To amend title 23, United States Code, to provide incentives to States for the development of traffic safety programs to reduce crashes related to driver fatigue and sleep deprivation.

February 27, 2003

Mr. ANDREWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

To amend title 23, United States Code, to provide incentives to States for the development of traffic safety programs to reduce crashes related to driver fatigue and sleep deprivation.

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 `Maggie's Law: National Drowsy Driving Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:

(1) A 1995 Federal study conservatively estimated that each year--

(A) 100,000 police-reported motor vehicle crashes are caused by the drowsiness or fatigue of the operator;

(B) 1,550 deaths and 71,000 injuries are the direct result of a driver falling asleep at the wheel of a motor vehicle; and

(C) these crashes represent at least $12,500,000,000 in diminished productivity and property loss.

(2) Scientific research further demonstrates that--

(A) 1,000,000 crashes are caused by driver inattention each year; and

(B) sleep deprivation and fatigue make such attention lapses more likely to occur.

(3) An insufficient amount of statistical data and documentation concerning fatigue-related motor vehicle crashes is available. Federal statistics significantly under-report the problem of driver fatigue because the statistics are derived primarily from police accident reports, and studies indicate that less than one-half of all crashes are reported to the police.

(4) Further complicating the collection of accurate data are the following facts:

(A) Most police officers are not trained to detect sleep-related crashes.

(B) There is no test to determine sleepiness as there is for drunk drivers.

(C) There are still States that do not have proper codes for sleepiness on their crash report forms.

(D) Based on clinical studies, many people are unable to accurately recognize when they have nodded-off for a short period of time (microsleep), thus raising questions about the reliability of self-reporting.

(5) In 1999, a scientifically conducted national survey of Americans found that 23 percent of respondents reported that they personally know someone who crashed in the past year due to falling asleep at the wheel.

(6) In 2001, a scientifically conducted national survey of Americans found that in the past year--

(A) 53 percent of all adults reported driving while drowsy;

(B) 19 percent reported that they had actually dozed off while driving; and

(C) one percent reported that they had crashed because they dozed off.

(7) Studies confirm that while anyone can be at risk for drowsy driving, there are several population groups that are significantly at higher risk--

(A) young people under the age of 26, who tend to stay up late, sleep too little, and drive at night, represent about 55 percent of all fall asleep crashes;

(B) there are over 20,000,000 shift workers in America and studies suggest that 20 percent to 30 percent of individuals with nontraditional work schedules have had a fatigue-related driving mishap in the last year;

(C) commercial drivers are susceptible to fatigue-related crashes due to their driving schedules and the amount of miles they drive during the year;

(D) commercial drivers have a high prevalence of a sleep and breathing disorder called sleep apnea; and

(E) 40,000,000 Americans suffer from sleep disorders; left untreated, disorders such as sleep apnea can increase crash risk 3 to 7 times.

(8) In 1995, a study found that some roads, such as high-speed, long, boring, rural highways, are more dangerous than others for sleep-deprived motorists. The New York State Police estimated that 40 percent of all fatal crashes along the New York Thruway were the result of a driver falling asleep at the wheel.

(9) Studies, such as the following, indicate that continuous shoulder rumble strips are effective countermeasures to drift-off-the-road crashes, which are characteristic of drowsy driving, and fall-asleep crashes--

(A) New York State reports that accidents caused by drivers falling asleep at 13 sites on the New York Thruway were reduced by 84 percent following the installation of continuous shoulder rumble strips.

(B) Pennsylvania reports a reduction of guard rail or embankment accidents at 5 sites on the Pennsylvania Turnpike following rumble strip installation.

(C) In 1995, an expert panel consisting of university and federal researchers convened to assess the current research regarding the effectiveness of continuous shoulder rumble strips and to make recommendations about their use. The panel concluded that rumble strips reduce drift-off-the-road crashes anywhere from 15 to 70 percent depending on road type and rumble strip design being used.

SEC. 3. DROWSY DRIVING EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

Chapter 4 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`SEC. 412. DROWSY DRIVING EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

`(a) AWARDS- The Secretary may enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, and may make grants to, State highway offices and other experienced drowsy driving safety organizations to obtain and distribute national, State, and local drowsy driving education programs and supporting educational materials.

