[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3039 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3039
To prevent drunk driving injuries and fatalities, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 25, 2010
Mr. Udall of New Mexico (for himself and Mr. Corker) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prevent drunk driving injuries and fatalities, and for other
purposes.
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 ``Research of Alcohol Detection
Systems for Stopping Alcohol-related Fatalities Everywhere Act of
2010'' or the ``ROADS SAFE Act of 2010''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Alcohol-impaired driving fatalities represent
approximately \1/3\ of all highway fatalities in the United
States in a given year.
(2) In 2008, there were 11,773 alcohol-impaired driving
fatalities.
(3) An estimated 9,000 road traffic deaths could be
prevented every year if alcohol detection technologies were
more widely used to prevent alcohol-impaired drivers from
operating their vehicles.
(4) The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has
partnered with automobile manufacturers to develop alcohol
detection technologies that could be installed in vehicles to
prevent drunk driving.
(5) Alcohol detection technologies will not be widely
accepted by the public unless they are moderately priced,
absolutely reliable, and set at a level that would not prevent
a driver whose blood alcohol content is less than the legal
limit from operating a vehicle.
SEC. 3. DRIVER ALCOHOL DETECTION SYSTEM FOR SAFETY RESEARCH.
(a) In General.--The Administrator of the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration shall carry out a collaborative research effort
under section 301 of title 49, United States Code, 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.
(b) Reports.--The Administrator shall submit a report annually to
the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the
House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce--
(1) describing progress in carrying out the collaborative
research effort; and
(2) including an accounting for the use of Federal funds
obligated or expended in carrying out that effort.
SEC. 4. DEFINTIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Alcohol-impaired driving.--The term ``alcohol-impaired
driving'' means operation of a motor vehicle (as defined in
section 30102(a)(6) of title 49, United States Code) by an
individual whose blood alcohol content is at or above the legal
limit.
(2) Legal limit.--The term ``legal limit'' means a blood
alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or greater (as specified
by section 163 of title 23, United States Code) or such other
percentage limitation as may be established by applicable
Federal, State, or local law.
SEC. 5. APPLICATION WITH OTHER LAWS.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to modify or otherwise
affect any Federal, State, or local government law, civil or criminal,
with respect to the operation of a motor vehicle.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated out of the
Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) $12,000,000
for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015 to carry out the
collaborative research effort under section 3(a).
(b) Excess Funds.--Any amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection
(a) that are not needed to carry out collaborative research under
section 3(a) may be used by the Secretary of Transportation for highway
safety research in accordance with section 301 of title 49, United
States Code, and section 403 of title 23, United States Code.
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