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designed to reduce the fatality and crash rate of older
drivers who have identifiable risk characteristics.
SEC. 212. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this subtitle—
(1) The term ‘‘high risk driver’’ means a motor
vehicle driver who belongs to a class of drivers that,
based on vehicle crash rates, fatality rates, traffic
safety violation rates, and other factors specified by
the Secretary, presents a risk of injury to the driver
and other individuals that is higher than the risk pre-
sented by the average driver.
(2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of
Transportation.
SEC. 213. POLICY AND PROGRAM DIRECTION.
(a) GENERAL RESPONSIBILITY OF SECRETARY.—The
Secretary shall develop and implement effective and com-
prehensive policies and programs to promote safe driving
behavior by young drivers, older drivers, and repeat viola-
tors of traffic safety regulations and laws.
(b) SAFETY PROMOTION ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary
shall promote or engage in activities that seek to ensure
that—
(1) cost effective and scientifically-based guide-
lines and technologies for the nondiscriminatory eval-
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uation and licensing of high risk drivers are ad-
vanced;
(2) model driver training, screening, licensing,
control, and evaluation programs are improved;
(3) uniform or compatible State driver point
systems and other licensing and driver record infor-
mation systems are advanced as a means of identify-
ing and initially evaluating high risk drivers; and
(4) driver training programs and the delivery of
such programs are advanced.
(c) DRIVER TRAINING RESEARCH.—The Secretary
shall explore the feasibility and advisability of using cost
efficient simulation and other technologies as a means of
enhancing driver training; shall advance knowledge regard-
ing the perceptual, cognitive, and decision making skills
needed for safe driving and to improve driver training; and
shall investigate the most effective means of integrating li-
censing, training, and other techniques for preparing novice
drivers for the safe use of highway systems.
SUBTITLE B—YOUNG DRIVER PROGRAMS
SEC. 221. STATE GRANTS FOR YOUNG DRIVER PROGRAMS.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM.—Chapter
4 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following new section:
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‘‘§ 411. Programs for young drivers
‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Subject to the provisions
of this section, the Secretary shall make basic and supple-
mental grants to those States which adopt and implement
programs for young drivers which include measures, de-
scribed in this section, to reduce traffic safety problems re-
sulting from the driving performance of young drivers.
Such grants may only be used by recipient States to imple-
ment and enforce such measures.
‘‘(b) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—No grant may be
made to a State under this section in any fiscal year unless
such State enters into such agreements with the Secretary
as the Secretary may require to ensure that such State will
maintain its aggregate estimated expenditures from all
other sources for programs for young drivers at or above
the average level of such expenditures in its 2 fiscal years
preceding the fiscal year in which the High Risk Drivers
Act of 1994 is enacted.
‘‘(c) FEDERAL SHARE.—No State may receive grants
under this section in more than 5 fiscal years. The Federal
share payable for any grant under this section shall not
exceed—
‘‘(1) in the first fiscal year a State receives a
grant under this section, 75 percent of the cost of im-
plementing and enforcing in such fiscal year the
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young driver program adopted by the State pursuant
to subsection (a);
‘‘(2) in the second fiscal year the State receives
a grant under this section, 50 percent of the cost of
implementing and enforcing in such fiscal year such
program; and
‘‘(3) in the third, fourth, and fifth fiscal years
the State receives a grant under this section, 25 per-
cent of the cost of implementing and enforcing in such
fiscal year such program.
‘‘(d) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF BASIC GRANTS.—Subject
to subsection (c), the amount of a basic grant made under
this section for any fiscal year to any State which is eligible
for such a grant under subsection (e) shall equal 30 percent
of the amount apportioned to such State for fiscal year 1989
under section 402 of this title. A grant to a State under
this section shall be in addition to the State’s apportion-
ment under section 402, and basic grants during any fiscal
year may be proportionately reduced to accommodate an
applicable statutory obligation limitation for that fiscal
year.
