Cullum Owings Large Truck Safe Operating Speed Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3523 To require the Secretary of Transportation to promulgate standards and regulations requiring all new commercial motor vehicles to be equipped with technology to limit maximum operating speed, to require existing speed-limiting technologies already installed in commercial motor vehicles manufactured after 1992 to be used while in operation, and to require that the maximum safe operating speed of commercial motor vehicles shall not exceed 65 miles per hour, or 70 miles per hour with certain safety technologies. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 25, 2021 Mrs. MCBATH (for herself and Mr. KATKO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc- ture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned A BILL To require the Secretary of Transportation to promulgate standards and regulations requiring all new commercial motor vehicles to be equipped with technology to limit maximum operating speed, to require existing speed-lim- iting technologies already installed in commercial motor vehicles manufactured after 1992 to be used while in operation, and to require that the maximum safe oper- ating speed of commercial motor vehicles shall not exceed VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3523.IH H3523 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3523 IH 65 miles per hour, or 70 miles per hour with certain safety technologies. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cullum Owings Large 4 Truck Safe Operating Speed Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD AND 6 FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY REGULA- 7 TION FOR SPEED-LIMITING TECHNOLOGIES. 8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 9 (1) according to the Federal Motor Carrier 10 Safety Administration, during the period beginning 11 on January 1, 2004, and ending on December 31, 12 2013, 10,440 people were killed in motor vehicle 13 crashes in which the speed of a commercial motor 14 vehicle likely contributed to severity; 15 (2) a 2007 survey of truck drivers by the Insur- 16 ance Institute for Highway Safety determined that 17 64 percent of the drivers were in favor of a speed- 18 limiting requirement; 19 (3) according to a 2012 study commissioned by 20 the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 21 trucks not using a speed-limiting technology had a 22 speed limit-relevant crash rate almost 2 times higher 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3523.IH H3523 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3523 IH than the rate of trucks using a speed-limiting tech- 1 nology; 2 (4) speed-limiting devices have been required to 3 be installed and used on commercial motor vehicles 4 throughout the world, including in— 5 (A) Australia, which has required the use 6 of those devices since 1990; 7 (B) the United Kingdom, which has re- 8 quired the use of those devices since 1992; and 9 (C) the European Union, which has re- 10 quired the use of those devices since 1994; and 11 (5) the Department of Transportation has been 12 examining the issues involving speed-limiting tech- 13 nologies since at least 2006. 14 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 15 (1) ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL SYSTEM.—The 16 term ‘‘adaptive cruise control system’’ means a sys- 17 tem on a commercial motor vehicle that is de- 18 signed— 19 (A) to maintain a set speed; and 20 (B) when applicable, to adjust the set 21 speed to maintain a specified distance from a 22 lead vehicle. 23 (2) AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING SYS- 24 TEM.—The term ‘‘automatic emergency braking sys- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3523.IH H3523 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3523 IH tem’’ means a system on a commercial motor vehicle 1 that— 2 (A) detects potential collisions; 3 (B) provides to the driver a warning of 4 each detected potential collision; and 5 (C) applies brakes automatically when a 6 forward collision is imminent. 7 (3) COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE.—The term 8 ‘‘commercial motor vehicle’’ means a motor vehicle 9 that— 10 (A) is used in interstate commerce; and 11 (B) has a gross vehicle weight rating or a 12 gross vehicle weight of not less than 26,001 13 pounds. 14 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 15 the Secretary of Transportation. 16 (5) SPEED-LIMITING TECHNOLOGY.—The term 17 ‘‘speed-limiting technology’’ means a technology that 18 prevents a commercial motor vehicle from exceeding 19 a preprogrammed maximum speed. 20 (c) FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD 21 AND MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY REGULATION.