Safer Trucks and Buses Act of 2014

Safer Trucks and Buses Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to ensure that covered motor carrier data is not made available to the public, and prohibits such data from being used in a civil action for damages resulting from an incident involving a motor carrier, until the Secretary submits a report certifying that recommendations required by this Act have been implemented.

Defines "covered motor carrier data" as data generated with respect to a motor carrier under the Compliance, Safety, Accountability initiative of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Requires the Secretary to submit to Congress a report that contains recommendations on how to improve such initiative, including by ensuring that it:

• utilizes and generates only safety data and scores determined to be predictive of motor carrier accidents,
• appropriately addresses concerns relating to the age of utilized safety data,
• does not unfairly harm small motor carriers as a result of limited safety data availability,
• appropriately addresses differences between motor carriers transporting passengers and those transporting freight,
• generates safety data that allows individual motor carriers and their safety scores to be effectively compared, and
• utilizes accurate safety data.

Establishes deadlines for such report, for implementation of such recommendations, and for certification of such implementation.

[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5532 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5532

  To improve the Compliance, Safety, Accountability initiative of the 
  Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 18, 2014

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To improve the Compliance, Safety, Accountability initiative of the 
  Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 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 ``Safer Trucks and Buses Act of 
2014''.

SEC. 2. COMPLIANCE, SAFETY, ACCOUNTABILITY INITIATIVE.

    (a) Data Availability and Use.--
            (1) Availability.--The Secretary of Transportation shall 
        ensure that covered motor carrier data is not made available to 
        the public.
            (2) Use.--Covered motor carrier data may not be admitted 
        into evidence or otherwise used in a civil action for damages 
        resulting from an incident involving a motor carrier.
            (3) Termination.--Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall cease to 
        have effect on the date on which the Secretary submits to 
        Congress the report required under subsection (d).
    (b) Initial Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 
that contains recommendations on how to improve the Compliance, Safety, 
Accountability initiative of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration, including recommendations to ensure that the 
initiative--
            (1) utilizes and generates only safety data and scores, 
        including Safety Measurement System scores, determined to be 
        predictive of motor carrier accidents;
            (2) appropriately addresses concerns relating to the age of 
        utilized safety data, including violations;
            (3) does not unfairly harm small motor carriers as a result 
        of limited safety data availability;
            (4) appropriately addresses differences between motor 
        carriers transporting passengers and motor carriers 
        transporting freight;
            (5) generates safety data that allows individual motor 
        carriers, including safety scores assigned to individual motor 
        carriers, to be effectively compared; and
            (6) utilizes accurate safety data, including--
                    (A) by appropriately addressing variations between 
                State- and self-reported data;
                    (B) by accounting for geographic disparities with 
                respect to enforcement; and
                    (C) by utilizing only crash data from crashes with 
                respect to which a motor carrier was at fault.
    (c) Implementation of Recommendations.--Not later than 90 days 
after the date on which the Secretary submits to Congress the report 
required under subsection (b), the Secretary shall begin implementing 
the recommendations included in that report.
    (d) Certification of Implementation.--Not later than 1 year after 
the date on which the Secretary begins implementing recommendations 
under subsection (c), the Secretary shall complete the implementation 
of such recommendations and shall submit to Congress a report that--
            (1) describes the implementation of such recommendations;
            (2) contains a document in which the Secretary certifies 
        that such implementation is complete; and
            (3) contains a document in which the Inspector General of 
        the Department of Transportation certifies that such 
        implementation is complete.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Covered motor carrier data.--The term ``covered motor 
        carrier data'' means data generated with respect to a motor 
        carrier under the Compliance, Safety, Accountability initiative 
        of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, including 
        any ranking, rating, score, or other measurement.
            (2) Motor carrier.--The term ``motor carrier'' has the 
        meaning given that term in section 13102 of title 49, United 
        States Code.
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