‘‘(e) ELIGIBILITY FOR BASIC GRANTS.—
‘‘(1) GENERAL.—For purposes of this section, a
State is eligible for a basic grant if such State—
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‘‘(A) establishes and maintains a graduated
licensing program for drivers under 18 years of
age that meets the requirements of paragraph
(2); and
‘‘(B)(i) in the first year of receiving grants
under this section, meets three of the seven cri-
teria specified in paragraph (3);
‘‘(ii) in the second year of receiving such
grants, meets four of such criteria;
‘‘(iii) in the third year of receiving such
grants, meets five of such criteria;
‘‘(iv) in the fourth year of receiving such
grants, meets six of such criteria; and
‘‘(v) in fifth year of receiving such grants,
meets six of such criteria.
For purposes of subparagraph (B), a State shall be
treated as having met one of the requirements of
paragraph (3) for any year if the State demonstrates
to the satisfaction of the Secretary that, for the 3 pre-
ceding years, the alcohol fatal crash involvement rate
for individuals under the age of 21 has declined in
that State and the alcohol fatal crash involvement
rate for such individuals has been lower in that State
than the average such rate for all States.
‘‘(2) GRADUATED LICENSING PROGRAM.—
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‘‘(i) has not been found, by civil or
criminal process, to have committed a mov-
ing traffic violation during the applicable
period;
‘‘(ii) has not been assessed points
against the license because of safety viola-
tions during such period; and
‘‘(iii) has satisfied such other require-
ments as the Secretary may prescribe by
regulation.
‘‘(C) The Secretary shall determine the con-
ditions under which a State shall suspend provi-
sional driver’s licenses in order to be eligible for
a basic grant. At a minimum, the holder of a
provisional license shall be subject to driver con-
trol actions that are stricter than those applica-
ble to the holder of a full driver’s license, includ-
ing warning letters and suspension at a lower
point threshold.
‘‘(D) For a State’s first 2 years of receiving
a grant under this section, the Secretary may
waive the clean driving record requirement of
subparagraph (A)(iii) if the State submits satis-
factory evidence of its efforts to establish such a
requirement.
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‘‘(3) CRITERIA
FOR
BASIC
GRANT.—The seven
criteria referred to in paragraph (1)(B) are as fol-
lows:
‘‘(A) The State requires that any driver
under 21 years of age with a blood alcohol con-
centration of 0.02 percent or greater when driv-
ing a motor vehicle shall be deemed to be driving
while intoxicated for the purpose of (i) adminis-
trative or judicial sanctions or (ii) a law or reg-
ulation that prohibits any individual under 21
years of age with a blood alcohol concentration
of 0.02 percent or greater from driving a motor
vehicle.
‘‘(B) The State has a law or regulation that
provides a mandatory minimum penalty of at
least $500 for anyone who in violation of State
law or regulation knowingly, or without checking
for proper identification, provides or sells alcohol
to any individual under 21 years of age.
‘‘(C) The State requires that the license of
a driver under 21 years of age be suspended for
a period specified by the State if such driver is
convicted of the unlawful purchase or public pos-
session of alcohol. The period of suspension shall
be at least 6 months for a first conviction and
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at least 12 months for a subsequent conviction;
except that specific license restrictions may be
imposed as an alternative to such minimum pe-
riods of suspension where necessary to avoid
undue hardship on any individual.
‘‘(D) The State conducts youth-oriented
traffic safety enforcement activities, and edu-
cation and training programs—
‘‘(i) with the participation of judges
and prosecutors, that are designed to ensure
enforcement of traffic safety laws and regu-
lations, including those that prohibit driv-
ers under 21 years of age from driving
while intoxicated, restrict the unauthorized
use of a motor vehicle, and establish other
moving violations; and
‘‘(ii) with the participation of student
and youth groups, that are designed to en-
sure compliance with such traffic safety
laws and regulations.
‘‘(E) The State prohibits the possession of
any open alcoholic beverage container, or the
consumption of any alcoholic beverage, in the
passenger area of any motor vehicle located on a
public highway or the right-of-way of a public
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highway; except as allowed in the passenger
area, by persons (other than the driver), of a
motor vehicle designed to transport more than 10
passengers (including the driver) while being
used to provide charter transportation of pas-
sengers.