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 23 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 24 shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3523.IH H3523 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3523 IH (A) acting through the Administrator of 1 the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis- 2 tration, issue a final rule that— 3 (i) establishes a Federal motor vehicle 4 safety standard that requires that all com- 5 mercial motor vehicles manufactured after 6 the effective date of the standard shall be 7 equipped with a speed-limiting technology; 8 and 9 (ii) prescribes performance standards 10 for speed-limiting technologies, automatic 11 emergency braking systems, and adaptive 12 cruise control systems that reduce or miti- 13 gate collisions at speeds of not faster than 14 70 miles per hour; and 15 (B) acting through the Administrator of 16 the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administra- 17 tion, issue a final rule that establishes a Fed- 18 eral motor carrier safety regulation that re- 19 quires that any existing speed-limiting tech- 20 nology already installed in a commercial motor 21 vehicle manufactured after December 31, 1992, 22 shall be used at any time during which the com- 23 mercial motor vehicle is in operation, in accord- 24 ance with paragraph (2). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3523.IH H3523 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3523 IH (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In issuing a final rule 1 pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 2 (A) include requirements to ensure that 3 each speed-limiting technology— 4 (i) accurately measures the speed of 5 the applicable commercial motor vehicle; 6 and 7 (ii) maintains a maximum speed of 8 not faster than 65 miles per hour, or not 9 faster than 70 miles per hour with the use 10 of an adaptive cruise control system and 11 an automatic emergency braking system, 12 to ensure the safety of commercial motor 13 vehicle drivers and the public, regardless of 14 whether the speed-limiting technology was 15 installed in the commercial motor vehicle— 16 (I) prior to the effective date of 17 the standard or regulation; or 18 (II) for purposes of achieving 19 compliance with the standard under 20 paragraph (1)(A); and 21 (B) as necessary, amend any Federal 22 motor vehicle safety standards or Federal motor 23 carrier safety regulations to require that all 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3523.IH H3523 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3523 IH commercial motor vehicles shall travel at a 1 speed of not faster than— 2 (i) 65 miles per hour; or 3 (ii) 70 miles per hour with the use of 4 adaptive cruise control systems and auto- 5 matic emergency braking systems. 6 (3) SECRETARIAL REVIEW.— 7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently 8 than once every 5 years, the Secretary shall 9 conduct a review of all applicable Federal 10 speed-governing regulations, taking into consid- 11 eration— 12 (i) deployed safety technologies avail- 13 able in commercial motor vehicles; 14 (ii) the overall impact of the safety 15 technologies described in clause (i) on 16 highway safety; and 17 (iii) available data relating to the use 18 of speed-limiting technologies by commer- 19 cial motor vehicles. 20 (B) PURPOSE.—The purpose of each re- 21 view under this paragraph shall be to ensure 22 that proven technologies and data are consid- 23 ered in the context of speed-governing regula- 24 tions to enhance road safety. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3523.IH H3523 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3523 IH (C) RECOMMENDATIONS; PUBLICATION.— 1 On conclusion of each review under this para- 2 graph, the Secretary shall— 3 (i) submit to Congress recommenda- 4 tions for improvement of Federal speed- 5 governing regulations, if any; and 6 (ii) publish and provide an oppor- 7 tunity for public comment regarding the 8 findings of the review and recommenda- 9 tions, if any. 10 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 12 the date of enactment of this Act, each commercial 13 motor vehicle that is subject to the standard estab- 14 lished under subsection (c)(1)(A) shall ensure that a 15 speed-limiting technology establishes and maintains 16 for the commercial motor vehicle a maximum safe 17 speed of not faster than— 18 (A) 65 miles per hour; or 19 (B) 70 miles per hour with the use of an 20 adaptive cruise control system and an auto- 21 matic emergency braking system. 22 (2) VERIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH RE- 23 QUIREMENTS.—The owner of each commercial motor 24 vehicle subject to a requirement under this section 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3523.IH H3523 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3523 IH shall verify, and submit to the Secretary a certifi- 1 cation of, compliance with the requirement at such 2 time and in such manner as the Secretary may es- 3 tablish, by regulation. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3523.IH H3523 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS