FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM

Overview
Motor vehicle crashes claim nearly 43,000 lives, cause nearly 3 million injuries, and cost Americans $230 billion in property loss, medical and emergency bills, productivity loss, and other costs every year. Each Congress, Advocates establishes legislative priorities and identifies safety opportunities to reduce motor vehicle deaths and injuries. Advocates' staff then enagages in a variety of educational and lobbying activities throughout the year to realize Advocates' safety agenda.

Advocates' Federal Legislative Priorities

Advocates' Oppose Allen's seat belt amendment

Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21)

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Reauthorization Legislation

Truck Safety

Hazardous Materials Reauthorization

Federal Legislative Accomplishments
in the 108th Congress

Surface Transportation Safety Reauthorization Act of 2003

Federal Legislative Accomplishments
in the 107th Congress

Child Passenger Safety

FY 2003 Department of Transportation (DOT) Appropriations

Mexican Truck Safety

FY 2002 Department of Transportation (DOT) Appropriations

Hazardous Materials Safety

Federal Legislative Accomplishments
in the 106th Congress

National .08 Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Law

Tire Safety

Rollover

FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

Advocates' Oppose Allen's seat belt amendment

May 16, 2005

Dear Senator:

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates), a coalition of consumer, health, safety, medical and insurance organizations, strongly supports provisions in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reauthorization bill adopted by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee last month that would provide incentive grants to states that enact a primary enforcement seat belt law.

We strongly oppose any amendment to H.R.3, the surface transportation reauthorization bill, offered by Senator Allen (R-VA) and Senator Ensign (R-NV), to strike or weaken these provisions.

Currently, 29 states still need to adopt a primary enforcement seat belt law. Use rates in states with these effective laws are higher than in states with secondary enforcement provisions, resulting in many more lives saved and injuries avoided. Only one state adopted primary enforcement in 2004, and none have done so in 2005.

The Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee's language provides significant funding to states to encourage enactment of primary enforcement laws, will encourage more states to act, and will lead to fewer deaths and injuries on our nation's roads and highways. In addition to focusing on the need for better laws and setting a higher bar for national seat belt use of 90%, the Committee provisions provide generous incentive grant funding for states that already have primary enforcement seat belt laws.

The Allen/Ensign amendment places no emphasis on the need for adoption of primary enforcement seat belt laws, which are necessary if the nation's seat belt use rates are to rise to 90% or above, the level enjoyed by most other industrialized nations throughout the world.

Please oppose the Allen/Ensign amendment and support the important seat belt incentive provisions already adopted by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Judith Lee Stone
President
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety

 

Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21)
This year, Congress will reauthorize the multi-billion dollar surface transportation funding bill, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century or TEA-21. Advocates has formed a "SAFETEA Coaliton" that is lobbying Congress and the Executive Branch to ensure that highway and auto safety is a top priority in this major piece of legislation. Click here to learn about Advocates' "SAFETEA Coalition" and its legislative priorities for TEA-21.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Reauthorization Legislation
The authorization levels for NHTSA influence future decisions by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees on funding levels for a wide variety of motor vehicle safety programs. Advocates is working toward the enactment of a bill to fund NHTSA at levels that will adequately support motor vehicle safety programs. The legislation also puts into law a safety agenda for the agency to enact over the next 3 to 4 years.

FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
108TH CONGRESS

Surface Transportation Safety Reauthorization Act of 2003
On June 26, 2003 the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee passed the McCain/Hollings Surface Transportation Safety Reauthorization Act of 2003, which addresses many of the TEA-21 safety reauthorization issues under the Committee's jurisdiction. The bill takes dramatic steps to improve passenger vehicle safety, traffic safety, and motor carrier safety. Advocates played a significant role in securing the inclusion of many of the bill's safety provisions. Click here for a summary of the bill's safety provisions.

FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
107TH CONGRESS

Child Passenger Safety
In the closing days of the 107th Congress, the House and Senate passed "Anton's Law" (Public Law 107-318). Anton's Law is named after Anton Skeen, a four-year-old boy who was killed when he was ejected from a car in a crash in Washington State. Anton's Law directs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to initiate a rulemaking to establish performance requirements for child restraints, including booster seats, for the restraint of children weighing more than 50 pounds. The law also requires NHTSA to submit a report to Congress on the development of a crash test dummy simulating a 10 year-old child. This legislation requires automakers to install lap and shoulder belt assemblies in all rear seating positions of passenger cars, including the center seat position. Finally, the law includes $5 million to conduct research into child passenger safety issues. Advocates was deeply involved in suggesting ideas and drafting provisions and lobbying Senate and House members and staff in support of Anton's Law.