‘‘(F) The State provides, to a parent or
legal guardian of any provisional licensee, gen-
eral information prepared with the assistance of
the insurance industry on the effect of traffic
safety convictions and at-fault accidents on in-
surance rates for young drivers.
‘‘(G) The State requires that a provisional
driver’s license may be issued only to a driver
who has satisfactorily completed a State-accepted
driver education and training program that
meets Department of Transportation guidelines
and includes information on the interaction of
alcohol and controlled substances and the effect of
such interaction on driver performance, and in-
formation on the importance of motorcycle hel-
met use and safety belt use.
‘‘(f) SUPPLEMENTAL GRANT PROGRAM.—
‘‘(1) EXTENDED APPLICATION OF PROVISIONAL
LICENSE REQUIREMENT.—For purposes of this sec-
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tion, a State is eligible for a supplemental grant for
a fiscal year in an amount, subject to subsection (c),
not to exceed 10 percent of the amount apportioned
to such State for fiscal year 1989 under section 402
of this title if such State is eligible for a basic grant
and in addition such State requires that a driver
under 21 years of age shall not be issued a full driv-
er’s license until the driver has held a provisional li-
cense for at least 1 year with a clean driving record
as described in subsection (e)(2)(B).
‘‘(2) REMEDIAL DRIVER EDUCATION.—For pur-
poses of this section, a State is eligible for a supple-
mental grant for a fiscal year in an amount, subject
to subsection (c), not to exceed 5 percent of the
amount apportioned to such State for fiscal year 1989
under section 402 of this title if such State is eligible
for a basic grant and in addition such State requires,
at a lower point threshold than for other drivers, re-
medial driver improvement instruction for drivers
under 21 years of age and requires such remedial in-
struction for any driver under 21 years of age who
is convicted of reckless driving, excessive speeding,
driving under the influence of alcohol, or driving
while intoxicated.
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‘‘(3) RECORD OF SERIOUS CONVICTIONS; HABIT-
UAL
OR
REPEAT
OFFENDER
SANCTIONS.—For pur-
poses of this section, a State is eligible for a supple-
mental grant for a fiscal year in an amount, subject
to subsection (c), not to exceed 5 percent of the
amount apportioned to such State for fiscal year 1989
under section 402 of this title if such State is eligible
for a basic grant and in addition such State—
‘‘(A) requires that a notation of any serious
traffic safety conviction of a driver be main-
tained on the driver’s permanent traffic record
for at least 10 years after the date of the convic-
tion; and
‘‘(B) provides additional sanctions for any
driver who, following conviction of a serious
traffic safety violation, is convicted during the
next 10 years of one or more subsequent serious
traffic safety violations.
‘‘(4) INTERSTATE DRIVER LICENSE COMPACT.—
The State is a member of and substantially complies
with the interstate agreement known as the Driver Li-
cense Compact, promptly and reliably transmits and
receives through electronic means interstate driver
record information (including information on com-
mercial drivers) in cooperation with the Secretary
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and other States, and develops and achieves demon-
strable annual progress in implementing a plan to
ensure that (i) each court of the State report expedi-
tiously to the State driver licensing agency all traffic
safety convictions, license suspensions, license revoca-
tions, or other license restrictions, and driver im-
provement efforts sanctioned or ordered by the court,
and that (ii) such records be available electronically
to appropriate government officials (including en-
forcement, officers, judges, and prosecutors) upon re-
quest at all times.
‘‘(5) The State has a law or regulation that pro-
vides a minimum penalty of at least $100 for anyone
who in violation of State law or regulation drives
any vehicle through, around, or under any crossing,
gate, or barrier at a railroad crossing while such gate
or barrier is closed or being opened or closed.
