To direct the Secretary of Transportation to study the feasibility of more widespread use of in-vehicle technology to prevent alcohol-impaired driving, to require a Federal motor vehicle safety standard related to rollover prevention and crash mitigation, and for other purposes.

Bill: 111-hr-6518
Sponsor: Rep. Rush, Bobby L. [D-IL-1]
Introduced: 2010-12-13 in the House
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of Transportation
Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
Government information and archives
Higher education
Minority education
Motor carriers
Motor vehicles
Product safety and quality
Research administration and funding
Science and engineering education
Student aid and college costs
Technology assessment
Transportation safety and security

Summary:
action_date: 2010-12-13
text: 
Research of Alcohol Detection Systems for Stopping Alcohol-related Fatalities Everywhere Act of 2010 or ROADS SAFE Act of 2010 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation, acting through the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), to carry out a collaborative research effort to continue to explore the feasibility and the potential benefits of, and the public policy challenges associated with, more widespread deployment of in-vehicle technology to prevent alcohol-impaired driving.
 
Directs the Secretary to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to prescribe certain performance standards to reduce commercial motor vehicle rollover and loss of control crashes and associated deaths and injuries for air-braked truck tractors and motorcoaches with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 26,000 pounds.
 
Requires the Secretary to report to Congress regarding the quality of data collected through the National Automotive Sampling System, including the Special Crash Investigations, as well as recommendation for improvements to the data collection program.
 
Requires the Secretary to establish and publicize a hotline for mechanics, passenger motor vehicle dealership personnel, and passenger motor vehicle manufacturer personnel to contact NHTSA confidentially regarding potential passenger motor vehicle safety defects.
 
Requires the Secretary to establish within NHTSA an honors program for the recruitment of engineering, computer science, and other students interested in training with engineers and other safety officials for a career in vehicle safety.
 
Revises requirements for rules on early warning reporting by motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment manufacturers about vehicle or equipment defects. Requires early warning reports to include information on consumer complaints, warranty claims, field reports, or technical service bulletins.
 
Requires all early warning report information to be made available to the public, unless exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Presumes that information shall not be exempt from disclosure, and thus must be made public, if it is: (1) vehicle safety defect information related to incidents involving death or injury; (2) aggregated numbers of property damage claims; or (3) aggregated numbers of consumer complaints related to potential vehicle defects.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2010-12-13
text: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
action_date: 2010-12-13
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2010-12-13
text: Introduced in House