119-hr3360

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3360 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 3360

 To direct the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a study on the 
 effect of driver-controlled technology in motor vehicles with respect 
 to severe traffic injuries and traffic fatalities, and for other 
 purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 May 13, 2025

 Mr. Mullin introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To direct the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a study on the 
 effect of driver-controlled technology in motor vehicles with respect 
 to severe traffic injuries and traffic 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 ``Driver Technology and Pedestrian 
Safety Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. DRIVER-CONTROLLED TECHNOLOGY SAFETY STUDY.

    (a) Driver-Controlled Technology Safety Study Agreement.--Subject 
to the availability of appropriations, not later than 3 months after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation 
shall seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of 
Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine--

    (1) to conduct a study on the effect of driver-controlled 
 technology with respect to severe traffic injuries and traffic 
 fatalities, including severe injuries and fatalities of 
 pedestrians, bicyclists, and other vulnerable road users; and

    (2) to prepare the recommendations described in 

section 3.

    (b) Period of Time To Be Studied.--The Secretary of Transportation 
shall determine the period of time to be studied under subsection

    (a) , 
which shall be a period of time that began not later than 10 years 
before the date on which the Secretary enters into the agreement under 
subsection

    (a) .
            (c) Information.--The study described in subsection

    (a) shall 
address the following information:

    (1) The prevalence and characteristics of touch screen-
 based systems.

    (2) The impact on driver distraction, property damage, 
 severe traffic injuries, and traffic fatalities as a result of 
 the following:
        (A) Replacing tactile motor vehicle controls with 
 touch screen-based systems.
        (B) The characteristics of such systems, including 
 brightness and size.
            (C) Driver-controlled technology that is not a 
 touch screen-based system.

    (3) The user interface designs of touch screen-based 
 systems and other driver-controlled technology, and the effect 
 of those designs on driver behavior.

    (4) A comparison of--
        (A) the extent to which viewing or manipulating a 
 touch screen-based system while driving a motor vehicle 
 results in a severe traffic injury or a traffic 
 fatality; and
        (B) the extent to which viewing or manipulating a 
 smartphone, other than a smartphone that is projecting 
 a user interface to a touch screen-based system, while 
 driving a motor vehicle results in a severe traffic 
 injury or a traffic fatality.

    (5) Whether the time of day and other road conditions, 
 including traffic, weather, and the number of commercial motor 
 vehicles on a road, have a significant effect on the incidence 
 of severe traffic injuries and traffic fatalities, the extent 
 of any effect, the likely reasons for any effect, whether any 
 effect varies between the United States and other countries, 
 and any changes to touch screen-based systems and other driver-
 controlled technology that may help mitigate any effect.

    (6) Any other information that is relevant to the study, 
 which may include a previous study.

SEC. 3. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 24 months after the date on which the 
Secretary of Transportation enters into an agreement under 

section 2, 
the Secretary shall--

    (1) submit to Congress a report that includes the findings 
 of the study under 

section 2; and

    (2) publish the report on the public website of the 
 Department of Transportation.

    (b) Recommendations.--Not later than 2 months after the date on 
which the Secretary of Transportation satisfies the requirements of 
subsection

    (a) , the Secretary shall submit to Congress recommendations 
that are based on the findings of the study under 

section 2, including 
recommendations--

    (1) to reduce severe traffic injuries and traffic 
 fatalities; and

    (2) to change the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, the 
 National Occupant Protection Use Surveys, and the Model Minimum 
 Uniform Crash Criteria of the National Highway Traffic Safety 
 Administration, or another set of Federal surveys, to collect 
 as much data as practicable with respect to the use of a touch 
 screen-based system while driving a motor vehicle and the use 
 of a smartphone while driving a motor vehicle, given the 
 variation in the methods of data collection by States and units 
 of local government.
            (c) Categories.--In submitting the recommendations described in 
subsection

    (b) , the Secretary of Transportation--

    (1) may not include a recommendation that only restates an 
 existing requirement for a department or agency of the Federal 
 Government; and

    (2) shall divide the recommendations into the following 
 categories:
        (A) Any recommendations that a department or agency 
 of the Federal Government, including the National 
 Highway Traffic Safety Administration, may implement 
 under the existing authority of the department or 
 agency, including any authority of the department or 
 agency to develop or update guidance or standards on 
 motor vehicle technology.
        (B) Any recommendations that would require the 
 enactment of Federal law for a department or agency of 
 the Federal Government, including the National Highway 
 Traffic Safety Administration, to implement.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) Commercial motor vehicle.--The term ``commercial motor 
 vehicle'' means any of the following:
        (A) A commercial motor vehicle, as that term is 
 defined under 

section 31132 of title 49, United States 
 Code.
        (B) A vehicle owned or operated by a transportation 
 network company, as that term is defined under 

section 346 of the National Defense Authorization Act for 
 Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114-328; 10 U.S.C. 113 
 note).

    (2) Driver-controlled technology.--The term ``driver-
 controlled technology''--
        (A) means the controls and functions of a motor 
 vehicle that are engaged at the option of a driver of 
 the motor vehicle;
        (B) includes the functions that are related to 
 driving, are not related to the safe operation of the 
 motor vehicle, and do not involve the use of a system 
 that is required by law;
            (C) includes a touch screen-based system; and
            (D) does not include any functions that are engaged 
 by default as the motor vehicle is driven, such as 
 automatic braking, cameras, and dynamic lighting.

    (3) Motor vehicle.--The term ``motor vehicle'' means a 
 passenger motor vehicle, as that term is defined under 

section 32101 of title 49, United States Code.

    (4) Tactile motor vehicle control.--The term ``tactile 
 motor vehicle control'' means a knob, a switch, a trackpad, or 
 another physical control, that is in a motor vehicle and is not 
 a touch screen.

    (5) Touch screen-based system.--The term ``touch screen-
 based system'' means a computer that--
        (A) is in a motor vehicle;
        (B) controls the functions of the motor vehicle, 
 including the infotainment functions of the motor 
 vehicle;
            (C) has a primary user interface that consists of a 
 touch screen and on-screen software controls;
            (D) may be able to be manipulated by tactile motor 
 vehicle controls; and
        (E) may be able to display a user interface that is 
 projected from a smartphone.

SEC. 5. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

    (a) Regulations.--This Act shall not be construed to preclude or 
delay the promulgation of any regulation required or authorized by law.

    (b) Deference.--If a court finds that a term used in this Act is 
ambiguous, the court shall defer to a reasonable interpretation of the 
term by the Secretary of Transportation.
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