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I
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 Administra-
tion 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 Administra-
tion to update the motor vehicle information required
to be submitted to the Administration to assist a con-
sumer in buying a passenger motor vehicle.
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 ‘‘Five-Stars for Safe
4
Cars Act’’.
5
SEC. 2. UPDATING THE 5-STAR SAFETY RATING SYSTEM.
6
Section 32302 of title 49, United States Code, is
7
amended by adding at the end the following:
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‘‘(e) ROADMAP.—
1
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after
2
the date of enactment of this subsection and every
3
year thereafter, the Secretary shall publish a clear
4
and concise report on a publicly accessible website
5
detailing efforts over the next five-year period to im-
6
prove the passenger motor vehicle information devel-
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oped under subsection (a).
8
‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—The report required under
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paragraph (1) shall include—
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‘‘(A) descriptions of actions that will be
11
taken to update the passenger motor vehicle in-
12
formation developed under subsection (a), in-
13
cluding the development of test procedures, test
14
devices, test fixtures, and safety performance
15
metrics;
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‘‘(B) key milestones, including the antici-
17
pated start of an action, completion of an ac-
18
tion, and effective date of an update; and
19
‘‘(C) descriptions of how an update will im-
20
prove the passenger motor vehicle information
21
developed under subsection (a).
22
‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing, imple-
23
menting, and updating the report required under
24
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—
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‘‘(A) identify and prioritize safety features
1
and technologies that are practicable and for
2
which objective rating tests and evaluation cri-
3
teria exists;
4
‘‘(B) when reasonable and in the public in-
5
terest, harmonize the passenger motor vehicle
6
information developed under subsection (a) with
7
other safety information programs, including
8
those administered internationally or by private
9
organizations, that provide comparisons of safe-
10
ty characteristics of passenger motor vehicles;
11
‘‘(C) establish objective criteria for the se-
12
lection of safety technologies to be rated;
13
‘‘(D) conduct annual review to evaluate ef-
14
fectiveness of the passenger motor vehicle infor-
15
mation produced under subsection (a) at im-
16
proving the safety of passenger motor vehicles;
17
‘‘(E) provide for a reasonable period of
18
time for compliance with new or updated tests;
19
and
20
‘‘(F) adhere to all deadlines established
21
under subsection (f).
22
‘‘(4) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Secretary shall
23
provide for a period of public comment and review
24
in developing the plan required under paragraph (1).
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‘‘(f) UPDATING THE 5-STAR SAFETY RATING SYS-
1
TEM.—
2
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after
3
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary
4
shall finalize the proceeding entitled New Car As-
5
sessment Program (80 Fed. Reg. 78521) to update
6
the passenger motor vehicle information required
7
under subsection (a).
8
‘‘(2) CRASHWORTHINESS.—In carrying out
9
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—
10
‘‘(A) update the test procedures and de-
11
vices, including anthropomorphic test devices,
12
used in tests;
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‘‘(B) establish new or refine injury criteria,
14
including but not limited to brain, thoracic and
15
abdomen, neck, and lower leg injury criteria;
16
‘‘(C) establish rear seat crashworthiness
17
tests and rating, including for seating positions
18
beyond the second row of seats;
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‘‘(D) establish crashworthiness tests for all
20
designated seating positions and ratings for el-
21
derly occupants;
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‘‘(E) establish crashworthiness tests for all
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rear designated seating positions and ratings
24
for children; and
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‘‘(F) ensure that crashworthiness tests ac-
1
count for occupancy of all designated seating
2
positions, as applicable.
3
‘‘(3) CRASH AVOIDANCE.—In carrying out para-
4
graph (1), the Secretary shall update and create, as
5
applicable, crash avoidance tests and ratings, which
6
shall include forward automatic emergency braking
7
(forward collision warning, crash imminent braking,
8
and dynamic brake support), lower beam head light
9
performance, semi-automatic headlamp beam switch-
10
ing, amber rear turn signal lamps, rear cross traffic
11
alert, lane departure warning, rear automatic emer-
12
gency braking, and blind spot detection.
13
‘‘(4) PEDESTRIAN
SAFETY.—In carrying out
14
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall establish tests
15
and ratings for pedestrian, bicyclist, and other vul-
16
nerable road users crashworthiness, including the
17
potential risks of injuries to the head, pelvis, upper
18
and lower leg, and crash avoidance, which shall in-
19
clude automatic emergency braking and rear auto-
20
matic emergency braking.
