Blumenthal-Led Provisions to Improve Auto Safety Included in Surface Transportation Bill Passed by Commerce Committee

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) commended the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee’s passage of the bipartisan Surface Transportation Investment Act (STIA) today with several provisions he championed to improve auto safety, and urged additional work on the legislation to bolster auto safety and rail funding. 

“I’m proud that long overdue measures I’ve fought for to improve auto safety are part of this bipartisan legislation. Hot car deaths, as well as carbon monoxide poisonings and rollaway deaths tied to keyless ignitions have left behind devastated families, and passage of this bill is a first step toward preventing more of these tragedies,” said Blumenthal. “Still, significant work must be done to strengthen auto safety and rail funding in this package. I will continue fighting to boost used car and truck safety, and to secure dedicated and predictable funding for passenger rail in any final bill that passes out of Congress.”   

Blumenthal secured the inclusion of several specific auto safety provisions in the STIA, based on his SCOPE Act, HOT CARS Act and keyless ignition rollaways legislation including:

• Preventing keyless carbon monoxide poisoning: STIA includes language Blumenthal authored and secured to require the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to finalize a rule that cars automatically shut off after a period of time to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. The provision would also authorize DOT to establish different periods after which a vehicle would have to shut off, as different vehicles emit carbon monoxide at different rates.
• Preventing hot car deaths: At Blumenthal’s urging, STIA includes a measure directing NHTSA to issue a rulemaking requiring that new cars come equipped with technology to alert the driver to check the back seat when the car is turned off. It allows states to use federal funding to educate the public on the dangers of leaving a child unattended in the backseat of a car, and requires DOT to study options for retrofitting existing vehicles to address the problem of children being unintentionally left behind in vehicles. This study would provide recommendations to manufacturers to make sure products perform as intended and to consumers on how to select the right technology.
• Reducing keyless ignition rollaway dangers: Blumenthal also secured the inclusion of a measure requiring DOT to study the feasibility of setting a performance standard to prevent keyless ignition passenger vehicle rollaways.

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