Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act of 2011
Latest action · Mar 8, 2011 Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 2, 2011
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to prescribe regulations requiring motorcoaches to be installed with: (1) safety seat belts at each seating position, (2) improved fire extinguishers or other firefighting equipment, (3) advanced glazing in each portal to prevent passenger ejection, (4) stability enhancing technology to reduce the number and frequency of rollover crashes, and (5) direct tire pressure monitoring systems.
Requires the Secretary to prescribe regulations establishing improved strength and crush resistance standards for motorcoach roofs.
Requires the Secretary to evaluate and issue performance requirements relating to: (1) the feasibility of establishing flammability standards for motorcoach exterior and interior components, (2) technologies to prevent wheel well fires, and (3) requirements for motorcoaches to be equipped with improved designs for emergency passenger evacuation and fire suppression systems.
Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct compartmentalization safety countermeasures, occupant impact protection, and collision avoidance research; and (2) issue a standard or regulation based on research results.
Authorizes the Secretary to register a person to provide motorcoach services only after that person: (1) undergoes a pre-authorization safety audit, including verification of drug and alcohol testing, vehicle maintenance, and safety management programs; (2) has been interviewed about the carrier's safety management controls and written safety oversight policies and practices; and (3) has demonstrated proficiency to comply with such requirements.
Requires each newly registered motorcoach owner or operator transporting property to undergo a safety review within the first 18 months after operations begin. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a fee to cover audit costs.
Prescribes disclosure requirements for registration applicants regarding reincarnated motor carriers, and authorizes the Secretary to suspend, amend, or revoke a motor carrier registration for violation of those and other specified requirements, regulations, or orders.
Prohibits two or more motorcoach operators from using common ownership, common management, common control, or common familial relationship to avoid compliance, or conceal noncompliance or a history of noncompliance with commercial motor vehicle safety regulations or an order of the Secretary. Prescribes penalties for violation of this prohibition.
Requires the Secretary to: (1) determine the safety fitness and assign a rating, updated triennially, for each registered motorcoach operator; and (2) establish a process for monitoring regularly the safety performance of each operator following the assignment of a rating.
Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish minimum curricular requirements for entry-level motorcoach drivers and drivers upgrading from one class of commercial driver's license to another, and (2) require each motorcoach driver seeking a commercial driver's license (CDL) passenger endorsement to undergo training that includes such requirements before taking the CDL test.
Requires the Secretary to issue a final rule in Docket No. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) 2007-27659: Commercial Driver's License Testing and Commercial Learner's Permit Standards that improves the stringency of examination for the CDL passenger-carrying endorsement.
Requires the Secretary to submit a plan to Congress requiring all or certain classes of drivers to: (1) have a CDL passenger-carrying endorsement in order to operate a commercial van transporting 9 to 15 passengers in interstate commerce, and (2) be tested for drugs and alcohol.
Revises examination requirements for the listing of medical examiners in a national registry.
Requires the Secretary to establish a national registry of medical examiners.
Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations to require all motorcoaches in interstate commerce to be equipped with electronic onboard recorders.
Requires the Secretary to complete a rulemaking proceeding to consider requiring states to conduct annual inspections of commercial passenger motor vehicles.
Requires the Secretary to: (1) prescribe regulations on the use of electronic or wireless devices (including cell phones and other distracting devices) by motorcoach operators; and (2) prohibit their use in cases where they interfere with the driver's safe operation of a motorcoach, but not when necessary for driver or public safety in emergency situations.
Redefines "employer," for purposes of the application of federal commercial motor vehicle safety standards, to include a person that offers for rent or lease in interstate commerce motor vehicles used to transport more than 15 passengers (including the driver) from the same location, or as part of the same business provides names or contact information of drivers, or holds itself out to the public as a charter bus company.
Requires the Secretary to register brokers for transportation of passengers.
Cosponsors 9
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 29, 2011 to Dec 12, 2011.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-IL | Janice D. Schakowsky | Mar 29, 2011 | |
| D-TX | Lloyd Doggett | Mar 29, 2011 | |
| D-OH | Marcy Kaptur | Apr 1, 2011 | |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Jul 15, 2011 | |
| D-NJ | Rush Holt | Sep 15, 2011 | |
| D-MI | John Conyers, Jr. | Nov 1, 2011 | |
| D-NY | Jerrold Nadler | Dec 6, 2011 | |
| D-CA | Bob Filner | Dec 12, 2011 | |
| D-GA | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. | Dec 12, 2011 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Transportation and Infrastructure Committee | Referred Mar 2, 2011 |
| Highways and Transit Subcommittee | Referred Mar 3, 2011 | |
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Mar 2, 2011 |
| Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee | Referred Mar 8, 2011 |
Actions 5
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 8, 2011Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
- Mar 3, 2011Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
- Mar 2, 2011Introduced in House
- Mar 2, 2011Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E397)
- Mar 2, 2011Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E397 | John Lewis D-GA | Mar 2, 2011 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H1525.
Printed hearings 2
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 112-35 | HOW BEST TO IMPROVE BUS SAFETY ON OUR NATION'S HIGHWAYS134 pages | Transportation and Infrastructure Committee | Jun 13, 2011 |
| S. Hrg. 112-240 | ENSURING THE SAFETY OF OUR NATION'S MOTORCOACH PASSENGERS120 pages | Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | Mar 30, 2011 |
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| RL34632 | Text and Multimedia Messaging: Issues for Congress Archived | Report | Jan 12, 2012 |
Related bills 4
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 14 | MAP-21 | Related bill | Mar 21, 2012 |
| S 453 | Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act of 2011 | Related bill | Nov 9, 2011 |
| S 1813 | MAP-21 | Related bill | Apr 24, 2012 |
| S 1950 | Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act of 2011 | Related bill | Nov 13, 2012 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To improve the safety of motorcoaches and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act of 2011
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Transportation and Public Works.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Computers and information technology
- Department of Transportation
- Fires
- Government studies and investigations
- Health personnel
- Labor standards
- Licensing and registrations
- Medical tests and diagnostic methods
- Motor carriers
- Motor vehicles
- Physical fitness and lifestyle
- Research and development
- Telephone and wireless communication
- Transportation and Public Works
- Transportation employees
- Transportation safety and security
- User charges and fees
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 2, 2011Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