21
‘‘(5) ENHANCING
MOTOR
VEHICLE
INFORMA-
22
TION.—In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary
23
shall create a combined overall five-star vehicle rat-
24
ing and separate five-star ratings for crash-
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worthiness for adults (women and men), crash-
1
worthiness for elderly occupants, crashworthiness for
2
children, crash avoidance, and pedestrian and bicy-
3
cling crashworthiness and crash avoidance. The Sec-
4
retary shall ensure that the five-star ratings are
5
prominently displayed in stickers placed on motor
6
vehicles by their manufacturers and on a publicly
7
available and easily accessible website.
8
‘‘(6) POST-CRASH SAFETY.—
9
‘‘(A) Not later than 2 years after the date
10
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
11
complete research into the development of tests
12
for the following safety features—
13
‘‘(i) automatic collision notification;
14
and
15
‘‘(ii) advanced automatic collision no-
16
tification.
17
‘‘(B) After completion of the research re-
18
quired under subparagraph (A), the Secretary
19
shall include each of the safety features in the
20
passenger motor vehicle information developed
21
under subsection (a) not later than 3 years
22
after the date of enactment of this Act unless
23
the Secretary determines that doing so will not
24
improve the safety of passenger motor vehicles.
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‘‘(C) If the Secretary determines that in-
1
cluding one or more of the safety features in
2
passenger motor vehicle information developed
3
under subsection (a) will not improve the safety
4
of passenger motor vehicles, the Secretary shall
5
submit a report describing the reasons for not
6
including each of the safety features in the pas-
7
senger motor vehicle information developed
8
under subsection (a) to the Committee on En-
9
ergy and Commerce of the House of Represent-
10
atives and the Committee on Commerce,
11
Science, and Transportation of the Senate not
12
later than 3 years after the date of enactment
13
of this Act. If one or more of the safety fea-
14
tures is included in an international safety in-
15
formation program, the Secretary shall detail
16
why the tests and ratings from the international
17
safety information program, or substantially
18
similar tests and ratings, were not adopted.
19
‘‘(7) ADVANCED CRASH AVOIDANCE SYSTEMS.—
20
‘‘(A) Not later than 2 years after the date
21
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
22
complete research into the development of tests
23
for the following safety features—
24
‘‘(i) lane keeping assistance;
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‘‘(ii) traffic jam assist;
1
‘‘(iii) passive drunk driving prevention
2
system;
3
‘‘(iv) driver distraction prevention sys-
4
tem; and
5
‘‘(v) driver monitoring.
6
‘‘(B) After completion of the research re-
7
quired under subparagraph (A), the Secretary
8
shall include each of the safety features in the
9
crash avoidance rating not later than 3 years
10
after the date of enactment of this Act unless
11
the Secretary determines that doing so will not
12
improve the safety of passenger motor vehicles.
13
‘‘(C) If the Secretary determines that in-
14
cluding one or more of the safety features in
15
the crash avoidance rating required will not im-
16
prove the safety of passenger motor vehicles,
17
the Secretary shall submit a report describing
18
the reasons for not including each of the safety
19
features in the crash avoidance rating to the
20
Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
21
House of Representatives and the Committee
22
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of
23
the Senate not later than 3 years after the date
24
of enactment of this Act. If one or more of the
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safety features is included in an international
1
safety information program, the Secretary shall
2
detail why the tests and ratings from the inter-
3
national safety information program, or sub-
4
stantially similar tests and ratings, were not
5
adopted.
6
‘‘(8) CONTINUOUS UPDATES.—Not later than 3
7
years after completing the proceeding entitled New
8
Car Assessment Program (80 Fed. Reg. 78521) re-
9
quired under paragraph (1) and every 3 years there-
10
after, the Secretary shall update the passenger
11
motor vehicle information under subsection (a) to
12
expand consumer access to vehicles with improved
13
safety in accordance with the roadmap required
14
under subsection (e).
15
‘‘(9) REPORTING
REQUIREMENT.—Should the
16
Secretary fail to meet a deadline set forth in this
17
subsection, the Secretary shall complete and submit
18
a report to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
19
of the House of Representatives and the Committee
20
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
21
Senate within 1 month of such deadline, providing
22
an explanation for why the deadline was not met
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and a detailed plan and projected timeline for com-
1
pleting the requirements of this subsection.’’.
2
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