S. 1938 (111th): Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2010

Introduced:
Oct 27, 2009 (111th Congress, 2009–2010)
Sponsor:
Sen. John “Jay” Rockefeller IV [D-WV]
Status:
Died (Reported by Committee)

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. S. stands for Senate bill.

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Status

This bill was introduced on June 9, 2010, in a previous session of Congress, but was not enacted.

Progress
Introduced Oct 27, 2009
Referred to Committee Oct 27, 2009
Reported by Committee Jun 09, 2010
Cosponsors
10 cosponsors (7D, 3R) (show)
Committees

Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation

Senate Environment and Public Works

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

A bill to establish a program to reduce injuries and deaths caused by cellphone use and texting while driving.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated Nov 30, 2010.
30 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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Citation

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

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Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

11/30/2010.
Section 2 -
Directs the Secretary of Transportation to make grants beginning FY2011 to states that enact laws that prohibit, with certain exceptions, and establish fines for texting and/or handheld cellphone use while driving. Requires a state that receives a grant to allocate: (1) at least 50% to educate and advertise to the public about the dangers of texting or using a cellphone while driving as well as enforce the distracted driving law; and (2) up to 50% for other traffic safety improvement projects.
Section 3 -
Directs the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to administer a distracted driving national education program with at least two high-visibility education and advertising campaigns for FY2011 and FY2012.
Section 4 -
Revises requirements directing states and local governments that receive NHTSA grants to collect certain data elements regarding vehicle crash causation.
Requires such governments to:
(1) require the recording in official vehicle accident investigation reports of whether a personal wireless communications device was in use at the time of an accident,
(2) require that all law enforcement officers inquire about and record the use of such a device, and
(3) incorporate the information into its traffic safety information system.
Section 5 -
Requires the Secretary to establish a research program to study distracted driving by passenger and commercial vehicle drivers. Authorizes the Secretary to grant research contracts for this purpose to nongovernmental entities.
Section 6 -
Directs the the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to report to Congress on existing and developing wireless communications technology that may be used to reduce problems associated with distracted driving.
Section 7 -
Makes an exception to the prohibition against lobbying by NHTSA of state or local legislators to allow NHTSA to provide states with government-sponsored research and highway safety data or technical assistance relating to legislative proposals addressing the potential dangers of texting and cell phone use.
Section 8 -
Requires the Secretary to: (1) prescribe regulations on the use of electronic or wireless devices, including cell phones and other distracting devices, by operators of commercial motor vehicles and school buses; and (2) prohibit their use in circumstances where it interferes with the driver's safe operation of the vehicles.
Section 9 -
Amends the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) to earmark for the distracted driving national education program $7.5 million from unused FY2010 funds for safety belt performance grants to states.
Section 10 -
Directs the Secretary to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to prescribe a federal motor vehicle safety standard to prohibit electronic screens in cars from displaying visual entertainment that is visible to the driver while driving. Allows, however, electronic screens that display information or images regarding vehicle operation, vehicle surroundings, communications systems, and navigation systems.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

No summary available.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

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The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

Slip Laws

Slip laws refer to enacted bills and joint resolutions in their original form as enacted by Congress, that is, before other laws amend them. Slip laws are cited as “Public Law XXX-YYY”, where XXX is the number of the Congress in which the bill or resolution was introduced.

  • Public Law 109-59

United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)

Other Citations

  • 23 U.S.C. Chapter 4
  • 49 U.S.C. Chapter 311