 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of the

21 funds authorized under section 403 of title 23, United

22 States Code, $1,250,000 is authorized for each of the fis23 cal years 1995 through 2000, and $1,500,000 is author24 ized for each of the fiscal years 2000 through 2005, to
27

HR 1719 IH

1 support older driver programs described in subsections

2 (a), (b), (c), (e), and (f).

3 TITLE III—HIGH RISK DRIVERS

4 SEC. 301. STUDY ON WAYS TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC RECORDS

5 OF ALL HIGH RISK DRIVERS.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 1 year after the date of

7 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall complete a

8 study to determine whether additional or strengthened

9 Federal activities, authority, or regulatory actions are de10 sirable or necessary to improve or strengthen the driver

11 record and control systems of the States to identify high

12 risk drivers more rapidly and ensure prompt intervention

13 in the licensing of high risk drivers. The study, which shall

14 be based in part on analysis obtained from a request for

15 information published in the Federal Register, shall con16 sider steps necessary to ensure that State traffic record

17 systems are unambiguous, accurate, current, accessible,

18 complete, and (to the extent useful) uniform among the

19 States.

20 (b) SPECIFIC MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION.—Such

21 study shall at a minimum consider—

22 (1) whether specific legislative action is nec23 essary to improve State traffic record systems;
28

HR 1719 IH

1 (2) the feasibility and practicality of further en2 couraging and establishing a uniform traffic ticket

3 citation and control system;

4 (3) the need for a uniform driver violation point

5 system to be adopted by the States;

6 (4) the need for all the States to participate in

7 the Driver License Reciprocity Program conducted

8 by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Ad9 ministrators;

10 (5) ways to encourage the States to cross-ref11 erence driver license files and motor vehicle files to

12 facilitate the identification of individuals who may

13 not be in compliance with driver licensing laws; and

14 (6) the feasibility of establishing a national pro15 gram that would limit each driver to one driver’s li16 cense from only one State at any time.

17 (c) EVALUATION OF NATIONAL INFORMATION SYS18 TEMS.—As part of the study required by this section, the

19 Secretary shall consider and evaluate the future of the na20 tional information systems that support driver licensing.

21 In particular, the Secretary shall examine whether the

22 Commercial Driver’s License Information System, the Na23 tional Driver Register, and the Driver License Reciprocity

24 program should be more closely linked or continue to exist

25 as separate information systems and which entities are
29

HR 1719 IH

1 best suited to operate such systems effectively at the least

2 cost. The Secretary shall cooperate with the American As3 sociation of Motor Vehicle Administrators in carrying out

4 this evaluation.

5 SEC. 302. STATE PROGRAMS FOR HIGH RISK DRIVERS.

6 The Secretary shall encourage and promote State

7 driver evaluation, assistance, or control programs for high

8 risk drivers. These programs may include in-person license

9 reexaminations, driver education or training courses, li10 cense restrictions or suspensions, and other actions de11 signed to improve the operating performance of high risk

12 drivers.

Æ

HR 1719 IH——2

HR 1719 IH——3