Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting Act of 2024

Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting Act

This bill requires the U.S. Postal Service to issue regulations to mandate collecting, tracking, and publicly reporting information related to deaths and injuries resulting from traffic crashes involving vehicles transporting mail.  

The bill also requires (1) Postal Service employees and contractors to report within three days any traffic crash involving a vehicle used in the transportation of mail and resulting in injury or death, (2) the Postal Service to maintain an internal database that includes comprehensive information related to such injuries and deaths, and (3) the Postal Service to provide an annual report to the public summarizing such injuries and deaths. 

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7527 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7527

    To direct the United States Postal Service to issue regulations 
  requiring Postal Service employees and contractors to report to the 
 Postal Service traffic crashes involving vehicles carrying mail that 
           result in injury or death, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 5, 2024

Mr. Connolly (for himself and Mr. Comer) introduced the following bill; 
  which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To direct the United States Postal Service to issue regulations 
  requiring Postal Service employees and contractors to report to the 
 Postal Service traffic crashes involving vehicles carrying mail that 
           result in injury or death, 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; FINDINGS.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting Act''.

SEC. 2. REGULATIONS ON TRAFFIC CRASH DEATHS AND INJURIES INVOLVING 
              VEHICLES TRANSPORTING MAIL.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Postmaster General of the Postal Service shall issue 
regulations to require the collection, tracking, and public reporting 
of information related to deaths and injuries resulting from traffic 
crashes involving vehicles transporting mail. Such regulations shall 
establish appropriate mechanisms to monitor and enforce compliance with 
the reporting requirements of this Act and may utilize existing 
reporting mechanisms in use at the time of enactment of this Act.
    (b) Reports on Crashes.--
            (1) Employees.--Any employee of the Postal Service engaged 
        in the transportation of mail shall report to the Postal 
        Service any traffic crash involving the vehicle the employee 
        was operating during such transportation that resulted in 
        injury or death not later than three days after such crash.
            (2) Contractors.--Any contractor (of any tier) of the 
        Postal Service engaged in the transportation of mail shall 
        report to the Postal Service any traffic crash involving the 
        vehicle the contractor was operating during such transportation 
        that resulted in injury or death not later than three days 
        after such crash.
            (3) Contents.--Any report submitted under paragraph (1) or 
        (2) shall include detailed information describing, at a 
        minimum, the crash, including the date, time, location, nature 
        of the crash, information identifying the contractor, number of 
        injuries, fatalities, and any contributing factors to the 
        crash. An employee or contractor (as the case may be) shall 
        update the report, in such form and manner as the Postal 
        Service deems appropriate, to reflect any change in crash-
        caused injuries or fatalities.
            (4) Accommodations in event of injury.--The Postal Service 
        shall provide for procedures under which reports may be 
        submitted under this subsection under an alternative deadline 
        in the event a Postal Service employee or contractor is unable 
        to submit a report due to serious injury resulting from the 
        applicable crash.
            (5) Standard form.--The Postmaster General shall create a 
        standard form available to Postal Service employees and 
        contractors for the purposes of submitting reports under this 
        subsection.
    (c) Database.--
            (1) In general.--The Postal Service shall maintain a 
        continuously updated internal digital database that includes 
        comprehensive information related to deaths and injuries from 
        traffic crashes involving vehicles transporting mail.
            (2) Contents.--The database shall include any information 
        provided by Postal Service employees and contractors under 
        subsection (b).
    (d) Report.--
            (1) In general.--The Postal Service shall make available to 
        the public an annual report summarizing information related to 
        deaths and injuries from traffic crashes involving vehicles 
        transporting mail.
            (2) Contents.--The report shall include aggregated 
        statistics, trends, and analysis to enhance transparency and 
        accountability.
            (3) Privacy.--Information in the report shall be made 
        available to the public in a manner that does not personally 
        identify any Postal Service employee, contractor, or any other 
        individual.
    (e) Penalties.--Any Postal Service contractor who fails to report a 
traffic crash within the deadline prescribed under subsection (b) shall 
be subject to appropriate penalties as determined appropriate by the 
Postal Service, including fines, suspension of contracts, or 
termination of contracts. The Postal Service may take into account the 
severity of the applicable traffic crash and the frequency of 
noncompliance with the requirements of this Act by the applicable 
Postal Service contractor when determining which penalty to apply (if 
any).
    (f) Crash Defined.--In this Act, the term ``crash''--
            (1) means an occurrence involving a commercial motor 
        vehicle operating on a highway in interstate or intrastate 
        commerce which results in--
                    (A) a fatality;
                    (B) bodily injury to a person who, as a result of 
                the injury, immediately receives medical treatment away 
                from the scene of the accident; or
                    (C) one or more motor vehicles incurring disabling 
                damage as a result of the accident, requiring at least 
                one of the motor vehicle to be transported away from 
                the scene by a tow truck or other motor vehicle; and
            (2) does not include--
                    (A) an occurrence involving only boarding and 
                alighting from a stationary motor vehicle; or
                    (B) an occurrence involving only the loading or 
                unloading of cargo.
                                 <all>