Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act of 2011

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) advanced glazing in each portal to prevent passenger ejection, (3) stability enhancing technology to reduce the number and frequency of rollover crashes, (4) improved fire extinguishers or other firefighting equipment, 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) prescribe 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. Reduces from 18 months to 9 months after motorcoach operations begin the deadline for mandatory safety reviews of newly registered motorcoach owners or operators. Requires pre-authorization audits of new registrants to be completed onsite no later than 90 days after submission of an application to operate a motorcoach. 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 establish by regulation a requirement that a driver: (1) must have a CDL passenger-carrying endorsement to operate a commercial van transporting 9 to 15 passengers in interstate commerce; and (2) have been 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.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

No timeline events have been ingested for this record yet.

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

No version snapshots stored. Document URLs remain at the source.

Documents

6 official files

• Reported to Senate (text)

  Reported to Senate · EN · 9 November 2011

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Reported to Senate (PDF)

  Reported to Senate · EN · 9 November 2011

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Reported to Senate with amendment(s)

  summary · EN · 9 November 2011

  Open at official source

• Introduced in Senate (text)

  Introduced in Senate · EN · 2 March 2011

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Introduced in Senate (PDF)

  Introduced in Senate · EN · 2 March 2011

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Introduced in Senate

  summary · EN · 2 March 2011

  Open at official source

Sponsors

No sponsors or actors listed by the source.

Related records

No cross-record relationships stored yet.