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 hand- 
held mobile devices while driving, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe Drivers Act of 
2011’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) hand-held personal wireless devices are not 
only instrumentalities and channels of interstate 
commerce, but products of interstate commerce; 
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(2) for those reasons, regulation of the use of 
hand-held mobile telephones and personal wireless 
devices is covered by the power of Congress to regu-
late interstate commerce as enumerated in article I, 
section 8 of the Constitution; 
(3) additionally, the Supreme Court held in 
South Dakota v. Dole, 483 U.S. 203 (June 23, 
1987), that Congress may condition Federal high-
way funding on State compliance with certain condi-
tions; 
(4) according to a National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration (NHTSA) driver distraction 
may be grouped into manual, visual, and cognitive 
distractions; 
(5) according to Cisco Systems Inc., North 
American mobile broadband traffic will grow fifty 
times between 2009–2014; 
(6) and according to CTIA, the main factors 
driving the rise in the use of mobile traffic include 
the increasing availability and capabilities of 
smartphones, and new form factors (such as tab-
lets), for consumers; 
(7) as of the date of enactment of this Act, only 
8 States and the District of Columbia ban mobile 
device use for all drivers; 
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(8) the Secretary of Transportation, Ray 
LaHood, has recognized the significance of increased 
driver distraction as a result of wireless devices by 
launching an aggressive educational campaign, 
issuing Department regulations, and consecutive 
‘‘Distracted Driving Summits’’ with affected indus-
tries; 
(9) it is necessary, therefore, for Congress to 
act to protect the safety of all people in the United 
States on highways, roads, and railways in the 
United States; and 
(10) Federal legislation to address the problem 
of distracted driving is necessary to ensure that na-
tional minimum standards of protection exist uni-
formly. 
SEC. 3. REPORT ON DISTRACT DRIVING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 
shall conduct a comprehensive study on distracted driving, 
including cognitive distraction when driving. The study 
should also include driver distraction impacts on young, 
inexperienced drivers and build upon past reports and 
findings that the Department has conducted. 
(b) REPORT FINDINGS.—Not later than 2 years after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall sub-
mit a report regarding the findings of the study under 
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subsection (a) to the appropriate committees of Congress, 
including any recommendations to revise the requirement 
for minimum penalties under section 167(b)(2) of title 23, 
United States Code. 
SEC. 4. OPERATION OF MOTOR VEHICLES WHILE USING A 
HAND-HELD MOBILE DEVICE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 23, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘SEC. 167. OPERATION OF MOTOR VEHICLES USING A 
HAND-HELD MOBILE DEVICE. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section the following 
definitions apply: 
‘‘(1) HAND-HELD MOBILE DEVICE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘hand-held 
mobile device’ means a mobile telephone or 
other personal wireless communication device 
that is meant for use with at least 1 hand. 
‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘hand-held 
mobile device’ does not include— 
‘‘(i) a voice-operated, vehicle-inte-
grated, or any device that requires the use 
of either hand to activate or deactivate a 
feature or function, or use in a hands-free 
manner; or 
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ment under paragraph (2) of this subsection as of 
that date. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—A State shall meet the 
requirement under this paragraph if the State has 
enacted and is enforcing a law that— 
‘‘(A) except in the event of an emergency, 
prohibits an operator, on a public road, of a 
moving or idling motor vehicle from using a 
hand-held mobile device; and 
‘‘(B) requires, upon conviction of a viola-
tion of such State law, the imposition of pen-
alties in accordance with the requirements for 
minimum penalties described in the regulations 
issued under subsection (d). 
‘‘(c) RECOVERY OF FUNDS WITHHELD.—All funds 
withheld under this section from apportionment to a State 
for 1 or more fiscal years shall be available for apportion-
ment to the State immediately upon a determination by 
the Secretary that the State meets the requirement under 
paragraph (2). 
‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 
issue regulations to carry out this section, including re-
quirements for minimum penalties for violations of the 
prohibition under subsection (b)(2) (A) and (B) that— 
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‘‘(1) specify a minimum penalty for a first of-
fense; and 
‘‘(2) stipulate that penalties shall be graduated 
for repeat offenses.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis of chap-
ter 1 of title such title is amended by adding after section 
166 the following: 
‘‘167. Operation of motor vehicles using a hand-held mobile device.’’. 
Æ 
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