FY 2003 Department of Transportation (DOT) Appropriations Bill
Advocates worked closely with members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to increase the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) funding for fiscal year 2003 by more than $16 million. Such money will fund additional impaired driving programs as well as the inclusion of standards for tire performance on wet road surfaces in the agency's passenger vehicle tire traction rule. The bill also directs NHTSA to improve ejection prevention performance, prohibits the trucking industry from conducting a pilot program using teenage truck drivers, and increases funding for the National Automotive Sampling System, a program that collects information on auto crashes and injuries.

Mexican Truck Safety
As a result of pressure from Advocates and other safety groups, a provision was enacted into law in the FY 2002 U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Appropriations bill, establishing several requirements for reviewing the safety of Mexico-domiciled trucks and buses before they cross into the U.S. to travel throughout the country. This law upgraded the safety and security of U.S. citizens by imposing a series of border safety inspections, initial safety examinations, and subsequent full safety compliance reviews on Mexico-domiciled motor carriers applying for operating authority to go outside the current commercial zones in the four border states. Advocates called for these measures in response to a weak regulatory proposal by the Federal Motor Carrier Administration (FMCSA) to open the U.S.-Mexico border to nationwide Mexico-domiciled motor carrier operations only on the basis of filling out and submitting a paper application.

Advocates also emphasized the need for scales at border crossing points into the U.S. to prevent the wide-spread violation of U.S. axle and gross weight limits on the U.S. Interstate highway system. The final version of the provision requires installation of Weigh-In-Motion scales at high volume border crossings and a study of the need to install them all crossings. The enactment of the appropriations bill was a major victory for motor carrier safety in the U.S. These provisions were also included in the FY 2003 DOT Appropriations Bill.

FY 2002 Department of Transportation (DOT) Appropriations Bill
The major safety issue concerned the Administration's decision to open the southern borders in January 2002. Congress directed DOT to take specific actions to enhance safety inspections and enforcement of truck safety rules before trucks from Mexico are permitted to operate throughout the U.S. (See above section on Mexican Truck Safety.)

Hazardous Materials Safety
Advocates identified serious deficiencies in Department of Transportation rulemaking and enforcement concerning motor carrier transportation of hazardous materials that needed to be addressed post-September 11th. Advocates successfully advocated for more funds for inspection and enforcement programs targeted at hazardous materials shipments by truck.

FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
106TH CONGRESS

National .08% Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Law
Advocates successfully lobbied Congress to include a national .08% blood alcohol concentration (BAC) law in the final version of the FY 2001 Department of Transportation (DOT) spending bill. Drawing on the resources of Advocates' board members and grassroots contacts, staff organized, directed, and implemented a successful legislative campaign. This campaign overcame the political and financial resources of the alcohol industry and other opponents and led to President Clinton signing .08 into law. Currently, 34 states and the District of Columbia have set .08 % BAC as the per se limit, making it illegal to drive with a BAC at or above that level.

Tire Safety
Advocates provided assistance to the House Commerce Committee and Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee staff in drafting legislation, The Transportation Recall, Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation Act (TREAD), in response to the Firestone tire recall.

Advocates supported the TREAD provisions directed specifically toward improving tire safety. TREAD requires persons who sell or lease tires that they know to be defective, or that do not comply with existing safety standards, to report the sale or lease to the Secretary of Transportation. The law requires the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to issue revised and updated tire performance standards by June 1, 2002. NHTSA also is required to issue a rule for improved tire labeling to assist consumers in identifying tires subject to recalls as well as to take measures to ensure that the public is aware of the importance of tire load limits and maintaining proper levels of tire inflation. Finally, TREAD requires NHTSA to issue a rule requiring in-vehicle warning systems that alert the driver when a tire is significantly under inflated.

Rollover
Advocates successfully lobbied and organized opposition to a provision in the FY 2001 Department of Transportation appropriations bill that would have delayed the implementation of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's proposal to develop consumer information regarding the hazards of rollover crashes.