[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6256 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6256
To require the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to update
the motor vehicle information required to be submitted to the
Administration to assist a consumer in buying a passenger motor
vehicle.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 12, 2020
Mr. Pallone (for himself and Ms. Schakowsky) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to update
the motor vehicle information required to be submitted to the
Administration to assist a consumer in buying a passenger motor
vehicle.
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 as the ``Five-Stars for Safe Cars Act''.
SEC. 2. UPDATING THE 5-STAR SAFETY RATING SYSTEM.
Section 32302 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(e) Roadmap.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this subsection and every year thereafter, the
Secretary shall publish a clear and concise report on a
publicly accessible website detailing efforts over the next
five-year period to improve the passenger motor vehicle
information developed under subsection (a).
``(2) Elements.--The report required under paragraph (1)
shall include--
``(A) descriptions of actions that will be taken to
update the passenger motor vehicle information
developed under subsection (a), including the
development of test procedures, test devices, test
fixtures, and safety performance metrics;
``(B) key milestones, including the anticipated
start of an action, completion of an action, and
effective date of an update; and
``(C) descriptions of how an update will improve
the passenger motor vehicle information developed under
subsection (a).
``(3) Requirements.--In developing, implementing, and
updating the report required under paragraph (1), the Secretary
shall--
``(A) identify and prioritize safety features and
technologies that are practicable and for which
objective rating tests and evaluation criteria exists;
``(B) when reasonable and in the public interest,
harmonize the passenger motor vehicle information
developed under subsection (a) with other safety
information programs, including those administered
internationally or by private organizations, that
provide comparisons of safety characteristics of
passenger motor vehicles;
``(C) establish objective criteria for the
selection of safety technologies to be rated;
``(D) conduct annual review to evaluate
effectiveness of the passenger motor vehicle
information produced under subsection (a) at improving
the safety of passenger motor vehicles;
``(E) provide for a reasonable period of time for
compliance with new or updated tests; and
``(F) adhere to all deadlines established under
subsection (f).
``(4) Public comment.--The Secretary shall provide for a
period of public comment and review in developing the plan
required under paragraph (1).
``(f) Updating the 5-Star Safety Rating System.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall finalize the
proceeding entitled New Car Assessment Program (80 Fed. Reg.
78521) to update the passenger motor vehicle information
required under subsection (a).
``(2) Crashworthiness.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the
Secretary shall--
``(A) update the test procedures and devices,
including anthropomorphic test devices, used in tests;
``(B) establish new or refine injury criteria,
including but not limited to brain, thoracic and
abdomen, neck, and lower leg injury criteria;
``(C) establish rear seat crashworthiness tests and
rating, including for seating positions beyond the
second row of seats;
``(D) establish crashworthiness tests for all
designated seating positions and ratings for elderly
occupants;
``(E) establish crashworthiness tests for all rear
designated seating positions and ratings for children;
and
``(F) ensure that crashworthiness tests account for
occupancy of all designated seating positions, as
applicable.
``(3) Crash avoidance.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the
Secretary shall update and create, as applicable, crash
avoidance tests and ratings, which shall include forward
automatic emergency braking (forward collision warning, crash
imminent braking, and dynamic brake support), lower beam head
light performance, semi-automatic headlamp beam switching,
amber rear turn signal lamps, rear cross traffic alert, lane
departure warning, rear automatic emergency braking, and blind
spot detection.
``(4) Pedestrian safety.--In carrying out paragraph (1),
the Secretary shall establish tests and ratings for pedestrian,
bicyclist, and other vulnerable road users crashworthiness,
including the potential risks of injuries to the head, pelvis,
upper and lower leg, and crash avoidance, which shall include
automatic emergency braking and rear automatic emergency
braking.
``(5) Enhancing motor vehicle information.--In carrying out
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall create a combined overall
five-star vehicle rating and separate five-star ratings for
crashworthiness for adults (women and men), crashworthiness for
elderly occupants, crashworthiness for children, crash
avoidance, and pedestrian and bicycling crashworthiness and
crash avoidance. The Secretary shall ensure that the five-star
ratings are prominently displayed in stickers placed on motor
vehicles by their manufacturers and on a publicly available and
easily accessible website.
``(6) Post-crash safety.--
``(A) Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall complete
research into the development of tests for the
following safety features--
``(i) automatic collision notification; and
``(ii) advanced automatic collision
notification.
``(B) After completion of the research required
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall include
each of the safety features in the passenger motor
vehicle information developed under subsection (a) not
later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this
Act unless the Secretary determines that doing so will
not improve the safety of passenger motor vehicles.
``(C) If the Secretary determines that including
one or more of the safety features in passenger motor
vehicle information developed under subsection (a) will
not improve the safety of passenger motor vehicles, the
Secretary shall submit a report describing the reasons
for not including each of the safety features in the
passenger motor vehicle information developed under
subsection (a) to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate not
later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this
Act. If one or more of the safety features is included
in an international safety information program, the
Secretary shall detail why the tests and ratings from
the international safety information program, or
substantially similar tests and ratings, were not
adopted.
``(7) Advanced crash avoidance systems.--
``(A) Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall complete
research into the development of tests for the
following safety features--
``(i) lane keeping assistance;
``(ii) traffic jam assist;
``(iii) passive drunk driving prevention
system;
``(iv) driver distraction prevention
system; and
``(v) driver monitoring.
``(B) After completion of the research required
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall include
each of the safety features in the crash avoidance
rating not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of this Act unless the Secretary determines
that doing so will not improve the safety of passenger
motor vehicles.
``(C) If the Secretary determines that including
one or more of the safety features in the crash
avoidance rating required will not improve the safety
of passenger motor vehicles, the Secretary shall submit
a report describing the reasons for not including each
of the safety features in the crash avoidance rating to
the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation of the Senate not later than 3 years
after the date of enactment of this Act. If one or more
of the safety features is included in an international
safety information program, the Secretary shall detail
why the tests and ratings from the international safety
information program, or substantially similar tests and
ratings, were not adopted.
``(8) Continuous updates.--Not later than 3 years after
completing the proceeding entitled New Car Assessment Program
(80 Fed. Reg. 78521) required under paragraph (1) and every 3
years thereafter, the Secretary shall update the passenger
motor vehicle information under subsection (a) to expand
consumer access to vehicles with improved safety in accordance
with the roadmap required under subsection (e).
``(9) Reporting requirement.--Should the Secretary fail to
meet a deadline set forth in this subsection, the Secretary
shall complete and submit a report to the Committee on Energy
and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate within 1
month of such deadline, providing an explanation for why the
deadline was not met and a detailed plan and projected timeline
for completing the requirements of this subsection.''.
<all>