‘‘(6) VEHICLE SEIZURE PROGRAM.—The State
has a law or regulation that—
‘‘(A) mandates seizure by the State or any
political subdivision thereof of any vehicle driven
by an individual in violation of an alcohol-relat-
ed traffic safety law, if such violator has been
convicted on more than one occasion of an alco-
hol-related traffic offense within any 5-year pe-
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riod beginning after the date of enactment of this
section, or has been convicted of driving while
his or her driver’s license is suspended or revoked
by reason of a conviction for such an offense;
‘‘(B) mandates that the vehicle be forfeited
to the State or a political subdivision thereof if
the vehicle was solely owned by such violator at
the time of the violation;
‘‘(C) requires that the vehicle be returned to
the owner if the vehicle was a stolen vehicle at
the time of the violation; and
‘‘(D) authorizes the vehicle to be released to
a member of such violator’s family, the co-owner,
or the owner, if the vehicle was not a stolen vehi-
cle and was not solely owned by such violator at
the time of the violation, and if the family mem-
ber, co-owner, or owner, prior to such release,
executes a binding agreement that the family
member, co-owner, or owner will not permit such
violator to drive the vehicle and that the vehicle
shall be forfeited to the State or a political sub-
division thereof in the event such violator drives
the vehicle with the permission of the family
member, co-owner or owner.
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‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section,
$9,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1996,
$12,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1997,
and $14,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30,
1998, $16,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30,
1999, and $18,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September
30, 2000.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis of chap-
ter 4 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by insert-
ing immediately after the item relating to section 410 the
following new item:
‘‘411. Programs for young drivers.’’.
(c) DEADLINES FOR ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS.—
The Secretary shall issue and publish in the Federal Reg-
ister proposed regulations to implement section 411 of title
23, United States Code (as added by this section), not later
than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act. The
final regulations for such implementation shall be issued,
published in the Federal Register, and transmitted to Con-
gress not later than 12 months after such date of enactment.
SEC. 222. PROGRAM EVALUATION.
(a) EVALUATION
BY
SECRETARY.—The Secretary
shall, under section 403 of title 23, United States Code, con-
duct an evaluation of the effectiveness of State provisional
driver’s licensing programs and the grant program author-
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ized by section 411 of title 23, United States Code (as added
by section 101 of this Act).
(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—By January 1, 1997, the
Secretary shall transmit a report on the results of the eval-
uation conducted under subsection (a) and any related re-
search to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans-
portation of the Senate and the Committee on Public Works
and Transportation of the House of Representatives. The
report shall include any related recommendations by the
Secretary for legislative changes.
SUBTITLE C—OLDER DRIVER PROGRAMS
SEC. 231. OLDER DRIVER SAFETY RESEARCH.
(a) RESEARCH ON PREDICTABILITY OF HIGH RISK
DRIVING.—
(1) The Secretary shall conduct a program that
funds, within budgetary limitations, the research
challenges presented in the Transportation Research
Board’s report entitled ‘‘Research and Development
Needs for Maintaining the Safety and Mobility of
Older Drivers’’ and the research challenges pertaining
to older drivers presented in a report to Congress by
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
entitled ‘‘Addressing the Safety Issues Related to
Younger and Older Drivers’’.
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(2) To the extent technically feasible, the Sec-
retary shall consider the feasibility and further the
development of cost efficient, reliable tests capable of
predicting increased risk of accident involvement or
hazardous driving by older high risk drivers.
(b) SPECIALIZED TRAINING FOR LICENSE EXAMIN-
ERS.—The Secretary shall encourage and conduct research
and demonstration activities to support the specialized
training of license examiners or other certified examiners
to increase their knowledge and sensitivity to the transpor-
tation needs and physical limitations of older drivers, in-
cluding knowledge of functional disabilities related to driv-
ing, and to be cognizant of possible countermeasures to deal
with the challenges to safe driving that may be associated
with increasing age.
(c) COUNSELING PROCEDURES
AND CONSULTATION
METHODS.—The Secretary shall encourage and conduct re-
search and disseminate information to support and encour-
age the development of appropriate counseling procedures
and consultation methods with relatives, physicians, the
traffic safety enforcement and the motor vehicle licensing
communities, and other concerned parties. Such procedures
and methods shall include the promotion of voluntary ac-
tion by older high risk drivers to restrict or limit their driv-
ing when medical or other conditions indicate such action