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This section directs the Secretary of Transportation, subject to the availability of appropriations and not later than three months after the date of enactment, to seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study on the effects of driver-controlled technology (e.g., touch screen-based systems replacing tactile motor vehicle controls) on driver distraction, property damage, severe traffic injuries, and traffic fatalities, including those involving pedestrians, bicyclists, and other vulnerable road users, and to prepare recommendations under section 3. The study covers a period determined by the Secretary that began no later than 10 years before the agreement date and addresses (1) the prevalence and characteristics of touch screen-based systems, (2) their impacts—including from system characteristics such as brightness and size—and those of non-touch screen driver-controlled technology, (3) user interface designs and effects on driver behavior, (4) a comparison of crash risks from touch screen manipulation versus non-projecting smartphone use while driving, (5) effects of time of day and road conditions (e.g., traffic, weather, commercial motor vehicles) including U.S. versus international differences and potential mitigations, and (6) other relevant information such as prior studies.
This section directs the Secretary of Transportation, not later than 24 months after entering into an agreement under section 2, to submit to Congress a report containing the findings of the study conducted under that section and to publish the report on the Department of Transportation website. Not later than two months after submitting the report, the Secretary must submit recommendations to Congress based on the study's findings, including recommendations (1) to reduce severe traffic injuries and traffic fatalities and (2) to modify the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, National Occupant Protection Use Surveys, and 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 on the use of touch screen-based systems and smartphones while driving, accounting for variations in state and local data collection methods. The Secretary must exclude recommendations that restate existing federal requirements and categorize the recommendations as (1) those implementable by a federal department or agency, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, under existing authority (including to develop or update guidance or standards on motor vehicle technology) or (2) those requiring enactment of new federal law.
This section defines, for purposes of the Act, the following terms: (1) commercial motor vehicle, as a vehicle defined in 49 U.S.C. § 31132 or a vehicle owned or operated by a transportation network company (as defined in section 346 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017); (2) driver-controlled technology, as optional motor vehicle controls and functions (including touch screen-based systems) that are unrelated to safe operation and not required by law or engaged by default (e.g., automatic braking); (3) motor vehicle, as a passenger motor vehicle under 49 U.S.C. § 32101; (4) tactile motor vehicle control, as a physical knob, switch, trackpad, or similar control (not a touch screen); and (5) touch screen-based system, as an in-vehicle computer with a primary touch screen interface that controls vehicle and infotainment functions and may incorporate tactile controls or smartphone projections.
This section establishes rules of construction for the Act providing that (1) it does not preclude or delay the promulgation of any regulation required or authorized by law, and (2) courts must defer to a reasonable interpretation of any ambiguous term by the Secretary of Transportation.