Sec. 24222. Child safety
554 words·~3 min read·
/bill/117/hr/3684/eas/section-24222·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Chapter 323 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding after section 32304A the following: In this section: The term passenger motor vehicle has the meaning given that term in section 32101. The term rear-designated seating position means designated seating positions that are rearward of the front seat. The term Secretary means the Secretary of Transportation. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall issue a final rule requiring all new passenger motor vehicles weighing less than 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight to be equipped with a system to alert the operator to check rear-designated seating positions after the vehicle engine or motor is deactivated by the operator.
The alert required under subsection (b)— shall include a distinct auditory and visual alert, which may be combined with a haptic alert; and shall be activated when the vehicle motor is deactivated by the operator. The rule issued pursuant to subsection
(b)shall require full compliance with the rule beginning on September 1st of the first calendar year that begins 2 years after the date on which the final rule is issued. . The analysis for chapter 323 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 32304A the following: 32304B. Child safety. . Section 402 of title 23, United States Code (as amended by section 24102(a)(9)), is amended by adding at the end the following: Each State shall use a portion of the amounts received by the State under this section to carry out a program to educate the public regarding the risks of leaving a child or unattended passenger in a vehicle after the vehicle motor is deactivated by the operator. Nothing in this subsection requires a State to carry out a program described in paragraph
(1)through the State transportation or highway safety office. . The Secretary shall conduct a study on— the potential retrofitting of existing passenger motor vehicles with 1 or more technologies that may address the problem of children left in rear-designated seating positions of motor vehicles after deactivation of the motor vehicles by an operator; and the potential benefits and burdens, logistical or economic, associated with widespread use of those technologies. In carrying out the study under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall— survey and evaluate a variety of methods used by current and emerging aftermarket technologies or products to reduce the risk of children being left in rear-designated seating positions after deactivation of a motor vehicle; and provide recommendations— for manufacturers of the technologies and products described in clause
(i)to carry out a functional safety performance evaluation to ensure that the technologies and products perform as designed by the manufacturer under a variety of real-world conditions; and for consumers on methods to select an appropriate technology or product described in clause
(i)in order to retrofit existing vehicles. Not later than 180 days after the date on which the Secretary issues the final rule required by section 32304B(b) of title 49, United States Code (as added by subsection (a)(1)), the Secretary shall submit a report describing the results of the study carried out under paragraph
(1)to— the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate ; and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives .