S 2952 IS
102d CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2952
To establish a grant program under the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration for the purpose of promoting the use of bicycle helmets by
individuals under the age of 16.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 2 (legislative day, JUNE 16), 1992
Mr. METZENBAUM introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
A BILL
To establish a grant program under the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration for the purpose of promoting the use of bicycle helmets by
individuals under the age of 16.
  Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
  States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  This Act may be cited the `Children's Bicycle Helmet Safety Act of 1992'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  The Congress finds that--
  (1) 90,000,000 Americans ride bicycles and 20,000,000 of these bicyclists
  are children who ride a bicycle more than once a week;
  (2) in 1990 more than 800 bicyclists in the United States were killed and
  over 580,000 were treated in emergency rooms for bicycle-related injuries;
  400 of those killed and more than 380,000 of those injured were under the
  age of 14;
  (3) head injuries are involved in 75 percent of all bicyclist deaths;
  (4) deaths and injuries from bicycle accidents cost society $7,600,000,000
  annually; a child suffering from a head injury, on average, will cost
  society $4,500,000 over the child's lifetime;
  (5) bicycle helmets have been shown to reduce the risk of head injury by
  85 percent and the risk of brain injury by almost 90 percent; and
  (6) only 5 percent of children in the Nation who ride bicycles wear helmets.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.
  (a) IN GENERAL- The Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety
  Administration (hereafter referred to in this Act as the `Administrator')
  shall, in accordance with this Act, make grants to States, political
  subdivisions of a State, and nonprofit organizations, to assist in
  establishing or maintaining programs that require or encourage individuals
  under the age of 16 to wear approved bicycle helmets.
  (b) DEFINITION- For the purposes of this Act, the term `approved bicycle
  helmet' means a bicycle helmet that meets--
  (1) any of the interim standards set forth in section 5(a), pending the
  establishment of a final standard under section 5(d); or
  (2) the final standard, once it has been established pursuant to section
  5(d).
  (c) APPLICATIONS- Applications for grants under this Act shall be made
  in such form and such manner as the Administrator shall, by regulation,
  require. Each application shall include an evaluation component designed
  to measure the effectiveness of any program for which assistance is sought.
SEC. 4. ELIGIBLE USES.
  A grant under this Act may be used to--
  (1) enforce any law that requires or encourages individuals under the age
  of 16 to wear approved bicycle helmets while riding bicycles;
  (2) assist individuals under the age of 16 to acquire approved bicycle
  helmets;
  (3) develop and administer a program to educate individuals under the age
  of 16 and their families on the importance of wearing approved bicycle
  helmets; or
  (4) carry out any combination of the activities described in paragraphs (1),
  (2), and (3).
SEC. 5. STANDARDS.
  (a) IN GENERAL- Bicycle helmets manufactured 60 days or more after the
  date of the enactment of this Act shall conform to--
  (1) any of the interim standards set forth in subsection (b), pending the
  establishment of a final standard pursuant to subsection (d); or
  (2) the final standard, once it has been established under subsection (d).
  (b) INTERIM STANDARDS- The interim standards are as follows:
  (1) The American National Standards Institute standard designated as
  `Z90.4-1984'.
  (2) The Snell Memorial Foundation standard designated as `B-90'.
  (3) Any other standard that the Consumer Product Safety Commission determines
  is appropriate.
  (c) FAILURE TO MEET STANDARD- Pending the establishment of a final standard
  under subsection (d), a helmet that does not conform to an interim standard
  set forth in subsection (b) shall be considered in violation of a consumer
  product safety standard promulgated under the Consumer Product Safety Act
  (15 U.S.C. 2051 et seq.).
  (d) FINAL STANDARD- Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment
  of this Act, the Consumer Product Safety Commission shall begin a proceeding
  under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, to--
  (1) review the requirements of the interim standards set forth in subsection
  (a) and establish a final standard based on such requirements;
  (2) include in the final standard a provision to protect against the risk
  of helmets coming off the heads of bicycle riders;
  (3) include in the final standard provisions that address the risk of
  injury to children; and
  (4) include additional provisions as appropriate.
  (e) CONSUMER PRODUCTS SAFETY STANDARD- The final standard established
  under subsection (d) shall be considered a consumer product safety standard
  under the Consumer Product Safety Act.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
  There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act $2,000,000
  for fiscal year 1993, $3,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, and $4,000,000 for
  fiscal year 1995.