`(b) USE OF FUNDS- Funds provided under a contract, cooperative agreement, or grant under subsection (a) shall be used--

`(1) to implement drowsy driving programs which are designed to prevent deaths and injuries due to drivers who are impaired by fatigue and sleep deprivation and which--

`(A) educate the public in all aspects of the dangers of driving while impaired by fatigue or drowsiness as a result of sleep deprivation, untreated sleep disorders, sedating medications, and alcohol use;

`(B) educate the public to recognize the signs of fatigue while driving and how to take appropriate countermeasures to avoid fall-asleep crashes;

`(C) train and retrain traffic safety professionals, police officers, fire and emergency medical personnel, and other educators in all aspects of drowsy driving prevention; and

`(B) train police officers and accident reconstructionists to identify fatigue impairment among drivers and as a factor in motor vehicle crashes;

`(2) to develop a standardized, scientifically accurate curriculum on the risks and prevention of drowsy driving and fall-asleep motor vehicle crashes and take steps to--

`(A) develop and integrate a drowsy driving curriculum component into all driver's education courses under the purview of a State's transportation department;

`(B) ensure that State departments of transportation, health and education work together to include a drowsy driving component in all driver's education and health education curricula; and

`(C) the State departments of transportation shall develop a curriculum on drowsy driving for training the instructors who teach any course covering driver education or traffic safety.

`(3) to consult and collaborate with existing national drowsy driving campaigns to foster the distribution of scientifically-based information and educational messages regarding drowsy driving and fall-asleep crashes and to review existing State model programs for experience and guidance;

`(4) to adopt formal policy statements and work plans for the installation and expansion of continuous shoulder rumble strips during highway resurfacing and new construction programs for interstate highways and submit a report to the Secretary each fiscal year describing the number of highway miles and locations where continuous shoulder rumble strips have been installed on their state highway system;

`(5) to adopt formal codes on motor vehicle accident report forms to report fatigue-related or fall-asleep crashes;

`(6) to provide enforcement personnel training in the detection and reporting of drowsy driving as a factor in motor vehicle crashes; and

`(7) provide education programs to the police and the courts regarding the sanctions available for drowsy driving accidents.

`(d) APPLICATIONS- An entity desiring a contract, cooperative agreement, or grant under subsection (a) shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Secretary may reasonably require.

`(e) REPORTS TO SECRETARY- An entity which receives a contract, cooperative agreement, or grant under subsection (a) shall prepare and submit to the Secretary an annual report during the period in which it receives funds under such contract, cooperative agreement, or grant. Such a report shall contain such information as the Secretary may require and shall, at a minimum, describe the program activities undertaken with such funds, including--

`(1) any drowsy driving education program that has been developed directly or indirectly by such entity and the target population of such program;

`(2) support materials of such a program that have been obtained by such entity and the method by which the entity distributed such materials; and

`(3) any initiatives undertaken by such entity to develop public-private partnerships to secure non-Federal support for the development and distribution of drowsy driving education programs and materials.

`(f) REPORT TO CONGRESS- The Secretary shall prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress an annual report on the implementation of this section, which includes a description of the programs undertaken and materials developed and distributed by entities receiving funds under subsection (a).

`(g) In this section, the following definitions apply:

`(1) DROWSY DRIVER EDUCATION PROGRAMS- The term `drowsy driving education programs' includes publications, audiovisual, presentations, and demonstrations.

`(2) STATE- The term `State' means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other territory or possession of the United States.

`(3) STATE MODEL PROGRAMS- The term `State model programs' means the State of New York's Break for Safety program and New York Task Force on Drowsy Driving efforts.

`(4) NATIONAL PROGRAMS- The term `national programs' means the DRIVE ALERT...ARRIVE ALIVE, the National Sleep Foundation's Campaign on Drowsy Driving and other programs operated by non-profit organizations.

`(5) CONTINUOUS SHOULDER RUMBLE STRIP- The term `continuous shoulder rumble strip' means raised or grooved patterns inserted on the shoulder of a highway to alert drivers drifting off the road that they are doing so.

`(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- For the purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $5,000,000 for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2009, of which not more than $350,000 may be spent in any fiscal year for administrative costs.'.

SEC. 4. FEDERAL RESEARCH ON THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM.

(a) STUDY- The Secretary of Transportation shall conduct a study on the scope of the problem of fatigue-related automobile crashes amongst the general driving public.

(b) REPORT- Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to Congress a report containing the results of the study.

END