[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. <all>