Safer Trucks and Buses Act of 2015

To improve the Compliance, Safety, Accountability initiative of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Safer Trucks and Buses Act of 2015 2. Compliance, Safety, Accountability initiative (a) Data availability and use (1) Availability (A) In general The Secretary of Transportation shall ensure that covered motor carrier data is not made available to the public. (B) Rule of construction Subparagraph (A) may not be construed to prevent covered motor carrier data from being made available to law enforcement personnel. (C) Termination Subparagraph (A) shall cease to have effect on the date on which the Secretary submits to Congress the report required under subsection (e). (2) Use Covered motor carrier data may not be admitted into evidence or otherwise used in a civil action for damages resulting from an incident involving a motor carrier. (b) Study (1) In general Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Public Administration to have the Academy conduct a study on how to improve the Compliance, Safety, Accountability initiative of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, including how to ensure that the initiative— (A) utilizes only safety data determined to be predictive of motor carrier crashes; (B) appropriately addresses concerns relating to the age of utilized safety data, including violations; (C) does not unfairly harm small motor carriers as a result of limited safety data availability; (D) appropriately addresses differences between motor carriers transporting passengers and motor carriers transporting freight; (E) allows individual motor carriers to be effectively compared; and (F) utilizes accurate safety data, including— (i) by appropriately addressing variations between State- and self-reported data; (ii) by accounting for geographic differences with respect to enforcement; and (iii) by not utilizing crash data from crashes with respect to which a motor carrier was free from fault. (2) Free from fault For purposes of paragraph (1)(F)(iii), a motor carrier is free from fault with respect to a crash if— (A) the vehicle of the carrier was struck by another vehicle that— (i) crossed the center line or median of a roadway; (ii) was driving the wrong way on a roadway; (iii) struck the rear of the carrier’s vehicle while the vehicle was being lawfully operated; (iv) struck the carrier’s vehicle while the vehicle was legally stopped at a traffic control device or off the traveled portion of a roadway; or (v) was operated by an individual— (I) found to be driving under the influence of alcohol; (II) found by a law enforcement officer or agency to be responsible for the crash; or (III) who was the sole party cited by law enforcement for an action that contributed to the crash; (B) the crash was the result of an individual, other than the driver of the carrier’s vehicle, committing suicide; (C) the vehicle of the carrier was struck by an animal; or (D) the carrier is otherwise determined not responsible for the crash. (c) Report Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Secretary enters into an agreement under subsection (b), the National Academy of Public Administration shall submit to the Secretary, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the results of the study conducted under subsection (b), including recommendations for improvement based on those results. (d) Implementation of recommendations Not later than 90 days after the date on which the National Academy of Public Administration submits the report required under subsection (c), the Secretary shall begin implementing the recommendations included in that report. (e) Certification of implementation Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Secretary begins implementing recommendations under subsection (d), the Secretary shall complete the implementation of such recommendations and shall submit to Congress a report that— (1) describes the implementation of such recommendations; (2) contains a document in which the Secretary certifies that such implementation is complete; and (3) contains a document in which the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation certifies that such implementation is complete. (f) Definitions In this section, the following definitions apply: (1) Covered motor carrier data The term covered motor carrier data (2) Motor carrier The term motor carrier

Summary: Safer Trucks and Buses Act of 2015 The Department of Transportation (DOT) shall enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Public Administration to study how to improve the Compliance, Safety, Accountability initiative of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. DOT must ensure that motor carrier safety data predictive of crashes which is generated under this initiative is not made available to the public (except law enforcement personnel) until the study findings and recommendations are reported to Congress. Such data may not be used used in a civil action for damages resulting from an incident involving a motor carrier.